Announcing: the *future* Mrs. Laura Ellice Dyer!

It's Sunday morning, and I'm sitting here staring at this new addition to my left hand:

Yes, the rumors are true -- I'M ENGAGED!   It came a lot sooner than I had ever anticipated, but then again, does anything in my life ever go according to "plan"?  hahaha.  So in some sense, it's no surprise that I would find my fiance when I wasn't looking for him...  and on top of it all, that we both just knew - without a doubt - that we would be perfect for each other.  It's refreshing, actually... neither of us believe in a "soul mate" -- we just have complete respect, trust, and love for each other and we have made it obvious that our priorities are in this relationship and making it work.  We both put each other's well-being above our own, and this has contribute to a successful relationship thus far, and I have full confidence that it will continue.  Many people may worry that we are in the "honeymoon phase" of our relationship (because we've only been dating about 3 months) but we are both mature (in regards to our relationship history) -- he is 32 and I am now 27, as of last week -- and we have had our fair share of dating experiences to compare to, and we just recognize that this is just "different."  There is something about him and about us that I can't quite put my finger on..... and most importantly, I can't deny the confirmation from the spirit that this is right.  That we are (more-or-less) "perfect" for each other.  Even if we both jokingly criticized the typical "Utah engagement" -- date for a month, engaged, married 3 months later -- we can't argue with what we both know is the right choice for us.  Can we say KARMA?! hahahaha.  But in the end, we have no reservations about moving forward in this, and we could not be happier!  So, without further adieu, here is the full narrative of the proposal (because I'm sure many of you are more interested in this than me gushing over my future husband):

Last weekend, Geoff and I traveled down to Moab with a group of friends to join in the "Massive Moab Trip" festivities.  This is an annual trip for many single adults in the Salt Lake/Provo area, to play and have fun -- and of course, meet new people.  Roughly 450 people attended this year's event, and it truly lived up to it's name.  I had never been to Moab before, although I've wanted to go for years now, so I was excited to finally experience the wonders of this small southeastern Utah town.  Geoff is huge into outdoor activities (if the professional snowmobiling didn't already give that away) so he loves to coordinate things like this (just one of the many reasons why I love him).  He rented a camper for the weekend so that our group of 9 would have a place to sleep, and we were definitely the envy of the campground and the mini "tent village" that had developed.  We arrived on Thursday night, exhausted yet ready for the itinerary of activities that we had planned for us.  Friday was devoted mostly to a Jeeping excursion across Slick Rock, and that was an entirely new adventure for me -- but one that I will gladly do again!  Here are a few photos from that outing:

Don't worry, he's a professional -- he set this up for a photo op!

(Note: however big your Hummer/ego may be, IT IS NOT MEANT FOR THIS.)

<3

Friday night, a few of us went out on our RZR that we rented (it's a combination of ATV + Jeep) to capture this sunset:

Saturday was full of more Jeeping adventures, but our little group went off on our own to explore a different area of Moab... this is what we found:

Gemini Bridges

Geoff likes to stand on ledges... yes, that's him out there in the distance...

(yes, that's me waaaay down there under that ginormous rock)

Gemini Bridges (Geoff and I looking up from below)

After spending the day roaming the wilderness, we made our way back to civilization to meet up with the rest of the MMT group for a picnic in the park.  I was told that we would be hiking to 'Delicate Arch'  for sunset -- for those who don't know, this is probably the most recognizable arch in the state of Utah (it's on a majority of the state's license plates).  Geoff made it sound like somewhat of an "urgent" matter, that we needed to get going so that we could make it for sunset.  Little did I know, the "urgency" in his voice was more directly related to his anxiety surrounding a certain question he was going to ask during that sunset... but let's not get ahead of ourselves :)  We gathered the troops and made our way back to camp, changing and preparing for the final activity of our event-filled weekend.  Our group of 9 arrived at the trailhead around 7:45, and we started the 1.5-mile hike to the arch... everything was business as usual from my perspective, the whispering and giggling and quiet chatter from the girls ahead of Geoff and I was nothing out of the ordinary.  We were just around the corner from the arch, and Geoff told us all that we were going up to his little "window" to get a group shot away from the masses of tourists that accumulate around the arch itself.  So here we are, sitting while Geoff sets up his camera (he's kinda serious about photography, so he has a tripod for his massive Canon camera.. er, well, I guess this was more of a rental because he sold his camera a couple weeks ago to pay for hardware he has now "leased" to me....)

...and I'm wondering why we aren't closer to the actual arch.  I mean, we made the hike all the way up, we might as well finish it right?  But there we were, sitting and waiting to take this group photo:

And then it was our turn... the group jumped out of the frame so that Geoff and I could take our "photo" -- I found it slightly odd that they were standing in a line next to the camera while Geoff adjusted the settings, but I didn't really think much about it.  Geoff came back to stand next to me so we could pose for our "photo" . . . he kissed my forehead, and I turned to look at him, only to see him dropping to one knee.  WHOA.  I knew it was going to happen, at some point in the (near) future, but it was actually happening!  I think he said something along the lines of "Will you marry me?" but I'm not going to lie, I wasn't focused on the words coming out of his mouth, I was staring at the little box in his hands while trying to remember that I needed to actually give him an answer :)  Thankfully we had a little audience taking photos, and Geoff was also (secretly) videotaping the moment so we could re-live it (and laugh at the random lady who decided to walk into the frame and take a photo of the arch without realizing what was happening a few feet from her)... pictures are worth a thousand words, so I'll let them speak for themselves:

Later I found out that Geoff was less-than-pleased with how things panned out... the sunset wasn't perfect for photos, the lighting was less-than ideal, the ring didn't fit on my finger (due to the swelling after our hike up to the spot)... but from my perspective, I wouldn't have had it any other way.  There is a beauty in imperfection, and it's special -- and it makes for better stories :) So, there you have it folks.  We are now engaged and couldn't be happier!  And with all that said, I'll leave you for now... busy times ahead, especially as we are now looking at a possible September wedding... stay tuned for further details........... <3