{Ben's Proposal}

Officially engaged.

Everyone was right, I should have been patient because Ben can rock a proposal. It was perfect for us and I wouldn't have wanted it any other way :)

After the Moonlight Ride and Newly Engaged!

Ben sweetly called me this morning to ask if I wanted to hang out with him after work. I almost hate to admit it but we both knew I knew something a bit more special than a "hang out" was going to happen that night! Circumstances (me bugging him) required that he clue me in a few weeks ago.

On the drive to the secret destination: lesson learned #1 - Jasmin Car Air Fresheners make Kate ill. Unfortunately I have a sensitive sense of smell and had it not been for throwing that nasty little pine tree out the window when I did (literally) the night probably would've taken a turn for the worst almost before it began. We decided that was just part of our story that we would laugh about later :)

While driving up Provo Canyon, supposedly we were going to Deer Creek Reservoir, but he turned up towards Robert Redford's Sundance Resort instead...uh huh, sneaky sneaky.

We dined on ussels, Porter House Steak and Alaskan Halibut at the Foundry Grill - AMAZING! (Lesson learned #2 --don't leave leftover fish in your car! Stinky!!!)

After dinner Ben surprised me with tickets on the Moonlight Ride! This is probably one of the top 5 coolest things I've ever done. For those of you who are skiers, I'm sure a lift ride to the top of a mountain might not be a big deal, but for a girl who has never skied, throw her on a ski lift, in the dark, for 40 minutes, up a huge mountain and your only view is the silhouette of the mountains lit by a FULL MOON (hence, why he had to wait so long to propose, because he missed the one in August)! I am seldom truly impressed with much and this was pretty SPECTACULAR! As we got on the ski lift thingy, at first I was nervous and couldn't figure out why there weren't at least seat belts or something (yes, I'm a nerd, I know!) but once I was settled in and the chair stopped swaying, I couldn't get over how cool this was. I do not have sufficient words to describe how beautiful it was up there. Ben ended up buying me a $17 dollar Sundance blanket...we weren't exactly prepared (I was in high heels and both of us were in light shirts, and it was only about 40 degrees up there! Again, just another funny part of our story). We were talking and laughing about how happy we were and on the way back down the mountain he told me how perfect the night was and how he couldn't imagine doing something like that with anyone else and how he wanted to know if I would spend the rest of my life with him. He pulled out the most gorgeous ring I have ever seen (which he picked out)!Definitely romantic and I definitely said YES!

We were giddy the rest of the way down the mountain. I think I even told people passing by that we were getting married or something that was an over-share to some degree. We talked about the wedding, our future and our kids...yes, even that. It was a beautiful night and I feel like the luckiest girl that I fell in love with someone who cares about me like Ben does and makes me laugh every single day (pretty much all the time) and who I couldn't be more happy to be engaged to. He truly is my best friend.

Later, we drove over to the Provo LDS Temple. From here, we called my mom and my dad and told them the good news and they both shared their love and approval of Ben which meant a lot to both of us.

***As a side note: Ben had called my dad earlier in the day to let him know he would be proposing that night. Apparently right aafter their conversation, my youngest sister, Jessica, arrived at his house with her new husband (as of 2 days) to introduce him to the family! Nevertheless, it was quite the day for our family and wedding news!

***As another side note, Ben's brother, Daniel and sister-in-law, Kate, had their 2nd daughter this morning (Tuesday, 9/13)! Welcome to the world Baby Heidi! Big news for both sides of the family in the last 24 hours!

Ben,
You are my best friend and I cannot wait to be your wife in just two short months. I hope we always have the desire to model our relationship after Orvin & Ethelyn and Gordon & Marjorie. I kinda loveth you...like a LOT!

I will always be grateful for the day God gave me you.

Love, Kate

{Nudges From Angel Marjorie}

Ever since the day I decided I wanted to marry a man like President Gordon B. Hinckley I decided I better do what I could to be like the girl he married, Sister Marjorie Pay Hinckley.

As a convert to the LDS (aka Mormon) church when I was 9 years old, I knew that one day I would marry a man in one of the the Lord's temples. I always had the desire to raise a family with foundational beliefs in God and the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. Being a convert, the models in which I wanted to base my own future relationship for marriage and family on, came from friend's parents, couples I met in wards growing up, my Mission President and his wife, and the current prophet of our church at the time, President Hinckley and his sweet wife, Marjorie.

After my previous rant below regarding my impatience about not being officially enaged yet, I feel I really have some growing up to do. I was reading some quotes from my favorite couple and I believe I just received a gentle heavenly reprimand from Sister Hinckley! I love moments like this! Guess who has some repenting to do tonight? :)

Sister Hinckley says it best:

"Everything you are learning is preparing you for something else."

"The trick is to enjoy life. Don't wish away your days, waiting for better ones ahead. The grand and the simple. They are equally wonderful."

"The only way to get through life is to laugh your way through it. You either have to laugh or cry. I prefer to laugh. Crying gives me a headache."

"We women have a lot to learn about simplifying our lives. We have to decide what is important and then move along at a pace that is comfortable for us. We have to develop the maturity to stop trying to prove something. We have to learn to be content with what we are."

"Home is where you are loved the most and act the worst."

"We are all in this together. We need each other. Oh, how we need each other. Those of us who are old need you who are young, and hopefully, you who are young need some of us who are old...We need deep and satisfying and loyal friendships with each other. These friendships are a necessary source of sustenance. We need to renew our faith every day. We need to lock arms and help build the kingdom so that it will roll forth and fill the whole earth."

"Think about your particular assignment at this time in your life. It may be to get an education, it may be to rear children, it may be to be a grandparent, it may be to care for an relieve the suffering of someone you love, it may be to do a job in the most excellent way possible, it may be to support someone who has a difficult assignment of their own. Our assignments are varied and they change from time to time. Don't take them lightly. Give them your full heart and energy. Do them with enthusiasm. Do whatever you have to do this week with your whole heart and soul. To do less than this will leave you with an empty feeling."

"There are some years in our lives that we would not want to live again. But even these years will pass away, and the lessons learned will be a future blessing."

Thank you Sister Hinckley. These are the reasons I look to you...still :)

Love, Kate

{Hello My Name Is...}

Well, if you are reading this, you probably know either Ben or I. If you don't know either of us, uh...well, thats weird, but welcome nevertheless. Right now we have ZERO followers, but I haven't actually invited anyone to read it just yet either. I want to talk (to everyone) about our soon to be engagement (surprise!)...but I can't exactly announce it until my handsome beau officially asks (which is why I can't invite anyone to read this and yes, I know his proposal is coming, but that is another blog entry).

I (Kate) created this blog with the intent to document us and the relationship, blah blah. I'd like to keep this pretty real to our perspective of the different stages of dating, courtship, marriage and each other. To me, there is nothing worse than being slapped with reality and wondering why everyone else makes it (love/relationships) look soooo easy. Most of you probably know that its not, but ya'll are pretty great fakers I have to say! :) Ben and I both knew relationships weren't cake and we will be the first to tell you ours has been amazing (at times), but we've had MANY ups and downs (usually within minutes of each other...ooopsie, my fault) but the rollercoaster of love is just beginning and here we go bracing for more!

A little about us:

I am 33 years old. I've lived in a few different states growing up which I think forced me to learn to makes friends quickly, I've worked at various administrative assistant type jobs the last 10 years and my passion is country music radio. I LOVE Nashville and the southern way of life. I intern for a local radio station and if it wasn't for the realities of adulthood, I'd work at the station every day for free. I was a convert to the LDS Church when I was young and served a mission to England and Wales (yes...we are Mormon). I was always the good girl growing up and I tried hard to please my parents hoping they would be proud of me.

Ben is 27 years old. He grew up in the south (which I love about him). He currently works at a local health care clinic which helped him develop interests in the medical field. He is pursuing physical therapy and I can't wait until he is done with school....someday. He loves doing guy stuff like lifting weights, shooting guns, riding horses, dirt bikes and would camp every weekend if he could. Oh yeah...he also loves video games (sigh...not my favorite thing about him though, haha). Ben is VERY funny, passionate about life, extremely loyal to those he cares about, has a mischievious and inquisitive mind and believes Obama is ruining our country.

That sums a lot about us up...except how we met. I will blog about that later.

Anyway, Lets start with that :)