The Best Day of My Life... as of yet.

Have you ever woken up and had to ask yourself if yesterday was a dream? That was the exact thought that ran through my head Saturday morning. I will explain why.

Well first, Friday was my birthday, (yay!) But it was very unlike all the other 22 birthdays I had experienced. First my roommates made me a delicious breakfast. And then Russ had left some surprises for me on the table, including a beautiful bouquet of roses. My mom happened to be in town, so we all went out to lunch with her at Mimi's Cafe. Yummmm!

Russ had told me he had "birthday things" planned for the rest of the day. So after lunch we rented a tandem bike and rode to one of our favorite parks. He then pulls out a poem and I naively sit back and listen until at the end he pops the question. Yes, THE question. He pulls out the most beautiful ring in the world from his backpack--I'm still in shock. Here we are, 3:00 in the afternoon in a park on my birthday, and Russ is asking me to marry him. It was perfect. And here's the best part... I SAID YES!

The rest of the day seemed like a big blissful blur. We sat down for a while to try and soak it all in, but even now it still hasn't quite sunk in. Russ then took me to dinner at Thai Ruby, a restaurant we had went to on one of our first dates. Later that night he threw me a surprise party where we celebrated with some close friends and family. Everything was perfect. I loved being able to spend one of the happiest days of my life with the people I love the most.

So that's it folks. I'M GETTING MARRIED! I have never smiled so much in my life. Today in Relief Society when I announced that I was engaged, a few girls said "to WHO???" So... for those who aren't quite clear on how this whole shebang got started, here's a quick synopsis. If you're bored with this post by now, you can stop reading, I won't be offended.

We met last semester... at a yogurt shop and then at Halloween party (I was a black cat and he was a computer). I have also been friends with his sister, Natalie, since she lived in the Enclave last year and we have some close mutual friends. So she is our matchmaker. We owe her for eternity. Dating Russ felt like the most natural, comfortable thing I have ever done--for lot's of reasons. I'm always happy when I'm with him. He is from Albuquerque, New Mexico, but his family now lives in Highland. I love his family. He is graduating this week from BYU with his Masters in Information Systems, and has a job with Ernst & Young starting in September in San Antonio, Texas. So for those who know MY situation, I am no longer moving to San Francisco. Come September I will have taken on the new name of Lewis and will be living in Texas. It's crazy the turns your life can take so quickly. You may never know why you felt so prompted to make some decisions--but I can attest that everything happens for a reason.

So... in closing, he asked, and I said "yes!" Russ and I will make it official on July 25th at the Draper Temple. Stay tuned, you faithful readers, you.