Darren and I started talking about marriage sometime in August. We even picked out a ring and everything! The last Sunday in August, Darren had the wonderful opportunity to ask for my fathers blessing in our marriage. The date was picked, I may have even been dress browsing, and the ring was on its way. Everything was coming along great! Now, I had no idea when Darren was planning on proposing. I knew the ring had been shipped, even knew he had it sized and everything. But...my sneaky husband teamed up with my best friend Jessica and between the two of them, they came up with a plan to confuse me.
You see...Sept 10, Darren and I were heading to Utah for the weekend to visit some of his friends and David and Jess. And I was sure he was going to propose then. He went so far as to be constantly texting Jessica with me right there so I would KNOW that Jess knew something. They even had a 'fake' text conversation about how he was going to propose in Utah up the Provo Canyon. Now these two really had me confused..and I was sure that Darren was planning on proposing in Utah. So what happened next, I never expected...
Friday, September 4th - That morning I had a job interview bright and early. Then Darren picked me up because we were going to Flagstaff. The trip was so we could visit some cousin of his who traveled a lot with his work and happened to be up the mountain at the time. Darren said that this cousin probably wouldn't be able to make it to the wedding so he wanted me to meet him while I had a chance. You would think I'd be suspicious at this point, right? Well, WRONG! Clueless...
The whole drive up, I think I slept. For those that know me and car rides, or just know me, you know I like to sleep. So that's what I did. And since I was asleep the whole time, I didn't even realize that we weren't headed to Flagstaff, the GPS said "Snowflake, AZ". Well, by the time I woke up from my long snooze, we were already there. I remember waking up and Darren saying "So, we're ahead of schedule and have some time to kill." I looked out the window and saw the Snowflake Temple. Now..it's a good thing I don't really know Arizona very well or else it would have hit me that..hey! Snowflake and Flagstaff are TWO HOURS away from eachother! So..here I am, still clueless.
We got out of the car and started towards the temple. I remember the parking lot was empty. Now, I don't mean five or ten cars kind of empty, I mean emtpy. Not a single car in the parking lot and not a single person in the temple empty. Apparently there are only two sessions at the Snowflake Temple - morning and evening - so 1:00 pm, perfect time for a stroll around the temple grounds. So we walked in the gate and I saw a picnic and a dozen red roses set up under a tree. Now here's where it gets very blonde on my part...I see this and say to Darren "Aww, look. Someone's having a picnic." CLUELESS! Darren laughed and said "Hmm...well, isn't that weird. Hey, I think the picnic's on our blanket." And that, ladies and gents, it when it hit me. He wasn't proposing in Utah, he was proposing right then!
So we sat down for lunch and had a wonderful picnic. For Darren, a subway sandwich, one of his favorites. And for me...all of my favorites! For the main course, Golden Grahams. For the drink, a nice cold Dr. Pepper. And for dessert, a brown and vanilla ice cream! Does he love me or what? It was a delicious meal. Afterward we finished eating, we went on a stroll around the temple till he found the perfect spot to propose. And let me tell you, it was the perfect spot. You see, in the front of the Snowflake Temple is a beautiful waterfall. And over that waterfall is this little walkway - or bridge if you will. See below:
So while on that little bridge over the beautiful waterfall, Darren got on one knee and proposed! And of course, I said yes! It was a happy day and the whole drive home was filled with phone calls telling everyone the news. I have an amazing husband who made that day so very special. Thanks so much Darren! Here's a picture we took as we drove away from the temple.
P.S. For all those out there wondering as I was, Darren's brother and sister-in-law, Nate and Lalani drove up a few minutes before us and set up the wonderful picnic. Thanks so much for being willing to do that! Such a wonderful surprise.
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