The Proposal: Scott's Story

As promised - here is the whole story of the #Scari proposal from Scott's point of view. Look at the length of my story and then look at the length of his. Clearly, I am a woman and he is a man. 

Also, if you read yesterday's post, today's post and then go look at the photo album on my Facebook, you'll definitely feel like you were there with us.

           When the time came to think about a proposal, I had to figure out something that would be a total surprise to Kari.  Since she is quite intuitive I had to be a little sneaky and use some resources that would help me pull it off.  I had an idea of what I wanted to do, and just needed someone to be the perfect accomplice.

            One day before I planned on proposing, I called Jay Marks, Kari’s boss.  There were a couple times that Jay had reached out to me letting me know that he is happy to help with a proposal.  I let Jay know what I wanted to do and asked for Kari to have half of the day off, and he sprang into action.  Throughout the day I got phone calls with updates on what he was thinking or what would work best. 

            The next day I met Jay at nine at Circle R Ranch where we scoped out the location for the big event.  Right from there I left to go pick up the ring.  When I got there, it wasn’t finished.  All the blood in my body drained to my toes.  One quick phone call to Jay and he told me that he would go pick it up for me. LIFE SAVER. It all became VERY real. 

            I drove back from Arlington and went straight to Kari’s office to meet her for lunch.  We went to Z Grill and had a great time talking and relaxing (while I silently freaked out).  I had reserved tickets at the Perot Natural Science Museum, Kari and I had always wanted to go.  While at the museum I got a text from my mom saying that my baby brother, Andrew, got his mission call. This was a great way to disguise my nervousness.  We finished at the museum a lot faster than I expected, so it was time for me to stall.  I drove us across the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge in Dallas. Thankfully there was a lot of traffic coming back, since I had to be at Circle R at seven o’clock, and not a second sooner.  

            We stopped at Kari’s parents house for a nap and a Coke (one was desperately needed) for a little more time.  The clock struck seven and the moment had arrived! My tactic for heading toward the ranch was to get some leftover food at Kari’s office for dinner.  While driving I said, “let’s check out Circle R and see what’s going on.” I pulled in and drove up the long and winding path.  As I kept on following the driveway, Kari kept saying “Ok stop, you don’t know what’s going on here.”  We rounded the corner and we saw a table set up with lights and flowers.  Then Kari got more insistent “Stop! Something is happening! We can’t be here! Stop!”  I told her “Maybe we should go and see what is happening.” That’s when it clicked. 

            I walked her down to the table, the ring was set out, flowers, pizza, and candles.  That’s when it all became a blur.  I managed to say how I felt, and found myself on one knee.  After she said “YES!” we walked around the lawn, looked at the pond and took in the beautiful surroundings.  Little did Kari know, Jay was in a tree with his long-range zoom lens, taking pictures of the amazing night. 

            From there we dashed home, watched my brother open his call, and jumped on the phone to let everyone know WE ARE GETTING MARRIED!

The Proposal: From My Perspective

Scott and I have each written the story of the proposal from our individual perspectives. Mine obviously talks a lot about how I had no clue what was going on and his is all about planning the momentous occasion.

Today I'm sharing my version of the story so that Scott can have time to edit his version a little bit more. So, here's The #Scari Proposal according to Kari. (It's a little long so... sorry.)

Weeks before the actual proposal, I had been patiently pestering Scott about whether he was actually going to do it or not. I kept saying I was going to be really patient, but I don’t think I actually was.

It was the week of Easter and Good Friday so we knew that Scott had Friday off and I was going to be working, so Scott and I had made plans for him to come have lunch with me during the day and then we’d do something together that night after I got off work.  Thursday I got a call from Jay, my boss, telling me that he usually takes all of Good Friday off but since we’d been so busy, he could only give me the afternoon off. I gladly accepted and immediately texted Scott to let him know that I could leave to play with him after lunch.

That night I went over to Scott’s place before we headed to see Beauty & The Beast downtown and we were discussing what we were going to do the next day now that I had the afternoon off. He told me he was thinking about going to the Perot Museum in Dallas because we had always talked about going – and then promptly followed up that actually we were definitely  going because he had already bought tickets. That was my first hint that this was a different kind of date because usually Scott is not so great at making decisions all by himself. But I vowed to not get my hopes up.

When we got back from the musical that night, I asked Scott if he was going to sleep in the next morning before he came to lunch with me and he said that he wasn’t and was probably going to wake up and clean up his apartment – the second clue that something weird was happening. Scott ALWAYS sleeps in – LATE.

The next morning I woke up and was getting ready for work and I kept thinking, “What if today is the day? What if he proposes to me today?” But I kept telling myself not to get my hopes up. Although that didn’t stop me from dressing in a cute outfit just in case. I actually even said a prayer that morning that I wouldn’t be sad or mad if he didn’t propose that day. Truth.

I was so excited all morning for Scott to come meet me. He walked in my office a little before noon and we headed to lunch and then off to the Perot. I was EXTREMELY sleepy the whole time we were walking around the museum and desperately needed a nap. While we were there, Scott got a text that his little brother, Andrew, received his mission call and would be opening it that night. So, here's a fun fact about Scott - when he gets nervous or stressed, his palms get quite sweaty, and his palms were SWEATY the whole rest of the day, but I obviously attributed it to his brother’s mission call.

After we were finished at the museum, Scott offered to drive me across the super cool bridge in downtown Dallas that I had never driven across. I just thought he was feeling super tender that day and didn’t really think much more about it. Then we headed back to my parents’ house to hang out before going to grab some leftovers I had in the fridge at the office for dinner. I took a nap while he drove us home and apparently was frantically texting my parents letting them know that nothing had happened yet so not to say anything when we got to the house.

Scott told me we could head back to the office at promptly 7:00 to pick up our leftovers, so that’s what we did. While we were driving, I was feeling extremely mushy and kept saying things like, “You’re so perfect. You’re the greatest boyfriend. I’m so glad you’re dating me.” Scott joked later that he thought maybe I was trying to propose to him – guess it wouldn’t have surprised anyone.

 We were driving by Circle R Ranch (which I had looked at previously that week as a possible reception venue) and Scott asked me if I would want to drive in and look at it real quick. I agreed, so he turned in and we started driving back to look at the buildings. I was giving him a tour from the car and he just kept driving back like he owned the place. And I was yelling at him, “Ok, stop! Something is probably happening! We can’t just keep driving back here!” But he just kept going.

Then we got back to the little reception building and there was a beautiful table set up in front of the pond with flowers and candles set up. Scott asked me if I wanted to get out and look and I said, “No! Something is clearly happening!” He looked at me and said, “I think we should go look.” I said, “NO!” And he said, “No, I REALLY think we should go look at it.” Then it donned on me and I obliged.

As soon as we stepped out of the car door, I knew it was coming. And then I saw the ring sitting on the table and I had no doubts. I don’t remember much of what he said (some “I love yous” and things about how I’m perfect for him and make him so happy), but I remember loving him so much and feeling so overwhelmed. It was the craziest out-of-body experience I’ve ever had. I totally felt like I was watching someone else’s life. Definitely felt like it was straight out of a movie.

We sat down and chowed down on some of my favorite pizza that Jay had picked up for us and popped some sparkling grape juice. Oh, did I mention Jay Marks had a lot to do with our engagement? So much so that he was hiding in the bushes and trees taking pictures of the whole thing (you guys have seen about 35 of them - there are 700 pictures in total).  I realized this was probably happening about halfway through eating my pizza, so I spent the rest of the time trying to find him.

            After enjoying a few moments to ourselves and after Jay and his wife popped out to say hello and congratulations, we quickly hurried home to watch Andrew open his mission call and spent the rest of the weekend announcing our news and “engagement-mooning.” It was awesome. And so perfect. I couldn’t believe that Scott surprised me like he did. He totally pulled one over on me and I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect or special moment.

Engaged.

First of all, I'm sorry that I haven't posted anything since December. I know my 3 loyal followers are highly disappointed in my lack of posting.

Secondly, in case you live under a rock and haven't seen my flood of pictures - I got engaged this past weekend! The full proposal story is coming later - I need Scott to write up his contributing part to the story first. So, sorry - that's not what you're getting here.

I just need to tell you that being engaged is weird and is a flood of all kinds of emotions. Let me just fill you in on what my life has been like since Friday morning, the day of the proposal.

That day I woke up thinking, "It COULD happen today. No, it won't. But maybe... No. He won't propose today. But what if he does? What should I wear just in case? Don't get your hopes up. Don't get mad at him or be too sad if it doesn't happen today."

Then throughout the entire day, I was just totally clueless. Scott was freaking out on the inside and I had no idea what was going on.

Then we get to the proposal site and I still have no clue what's going on and I'm yelling at Scott that we can't just help ourselves to walk around the place! And then... it donned on me.

  

Then I was full of a whole flood of emotions - joy, surprise, shock, awe. I couldn't believe he successfully pulled one over on me. And the moment couldn't have been more perfect.

  

And since that day, I find myself crying all the time, gushing, smiling constantly... it's seriously so weird.

 

And I'm also freaking out that I now have to start making all these decisions. You know how I am about making decisions.

 

The best though is when you forget for a brief moment that you are engaged and then your sparkly ring catches your eye....

Sorry - I got distracted for a minute there.

No, but seriously -  being engaged is the greatest. And not to get too sappy here but I absolutely cannot wait to spend the rest of my life with Scott. He's my best friend and I can't ask for anything better than that. We're so happy and we're so grateful for all of the love and support and congratulations we've received in the past couple days.

 

 

The Paths We Take

It's hard to believe that it was exactly a year ago that my life took an unexpected and drastic twist. I was happily working at my first big-kid job in Dallas when I was suddenly laid off. WHAT?? I mean, seriously - my first job. 2012 was a year - let me tell you. And this was the cherry on top of an incredibly heinous year.

I remember going home that night and just thinking, "What in the world do I do now?" I had no clue where to start. I was so confused. I couldn't stop crying. I had a few, "Why me?" moments. And so Heavenly Father and I had MANY conversations about why it was happening to me.

And I was mostly really sad. I felt ashamed. I didn't want anyone to know. I felt like a failure. I couldn't even keep my first job. What did that mean I was meant to do? Was I not as capable as I thought I was? I felt like I was a huge disappointment - to my parents, my professors, my former co-workers. Etc., etc., etc. There was a lot of self-doubt going on.

But looking back I see how blessed my life has been because Heavenly Father redirected my path. I'm a planner and I usually don't do well with subtle promptings to make changes in my life, so Heavenly Father has to go to the extremes with me. I LOVED my job, but because of that, I was leaving hardly any time for anything else. Yes, I was happy. But I could have been even happier. I didn't fully understand what I was missing out on.

So even in the 6 months of job-searching (which was grueling and awful and I'm so glad it's over), I was SO happy. Because I had been forced to re-prioritize my life. I was doing the things I should have been doing all along and it was making all the difference in the world.

I had the opportunity to meet people and develop relationships and learn things about myself that I never would have if Heavenly Father had allowed me to continue down the path I was on. So while it was hard and depressing and wearing at times, I'm so grateful that I got knocked down a little bit. That I was humbled so that I learned to rely on my Heavenly Father again. That I was given the opportunity to become teachable. And trust me - I took the opportunity to learn all the lessons in store for me.

Nobody really WANTS trials and tribulations in their life, but they are necessary for our growth and development. God loves us so he allows things to happen in our lives for us to become better versions of ourselves. I couldn't be more grateful for the gospel in my life that allows me to have that perspective and for church leaders, parents, friends, etc. that help me through the trials in my life.

2012 sucked. 2013 has been awesome. And I cannot wait to see what 2014 has in store.

Santa's Coming! I Know Him!

As soon as November 1st hits, this is pretty much what happens to me:

It's time for Christmas, it's time for Christmas, IT'S TIME FOR CHRISTMAS!

All I want to do is bake delicious things - with apples and pumpkin and all the most unhealthy foods you can imagine.

And the answer is yes. I have already started listening to my Christmas playlist - and I'm not ashamed to say it!!!! (If you find you have problems making it through your days - Christmas playlists will work wonders in your life. Srsly.)

I also turn into this shopping monster (yes, worse than the rest of the year) because I LOVE buying Christmas presents!

But come on - this is SERIOUSLY the greatest time of the year. With the parades and the lights and the trees and the weather and the coats and scarves and boots and gloves. OH MY GOSH. I LOVE CHRISTMAS. To those of you who don't feel the same way....

And to all the rest of you - I know it's only November and we still have one more holiday to go (I do also love Thanksgiving for the record) but....

 Santa is real, y'all. 

Feelings.

I'm not sure what's going on. I'm just feeling a lot lately.

I feel like everyone is married but me...

But I also feel really happy. Because I love love.

And I also love fall - so that makes me happy too.

But sometimes I still find myself crying about the most inappropriate things at the most inappropriate times...

And one of two things happen when I start to feel sad...

#1:

#2:

Is this what happens when you get older? No one warned me about this... This sucks.

Syncin.

This is my new favorite game. Srsly friends, this is going to happen at some point in the near future. Also, I love this video for several reasons.

#1: I have a big crush on Jimmy Fallon.

 

#2: JGL's suit is FAB.

#3: It reminds me of when John Krasinski and Jimmy had their lip sync-off (click here).

#4: "Take on Me" is one of my all-time fave 80s jams.

#5: JGL doing "Super Bass" at the end - 'nuff said.