Bonnie and Derek met in October 2004 thanks in part to a case of mono. Sick and in bed, Bonnie turned to the internet to keep her occupied in the hours while she was awake and bored. She began spending time at the now-defunct forums at a comic called Monkey Business, where she noticed a post by Derek sharing his tattoo. Interested, she contacted him via his profile information and the magic began. Several months earlier, Bonnie had decided to go to graduate school and had quickly zeroed in on the University of Oregon. As luck would have it, Derek was living in Corvallis, just forty-five short minutes from Eugene. After many online and telephone conversations he invited Bonnie to visit him during her spring break so that she could check out the University in person. On March 12, 2004 she boarded a flight from Fargo to Portland and when she arrived it only took one look to know that Derek was the man she would spend the rest of her life with. They spent a whirlwind week together, visiting the coast (where Derek’s car broke down), looking at the University and getting to know each other better. With a heavy heart Bonnie boarded a plane to return to Fargo and finish her final year of undergraduate education. In April, Bonnie received notification that she’d been accepted into the Historic Preservation Program at the University of Oregon and a flurry of plans for her move began. Arriving in Eugene in May, she took a job working at Blockbuster for the summer while Derek continued living in Corvallis where he was taking classes and working at Oregon State University. In September Derek moved in to share Bonnie’s apartment in Eugene and commuted to OSU for the final year of his education. In June of 2005, Bonnie packed up a suitcase and flew to Anchorage, Alaska to work for the National Park Service during a 12-week internship. Returning in September, Derek and Bonnie packed up their things for a weekend on the coast to celebrate having 18 months as a couple. They packed a picnic and headed for Nye Beach, where they went on their first official date. After eating the two began digging in the sand. Bonnie asked Derek if he was finding buried treasure. Alas, all he had found was an ant, which he offered to her. Bonnie refused the ant on the basis that it wasn’t shiny and the next thing she knew Derek was asking "Is this shiny enough for you?" as he presented her with a white-gold claddagh ring (a temporary engagement ring.) He then asked her to marry him. She said yes, and the rest is history.
