Maddie raves about how she is never surprised: she always finds out secrets. So what was I thinking telling everybody about the proposal? I don't know. But if you tell people that you're getting engaged soon, they inevitably ask, "How are you going to ask her?!" Then I proceeded to tell them. Then I swore them to secrecy.
The start of my plan was telling her I had an eye appointment in Shelley and I wanted her to come with me. My eye appointment would be at 11:30, so she would be to my apartment by 10:30 so that we could get there. Of course, my eye appointment would then be suddenly bumped back an hour, which would leave us time for my FA 100 assignment: going to the BYU-I Center and writing down the artists and names of paintings there. I told her it would be a little "mini-date." Everything was going according to plan, until Maddie started admiring the artwork more than we had time for. You see, we needed to be to a designated spot on the second floor by 11:11 am, because Maddie always tells me to make a wish when she sees the clock read "11:11." Needless to say, I started hurrying her and getting a little shaky and nervous. Then I saw our friends, Kyle and Stella, heading for the stairs. Luckily Maddie didn't see them and wave them down. K & S were rushing up to the third floor, where about 10 others were stationed for the proposal. My phone alarm went off about then (11:09) and I said, "We have to get up to the 2nd floor to see the Carl Bloch paintings because we're running out of time." She came along. But I made a mistake by putting her on the far side of me while heading up the stairs. If she would have looked past my eyes and onto the 3rd floor railing, she would have seen the dozen helpers hit the deck! We got in position under the balcony on the 2nd floor, I told her, "It's 11:11. Make a wish!" And then I asked, "What did you wish for?" Maddie: "I wish for you...but, hunny what's wrong? You're really shakey." Me: "Butler! Here Maddie, can you hold my binder?"
Daniel Butler then came around from behind a pillar and dropped off my guitar. I sang to her The Beatles, "I Will," the song I played for her on our first date. Then the paper snowflakes started gently falling. With a combined effort of room mates, friends, her family, my family, and my mom's 5th grade class, we had about 1,000 paper snowflakes. I finished singing, placed the guitar back on the stand, grabbed my binder back and took out of it 5 snowflakes with the words cut out: "Will. You. Marry. Me. ?." She nodded yes, dropped to her knees, and I slipped on the ring. Success!
Maddie's Story:
SO I really am never surprised. I am that girl that makes it her personal mission during the holidays to find out every Christmas present. Naturally I thought I knew just what was going on. Earlier Brent had told me that he was going to take me to Badger Creek next Saturday and since that is where we met I thought for sure that it was going to happen a week later in the place where we fell in love. I started blabbing about it to my roommate and friend Stella who whole heartedly jumped around with me fully aware that I was living in oblivion. I actually feel a little deceived. Literally EVERYONE I knew was in on it. When I went home after the engagement my little 5 yr. old brother said "oh your getting married!" it was followed up by "mom said if we told you... then dishes for a year!" (the tone was frighteningly accurate) Brent got real lucky, there was a close call or two but everybody kept quiet. SO.. the day of... I had a group meeting at 9 am. When I came home i got a call from my mom. She goes "oh when are you leaving for Shelly?" I told her in just a few minutes and then she asked me if i looked cute. I told her not really because I had rolled out of bed just in time to make my mtg. She told me i should go get ready so i would look good in Brent's hometown and in case we saw any of his friends. Truthfully I was kind of confused, does my mother think i have poor hygiene? I shrugged it off and went to see my hunny. When I got to his apt he told me that we had to run to the BYUI Center to look at some paintings for his FA100 class. The first few paintings we looked deeply into at the texture and found insight and meaning. But by the fifth one Brent was practically pulling me down the hall. I told him he needed to be patient and enjoy it. He didnt listen because soon we were running up the stairs and Brent was shouting that we needed to see the Carl Bloch paintings right now! you can imagine my bewilderment, "what has Carl Bloch done to my boyfriend?" We got to the second floor and he stopped, told me the time (11:11) and asked me what i wished for. I remember him shaking and i thought he was being goofy. Looking back everything was so fast and I didn't really catch on until I had about 3 snowflakes stuck to my body and hair. I loved looking up at the balcony and seeing friends and family- all loved ones. And then looking back to Brent. I was unprepared and caught off guard but it couldn't have come at a better time. There is something so humbling about a man kneeling down and asking for you to marry him. I felt so much love for him at that moment. Being engaged makes your dreams a reality. We REALLY ARE going to go to the temple together, we really are going to raise a family, we really are going to buy a home together, we really are going to laugh cry and rejoice through the many trials and triumphs that are before us. I can't think of anyones hand i would rather hold for the rest of eternity.
Lisa, bewildered. She's the last Cline available.