A very Peter and Sara proposal

Bottom line: I said yes.  And now we are engaged. 

And I AM SO EXCITED THAT I NEED TO WRITE IN ALL CAPS LOCK AND USE A LOT OF EXCLAMATION POINTS!!!!!!!!!!!  BECAUSE THAT'S HOW EXCITED I AM :D :D :D :D

There are two background stories that you need to know so that you can fully appreciate how wonderful my fiancé is.  And yes I love using the word fiancé.  LOVE.  And then after I say it, I get all giddy and smiley.  :)

Background story 1: The first move

In January 2008, Peter asked me on a date.  But he didn't just call me and ask me out.  He sent me a letter in the mail.  And the first page of that letter was a word search.  That he made.  All by himself.

I waited for TEN DAYS before I called Peter and told him... No (gasp, what?! I know.  I'm really cruel).  I was sorry, but I was not interested in going on a date with him.  It's truly a miracle that we are engaged today.  Especially because a few months after I told him no, I told him I was ready to go on a date, and he told ME no.  And then I went to Mexico.  And then nine months after the first move, we started dating.

Background story 2: The time I thought Peter was proposing but he wasn't

I kind of mentioned this in another blog post, but I didn't actually write the story because I was really embarrassed, but now that we're actually engaged, I can tell the story.  But it's still embarrassing.

Peter bought a car in August, and when he took me for a spin, he told me to open the center console because "there's a box in there".  So, I opened the center console, and I saw a little white light shining on THIS little box.

I know it's a little beat up - it's been through a lot.
And you can't tell in the pic, but it's glossy.  GLOSSY.  OBVIOUSLY
that means that there is a RING inside.

So, naturally, I started having a heart attack and blah blah blah I thought he was proposing to me, but it turned out being a box of candy.  After THAT little incident, I drilled it into my head that Peter was not going to propose to me for at least 3 years.  I truly believed that.  If you haven't heard it from my own mouth, then ask someone.  Because they know.

The main event

A few weeks ago, Peter told me that he wanted to go shopping on Black Friday.  Excuse me? I gently explained to him that shopping on Black Friday was worse than shopping on a Saturday, which he refuses to do.  But he was insistent.  And I really wanted to buy Christmas decorations for 50% off at Michaels.  So, on Black Friday, we went to Janesville, about 45 minutes from my parents' house.  And we shopped.

Actually, I shopped.  Peter didn't buy anything.  We ate lunch.  Then, we went to a movie at 2:10.  Mr. Cool, Calm, and Collected was being so cool, calm, and collected that I did not suspect a single thing all day.

After the movie, we were sitting in Peter's car in the parking lot.  I was on my phone, reading some texts that I had received while getting a little teared up at The Muppet Movie, many of which were from my sister because she was supposed to be getting Peter's Christmas present.  Anyways, the point is that I was paying no attention to Peter.

Peter: I'm hungry.

Sara: Seriously?  We JUST ate lunch like, 2 hours ago.

Peter:  Yeah, I'm hungry.

Sara: *shrug* texty texty texty

Peter started rummaging around in the car.

Sara: *glances up* What are you looking for?

Peter: Candy

Sara: *shrug* texty texty texty

Peter did not know that I had eaten all of the peppermints that were in the car.  I love candy.

Peter: Hey, is that little box of candy (reference background story 2) still in the car?

Sara: I don't know. texty texty texty

Peter opened the glove box.

Sara glanced up.

Sara: Pete, if it's still in here, it's in there.

Sara gestures to center console.  I did not know at the time that I was supposed to be all nicey nice and Oh, that box of candy that I thought you were proposing with on August 8th, love of my life?  My darling, that box is still in the center console!  Here, sweetheart, the box of candy if right here.

Sara was still texting away.  Peter opened the center console.  And then placed an envelope on my lap.

Sara: (Still oblivious) OH!  What's THIS surprise??

Then, I opened the envelope.  And unfolded the piece of paper that was inside the envelope.  And I saw this:

And I started crying.

Sara: OHMYGOD!  OH!MY!GOD!  I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS IS HAPPENING!!!  

And then I looked at Peter, and I saw this:

Obviously this picture was taken in my living room.
When Peter was proposing, he had it in his hands.
And he was smiling.  And getting teared up.
Because he loves me so much.
Not because I didn't say YES right away...

And then I started crying harder.

Peter: Will you marry me?
Sara: I WAS NOT EXPECTING THIS TO HAPPEN RIGHT NOW!  I WASN'T EXPECTING THIS FOR A LONG TIME!  I JUST CAN'T BELIEVE THIS IS HAPPENING!!
Peter:  ... Well?
Sara: YES!!!!!!!!! YESYESYESYESYESYESYES!!!!!!!!!

More crying.  A lot of laughing.  A TON of staring at the sparkly ring that was on my finger.

Sara: You asked my dad, right?
Peter: Yeah, I talked to your mom and dad.  And Laura was there too, and she nodded her head.  So that's good.
Sara: I HAVE TO CALL MY FAMILY.

So then, I called the house.  No one answered.  I tried 4 times.  No one answered.  And then I tried calling my mom.  STILL no answer.  Peter told me that they didn't know he was proposing today.  So naturally, they wouldn't be waiting by the phone for my call.  I came up with a BRILLIANT plan, since no one was answering their phones.  We were supposed to have dinner with my family when we got back from Janesville.  Instead of calling them, we would go home and SURPRISE EVERYONE THAT WE ARE ENGAGED!!!!! PERFECT PLAN!!!!  And I LOVE surprises!!

I called Jenna to tell her our exciting news because I didn't want her to feel left out, since I wasn't going to see her until Saturday.  It's shocking that she understood what I was saying, because I was screaming and crying into the phone.  After I got off the phone with Jenna, Peter said that we should stop at his parents' house first.

Peter: My parents know that I was proposing today.  Let's stop there first, and I'll drop off the wreaths anyway.
Sara: Are your parents even home right now?
Peter: I think my mom is.  I'm not sure about my dad though.  We can just stop by quickly, and then head to your parents house to surprise them.
Sara: OK!!!!!!  

The 45 minute car ride went by REALLY fast.  I couldn't stop staring at my ring, and I couldn't stop smiling.  And I kept getting teared up.  And then I would want to hug Peter, but I couldn't since he was driving, so I would latch on to his arm and just lay on his arm and tell him how happy and surprised I was.  And he would tell me to stop doing that because he was driving and he didn't want us to crash.

When we got to his parents' house, I was talking away (surprise!) about how excited I was to surprise MY family, and he was nodding and listening and thinking about how much he loves me.  As we pulled up the driveway, I saw his grandparents' car.  Then I saw my mom's car.  Then I saw Jenna and Mark's car...

Sara: *Crying.  Again.* Whaaaaaat?  I can't believe this!!!  THIS IS PERFECT!!!
Peter: ... surprise... 

I got out of the car and started jumping up and down.  And crying.  And hugging my fiancé.

We went up to the house and I just couldn't believe it.  Both of our families were waiting for us at his parents' house for a surprise engagement party.  There was more crying, more laughing, and a lot of hugging.  And I was sweating a lot.  We posed for pictures, we ate food, and we talked about how Peter planned the PERFECT proposal.

Throughout the night I was finding out more and more that a lot of people are a lot better at keeping secrets than I am.  Jenna went with for moral support when he picked out the ring... I was on speaker phone when I called her to tell her that I was engaged... Peter drove down to Lake Geneva and asked my parents' permission when I was in Colombia for a work conference... He kept the ring in a lock box at the bank... So many secrets...  And I never would have guessed.  At all.

So yes - Peter and I are engaged, and we are SO happy and excited to get married.  It's been a little over a week since he proposed, and I still can't believe it.  

Sigh.  Best. Thanksgiving. Ever.

FYI: WAY more sparkly in person!!!!!!!
(And although you can't tell in the picture - my nails are manicured)
(Yes I got a manicure less than 24 hours after I had a ring on my finger)
(EVERYONE IS LOOKING AT MY HANDS!!  I WANTED TO LOOK PRESENTABLE!!)

:D