Surprise!!! We're engaged! 

If you follow me on Instagram or are my friend on Facebook, chances are you already know but I still wanted to do a whole blog post. I always say that you guys feel like my friends, so I wanted to give you all the details. Here's how it went down!

The past few days have been a whirlwind and I won't lie, I'm still a bit in shock. What I thought would be our annual Christmas light adventure, turned into something much more.  I had an idea he was up to something but I wasn't completely sure on the specifics. Needless to say, he asked at Conwell Park in the middle of all these awesome lights, and of course, I said YES! To everyone who has reached out thus far - thank you! 

I'm not joking when I tell you how suspicious John was being. His sleep schedule was more whack than normal, he was leaving the house at the weirdest times, and he had conflicting stories. He's been stressed out with work and he's got a 24/7 schedule, so I tried to convince myself that was the deal. 

6:00 p.m. December 18th 

Friday evening before he left to go finalize his secret plans, he told me I had to have my hair and makeup done every single day, to which I automatically started questioning. Now I'll tell you I'm not one to fuss over hair and makeup so when John told me that, my anxiety took over and I was not amused.   He came home later that night and soothed my anxiety by simply informing me that anytime I left the house, I had to have my hair and makeup done.  Annoyed, but relieved I didn’t have to waste time “getting ready” just to work from home, I continued. 

9:00 a.m. December 19th 

Saturday morning I was left to my own devices and decided to spend the day cleaning the house.  When you have Alaskan Malamutes that weigh close to 200lbs, your house NEVER stays tidy and organized. I didn’t think much about the situation until my dad called me around noon. He wanted to confirm a time for them to pick me up for our Christmas light tour.  I thought that was odd considering my dad rarely ever organizes those types of things; it’s always my mom. We agreed to 6:00 p.m. and went on about our business. 

5:00 p.m. December 19th 

John had returned home at this point and had ordered us dinner.  Due to the pandemic, we couldn’t do a typical “date night” so he did what he could to make it seem somewhat normal. My dad had texted me asking me to wear my hiking boots because my mom wanted to try a new photo experiment.  I, again, thought that was odd but went along with it.  I went ahead and got ready but because I don’t typically use any kind of blow dryer or heat when drying my hair, my hair wasn’t going to be dry in time to “fix” it. I asked John if I needed to sit in front of the furnace to try and dry my hair and he replied with “why? You’re only going to take photos with your parents.” I was still incredibly suspicious of him but he reassured me it would be fine.

 
6:00 p.m. December 19th 

My parents had arrived to pick me up and we started driving up and down streets checking out all the lights all while chatting about life.  I told them John was being super suspicious and sketchy but didn’t get the response I was expecting.  My dad couldn’t stop laughing about the situation and my mom kept changing the subject.  We kept driving in and out of neighborhoods and suddenly my parents started acting fishy. They were pulling over at random places and having me photograph things I wasn’t interested in.  Whenever I would turn around, they would be signaling to each other and if I asked what they were doing, they’d just blow it off.  

7:30 p.m. December 19th 

We arrive at Conwell Park and my dad is asking me to take photos of him and my mom in front of random trees. At this point, I’m still unsure of what their malfunction is as they were acting so weird. We walk over to this one particular tree in the middle of the park and after playing around with my lensball and taking a couple of shots of my parents, I notice a dark figure sitting under the gazebo. I thought it was weird that someone would sit there all by themselves at night, especially since it was so cold outside, but I quickly had to get over that as my dad pulled me in for some quick shots.  After all of this craziness, my parents start meandering towards the gazebo and I immediately knew what was happening. 

**Sorry for the dark quality of this image!  My camera wasn't cooperating for the "secret" photographer. 

FINALE

It was John.  The dark and awkward figure sitting under the gazebo was John. I knew the moment my parents started wandering over there that this was going down and it was right then and there. I instantly become nervous but I can’t even begin to imagine how John was feeling. We walked up to the gazebo and I sat down next to him on the bench. It was there that John got down on one knee and asked me to marry him! We were both so nervous and so cold that it will be something I remember for the rest of my life. We’ve been together for so long (7 years in November) and have been living like a married couple for close to 5 years. We knew this day would come, but I don’t think either of us knew exactly what to expect! 

So what happened next? We snapped a few photos before toasting with some hot cocoa, that surprisingly enough; my mom brought.  We celebrated with my parents for a bit before heading over to John’s parents’ house to share the good news. John knows me so friggin’ well and he knew that I didn’t want some over-the-top proposal with fireworks or in some public place with strangers clapping, but I did hope it would be in a meaningful, intimate setting with some element of surprise. He also knew that diamonds and dogs are a girls’ best friend and he did such a good job on the ring! I don’t own a ton of jewelry and have never regularly worn a ring so this is going to be an adjustment. It’s so wicked sparkly!!!!!!! 

So that’s my story and we’re sticking to it!  As I said, I’m still in a bit of shock, but I wanted to clue you guys in on our special news. I still feel pretty surprised and feel like I need to wrap my head around the fact that he’s no longer just my boyfriend.. he’s my fiancé.  

In terms of steps with wedding planning, I haven’t even begun to think about it! We’re taking it in day by day and enjoying time with each other and our families. 

We won’t be like Roy and Pam in The Office and be engaged for three years, but I don’t know that either of us is in a mad dash to “seal the deal.” We aren’t even sure what each other wants at a wedding so that’s a whole other thing to consider. 

We’ve had so many great adventures in our time together but I think this could be the best one yet! Thank you again for all of your warm wishes and love! 

Much love, 

P.S. I'm going to photograph the cr*p out of this ring so prepare for an influx of ring spam.