Are you ready for the news of the century? decade? year? month? OK... can it at least be the news of the week?! I'm engaged to be married to the beautiful Ms. Caroline Jayne Warner! We're planning on being wed on Saturday, April 21, in the LDS Temple in Oakland, CA. We'll have a reception that night in Morgan Hill, and an open house about a week later in Colorado Springs. We are both so happy, and are really enjoying spending time together. I'll be here in CO for a few more days, and then we're heading out to CA for a week with the Borgias. Anyhoo... I want to write down the story of how this happened, if not for y'all to read, for my own journalistic purposes. (I'm a terrible journal writer, but I like to blog).
First I'll give you the readers digest version of our relationship (if you already know this story and just want this week's update, feel free to scroll): Carrie and I met during high-school choir. I had a major crush on her throughout most of that time, and she somehow tolerated my cheesy advances. Junior year I took her to winter ball, and then we travelled together to Germany that Spring with the GHS Chamber Choir. Sadly, in between our junior and senior years her family moved to Colorado Springs. She visited a few times, and I ended up flying her out for senior prom. After graduation we started school at different colleges, and after a few months our relationship temporarily fizzled.
After returning home from my mission in Jacksonville, Florida, Carrie and I started talking on the phone again. We'd exchanged a few letters while I was in Florida, but not much. I remember the first time I called her I was eating pizza waiting to go into the movie theatre to see what ended up being the worst movie ever. (Never go see Duplicity, it's stoopid beyond belief). It was nice to talk to her again, but those old lovey feelings were still kept at bay. After a few weeks of talking every once in a while (once a week - ish) on the phone, Carrie told me that she was applying to go to the BYU Jerusalem Center during Winter 2010, and suggested that I should apply too. By this time I was starting to have feelings for Carrie, and Jerusalem sounded awesome, so I applied. Both of us got in, and we started talking more often, excitedly talking about our preparations to go. Sometime in early October, I was talking to Carrie whilst pacing in front of the HFAC (BYU's music building). I remember that I sat down on a bench by the Wilk, and I told Carrie that I was having feelings for her again and wanted to see where it would lead. She responded that she was feeling similarly. From that point on (and much to the chagrin of my roommates at the time) we talked pretty much every night. Our longest conversation was 4.5 hours!!! Around Halloween Carrie decided to come out and visit to feel out where we were at. We went to a concert, and drove up to Rexburg together to visit her roommates. It was a lot of fun, and made me like her even more. She felt good about it as well, although she wanted to go slower (ever the sensible one, she pointed out that we wouldn't be allowed to date in Jerusalem). At the end of our trip we determined to try and slow down by talking only a few times a week. That lasted roughly two days.
In January we both arrived in Provo, ready to go to Jerusalem. I took her out for dinner, and I distinctly remember her snuggling up to me in the booth. Amazing! Then the next morning we got to the airport and flew all freaking day. In Jerusalem things were good/complicated. We were keeping things on the sly, which was hard for both of us since we're big on words of affirmation and physical touch. It was driving me crazy not being able to cuddle with her or tell her how I was feeling. After about a month we broke up. This ended up being (in my opinion) really good for us. We'd gone pretty quickly to romance after my mission, and we needed time to get to know each other again. The rest of our Jerusalem experience was amazing, and was a good buildup for our future relationship.
After Jerusalem I went back to Provo and Carrie went to school in Rexburg. She visited a few times. Nothing too exciting. I dated around, she dated, obviously none of that stuck. I tried to get over Carrie, but it didn't work too well. The way I said it to my friends was that I was "flammable", that the tiniest spark from Carrie would set me back aflame. Then, in May of this year, I went back to the Middle East for a three-month internship in Jordan. Within a week of my getting there, I received an email from Carrie. It went something like "Why did you leave when I have so much I need to talk to you about?!" I quickly replied that she could email/Facebook/Skype me whenever she wanted. That night we had a long conversation over Facebook chat (long distance relationships suck, btw, particularly transatlantic ones!) where we discussed everything. We talked about what happened in Jerusalem, what happened when we tried to date others, etc. My favorite part of the convo was when Carrie suggested that we should try dating again. My heart did flips and had a dance party; I was once more all aflame. We determined that, since we were destined to have a mostly long distance relationship, that we would take it slow. We would just talk more, not dating, and then we'd decide what to do when I visited her in Mesa in August. Quite unsurprisingly, that didn't last. By the end of May I had told her that I loved her, by June we referred to each other as boyfriend/girlfriend, and by July/August I was daydreaming about marrying her all over again.
I visited her in August, which was wonderful, and secured our relationship. That's when she told me that she loved me back, and it was blissful. During fall semester she visited me in Provo twice, and I went down to Mesa two more times. We also talked on the phone pretty much every single day. One day towards the end of October we were on the phone, and we started talking about marriage. I had always imagined that that would be really nerve-racking and awkward. On the contrary, it felt completely natural. I remember getting off of the phone and thinking "Hmmm... I think I'm sorta engaged now!" A few weeks later I bought the ring, and soon we were wedding planning (all to the teasing of my dad: "You kids, when I was your age I proposed before we did any of this!"). It's true, we did things kind of out of order, but that's what happens when you live in different states.
Anyhoo, on to the good part!
I had been planning on proposing on a sleigh ride with dinner for two near Denver; I had the reservations about a month in advance. However, the day before I went out, I called to confirm the reservation; I found out that the dinner and sleigh ride were with a group. Frantic, my brother Jonathan and I went over to my cousin Deveren's house. We brainstormed with him and his wife Kiara, and came up with a wonderful plan... stay tuned.
I flew in to Denver Sunday morning (Dec. 18th). Carrie picked me up and we went to church with her brother David and his family (who, btw, are awesome). After spending some time with them we headed off to Granby, CO, where the sleigh ride was. It was fun, cold, and romantic, and we had a very good time. Then we drove to her parents house in Colorado Springs. When we got there, I invited Carrie (and her mom) to watch a YouTube video with me. My little brother, Jonathan, is an awesome musician, and Carrie and I had kind of adopted one of his love songs as the theme song of our relationship. I told Carrie that Jonathan had just finished a new version, and wanted our feedback. The video started like normal, but when it got to the bridge, the music faded and I came onto the screen. I acted like I was being interviewed about Carrie, and I talked about all of the things that I loved about her. That's when I got down on my knee, pulled out the ring, and asked her to marry me. When the video had come on, Carrie's mom was kind of like "Uh, do you want me here?". Then we I started proposing, she booked it out of there, wanting to leave us alone, although she came back down later to offer congrats. Then we Skyped with my family, and Carrie fit right in, goofy faces & accents & all.
So, there you have it! We are so excited to be engaged. I am still growing to love Carrie more and more every day. I'm so happy that I get to be with her for the rest of my life and for all eternity, and can't wait to have a family with her.
First I'll give you the readers digest version of our relationship (if you already know this story and just want this week's update, feel free to scroll): Carrie and I met during high-school choir. I had a major crush on her throughout most of that time, and she somehow tolerated my cheesy advances. Junior year I took her to winter ball, and then we travelled together to Germany that Spring with the GHS Chamber Choir. Sadly, in between our junior and senior years her family moved to Colorado Springs. She visited a few times, and I ended up flying her out for senior prom. After graduation we started school at different colleges, and after a few months our relationship temporarily fizzled.
After returning home from my mission in Jacksonville, Florida, Carrie and I started talking on the phone again. We'd exchanged a few letters while I was in Florida, but not much. I remember the first time I called her I was eating pizza waiting to go into the movie theatre to see what ended up being the worst movie ever. (Never go see Duplicity, it's stoopid beyond belief). It was nice to talk to her again, but those old lovey feelings were still kept at bay. After a few weeks of talking every once in a while (once a week - ish) on the phone, Carrie told me that she was applying to go to the BYU Jerusalem Center during Winter 2010, and suggested that I should apply too. By this time I was starting to have feelings for Carrie, and Jerusalem sounded awesome, so I applied. Both of us got in, and we started talking more often, excitedly talking about our preparations to go. Sometime in early October, I was talking to Carrie whilst pacing in front of the HFAC (BYU's music building). I remember that I sat down on a bench by the Wilk, and I told Carrie that I was having feelings for her again and wanted to see where it would lead. She responded that she was feeling similarly. From that point on (and much to the chagrin of my roommates at the time) we talked pretty much every night. Our longest conversation was 4.5 hours!!! Around Halloween Carrie decided to come out and visit to feel out where we were at. We went to a concert, and drove up to Rexburg together to visit her roommates. It was a lot of fun, and made me like her even more. She felt good about it as well, although she wanted to go slower (ever the sensible one, she pointed out that we wouldn't be allowed to date in Jerusalem). At the end of our trip we determined to try and slow down by talking only a few times a week. That lasted roughly two days.
In January we both arrived in Provo, ready to go to Jerusalem. I took her out for dinner, and I distinctly remember her snuggling up to me in the booth. Amazing! Then the next morning we got to the airport and flew all freaking day. In Jerusalem things were good/complicated. We were keeping things on the sly, which was hard for both of us since we're big on words of affirmation and physical touch. It was driving me crazy not being able to cuddle with her or tell her how I was feeling. After about a month we broke up. This ended up being (in my opinion) really good for us. We'd gone pretty quickly to romance after my mission, and we needed time to get to know each other again. The rest of our Jerusalem experience was amazing, and was a good buildup for our future relationship.
After Jerusalem I went back to Provo and Carrie went to school in Rexburg. She visited a few times. Nothing too exciting. I dated around, she dated, obviously none of that stuck. I tried to get over Carrie, but it didn't work too well. The way I said it to my friends was that I was "flammable", that the tiniest spark from Carrie would set me back aflame. Then, in May of this year, I went back to the Middle East for a three-month internship in Jordan. Within a week of my getting there, I received an email from Carrie. It went something like "Why did you leave when I have so much I need to talk to you about?!" I quickly replied that she could email/Facebook/Skype me whenever she wanted. That night we had a long conversation over Facebook chat (long distance relationships suck, btw, particularly transatlantic ones!) where we discussed everything. We talked about what happened in Jerusalem, what happened when we tried to date others, etc. My favorite part of the convo was when Carrie suggested that we should try dating again. My heart did flips and had a dance party; I was once more all aflame. We determined that, since we were destined to have a mostly long distance relationship, that we would take it slow. We would just talk more, not dating, and then we'd decide what to do when I visited her in Mesa in August. Quite unsurprisingly, that didn't last. By the end of May I had told her that I loved her, by June we referred to each other as boyfriend/girlfriend, and by July/August I was daydreaming about marrying her all over again.
I visited her in August, which was wonderful, and secured our relationship. That's when she told me that she loved me back, and it was blissful. During fall semester she visited me in Provo twice, and I went down to Mesa two more times. We also talked on the phone pretty much every single day. One day towards the end of October we were on the phone, and we started talking about marriage. I had always imagined that that would be really nerve-racking and awkward. On the contrary, it felt completely natural. I remember getting off of the phone and thinking "Hmmm... I think I'm sorta engaged now!" A few weeks later I bought the ring, and soon we were wedding planning (all to the teasing of my dad: "You kids, when I was your age I proposed before we did any of this!"). It's true, we did things kind of out of order, but that's what happens when you live in different states.
Anyhoo, on to the good part!
I had been planning on proposing on a sleigh ride with dinner for two near Denver; I had the reservations about a month in advance. However, the day before I went out, I called to confirm the reservation; I found out that the dinner and sleigh ride were with a group. Frantic, my brother Jonathan and I went over to my cousin Deveren's house. We brainstormed with him and his wife Kiara, and came up with a wonderful plan... stay tuned.
I flew in to Denver Sunday morning (Dec. 18th). Carrie picked me up and we went to church with her brother David and his family (who, btw, are awesome). After spending some time with them we headed off to Granby, CO, where the sleigh ride was. It was fun, cold, and romantic, and we had a very good time. Then we drove to her parents house in Colorado Springs. When we got there, I invited Carrie (and her mom) to watch a YouTube video with me. My little brother, Jonathan, is an awesome musician, and Carrie and I had kind of adopted one of his love songs as the theme song of our relationship. I told Carrie that Jonathan had just finished a new version, and wanted our feedback. The video started like normal, but when it got to the bridge, the music faded and I came onto the screen. I acted like I was being interviewed about Carrie, and I talked about all of the things that I loved about her. That's when I got down on my knee, pulled out the ring, and asked her to marry me. When the video had come on, Carrie's mom was kind of like "Uh, do you want me here?". Then we I started proposing, she booked it out of there, wanting to leave us alone, although she came back down later to offer congrats. Then we Skyped with my family, and Carrie fit right in, goofy faces & accents & all.
So, there you have it! We are so excited to be engaged. I am still growing to love Carrie more and more every day. I'm so happy that I get to be with her for the rest of my life and for all eternity, and can't wait to have a family with her.
