It's official! August 18th is the big day!

I think the ring says it all.

So ever since we announced our engagement I have been asked how, when, and where it happened. I should warn you this is only my side of the story and that there was a lot more planning and preparation going on than I am about to account for.

On Thursday, June 7, 2007, Ben Scott Newman thought it would be a good idea to go to "The Meadow of Luuuve" to paint some pictures. We had been up here with my roommate and her fiance hiking prior to this day and had decided that we should name all the different places along the way (and that is where it got its name). This particular meadow is a gorgeous green field with mountains and trees surrounding it on every side. Here are the pictures of the field in panoramic order!




Anyway, we sat down to paint and I quickly realized Ben wasn't in a painting mood at all. So as he did his thing I did mine. He finished his painting in like 4 minutes and I just continued painting nothingness as he loomed over me acting very anxious. I just figured he didn't want to sit down because there were bugs and a potential tick infestation all around us. I didn't really care much though because it was great weather and I was sitting in the middle of a beautiful field. After about 20 minutes I finished and we went down through the trees to go to the stream so I could rinse out my paint brush. As we got to the bottom of the hill Ben looked at me with concern filling his eyes. As he opened his mouth he started to spew forth words that at first made me think he was going to break up with me and then he made it sound like he just wanted to postpone our wedding until December (for any of you who know me, you know that this was almost as heartbreaking as being broken up with). It went something like this:

Ben: Brooke, I don't want to talk to your dad tomorrow. (He was going to be talking to my dad about marrying me and asking for my families blessing).
Me: (slightly confused) Okay ...
Ben: I mean, I've just been thinking about the timing of things and finances and you said you'd be ok with waiting until December if we really needed to
Me: (trying to smile because at least he wasn't breaking up with me) Yeah, ok.
Ben: and anyway, the real reason why I don't want to talk to your dad tomorrow is because I took work off and drove to Taylor (where my parent's live) yesterday.
Me: .... (I am guessing the look on my face was pure confusion)
Ben: (while reaching into his backpack) _________ I'm not allowed to say the mushy stuff that ben said here but before I knew it he had a ring and he was down on his knee asking me to marry him!
Me: Yes! A million times yes! (I don't know exactly what I said but I do know that at that moment I had a hard time believing it was all real!)

Anyway, so then of course I couldn't stop smiling for the next 10 days (yes, I am still smiling). And Later that night Ben took me to an amazing restaurant - The Chef's Table - to celebrate our engagement and to see if he could challenge a previous statement I had made that any girl who goes here will remember the food but won't remember the guy or the rest of the day after a year or two. (I think he has definitely made me retract my statement). I'm already forgetting the food but I will never forget that day.

So, now it is all official and we have started making plans. Our wedding date is set to be August 18th, 2007 and we are getting married in the Salt Lake City LDS Temple at 7:40am.

Oh and here is a close up of my engagement ring: (A princess cut diamond with 8 round diamonds set to the sides of it): PICTURE HAS BEEN DELETED .... I'll post a better one once I find it!