Jax32
Workin' on our Fairytale
- Joined
- Aug 18, 2010
Here it is. The beginning of my planning journal. Its crazy for me to think we are less than a year away from becoming Mr. & Mrs. Gasaway 
I really enjoy reading other PJs and TRs and hope all of you enjoy reading about our DFTW journey.
Our Story:
Ryan and I started dating our sophomore year of high school. He asked me out on a torn piece of loose leaf in our Current Affairs class in February of 2001.... I told him Id have to think about it. haha! After a few days, he asked me on the phone if I had thought about it enough and I finally told him yes! Below is our first picture taken together from the summer of that year.
I feel very blessed that we have had so many years together already. We really enjoy being able to look back at all of the photos from school dances, family trips & just hanging out. Browsing through our high school year book the other day, we stopped on the Voted Most Likely To.... spreads and COMPLETELY forgot WE had been voted most likely to get married. There we stood. A black and white photo of our high school selves. Me, wearing my First Communion headpiece & Ryan, placing a ring pop on my finger. I remember getting a little upset cause my dad wasnt as excited as I was when I told him we had won that.
lol.
Fast forward to college. We didnt choose where we went to college just to be together, but, wouldnt ya know it, we were both looking for the same thing. Murray State University in Murray, Kentucky became our home for the next 4.5 years. We did the normal college things & kept ourselves busy. I joined a sorority (Sigma Sigma Sigma), he joined a fraternity (Sigma Chi), I became Treasurer & eventually President of a campus dance company, Ryan took on many responsibilities with Sigma Chi and eventually became President. It was great for us to be able to grow as individuals but still be together.
February 1, 2006 marked the beginning of a 7 month test for Ryan & I. This was my start date for the WDW College Program. While it was one of the BEST times of my life, it was hard to be so far away from him. I think we made it through with flying colors, though! Ryan has always known Disney holds a big piece of my heart and we would have never made it through those 7 months without his support for my dreams.
Our Long-Awaited Engagement:
Ok, were really going to fast forward now to New Years Eve December 31, 2009. Ryan & I like to take 3-day weekends every once and a while, just to get away. Well, kind of last minute, we decided to hit up Kansas City, MO for the New Years. Neither of us had been there so we thought it would be fun to take a weekend to explore the city. We found the BEST B&B just north of the city for us to stay at. Check it out!
The owner shows us to our room and look at my wonderful surprise...
We saved the sweets for later and got ready for our dinner reservations. We went to the Bonefish Grill. We had never eaten there (we dont have one in St. Louis) and it was pretty dang good. The Bang Bang Shrimp *AMAZING!
Alright, so since we had been together for so long, you know I had like a million versions of how I thought his proposal could go, right? Well, this scenario never entered my mind ... and it was perfect. We arrived back at the B&B and it was FREEZING! Like 2 degrees cold! And Im in a little dress, leggings & heels. So, after Ryan parks the car, I make a bee-line for the front of the house. The entire time Im running up the icy walk, Ryan is stammering behind me, Dont fall. Please be careful. Please dont fall. All I kept saying was, Im fine. Im not gunna fall. and thinking, why is he being so overly concerned? We get in the door and up to our room. I kick my so-uncomfortable heels off and turn around. He motions for me to come over to him. He hugs me and I can tell hes shaking. But I just think its cause its so freaking cold outside. haha! As hes sharing a lot of heart-felt & emotional things with me, he put his hand in his pocket, pulled out the ring & asked me to marry him. Ok, so heres the funny part. I have no memory of me looking at the ring at all in that moment. All I could do is collapse on top of him as hes kneeling on the ground & ball my eyes out! After almost 9 years of ups & downs, planning & waiting, I was in total shock that it was finally here. He was finally asking me to be his.
Once I was able to take a breath and pull away from our bear hug, he said, Well, do you wanna see the ring? He took it out of the box and placed it on my finger. We called our parents and siblings and after about a millions times of me looking at him and saying, Were Engaged.., it was time for bed. And I have to admit that I slept with the ring in the box for the first couple of nights. I was afraid that I was going to take it off in the middle of the night, like I used to do with my retainer because I wasnt used to it, and it would get lost in the bed. haha! Silly, I know.
Side note about my ring being on a rock... I realized I didnt have a photo of it close-up on my finger, which I probably need to do, and I found this one I had taken at my cousins wedding earlier this year. Kind of random.
:: Next to come :: The Planning Begins
I really enjoy reading other PJs and TRs and hope all of you enjoy reading about our DFTW journey. Our Story:
Ryan and I started dating our sophomore year of high school. He asked me out on a torn piece of loose leaf in our Current Affairs class in February of 2001.... I told him Id have to think about it. haha! After a few days, he asked me on the phone if I had thought about it enough and I finally told him yes! Below is our first picture taken together from the summer of that year.
I feel very blessed that we have had so many years together already. We really enjoy being able to look back at all of the photos from school dances, family trips & just hanging out. Browsing through our high school year book the other day, we stopped on the Voted Most Likely To.... spreads and COMPLETELY forgot WE had been voted most likely to get married. There we stood. A black and white photo of our high school selves. Me, wearing my First Communion headpiece & Ryan, placing a ring pop on my finger. I remember getting a little upset cause my dad wasnt as excited as I was when I told him we had won that.
lol. Fast forward to college. We didnt choose where we went to college just to be together, but, wouldnt ya know it, we were both looking for the same thing. Murray State University in Murray, Kentucky became our home for the next 4.5 years. We did the normal college things & kept ourselves busy. I joined a sorority (Sigma Sigma Sigma), he joined a fraternity (Sigma Chi), I became Treasurer & eventually President of a campus dance company, Ryan took on many responsibilities with Sigma Chi and eventually became President. It was great for us to be able to grow as individuals but still be together.
February 1, 2006 marked the beginning of a 7 month test for Ryan & I. This was my start date for the WDW College Program. While it was one of the BEST times of my life, it was hard to be so far away from him. I think we made it through with flying colors, though! Ryan has always known Disney holds a big piece of my heart and we would have never made it through those 7 months without his support for my dreams.
Our Long-Awaited Engagement:
Ok, were really going to fast forward now to New Years Eve December 31, 2009. Ryan & I like to take 3-day weekends every once and a while, just to get away. Well, kind of last minute, we decided to hit up Kansas City, MO for the New Years. Neither of us had been there so we thought it would be fun to take a weekend to explore the city. We found the BEST B&B just north of the city for us to stay at. Check it out!
The owner shows us to our room and look at my wonderful surprise...
We saved the sweets for later and got ready for our dinner reservations. We went to the Bonefish Grill. We had never eaten there (we dont have one in St. Louis) and it was pretty dang good. The Bang Bang Shrimp *AMAZING!
Alright, so since we had been together for so long, you know I had like a million versions of how I thought his proposal could go, right? Well, this scenario never entered my mind ... and it was perfect. We arrived back at the B&B and it was FREEZING! Like 2 degrees cold! And Im in a little dress, leggings & heels. So, after Ryan parks the car, I make a bee-line for the front of the house. The entire time Im running up the icy walk, Ryan is stammering behind me, Dont fall. Please be careful. Please dont fall. All I kept saying was, Im fine. Im not gunna fall. and thinking, why is he being so overly concerned? We get in the door and up to our room. I kick my so-uncomfortable heels off and turn around. He motions for me to come over to him. He hugs me and I can tell hes shaking. But I just think its cause its so freaking cold outside.
haha! As hes sharing a lot of heart-felt & emotional things with me, he put his hand in his pocket, pulled out the ring & asked me to marry him. Ok, so heres the funny part. I have no memory of me looking at the ring at all in that moment. All I could do is collapse on top of him as hes kneeling on the ground & ball my eyes out! After almost 9 years of ups & downs, planning & waiting, I was in total shock that it was finally here. He was finally asking me to be his. Once I was able to take a breath and pull away from our bear hug, he said, Well, do you wanna see the ring? He took it out of the box and placed it on my finger. We called our parents and siblings and after about a millions times of me looking at him and saying, Were Engaged.., it was time for bed. And I have to admit that I slept with the ring in the box for the first couple of nights. I was afraid that I was going to take it off in the middle of the night, like I used to do with my retainer because I wasnt used to it, and it would get lost in the bed. haha! Silly, I know.
Side note about my ring being on a rock... I realized I didnt have a photo of it close-up on my finger, which I probably need to do, and I found this one I had taken at my cousins wedding earlier this year. Kind of random.
:: Next to come :: The Planning Begins
....I quickly realized that this battle was not going to be quick and painless. 
BUT it worked I guess! oh & your scrapbooks for the BM are gorgeous!! Very creative. I definately cannot wait to see what else you come up with! 
