Nate and I are engaged!

Here's our engagement story:

3/23/11 -- Skype Conversation with Nate:



[3/23/2011 10:52:36 AM] Natey: do you want to go to trader joes on saturday?
[3/23/2011 10:52:44 AM] Emily Meyer: always!

Nate claimed he was having a cheese craving.  Trader Joe's became one of my favorite places when living in Los Angeles.  Susie opened my eyes to the wonderfulness of aged Gouda.  Trader Joe's was my favorite place to buy aged Gouda so I did not hesitate to go on a little road trip.

3/24/11: Email from Ellen Broich

Hi Emily!

Hope you’re having a good week! Any news on your trailer or the job yet?

So, I found out that Jasper Winery in Des Moines does a wine and chocolate tasting!  Would you and Nate be interested in doing that with Adam and me sometime? I know you guys like wine too (and obviously chocolate!) and I thought it would be fun for a double date! Are there any weekends coming up when you’ll be free? Adam and I are free this weekend except for Sunday, then the next weekend (April 1-2) we’re moving, and then after that I think we’re free again.

Let me know what you think!  We had so much fun seeing you a few weeks ago.

Ellen

A couple weeks prior, Nate and I had visited Ellen and Adam in Des Moines.  During dinner, Ellen opened a bottle of wine she had purchased from a wine tasting at Jasper Winery.  She had mentioned how much fun it was and I thought it would be a fun thing to do together sometime.  Nate was not involved with my conversation with Ellen, but I knew he would like the wine, so I emailed Ellen back and said yes!  Of course I didn't read into the invitation at all because we had discussed getting together again sometime soon.

3/26/11 -- Trip to Des Moines

Nate and I packed some snacks and headed to Des Moines around noon.  We arrived in Des Moines about 20 minutes early and decided to play a game of Life on my iTouch.  When Ellen and Adam arrived, we headed inside.  We were seated near a wonderful fireplace at a table for four.  We started with a white wine and white chocolate.  A nice lady taught us how to taste the wine and the chocolate.  I didn't think I needed helping knowing how to eat chocolate, but apparently I did because I learned a lot.  The second round was a pink wine and milk chocolate.  Another great sample.  At this time, Ellen and I headed to the bathroom.  I volunteered to go with Ellen because she acted like she had to tell me something in private.  No secrets were told in the bathroom -- just some redoing of the hair.

After we left the bathroom, Nate asked if I wanted to go see the room where they make the wine.  The wine was just a little bit off the room where our table currently was located.  I was hesitant because I thought a different group was having a party in there.  Nate was insistent so I followed.  When we entered the room, there was a spread of two dozen, multi-colored roses on the tablet with numerous pictures upside-down on top.  Nate asked me to sit down.  I started going through the pictures and reading the messages on the back.  The pictures walked through our relationship, from the first time we went snowboarding in Washington to our most recent trip to Montana for Nate's family reunion -- and everything in between.  Nate and I  have been to the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Seattle including numerous concerts and beaches.  The second to last picture was of hot air balloons that we saw in Las Vegas at the Bellagio.  The caption said "Now it is time for our hot air balloon ride."  Nate and I have had an inside joke that he was going to propose in a hot air balloon.  I am very afraid of heights and did NOT want to go in a hot air balloon and Nate always did, so... a picture was a compromise.  The last picture said "Addie has a question for you."  The picture was of Addie (looking quite cute) wearing a charm on her collar (well, actually my swarovski crystal necklace) that said "Will you marry daddy?"

Nate then got down on one knee, said some very sweet words and proposed.  :-)  I was shaking so bad but I managed to get myself under control enough to say "Yes, of course."  The group of people that were waiting to use the room for their shower started clapping and Ellen took lots of pictures.  We later found out there is a video of our proposal that the winery is going to email to us!  I'm very excited about that because everything was a big blur!  I was very shocked and confused.  Even though I knew it was coming sometime soon, I had NO  idea it was going to be that day.  I thought Ellen really wanted to go to a wine tasting, but it was actually Nate's idea.  He involved Ellen and Adam because of our close friendship over so many years and to help distract me!  The plan worked and it was wonderful!

We still went to Jordan Creek and did some shopping and then went to Trader Joe's for our cheese.  The TJ's worker asked how my day was and I said, "Pretty good actually, I just got engaged."  He was excited and told me to pick out some flowers for myself on him.  So now I have two dozen roses and a four large sunsflowers decorating my dining room table.

It was a wonderful day!  I'm so glad Ellen and Adam were involved.  Nate filled the day with all of my favorite things -- friends, chocolate, Addie (in the form of a picture) and Trader Joe's.  My ring is absolutely perfect and I can't stop staring at it!