An Engagement

I don't even know where to begin!  My heart is so overwhelmed and bursting with love!  Today I was even told I was radiating love. :)  I can't hide my excitement or emotion over the fact that my best friend has chosen me to spend the rest of his life with.  Honored is the only place I know to start.

Our day was absolutely perfect and it was such a wonderful display of who we are and what our love is about.  Little did I know, Mike had actually planned on proposing the weekend before, but work kept me from an afternoon in the forest with him.  I had no idea what I was really missing out on!  So we planned on making it up this past weekend.  Mike had already planned a picnic just north of the Peaks in a place that has meant a lot to me the past several years, and it's actually the place I plan to have our wedding ceremony.  I knew we were going to do one of our yearly photo shoots so getting ready and bringing a camera wasn't anything out of the ordinary for us.  When we got out to the aspen grove Mike had forgotten the tripod for the camera and had to go back to the car.  As he was walking away he told me, "And don't look in the cooler."  My first thought was, "Oh right, because there's going to be a ring box sitting right on top!"  So I assumed he must have packed one heck of a picnic and is set on it being a surprise.  So I got to work on finding the perfect shaded area for our picnic.  

We set up our picnic and took a few detail shots.

We brought my absolute favorite bottle of sparkling wine, Francis Coppola Sophia.  The label really says it all for me!

I love this picture and the look on Mike's face was priceless!  The cork had shot straight up into the air.

I love this, I had no idea what was coming!

We actually turned the camera off for awhile after this shot and just sat, talked, and ate.  Right before Mike turned the camera back on, I had actually started talking about how much him and my dad mean to me.  I was telling him how they are the two most important people in my life, I go to them first with all of my successes and when I need a shoulder to cry on.  I think the thing that makes me love the two of them is how accepting they have always been of me.  I'm truly a lucky girl!  While giving my monologue to Mike, he had gotten up and turned the camera back on.  Again, I still had no idea.  Even when he sat back down and started to tell me how much he loved me.  I've had a few people laugh when I tell them this next:  I really didn't expect anything big when Mike started to tell my how much he loves me.  This is something we say to each other on a daily basis.  There hasn't been a day that's gone by where we haven't expressed just how much we love each other.  Saying this aloud to people has just been another confirmation of what a truly special relationship we have.  Back to the story....I'm a little fuzzy from here on out with what Mike said because as he was telling me how much I mean to him, I noticed he was staring down at his hands.  When I looked down I saw he was holding the ring and I'll let the following pictures explain.

This is when I realized, "Oh my gosh, he's holding a ring!"

I'm pretty sure this is when I kept repeating, "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh."

This is about the time I started crying and said yes!

I was shaking pretty good at this point.

 I think this is the point where I realized, "No, you're not dreaming this is really happening."

We took a few more moments to pull ourselves together, I got a chance to ask him about his conversation with my dad.  Which I will just say, was supportive and amazing!  After that we did a little photo shoot to celebrate what was truly an amazing day.  Here are some of my favorites from the day!

I look forward to sharing so much more with all of you and having you all there every step of the way through the next part of our journey.  Mike and I are so very grateful for all of our family and friends and from the bottom of our hearts, thank you so much for all of the love and support.