Big B & "the ring"

Look at that handsome man.

9 years ago today I took B out to dinner for his birthday to Tepanyaki, then dropped him back off at his apartment because I was in charge of a leadership conference at UVSC. I told him I would be back in an hour. Well, I knew that I was conducting the meeting just at the beginning, but one of the teachers didn't show, so I had to teach a class and then I wasn't aware that I also had to close the meeting as well. THREE hours later, I show up at B's apartment and found him beside himself in what I thought was anger. (Come to find out he was really just nervous. . . and maybe some light annoyance.)

I walked into his kitchen and notice a peculiar number on his wall. After noticing the 011 in front of the long number I mention, "That's an international number!" I look closer and see a 52, "That's a Mexico number!" Since JR (one of B's roommates) went to Mexico on his mission, I didn't think very much of it until I recognized the rest of the number, "That's my parent's phone number!" I looked at B confused and he mumbled that my brother (who was living with me at the time and hung out with these boys quite often) had needed it and wrote it on the white board. It made sense. B changed the subject and asked me where we were going next. I told him I was taking him up the canyon, stood up to walk out the door with him, and realized he was carrying an orange cooler. I asked him why we were bringing the cooler and his lengthy response was, "I'm bringing some drinks." Since I was TWO HOURS late and was trying to smooth it over, I didn't pry any more and responded, "Great! Let's go!"

We trekked up the canyon in my new '01 Gold 4 Runner, my favorite car I have owned so far might I add, and found a good picnic spot along the Provo River at Glen Park. He, of course, had his cooler and after a few songs on the guitar, he broke out the Martinelli's. (Sparkling Apple Juice... aka: Mormon champagne.) He poured it into two clear glasses and we sat there drinking and talking until I was too cold to hold my drink anymore. He offered to help me drink mine, and when he drank the rest of it, he started playing with the ice in my cup and looked at me with a peculiar look on his face. I thought he was thinking about throwing ice at me, or putting it down my shirt, so I said, "Don't even think about it!" He responded with a shocked look on his face, "What? I was just going to throw, um, some ice into the river." And with that, he threw a few pieces in to the river. Then he reached into the glass again with that same playful look in his eye and I got a little worried again. (Hey! It was COLD!) I was not about to let him come near me with that ice, so I again exclaimed, "Don't you dare!" And I quickly grabbed the glass and chucked the ice into the river.

He gasped. It wasn't a little gasp, but a gasp like someone nearly got hit by a car. "I didn't throw the glass in the river. It's right here," I defended myself holding the glass up so he can see it. His response made ME gasp. "It's not the glass I am worried about, it what was inside the glass." He said 'inside' with a slight grin and then it hit me. I looked at him for a brief moment as his eyes were searching the area. "What was inside the glass, B?" I think I already knew. He looked defeated as he told me, "It was a ring."

I don't know if I screamed, but I dove toward the river in the direction where I threw the ice. B practically had to tackle me to prevent me from going into the river. After a few moments in shock, I could eventually hear him trying to tell me something. "It wasn't the real ring," I finally heard him say. I turned around and found him on one knee and he sheepishly said, "Well, I no longer have a ring, but will you marry me?" Now it was my turn to tackle him. I kissed him and responded, "Of course I will," and then realized that he was going to ask me to marry him without the "real ring." What the?? I now had some mixed feelings. Apparently he froze a Russian CTR ring in an ice cube and was trying to get the ice cube to melt so that I can see it... at 10pm. Crazy, but cute boy.

He either knew me well enough not to pull this kind of a stunt on me with a real ring or he just didn't think about how he was going to buy a real ring, but either way, I am really glad that it wasn't the real ring and that he still had the guts to ask me after I foiled his plans.

So I like to say that on his 22nd birthday he got the best birthday present he could ever get. Me. But, to make this even sappier than it already is, I think really this was just his only birthday where I got a better present than he did. I got you babe!

Happy Birthday!!!

B is a GREAT daddy and I laugh (almost to tears) thinking how we BOTH wanted 11 children before we had our first. I think we were both a little mental.

He still knows how to make everyone laugh.

He loves me and can take me to the temple.
(This was two days before Logan was born at the Salt Lake Temple.)

He loves his family and sacrifices for us so that we can be happy.
What a man.