Engaged!

After a long absence, I am breaking blog silence to announce that I am getting married. And I'm pretty excited about it...

His name is Curtis. He's pretty great. We're getting married in the Draper Utah LDS Temple on January 17th.

The Proposal Story:

Curtis and I had gone ring shopping and I had selected the ring. (I always promised myself that I wouldn't do that, but he really, really, REALLY wanted me to pick. It was causing him lots of stress. He said we couldn't leave the store until I told him which one was my favorite. So I did. It made his life easier, which is one of my biggest life goals...) When we picked, they said it would be two weeks before they could ship it, and then it would take time to set the stone, size it, etc.  So we were looking at 3ish weeks.

The next day we drove to Idaho for General Conference. While we were there he spoke to my dad privately to ask for his blessing. By privately I mean that everyone knew what was happening. My mom and I were wishing we could be flies on the wall. I asked how many cows she though Curtis would offer, and she said that for as old as I am, my dad would probably have to bribe him with cows.

At this point I had accepted the fact that there would be no surprises. I picked the ring. I knew he talked to my dad. I knew when the ring was shipping. I was going to know when he went to pick it up in Salt Lake. I figured I'd see his proposal coming from a mile away. He had also come to this conclusion and lamented the fact at least once a day. He also complained many times about how long it was taking the ring to ship.

The weekend after conference was the BYU homecoming game. Curtis and I spent the morning together and then he dropped me off around 3:00 at my apartment to get ready for the game. He said he'd be back to get me at 4:00 and we'd head to the game which was starting at 5:00. When he got to my apartment, his roommate Broc called him and asked if we could do him a favor on the way to the game and drop off some scissors at the park where he was setting up for a ward party. I complained that it wasn't even on the way but Curtis said that we had time and it wasn't a big deal. So I agreed and we headed to the park.

Broc's instructions took us to an obscure park. He said we'd see his mom's car in the parking lot, and then we should cross the bridge over the river to find them setting up on the other side. As we walked up to the bridge, it was decorated with balloons and signs. The first sign said "You are a daughter of God" so I assumed it was a relief society activity. I suspected nothing. The ring hadn't even shipped yet. The signs said all kinds of nice things, and as we walked they got more and more specific; things like "You have a beautiful smile." Soon they turned to French endearments like "You are ma cherie" and "You are ma biche" (which is literally 'my deer' like the animal...) They were things that Curtis says to me. I actually said out loud "This is a really weird relief society activity." I still, oddly enough, suspected nothing.

At the end of the bridge there was a path of rose petals leading to a gazebo. As we walked along, I said again "This is a really weird activity..." I kept looking around for Broc, irritated that we were going to be late and that he was nowhere to be seen. When we got to the gazebo I stepped inside and saw roses and a sign that said "Will you marry me?" Suddenly it dawned on me...someone was proposing! How sweet! I turned around to see Curtis down on one knee. What a joker. Here we've stumbled across someone's proposal scene and he's pretending to propose to me... And where the heck is Broc? I have his scissors...

Curtis started talking. He said things like how great his life has been since I've been in it and how he wants to be with me forever. But I still didn't see Broc and I couldn't figure out why Curtis was messing around because I knew he didn't have a ring. Besides we were going to be late for the football game. Then all of the sudden he pulled my ring out of his pocket. And he asked me to marry him. And I was so shocked that I dropped the scissors and just stood there. He had to remind me to answer him. Obviously I said yes.

He put the ring on my finger and finally Broc emerged from the bushes to snap some pictures. Instead of going to the game, we called our parents, grandparents and close friends. Then we went to a fancy restaurant for dinner. They gave us free creme brûlée for dessert as congratulations. I couldn't stop laughing for the rest of the evening.