New Blog

Ryan and I have started a new blog:

www.ryanbrittney.blogspot.com

Engagements

Here are just a few from the many engagement pics.  If you really want to see more, you can let me know and I'll email you the snapfish photo album of them all.  (Thanks to Lisa and Brandon for taking the pics!)

We're engaged!!!

Hello family and friends!

Last night, Saturday November 1, 2008, Ryan proposed!  And I said yes! So we're now engaged to be married on Saturday, May 2nd, 2009 in the Salt Lake City temple.  Since we had so many people to call and so little time, we promised an email or blog update with all of the details and pictures!  So, here it goes...

I got a call from Ryan at 7:30 am on Saturday morning.  Normally I am up and at 'em at that time but it was still so dark outside, which threw me off!  So being all warm and cozy in bed, I ignored the first two calls but finally picked up the third one.  Ryan told me to go open my front door and when I did, he gave me a letter and left for class.  It was really sweet and had lot's of fun memories of when we first met.  At the end it described the rest of the day:

"At the top of each hour today there will be an envelope to open.  Each envelope has the time that it is to be opened in the top left hand corner.  With some of the envelopes there may be a gift that goes with it as well.  Read the main part of the card and then open the gift.  I hope that as we go through today we will be able to enjoy reminiscing about all the fun things we have been able to do over the past year!"

So at 8 am I opened the first card, which had fun memories from last November when we first met and started dating.  It also included a picture from last November.  At 9 am, it described December and had a picture from last December.  At 10 am it was memories from January with a picture from last January and so on.....It was really fun to anticipate what was coming at each hour!  Some of the gifts that went along with the memories were: 

-a CD with a compilation of great songs that we love to listen to (with November's card to start us off)

-a big container of Stephen's Chocolate Mint Truffle hot chocolate mix (with the December card when he introduced me to eating toast with hot chocolate)

-a cocoa-latte hot chocolate maker (with February's card b/c we kept borrowing one from people when it was freezing cold)

-a gift card for a pound of chocolate at See's Candies (with March's card about Easter)

-a gift card to Coldstone Creamery (with April's card since we made waffle bowls and homemade ice cream that month)

-a really cute/funny poem about our trips to Cleveland, NYC, and Chicago (with May's card since we would always write random hilarious poems and stories to each other while I was gone in Africa).

-a really great cookbook (with July's card b/c Ryan flew out to visit me in Chicago and we went to the "Taste of Chicago")

-a bag of caramels (with September's card b/c that's when we made amazing caramel apples)

Ryan and I had spent the whole day together just hanging out and having fun, as usual (yeah, so much for getting ANY homework done that day... oh well, I enjoyed the distractions!)  In the evening, we went to the Cheesecake factory for dinner and dessert--which was incredibly good.

After that, we drove up to Salt Lake City and walked around downtown since it was the most beautiful, and surprisingly warm, fall night.  Since Ryan works in the Zion's Bank building, we thought it would be neat to see if we could go up to the top floor (18 stories high).  His pass worked, so Ry and I went all the way up and looked out over all of SLC and it was absolutely beautiful!! 

Ryan then suggested that we go back to visit my parents (who are in the Sugarhouse Park area).  On our way, I asked Ryan if he thought it would be really pretty in the park with all of the leaves and such.  When he responded that he had never been to Sugarhouse Park, I insisted that we stop there really fast. (Side note: Ryan's plan all along was to go there, so I just helped him set it up smoothly).  Then, we parked under a street lamp and got out.  All of a sudden Ryan "remembered" that it was 8 pm and time for the last card.  It read:

"Britt, We have come full circle now.  From 8 this morning to 8 tonight.  From November of 2007 to November of 2008.  Let's take the ends, tie them together, and make this an eternal circle.  This adventure will not just be for one day or one year, but will be continuous, everlasting, eternal.  I love you Britt!  Love, Ryan" 

Then he gave me a dozen roses, got down on one knee and popped the question... along with a VERY sparkly and pretty ring (how could I say no to that?!? haha)!

Then we had fun calling/visiting friends and family the rest of the evening (especially since NO ONE, not even our parents, had any clue about this except for us).  Since I picked out the ring and knew he had it, Ryan replaced the "surprise" element with "anticipation," which made the whole day SO FUN!!!  I could not have asked for a better day (the events, the weather... everything)!!!  Thanks to everyone for being so excited for us and for supporting us!