Engagement Date: March 12, 2009
Wedding Date: TBA

I’ve always loved Ford Mustangs. So it was no surprise that when we went to Las Vegas and Arizona for Spring Break we rented a Mustang Convertible. We had fun driving the Las Vegas Strip (and the whole way down to Bullhead City, Arizona) with the top down. Ryan promised before we went on the trip that I would be able to drive it while we were in AZ, but here it was, our last day in Arizona, and I still didn’t get to drive the Mustang. Of course, I didn’t really think of this until we were on our way back up to Vegas, so I mentioned it to him, not really thinking I’d get to drive it. But Ryan is awesome and suggested we pull off onto Christmas Tree Pass on our way by, and he’d let me drive it for a little.

Now you have to understand, Christmas Tree Pass is a legitimate dirt road through the desert (with rocks and ruts all over from the rain and runoff that becomes a river in the desert). Needless to say, I was quite excited. I get to drive a Mustang on a dirt road! So we switched places after taking some time to read the sign (that had a map and such), and off we went into the desert. I had a blast spinning the tires, creating dust, and swerving all over the place. There was no one in sight for miles! We got a mile or two into the path, and we decided we had gone far enough because there was a beautiful mountain in front of us and the main road we had gotten off of was way back in the distance. So we got out of the car, grabbed my camera, and started taking pictures of the scenery and each other, and then one of us (see above).

After taking the picture of us, Ryan says to me that he’s going to get his camera out of his bag so that he can take some pictures for himself (which I thought nothing of since I usually take months — or years — to upload the pictures I take). So he starts rooting around in his computer bag, and I continue looking at the beautiful scenery. Finally I hear him say, “Okay, Turn Around,” so I turn around expecting for him to be standing there ready to take my picture. Instead, he’s down on one knee, with a ring that is shining so brightly in the sun I could hardly see it. I was stunned. When the immediate shock went away, he smiled and said, “Will you marry me?” And of course, I said “Yes!”