In 2016, we both got home from our missions. I got home the day after Brandan... and yes, we took that as a sign ;) We took a few days to see our families and get over jet lag before we saw each other. Brandan had asked if he could come pick me up for a date. I was crazy excited but also a bit nervous, we had only talked through email for two years and we had both grown and changed a lot. My tummy was filled with butterflies all morning, I heard a knock on the door and my stomach dropped. I went and opened it and there he was!! He was real! He wasn't a dream or made up or a computer screen. It was incredible! We hugged and were both SO excited to be back together, it was such an awesome reunion.
As soon as we got in the car we were holding hands. It seriously felt like nothing had changed, we hadn't been together in two years but it felt like we had seen each other a few days earlier. We ended up just getting drinks at Swig and going to a park where we just caught up on what had happened for two years. It felt surreal! We had kissed by the end of our first date home ;) Two weeks later, we moved down to Southern Utah to start school. A few weeks after that, we decided we wanted to spend our lives together.
Photo Credit: Lindsey Johnson
By October, we had a ring picked out and I knew he was planning on proposing any day now. He had already talked to my dad and we were having the ring sized. We were up north for the weekend. Brandan had told me that he didn't have the ring yet but I had my suspicions ;) He picked me up and we drove to a park that was walking distance from our high school. It has a beautiful walking trail and we had spent a lot of time there in high school going on walks, playing soccer, and hanging out with friends so it was a special place for us. Bright orange, yellow, and red leaves surrounded us and there was a crisp breeze. We walked, hand in hand until we reached the top where he had timed it perfectly so we arrived at sunset (we are both obsessed with sunsets.) It was just us there so it was peaceful and quiet. The trail is on a hill, one side overlooks a gorgeous golf course while the other looks over a golden field and the purple Utah mountains. Brandan asked me what my favorite memory of us was and we spent several moments reminiscing. When I asked him he said, "I have so many favorite memories of us but I think this one will be my favorite." He turned, got down on one knee, pulled out the ring box and asked me to marry him. Of course I said YES!! It was definitely the easiest and best decision of my life. We hugged and kissed and then he lead me to roses and a note he had hidden close by. We finished the night off by eating at Olive Garden where Brandan told everyone who would listen that we were engaged :)
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