It's a Love Story--Baby, just say YES!!!

I'M ENGAGED!! First things first:




Ryan asked me to marry him on my birthday! It actually turned out to be a funny story because the entire time, I thought he was breaking up with me...

Ryan and I met my first year teaching in Nephi. He coaches football there, and saw my picture in the paper. He started bugging his coach buddies, who knew me, to hook us up. We dated off and on for the last couple of years, and I would always just tell people that he was my best friend, and that "I didn't like him like that..." (Even though those entire 2 years, my mom and Whitney always told me there was a total spark between me and him, and they accused us of flirting like crazy?)

Although we always stayed in touch, we had only dated here and there. But in November, I confessed to one of my best friends, Jalena, that Ryan was CONSTANTLY on my mind lately. She is also good friends with him, and told me to just go out with him again to see how I felt, and I seriously thank her for listening to me and telling me I wasn't completely crazy! Anyway, since in my eyes all that time, we would never be anything more than best friends, we didn't move past that until about November, when I just could NOT stop thinking about him. I can't explain what had happened, but all I can say is that we went out once, and EVERYTHING was suddenly different between us... I knew I wanted to marry him after that one date!


Since then, I had been growing VERY impatient with him, I had finally told him that our relationship needed to go one way or the other. So he totally played off of that when he proposed to me.

Rio and I had just taken off for 2 days to Zion National Park (post to come), and when I got back on Tuesday, the night of my birthday, he came over to see me. He acted really preoccupied--like something was weighing on his mind. I had done a lot of thinking while I was gone, too. So he just asked if I wanted to go for a ride for a minute. He kept rubbing his forehead like he does when he's mad or frustrated, so I totally thought he was going to break up with me. He drove up to the mouth of the canyon, not knowing where he was even going, and I was like, "Are you going to like murder me, and dump my body in the river?" When he stopped the car, I was just like, "Alright, so what's going on? Just say it, Ryan."

(Ryan, playing up the frustration): "Well, Carli, I've done a lot of thinking over the past 2 days while you and Rio were gone, and I just don't think I can keep going on like this with you."

(Me, with a lot of sass, thinking he was saying he wanted to end it): "Yeah, well I did a lot of thinking while I was gone, too, and I can't do this anymore either."

(Ryan): "This just isn't fair to you or to Rio, or to me."

(Me): "Yeah, I know. That's what I've been telling you all along."

(Ryan, looking out his window, and rubbing his head): "And I really didn't want to do this to you on your birthday, but..."

(Me, in a very bratty tone): "Oh, don't worry about my birthday--It's FINE."

At this point, he opened his door and started getting out, and I snapped at him a couple of times to "Just get back in the car and take me home." He walked around to my side and opened the door and was like, "Carli, I'm sorry I've been so stupid and have put you through all this by dragging my feet for so long--"

To which I hastily retorted, "Oh, it's FINE. Don't be sorry. I"M sorry. It's half my fault for hanging on so long, when this obviously wasn't what you really wanted anyway."

THEN......

He got down on his knee and pulled out the ring and finished "--and I'm not dragging my feet anymore. I've known what I wanted for a really long time, and I've just been too stupid to do this. I want to be with you forever. And I want to be Rio's dad. Will you marry me?"

(Crickets chirping. My jaw coming unhinged.)

YEP. I was pretty much SHOCKED!!! I thought he was at one extreme, breaking up with me, and he totally played it up and then proposed to me! It was quite the unexpected twist! But needless to say, I said YES!! (There is also a possibility that I could have said something about throwing the damn ring into the river next to the car because I couldn't believe he had just done that to me...?)

When we got back home, and I showed Rio (he had no clue what Ryan giving me a ring meant), Ryan picked him up and took him upstairs and asked him, "Rio, do you and your mommy want to come and live with me?" Rio instantly said "Yeah!" It was exactly what I've been waiting for for almost 3 years.



So we don't have details nailed down quite yet, but we're thinking the first of June, when I'm out of school? I'll keep everyone posted! YAY!!!!!!!!!