She said yes!

Andrea has asked that I tell about the proposal, so be prepared for my side, unabridged, unedited, and uncut:

Since the beginning of September when we both knew we were going to get married, I was constantly trying to come up with the most elaborate, romantic, and memorable plan of attack on how to propose. I was planning a proposal for someone who plans huge events for a living, so I knew I would be fighting an uphill battle. My first thought was to wait until Thanksgiving, use the increased excitement for the holidays, have family in town, the whole works. That plan was a quick fail as I realized once I bought the ring that I would not be able to wait until the end of November to ask her to marry me. Not only was it burning a hole in my pocket, then the filing cabinet at work, and finally tucked away in my desk at home, but Andrea was dressing up ever time we were together. I had invited her over to watch football on a Monday night; I was wearing my Chicago Bear's shirt, and a hoodie, and she was dressed to the T. I realized that she was getting antsy as well. My next plan was to propose at her Halloween party. Unconventional yes, but she had mentioned multiple times that this was one of her favorite holidays and she was eager to plan her party. This one failed as well, she decided to guess that I would propose then, so I had to come up with another idea. I knew she would instanly assume I would propose if I planned a romantic date, so I tried to plan another get together with our friends. I thought that a pumpkin carving contest would be fun, I could carve a heart into a pumpkin ahead of time and hang the ring through the middle, then switch that one out at end so she would have no idea it was coming. Her immediate reaction was to guess I would propose at this party as well, so I was, needless to say, shocked and being driven crazy!

Now to the actual proposal. Andrea and I had decided to stay up at her parent's house over the General Conference weekend. She has such a love for her family, and they all interact and get along so well, that I knew I would propose this weekend. I brought the ring, carefully hidden in my bag, and was wating until Sunday afternoon to pop the question. As that afternoon approached I was about as nervous as could be. I had secretly shown her mother and sister the ring already, and informed them and her father I was planning on proposing in the backyard. After the morning conference session we headed outside to the back porch, I was being quite careful not to hint or show any signs I was thinking of proposing or that I even had the ring with me, so I suggested that we take a nap on the hammock in the backyard. We sat out there and talked for a while. I asked if she was sure she wanted to spend an eternity with me, and hope she understood that if our children were anything like me, that we would be in for quite a ride. She reiterated that she in fact was in love with me and wanted to marry me, so I asked if she minded waiting for me to propose. I told her I wanted to let my parents have more time to soak in the idea, that I wanted to wait for them to meet her. I could tell her slight disappointment as she was hoping it would be much sooner than that. Then I told her I had thought about her family, how much I care and respect them, and I wanted them to be a part of when I propose. Little did she know that her sister was taking pictures of us from the back porch, and her father was watching for the moment as well. I slid off the hammock, got down on one knee, told her I loved her, then opened the ring box and asked for her to marry me. She looked shocked, and her first reaction was to ask.... "Really?". I confirmed that I was actually proposing, and that anything other than really would be a great answer right now. She said yes, and I slipped the ring on her finger. We meandered back to the porch where her Mother, Father, and sister Alayna were waiting to hear the offical news and see the ring on her finger.

Andrea

I feel the need to clear my name here. First, Adam kept challenging me to guess the date of when he would propose. I thought I was guessing the least likely times, but I guess my intuition is better than I thought. Lesson for Adam- Don't challenge me!

But Adam's plan to surprise me did work! I loved that it was romantic and private. I just wish I hadn't been wearing an old work shirt...