THE Story

So, I have to be careful how I tell this story. If I put the emphasis on the wrong parts, it changes the story completely. I told it to my family the night it happen, and they loved it, and Clayton, listening in was pretty proud of himself when he heard me tell it my way. But, the next day, Jamie and Stacey were practically rolling on the ground with laughter when I told it, and after school, Cherie thought I was the biggest brat and thought Clayton shouldn't have popped the question (I check with him, he didn't feel that way in the least, so I'm safe).

Hopefully I'll tell it the right way in writing, because this is the story that I'll look back to to remember what happen, and I'd prefer to remember the sweet way, not the funny way, and certainly not the bratty way. So here we go... the proposal story:

On Wednesday, March 17, 2010 (Saint Patrick's Day, for anyone that's keeping track) my sweetheart, Clayton Jacob Fowers came down to visit me. Usually on Wednesday's we meet in Salt Lake, but we don't have too much to do when we're up there, so he suggested he would come down. I made him dinner (breaded chicken Parmesan-and I would say it turned out quite well if I do say so myself :o). When we were just about done eating he asked what the plans were after dinner. I told him I had done the hard part and cooked dinner. He told me that he actually had thought about it on the way down and came up with three options. We could either go and play at the park (it was cold and dark) or go up the canyon or go to the temple. I called dibs on the canyon idea and I grabbed some blankets while he cleaned up dinner (thanks again sweetie ;o)

We headed up the canyon and pulled off at the first spot I had in mind. The cloud cover was WAY too thick, so we decided to go farther up the canyon to see if it would clear up, or even if it didn't, my thoughtful spot has a great mountain view anyway. So I drove further up the canyon until we came to Deer Creek Reservoir. The clouds had thinned out a little, so we put the top down and put the blanket on. We sat and talked a while and looked at the stars and the mountains, and then I started getting antsy and asked if we could go.

When we were almost out of the canyon, he suggested that we go to the temple. I asked which one and he said that the Mount Timpanogos one was the better one, so we should go there. I drove to the temple and parked at the back of the parking lot. He asked why I had pulled back there and I told him that we could see the whole temple from the back. He suggested that we get out and walk around, but I informed him that I did not feel comfortable walking around the temple grounds in jeans and a sweatshirt. Instead, I pulled out the scriptures and opened up to where we've been studying. I handed the scriptures over to Clayton and had him start reading. While he was reading, I thought to myself, "I wonder if he's pushing walking around because he want to propose to me." Now, to be honest, for the past couple of weeks I've been pin pointing perfect times for him to propose, and it hadn't happen, so for me to get this thought wasn't really surprising. Anyway, after he read for a while, it was my turn to read. When I was finished, I put the scriptures away and turned to Clayton.

He looked kind of sad and thoughtful. I asked him if he was okay, and he told me yes, I asked him if he was sure, and he said yes. I asked him if he wanted to hear something funny, and he told me yes. I told him that while he was reading, I got the thought that the reason that he was trying to get me to walk around the temple was so that he could propose to me. He told me, "well, you'll never know" so I reached over and felt his pockets. Nope, no ring box, so I knew he wasn't going to do it. We had some playful banter about how I knew he wasn't going to propose to me, and him telling me I'd never know because I didn't want to walk around the temple in jeans and a sweatshirt. The banter had reminded me that there was something I wanted him to look at back at my apartment, so we were heading out of the parking lot when I couldn't take his teasing anymore, so instead of pulling out, I pulled into the other parking lot and sighed in frustration. He laughed and asked what. I told him that I was going to walk around, but that I was going to be pissed because he wasn't going to propose to me.

We got out and started walking around to the side of the temple. At the side of the temple he stopped and I asked what he was doing. He told me he was trying to remember which level the Celestial Room was on. I told him it was the top level, and he informed me that he remembered a huge window, so even though the Celestial Room is the top level, the window extended a floor above. We kept walking to the back of the temple and he stopped when he noticed the beautiful window and informed me that that was the Celestial Room. We stopped and looked at it for a while, I pointed out the chandelier. He side squeezed me and told me that he loved me. I told him that I loved him too. He then asked me if I wanted to know how much he loved me.

Now, he's a huge tease, so the whole "you'll never know" thing could have been a way to get me all riled, but I pulled into the parking lot thinking there was a possibility he wasn't teasing. So when he asked that, I knew what was coming, so I hesitated before telling him that I did want him to tell me how much he loved me. He turned me so we were face to face and told me that the walk wasn't a waste. I let out a little squeal, and he got down on one knee, pulled out a black ring box, and said, "Brooke, will you marry me?" I said yes, and was waiting for him to get up and hug me, but he was waiting for me to put out my finger so he could put the ring on. Instead, I got him up off the ground and hugged him around his neck and wouldn't let go. He asked me if I wanted to put it on my finger, and I told him not yet. He thought that I was scared, but I told him I just didn't want to let go yet.

He finally pried me off of him ;o) and put the ring on. He told me that the ring was mine to keep, and I said, "Is this a for real ring?" He told me yes, and then I stopped and shyly asked, "Do I still get my other one?" (I'm designing a ring, but it wasn't getting done in time, and I was getting for real anxious to be engaged.) He told me that I would still get my other one, and he got another super huge hug!

We continued our walk around the temple, no longer able to touch the ground, and I thought about it... I had told him that I had wanted him to propose in some big fancy way so that I would have a great story to tell, but, the way he did it was EXACTLY him, and I would not have wanted it any other way. This was perfect. Plus, like the name of my blog, it's the little things that are important, so having him ask me in a manner that was just him, is way better than any extravagant way he could have pulled off to give me a "good story." I think I got the best story just the way I got it :o)

The next step is to wait until June 5th, so we can begin our "Happily Ever After."