Our Engagement Story

So, everyone keeps asking me to tell the story of how Jon proposed and I'm getting pretty good at telling it. Some people get the short version and others get the looong version (mostly varying by gender!). Now that I've got this story-telling business down, I figured I should record the loooong version here for history purposes.


The Setting: We were in Athens, Ohio for Ohio University's annual Homecoming festivities. This was Jon's second OU Homecoming & probably my 11th. On Saturday morning we woke up early and got all decked out in our green & white Bobcat gear and headed up to the Konnecker Alumni Center for an alumni breakfast just prior to the parade. Cindy, Jeff, Jon, and I met up with my parents at the breakfast and then watched the full hour of Bobcat spirit march down the street. Next we killed a little bit of time exploring some of the new buildings on campus. Jon and I gave Jeff and Cindy dance lessons in the lobby of Bentley Hall (we've been learning how to Waltz & Swing!). Then we headed down to the river where the giant tailgate party occurs. We watched the Marching 110 perform and ate lunch at the College of Business Alumni tent. After lunch we went over to Peden Stadium to watch the Bobcats trample Ball State. Yay for a Homecoming victory!


The Proposal: Okay, so now that I've gotten my Bobcat pride out of my system, on to the romantic stuff! Jon had asked me in the morning if we could find time to go on a picnic that afternoon. So, after the football game we left the rest of the fam behind and decided to hike to the top of Radar Hill. This hilltop is one of the highest and most beautiful in Athens - it takes 15-20 minutes to hike out there and you can see most of campus from this spot. We got up to the clearing at the top of the hill a little before sunset and Jon starts to set up "the picnic". The first thing he pulls out of his bag is a wine bottle he used as a candle holder and a white candle to burn out the top of it. Then he pulls out his Sony PSP, which he has cleverly loaded full of romantic songs. (He was so proud that he figured out a way to incorporate his PSP in the proposal!) Next, he pulls out a thermos bag and wrapped in ice packs he produces a pint of Graeter's Black Raspberry Chip ice cream (the ice cream we had on the day we "officially" became a couple). We ate some of the ice cream - it was a bit melty but still GOOD. As if all this wasn't enough, he then gives me a large wrapped gift. I open the box and inside is a printed and bound journal that Jon has been keeping nearly every day (more than 2 years!) since we began dating. It is a chronicle of almost our entire relationship! I sat on the ground and began reading through the journal for awhile. Then, Jon asked me to stand up and turn around. When he finally let me turn to face him, he was down on his knee with a white ring box and a sparkling diamond in front of me! He asked me to marry him and I said yes, of course! This all happened just as the sun was setting - it was beautiful! We celebrated by popping the cork on a bottle of champagne (also hidden in Jon's "Mary Poppins bag") and toasted to our engagement! After the sun set, we walked back to the car in the dark and went back to Jeff & Cindy's place to celebrate with my family (who were all suspicious from the first moment we left on our "picnic"). And that's how it happened! :)