Oregon- The Completion of the Trilogy

Here is the final installment...hope it was well worth the wait.

Sunday morning I awoke very early to attend church with Jacob and his family. Their Sacrament meeting started at 8:30. Who does that?!? I was really tempted to wear pigtails to church just to have a few more minutes of sleep. But no...I didn't do that.

It was kind of fun being in a family ward. I enjoyed watching all the families with their kids. Good times. But even better were the games of connect four I played with Jacob's mom during relief society. Jacob allowed me to use his IPod touch and I enjoyed it. His mom was less than quiet when she would lose the game. It was pretty amusing. Perhaps a little on the inappropriate for church side of things but I can still tell you what the lesson was on...I was paying attention. I am a skilled multi-tasker.

Then, Jake took me on a little tour of his neighborhood as we drove home from church. That was a pretty fun time. Their neighborhood is pretty unique in that it has an elementary, middle and high school all basically in walking distance from their home. (Maybe not walking but certainly a 5 minute drive or less).

Perhaps the highlight of Sunday was beating Jacob and his mother at Pente. I was pleased about that. But Jake and I bought stuff to make a Pente game last night and he beat me twice in a row so I guess my domination was short lived.

I also very much enjoyed going to see the Portland temple. Sadly, the grounds were all closed off because they are in the middle of remodel/cleaning. Still...it was worth seeing. I also really loved taking the long scenic way back to his parent's home. It is a beautiful area for sure!

Jacob and I also got into a pretty intense debate about the difference between fir and pine trees. It was pretty amusing. This debate involved a white board diagram, several books, and finally input from tree expert friend of Jacob's. Good times.

We spent the rest of Sunday evening enjoying a nice dinner with the family and playing games. I love Sundays. We also discussed options for the final day in Oregon. There was discussion of waking early to watch the sunrise but I think I vetoed that. I was tired. So we decided to go into Portland instead.

When I woke up Jacob informed me we were going to head to the rose gardens as it provided an excellent view of downtown Portland. He mentioned that the roses were obviously not in bloom but it would still be worth it to go. I thought it as a little strange but consented just the same. As we were driving there I saw signs for a Japanese Garden. I told Jacob we should go there instead. He readily agreed. So we walked the rose garden for a little bit and then made our way to the Japanese garden. The sign said it didn't open until noon and we were there at 9:30. I was a little disappointed but we walked up the path to see it from outside the fence. As we were walking up a woman and child were walking down and let us know the gardens would open at 10! We also discovered it was free admission day. Such good news! So we strolled around a little longer and then made our way into the garden. It was beautiful! And there really were excellent views of the city.

So...in this garden there is a most excellent little bridge. However, it is was also very popular with all the many garden guests taking advantage of free admission. We crossed the bridge and noticed a little path that veered off into some trees and was very secluded. We walked along that path and stopped at the most secluded part. Jacob produced a letter from his pocket. I opened the letter and read it. As I finished reading I turned to see he was on one knee with a ring and was asking me to marry him. I quickly (very quickly) said yes. And then, I am embarrassed to admit, was very greedy and started putting the ring on immediately. It turns out Jacob had really planned to take me to the Japanese garden and had planned to propose on the bridge. What he had failed to plan for was free admission day. But, it was pretty great nonetheless. He is wonderful and I am so lucky to be marrying him!

And for all that have been waiting...here are some pictures. Enjoy!

From the lovely bridge looking to the spot back in the trees where Jacob proposed.

A view from the bridge.

Jacob and I on the bridge right after proposing.

Also...here are some of the things I failed to mention about the proposal story...

1. I knew it was happening. Jacob had told me Sunday he needed my father's phone number to make "the call." He also shared the story of his father pulling him aside after church and saying "I'm giving you 24 hours to propose or I will do it for you."

2. Jacob was also really, really nervous and weird all Monday morning prior to popping the question. It was pretty great actually. I was also nervous. But I was pretty glad when he started relaxing and getting back to normal. I'm not sure why he was so nervous...he knew what the answer would be! I think I was more nervous just with anticipation...

So on the way back from the Japanese gardens I was suddenly craving some oriental food. I thought it would round out the whole experience. So Jacob had the idea of stopping at the Costco in Hillsboro and picking out some egg rolls or something like that. And, it really completed the trip because Hillsboro has the largest Costco in the US. Pretty sweet right? It thought so. We enjoyed the egg rolls while letting the family know it was all official.

So there it is...the summation of my trip to Oregon. It really was a fantastic trip!

And as a side note- I love my ring! I love wearing it. I find myself staring at it, especially when it catches the light and sparkles so much. It is perfect. I also echo Diana's sentiments about being so nervous about losing a diamond out of it or losing the ring in general. I am already prone to worry as it is!