Our Story in Pictures

So ... as warned my blogs are pretty much all over the place and today is no different.  Matt and I have FINALLY announced that we are engaged!  YAY!!  If I wasn't sitting in my papasan chair drinking my coffee I would probably do my happy dance!  With a hyperlink to my blog that says "This crazy life of mine in pictures", you can imagine I have lots of pictures to catch you up on.  But I also wanted to tell you about Matt and I.  If you know us as a couple we are pretty private, well we are apart too for that matter.  So the irony of starting a blog does not escape me, but with the digital age we have so many family members and mutual friends that don't really know our story (and likely many who don't care, but those who are reading here it is).  Short but sweet version.... but tons of pictures!!!

Love this Man!!!!

This is the part where I wish I had pictures of our childhood to share with you.  But Matt and I grew up in the same hometown in North Carolina and were in side by side Kindergarten classes.  While I don't exactly remember a lot about him in kindergarten, as we got older I had the biggest crush on him.  We used to ride the same school bus and he was a pretty quite kid, but he was really sweet.  His parents were in the Military so they would move away and come back every three or so year, and he left after Freshman year of high school. 



My life in Key West: Where my parents lived!



Around our house in the Keys! I do miss it!

Fast forward about 10 years and Facebook has out lived Myspace.  I am living in Key West (yes its heaven!) and I get a Facebook message from Matt in December 2011, only I think its someone else and I ignore it thinking "why is one of my brothers childhood friends sending me a message".  Thankfully he is persistent and he messages me again, and a light bulb went of off realizing my mistake, here is the kid I had a crush on so many years ago.  Whooops!  So I do what any Facebook savvy woman does....message him back then check out all his pictures! Hehe, yep still hot!  And those blue eyes. (Insert gag-me sound here I know).    Ok so there are lots of pictures from Key West here, and I'm jumping around, but Matt loves it there too, I've taken him a few times. 




Out and about downtown Key West.



I was so blessed to work at the Westin in the heart of downtown!



My favorite was playing Tourist!



Shells for days downtown, very expensive but pretty!




So many things you must see if in Key West!!

Ok so while I was in the most beautiful place imaginable, I started talking to Matt, and after a few months (phone calls everyday, Skype, 8hr phone calls, and hundreds of texts) I flew to the Florida Panhandle to visit him.  I fell in love....hehe....the beaches were beautiful!!!  Spending a few days together were honestly the most laid back and fun weekend I could ever remember having.  Here I was with this man who bought me flowers, made me laugh, took me shooting, made me dinner, was excited to see me everyday and took me to Destin on my first night and let me put my feet in real white sand (FYI Key West does not have soft white sand....its more crushed coral).  By the weekend's end I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that this man had my heart, and he treated it like gold!



From my weekend visit.

For the first time in my life I knew what it was like to be in love with your best friend, or to be completely in love at all!  Over the next few months we had a long distance relationship, full of flowers, phone calls, I miss you's, I can't wait to see you's, and two very long 14 hour trips to visit him.  (Seriously Florida needs to do something about that, the Keys to the Panhandle...it should be illegal to have to drive 14hrs in the same state!)



Flowers he sent me!



Pictures from my visits!

After too many heart breaking good byes and missing each other, we decided that I would make the move from Key West to the Panhandle.  And though I loved Key West, I have to say that over 2 years later it was the best decision I ever made.  So after almost two years together, this past December Matt planned a romantic dinner at a restaurant that he wouldn't tell me about, just told me to dress up and be home from work early.  Which if you know me, surprises drive me crazy...I half think that was the appeal that nigh for the secrecy.  Some of my friends at work said they thought he was going to propose that night, and I just didn't think so because, aside from the surprise he hadn't been acting any different.  He did end up taking me to the Melting Pot out in Destin and we had a private table, wine, dinner and desert.  I was pretty tired afterwards but Matt took me to "Our Spot" in Destin across from the Destin Harbor, where he took me my first time here to put my feet in the sand.

Our Magical Dinner!

So I have to be honest it was a chilly night in December when we got to Destin, and I was eyeing his pockets to see if there was box as he got out (just in case), and there was nothing.  So I went on to taking pictures of the Destin Harbor at night and all the lights over the water and didn't give it another thought.  Matt asked me if we could keep walking to the point, and as soon as we started walking he started pushing me backwards.  I remember thinking "why in the world are you pushing me!"...hehe then he is getting down on one knee, the wind is blowing and its VERY cold and its really dark on our side of the Harbor, the next thing I saw was this light and I hear Matt asking me to spend forever with him.  I started crying and sat on his knee hugging him.  He had to ask me twice before I actually answered him (I think the hug was answer enough...who knew guys want to hear "yes").  And bonus he called and asked my dad for permission! 



Magical Night!



And the surprises didn't end there!  He had made an appointment for me to get my nails done so I could show off my new ring!  So happy to spend the rest of my life with him.

Engagement Nails!!