The Proposal

November 25, 2003 was one of the best days of my life.... the wedding and the birth of our two children definitely trump this day, but oh, my, was it a good day.

When Jason and I were dating and first married, we liked to do things big. Dates, birthdays, holidays were all grand gestures back then. I remember my mom telling me that we were setting ourselves up for disappointment- that when the reality of life (monetary and otherwise) set in we would realize that we couldn't keep up this level of expectation.

And as much as I would love to have this kind of day all the time, my mom was right- we no longer try as hard to make such grand efforts to impress each other. But that is the point of all of these "Life BC" posts- this time of our lives is completely over, and can never be redone. It can only be relived as memories. Some are not so great, like the first time Jason said I love you, and some are perfect, like our first kiss. Either way, I cherish all of the great memories we did make while we were young and ignorant of reality.

Especially this one.

Our first date was September 8th. I got a fortune cookie that read, "Follow the intent of your heart."

A month later, sitting in the Conference Center during general conference, Jason wrote my first name and his last name in my journal. It looked perfect.

The next week we drove to Denver and I met his family for the first time. We had already talked about getting married at that point, but we hadn't told anyone else just yet. We were quickly becoming the couple that I had spent most of my life making fun of- the ones that fell in love right away and just knew that they were MFEO. But we were- and we still are.

It took a little bit of convincing our parents- not surprisingly. I don't know how I will be able to trust my 21 year old Leah when she comes to me and tells me that she's found The One. But Jason asked my dad, we talked a lot about dates- weighing pros and cons of holidays and school schedules- and we set a date and called the temple- all before Jason had officially proposed.

The hold up was my engagement ring.


I had picked out the perfect ring years earlier (tell me I'm not the only college girl who occasionally liked trying on diamond rings!) and Jason was determined to get it for me. Never mind that the store I found it in had gone out of business or that the owner had since been diagnosed with cancer- Jason was going to get that ring. Luckily, the owner still did a limited amount of work, and he agreed to make the ring for Jason..

I should probably make this an entirely different post- and let Jason tell the story, because it was one amazing treasure hunt. And while I love my ring- oh how I love my ring- I really just wanted to get engaged! Ring or no ring, I was ready.

One night Jason and I both had tests in the testing center. As we left, I remember talking about being engaged and making plans for our wedding and how silly it seemed that we were doing all of that without being officially engaged. But Jason told me he would NOT propose until he had the ring, and I knew that wouldn't be for another week or two. So I left it at that.

Later that night he called me and told me the next day we were going to take a break from school and work. He gave me a list of things to pack on our adventure day, and I spent the rest of the night scrambling to get it all together- everything from "clothes you don't mind getting dirty" to a swimsuit to the "nicest dress you own."

Early the next morning, he picked me up and we headed up to Salt Lake. To the Grand America Hotel. I had no idea what he had planned for the day, but I can assure my thoughts did NOT include getting a room at a hotel. Luckily, neither did his, and we headed into the Garden Cafe- a place I had always wanted to go- for a deliciously huge breakfast buffet.


Then we got back into the car and drove up into the mountains. We ended up at the house of some of Jason's family friends who had horses, and we spent the morning horseback riding through a tiny little mountain town.


My horse wouldn't listen to me and kept stopping to eat the grass. I love the idea of horseback riding, but the reality of it is that I'm not much of a cowgirl.


On the way there, a song by Old 97 we both liked was coincidentally playing in the car. It's about a guy who proposes to a girl, and the chorus says

Someday, somebody's gonna ask you
The question that you should say "yes" to
Once in your life
Maybe tonight I've got a question for you.

I didn't get it.

After that, we went back to the Grand America in Salt Lake and went our separate ways in the spa. We each got a glorious one-hour massage, then we met up in the pool house for a swim.


This was shaping up to be one fantastic day, but I still had no idea that Jason was planning on proposing. Jason had arranged to use the facilities at the spa for the entire day, and we changed into church clothes and headed over to the temple to do baptisms. By this point we already had our sealing date set, so it felt very special to be there together, knowing in a few months we'd be back for our wedding.

At some point in the day, Jason popped the trunk and pulled out the lunch he had brought up from our favorite sandwich place in Provo- Sensuous Subs. He had thought of everything, it seemed, for "just a nice date".

After that we headed back to the spa for one more clothing change.


While I was sitting in front of one of the mirrors getting ready, a sweet worker lady commented that I looked so nice and asked me if it was a special occasion. For the first time, it occurred to me that Jason might propose that day.

And if not, he was going to have one heck of a time topping this amazing day when he did get around to it.

We went to the Joseph Smith Memorial Building and watched the Testaments. I remember comfortably falling asleep on Jason's shoulder- it had already been a long day. Then we headed up to The Roof.


While we were waiting for our table, Jason went out into the hall to take a phone call. I had a minute alone to look out on the temple and reflect on the perfectness of this day, and more importantly, how happy I was in our relationship. I didn't need any extra convincing, but I knew right then, surer than ever before, that I wanted to marry Jason.

***Pause***

I am 100% aware of the fact that the cheesy perfectness of this day is slightly nauseating. But wait for it. It gets even better. Or worse, depending on how nauseous you are feeling so far.

***Un-pause***

So we sat and had dinner while gazing out over the spires of the temple. After the entire day together, we still had plenty to chat and laugh about, but I noticed that Jason was starting to get really fidgety and nervous. By now, though, I had convinced myself that he was going to propose any minute now, so I completely understood.

After dinner, we headed downstairs and out the door to find a horse-drawn carriage waiting for us! This was something I had wanted to do since the first time I saw one of those perfectly romantic horses riding around Temple Square when I was 14 years old. And finally- finally!- I was going to be the one in the carriage.

***Another Pause***

Yes, this really is how it happened. See, during our dating days, Jason had been listening and collecting information about what my "perfect day" would be like, and then he combined it all together to create what was exactly my most perfect day. And what should be a more perfect day than the one you first commit to spend the rest of your life with your sweetheart?

***And another un-pause***

As we rode around downtown Salt Lake, I started to wonder, "Is this it? Is this the moment? He's going to propose now, isn't he?" But no, the carriage dropped us off back at the gates of the temple, and we walked inside.

By this point it was getting late, and I was starting to wonder if he actually was planning on proposing. We walked around the temple grounds a bit until he finally stopped in front of the temple. He got down on one knee and gave me a fantastic little speech about our relationship and love for each other and asked, "Will you marry me?"

And of course I said yes. He cried, I cried, we hugged and kissed.

Then he sat down on a bench and turned to me with a worried look on his face and said, "Now about the ring."

Ooh! The ring! I had completely forgotten that I was going to be getting an engagement ring!


He pulled out the perfect ring box, and opened it... and... it was empty.

It turns out he was supposed to get the custom made ring back from the jewelers the day before, but they hadn't been able to meet up. So Jason spent the entire next day (our engagement day) playing phone tag with the guy- trying to meet up with him and get the ring. I'm proposing tonight! he said. The guy promised he'd be there, but at the end of the day, he wasn't. So Jason proposed without the ring. And I couldn't have cared less. We were engaged!

It was the PERFECT day. I don't know that many other days we share together will ever top that day.

But isn't that the way it should be?