Engaged-ness

WARNING: This post is kind of long, so now is the time to go get a snack and make yourself comfortable

So I was thinking of a title for this post and came up with such ideas as "The Proposal" and "Up" and those sounded too movie-ish so then I considered "Fully Invested" and "The Quest For Perfection" but those have recently become overused, particularly here in the Utah County. Feel free to suggest anything better and I'll consider changing it.
So now that I have a title, where to start the story? At the beginning, I suppose. Now I just have to decide what constitutes the beginning.........
A few months ago, Amy invited me to her family reunion that oddly enough was going to be located at a cabin outside of Lake Tahoe owned by my little brother Matt's mission president. It was the first time in like 4 years (I can't remember the exact number) that all of her siblings were to be gathered together in the same place at the same time. Her dad offered to fly us out of there and if we could get a ride up to Salt Lake, we could ride with them over. The reunion lasted from July 10th to the 14th and was a TON of fun. The cabin was stocked with food for us when we got there, there was a ping pong/pool table downstairs, a tennis court with a basketball hoop, a beach volleyball court, some horseshoe pits, mini dirt bikes, plus the tons of trails around that led to either great views of the mountains and valleys, or to great views of Lake Tahoe. On the last day that we were there a few of us went over the mountain to see what we could see. The other side of the mountain was covered with trees was all that we could mostly see, which was kind of disappointing since they blocked our view of Tahoe. Some of us ventured to a better spot while the others headed back and it was well worth it. Other activities while we were there included doing some service in gratitude for the Dyches in letting us stay there (mostly weeding, clearing out brush, etc). We also went to Tahoe after church on Sunday so that we could take pictures (There was one family picture I was in but I couldn't find it so I'm putting in the one I took). All in all it was a great experience for me. Whether I shooting pool with her brother Aaron, beating her brother in-law Seth at basketball, or sipping cider on the back patio with Seth and Nathan (her other brother in-law) I felt pretty comfortable around her family and felt like I got to know each of them well. It was great to be able to be around all of them at the same time and kind of sit back and notice some of the things that I would expect to see in my own large family.

The trip back was an adventure in and of itself. We got an early start to the morning (partly so I could have a private conversation with Amy's dad) and got dropped off at the Reno airport three hours before our flight took off. We then proceeded to fly to Oakland, where we changed planes to finally head on to Salt Lake. After landing in Salt Lake, we took a bus to a TRAX station near the mall and headed down to Sandy where we were met by our friend Jeremiah who gave us a ride down to Provo. All in all, the amount of time it took from the hotel in Reno to Provo took about the same time as if we would've driven home from Reno. Hooray for modern transportation!
The next day was Amy's birthday. I had to work, but she had the day off so after my work, she picked me up and we went and enjoyed the newest Harry Potter movie and then walked around the mall with Kellie and another of our Jacob Lake friends, Meggie Fresh. Later that night I arranged for Kellie's place to be decorated with a Mexican flag and twinkle lights (Amy's favorite) and we had a great Mexican dinner with tacos, corn, beans, chips, and cake. We also had "mocktails" and I made up songs on the ukelele with the three chords that I know how to play.
After work on Friday I went downtown to some stores to look for a ring. I knew that she wanted something that was antique-ish and white gold, and inexpensive but other than that vague description I didn't really have anything in mind to look for. Eventually, I was able to find a ring that I knew she would like and began setting in motion the plans for proposing the next night. The plan was to somehow get her out of her apartment and steal her keys and then give those keys to Kellie and Matt with instructions to decorate her room with flowers and pictures of us and then leave the ring on her dresser where she would be able to find it. The first opportunity to do that would've been when she went to work, but I wanted to wait until later in the day to do it. After she got off work, we went to a stake activity and after that we went back to her apartment. Determined to not spend the night in her apartment, we decided to go to Wal-Mart and get some supplies for painting. While there, I removed her keys from her purse and called Matt to let him know the plan was in motion. We took the bus to the mall, where we helped Kellie close her little booth thing that she works at and I slipped her the keys while we waited for Matt to pick us up. They were going to see a movie later that night so I asked if we could watch a movie at her place while we painted there. She agreed and after dropping us off at her place, they left with my moneys to purchase the flowers and decorate Amy's bedroom before heading off to the movie. Amy and I watched Big Fish to get in the painting mood and the movie ended about the same time that Matt and Kellie got back. I slipped the key back in Amy's purse and we thanked Matt and Kellie for letting us use her place and then I walked her home. It was late and Amy was pretty tired but I wanted to be in the apartment when she went in her room so when we got to her place she wanted to say goodnight and go to bed but I asked for a glass of water. I drank it as slowly as possible but instead of going to her room, she waited in the kitchen for me to finish my drink. After realizing I wasn't leaving, she informed me that she had to go to the bathroom and walked right down the hall without going in to her bedroom. Once she was in the bathroom, I decided to turn on the light in her room in hopes that she would notice it and walk inside, but when she came out and saw the light on, she tiredly concluded that she had turned it on and didn't think to go inside. I was still drinking the cup of water so she tidied up the living room and for a second I was afraid she was just gonna lay down on the couch and fall asleep and not go to her room at all. I suggested going for a walk, hoping she would agree and grab a sweater from her room, but she said she was too tired (which turned out to be a good thing becuase both of her sweaters were on the kitchen table). Finally, I told her I was going to go on one and that I'd walk slowly in case she changed her mind. We said goodnight and I walked out the door and down the steps and called her to see if she had started getting ready for bed yet. She hadn't, so I simply told her to "call me when you love me." She immediatly called back, and I thought "She's finally gone to bed!" but I was wrong. She was merely being cute and was calling to say she loved me now. By this time I was beginning to think she'd never go in there so I told her to go to bed and hung up. I then started walking back up to her door, when my phone rang. She had finally gone in and was completely surprised. I had her describe to me what was all in there and she described the dozen white roses on her bed, the boquet on her dresser and the pictures next to it with a white ring box in front. When she said there was a ring, I asked her to bring it outside and show it to me. Once she did, I got down on one knee and asked her to marry me and she said yes.
So there you are folks. Our engagement story. Amy said she's glad that we at least have a cute story to tell. The next day at church she had to tell the story in Relief Society and that night at Ward Prayer my roommates re-enacted the entire scene (or at least, their version of it). Yesterday she went dress shopping with her parents (who were just making it back from Washington and flew out today to Texas) and actually ended up finding a dress last night, officially starting the wedding preparations.
We will be getting sealed in the San Antonio Temple on November 28th. Until then, I'll do my best to keep this blog updated with the fun times that are sure to come as we prepare for that date!