ENGAGED!!!!!

For those of you close to me, you all know the dashingly handsome boy I've been dating for a few, well, years. Well his New Year's Resolution for 2012 to propose was completed at midnight!!! What a stud :)
He was calm, collected, and head-over-heels romantic and I of course was hysterically freaking out and jumping up and down the entire time!
The night before I had been talking to Kara about the anticipation of it all...

It was a fun day in Salt Lake City. I didn't expected anything out of the ordinary because we had celebrated their last year so it had just become a tradition. We first went to a movie- surprise!! LES MIS!! It was excellent. Who knew all those actors could sing? Some were a bit nasally for my taste, but the live sound was exquisite and moving. The story line was inspired and Marius was my favorite vocalist. Overall, it was a glorious surprise to witness!
We thought it was really hilarious.. trying to find a parking spot. Where do we go??

And then when we finally found one.. it was fate!!

You know.. Q13... 2013... so, awesome!! Just so you're aware it was freezing.. well below freezing. . . like NEGATIVE TWELVE give you a real brain freeze, freezing. So of course we went outside to look at the lights. We went through the visitor's center. We've been a few times but each time I always realize more and more how long and taxing that would've been to build the temple in the desert for forty years. It sounds like the Book of Mormon almost! We also watched videos on the various rooms inside the temple. Granite spiral staircases and furniture dating wayyy back? It is all so amazing! If I didn't love and cherish Logan so much, we would probably get married in Salt Lake. So, like I said, a tour (quick tour) around the lights and then we were definitely ready to go shopping at City Creek!
But, problem... everything was closed! Oh well.... We wandered the beautiful mall for an hour or so and realized the thought process and beauty and awesomeness of that mall. Seriously, the church is amazing. That block of downtown is like an upscale gala all the time, it's nice to have the borders of the temple be surrounded by something beautiful as well. It adds to the peacefulness. Especially when it's dark and quiet and not many people are around :) So, even in the covered portion of the mall (which is GENIUS), it was still very cold. I had like 7 layers on (literally) so I didn't feel it as much, but I'm pretty sure Tim was frozen to the bone. So we travelled to the Joseph Smith Memorial Building for hot chocolate. On our way we stopped to see the candy windows at Macy's-- so impressive!!

Apparently they also had fun entertainment there. (When we arrived, some kids were acting out the Muppet Movie- so darling!)
At the Nauvoo cafe we picked up two hot chocolates and a holiday cookie- the perfect snack before our late dinner at 9:00. We watched Polynesian Dancers and it was incredible to see them move so quickly and with such excitement. That's always been a culture I was fascinated by and wanted to be a part of more. It was pretty awesome. These cute kids came and sat by us. The place was packed (I'm sure because it was the minimal warm thing to do) and I actually shed a few layers in the process. It was nearing 9, so we decided to check out the roof per Timothy's request. I had no idea exactly what time it was, but everything was so calm and regular- I just sort of went with the flow.
The temple was beautiful.

It was amazing to see how much it stood out. The roof was amazing! Tim told me he was gonna use the restroom and then we'd go... "Okay." I was mesmerized by the view. And then... HE CAME BACK WITH A BUZZER! We were EATING at THE ROOF RESTAURANT! So impressive! That was my first very small inclination that tonight might be different. (He had told me he was meeting with Dave Love Wednesday so I assumed he didn't have the ring yet.) Oooo it was FABULOUS. I felt like a queen! Everyone was soooo nice! They took our coats, which felt a little silly because mine was 15 lbs heavier full of stuff, and we were both in jeans... oh well.
There was live music- a pianist I just LOVED! She played everything from Coldplay to Jon Schmidt to Debussy. It was beautiful. The rolls were my favorite. I had about 3 or 4. The honey butter whipped nicely sitting in the middle of the table looked like a bowl of whipped cream (which seemed very, very odd until they told us what it actually was). I stuck with water because drinks always make me too full and I couldn't risk it with a buffet! Tim ordered a "Roof Sunrise" Cranberry Orange drink. Yummy! The buffet was to die for! Unlimited shrimp (I think Tim had at least 40), fish, prime rib you could cut with a fork, honey ham, mashed potatoes, fresh fruit (that was still actually very fresh and flavorful) and two tables chalk full of desserts (mostly pastries, cakes, creme brulee, cheesecake, chocolate mousse.. that sort of thing).
Anyway, the whole setting was delightful. They gave us decorations (a black bowler hat and a feather for me with fake pearls). Everything was alive with New Year's Eve excitement! We stayed until about 11 or so and then headed out to the reflection side of the temple, where we were last New Year's. It was gloriously beautiful and painfully cold. At least it kept us close together! There weren't so many people out there. A nice couple took our picture on the stone. It was great. I kept wanting to be under the red orange trees I saw in the corner... they looked so cozy and warm. And when we walked over, we convinced ourselves it was true. He kept asking me things like, "Are you sure you want to spend the rest of your life with me?" Of course. Of course I'm sure. I've been sure for at least six months! :) So with him asking me things like that, I started to be sure he didn't have the ring. It wasn't happening tonight. I kept trying to pull out my phone to check the time and finally set a reminder with Siri. I pulled it out once more: 11:59! "One minute!!" I said! Then ten seconds later it was midnight! Oh! Midnight!! I turned to him to kiss him at midnight and he was down on one knee with a very shiny box- it was all lit up! It sparkled so much I could hardly see the ring. He said something to the effect of "I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?" AT this point I had literally jumped a full three steps backwards and was close to hyperventilating. I was screaming and jumping... a lot. I said yes. And he had to prompt me, "Well come over here!" I whispered yes into his ear again. And he's like, well put it on! (I kept trying to hand the ring back to him." I put it on and OH! How it sparkled! It was BEAUTIFUL. the ring sides swirled with little tiny diamonds and it fit my finger! A first for engagement rings (I am probably like a 4.5 ring size). A random group of girls screamed congratulations as they ran past and our night was complete.

We raced back to our car and I kept staring at my hand- I was so off balance and once we got in the car, we both looked at each other and had a moment of exhaustion. He confessed to having the ring since the 21st, and I was at a loss for words at all. We had promised to just be engaged and enjoy it with each other for at least an hour before starting the string of calls to family and friends. His parents knew about it and were close to dying, so we made an exception 45 minutes in. What was I supposed to do? Call my mom at 3am? I decided to just hold off until the next day which was wonderful. We kept saying, "we're engaged! We're getting married! We're in love" like it almost didn't feel real.

So far, that night was the happiest day and night in my life. And the next day was very long. Tim moved out of his apartment and my phone was dead by 7:00 because I was on it every five seconds telling the story and hearing the screams! It was lovely. So now is the big question of when? Well, we still aren't sure. But we are set on LOGAN. and it will probably be THIS SUMMER. At any rate, we cannot WAIT! It is going to be amazing!