This is the photo that started it all. Coincidentally, it’s not of Tom and I, but instead of my friend Britt (right), my boss, Amanda, (middle) and her husband, Ross (left) who met at a fundraising event. The next morning Amanda came into my office to talk about the evening and how fun it was that she met one of my good friends. Conversation continued and she mentioned that she also met the "cutest, nicest guy" (her words, not mine) at the event, and that he was single. She insisted we needed to find him a girl and asked if I knew anyone who was single... I said, I AM! Amanda proceeded to message one of her good friends, Melissa, who is a co-worker of Tom’s to play “matchmaker”. In the following weeks to come Facebook profiles were shared, volleyball schedules were analyzed, subtle hints and questions in the office were aplenty, and lots of digging happened behind the scenes… Thank you SIM girls.

My friend Roanne and I attend the Northern Wisconsin State Fair. While in line for the General Admission section, an unknown person comes up and offers us two VIP tickets that they were no longer using. We graciously accepted, and guess what? Of the thousands of seats at the venue, our two spots fall RIGHT NEXT TO Tom & his best friend Isaac. At this point, Tom and I are both well aware that our co-workers are trying to set us up, but neither of us had made a move. We worked through some awkwardness but with the help of a cold beer and Roanne, we had a fun evening with the boys enjoying the concert (although Tom claims we ignored them). If you look close enough in the photo the boys are standing behind us on the left hand side (Tom - grey plaid flannel; Isaac - tan hat)

Tom FINALLY makes the first move and messaged me to see if I could sub on their volleyball team (of course I can never turn down an opportunity to play volleyball). We bump, set, and spiked our way to winning the end of season tournament, and from there on, the rest is history. He was impressed with my skill and ball control; I was impressed with his effort.

A weekend at the Lake Camelot cabin and our first picture together as a “couple”. Tom swooned me with his karaoke singing this night (or so he thinks).

A photo of us soon after Tom asked me to be his girlfriend…. in a deer stand - how romantic? Nevertheless, it’s now a tradition that I sit with Tom at least once when he deer hunts and we love this time together.

We’re engaged! Tom and I took a trip up the North Shore that ended with a very memorable hike to the top of Giants Ridge ski hill. Best day of our lives, hands down.