True Love!

We are planning a wedding! On January 16, Ryan Nokes proposed to me and I very happily accepted!!! Our wedding is going to take place in the Washington DC temple on April 28, 2012. Ryan and I are both very excited and looking forward to spending the rest of forever together.

So here's the engagement story, though I think Ryan tells it better because he can explain all the thoughts going through his head when I threw him a curve ball! We both had the day off work and we'd done some shopping in the morning and then just finished lunch. Ryan asked me if there was anything I wanted to do that day and I told him I wanted to throw his brother's ninja throwing stars he'd received for Christmas (it sounded fun, and its harder than I expected!), but then I was cool with just hanging at his house, maybe reading a book or something. But then I said, "Oh, Dan, Karin, and Steve want to do a siblings FHE tonight, and of course you are invited too." Then I proceeded to tell him how I felt like it was important that we go because my brother was actually in town. So then quickly in his head he started trying to figure out how to make this all work because he had planned to propose that evening. 

So an hour or so later we were sitting on the couch and each reading our own book, when he put his book down and looked at me and said that he really wanted to ask my opinion on something, but didn't think he was supposed to. I asked him why, so he thought for a minute and said, "Well, this will ruin the surprise, but I was planning on proposing tonight." So then we talked out a little about our time constraints and decided we'd go out to dinner beforehand, and then he'd propose at some point, but that he would at least surprise me with when and where. He took me to Tuscarora Mill, which is a really nice restaurant in Leesburg, a cute historic town not too far from where he lives. After dinner Ryan was telling me how the place used to be an old mill and we were walking around trying to find the old mill wheel. He was thinking that would be a beautiful and romantic spot to propose, but we couldn't find it! So when he finished sharing his thoughts with me leading up to the question, we still hadn't his ideal location, but the place was picturesque anyways. Its a wooden building with a large wooden courtyard in the center surrounded by two levels of shops. The shops were all closed and so we were pretty much alone in the courtyard. 

The picture doesn't do it justice, but its a beautiful ring.

Of course I said yes! I am so happy to be engaged to such a wonderful man. I can't think of anything more wonderful than beginning a life together with someone I love so much who loves me in return.