3.21.2011

St. Patty's Day

For those of you who don't know, I have a complete obsession with Ireland and I love love St. Patrick's Day! I know, it's kind of a random interest! As long as I can remember, I've loved the Irish culture, Celtic music, step dance, and their amazing accents! My friend Lacey and I would perform 'Lord of the Dance' almost every day for my mom when we were little. I chose Ireland for every report in elementary and middle school. And then... my parents took me to Ireland when I was in high school! It was incredible! I cried when the plane was landing. It was breathtaking! We drove around the entire country and stayed in the cutest Bed and Breakfasts. I think about that trip daily. I want to take Spencer back someday! Here are a few pictures from our Ireland trip from 2006.


It was really funny, this year for St. Patrick's Day Spencer and I both surprised each other with green baskets full of green treats! Wow, we really are made for each other!

Above is the basket Spencer made for me! He's so cute.

Here's the basket I made for Spencer!

3.18.2011

We're Engaged!!

First off, I have to say that I am the luckiest girl in the whole world! I have found the most amazing man to share my life with! But... before I get into all that lovey dovey stuff, you're probably wondering about our story. So, here's the scoop!

Last February when I was home recovering from elbow surgery I got a letter in the mail from a random missionary. I was on meds (strong ones!) and so I was really confused when my mom kept saying I got a letter from a Spencer Snyder. I thought she was confused, but no, it was definitely me! Well, it ended up being a letter from my good friend from high school, Cody Raymond, and his companion, Spencer Snyder. When they were serving together in New York City, Cody played a little matchmaker and had Spencer write me a letter towards the end of his mission. We wrote a few times and then found each other on Facebook when he got home from his mission.

It took us a while to finally meet, but when we did... we hit it off instantly! I can definitely say that I knew there was something really special about this guy just after the first night of hanging out. He was such a gentleman and was always making me laugh! It was also crazy to see all the funny little things we had in common. We both have scars down our left arms from surgery, we both are BYU fanatics, we're the babies in our families, we both have triple initials, our dad's served missions in Japan, both sets of parents went and met and BYU, our moms helped get our dads through BYU Law School, and we were both born as girls (Spencer wanted to make sure you were really paying attention. haha I promise he's always been a man!). I had the best first date of my life! I loved EVERYTHING about him. Every single thing he said and did made me so impressed and so attracted to him. Since that first date, we have spent every single day together... and I can't wait to spend everyday of forever with him!

So, after five months of dating (yes, it happened very fast but I can honestly tell you I knew he was "the one" after only 2 weeks!) Spencer got down on one knee and popped the question! It was THE best night of my entire life! I have never been so surprised! I knew it was coming within the upcoming weeks, but he did it sooner than I thought! He got me! He told me once the ring was ready, he couldn't wait another day. So... this is how he did it...

It was our five month anniversary and the end of a crazy, midterm filled week, so Spencer told me he was going to take me out for a special dinner to celebrate. He took me to downtown Salt Lake to Benihana's restaurant. It was soooo delicious! If you don't know, it's one of those awesome Japanese restaurants where they cook the food on the grill right in front of you. We had filet mignon! It was amazing! I didn't need anything else... but little did I know what was in store for the rest of the night!! (That day, Spencer had asked both of my parents for their permission and blessing and he also called my brothers for their permission. He did everything right!)
Spencer then told me he had a surprise place he was taking me for dessert, but we first had to stop by his parent's house really quick to drop something off. (At this point, I'm still completely clueless about what is going on!) We got to his house and when we opened the front door, I saw a dark house with a candlelit pathway heading down the hallway. There was a pathway with pictures of us lit by the candles and rose petals. I couldn't believe what was happening!! Well, I thought I knew, but at the same time I didn't want to get my hopes up because Spencer is ALWAYS doing these cute, creative, thoughtful things for me! I heard in the background the song "Marry Me" by Train and chills were sent down my body! I followed the pathway down and around the corner which led to the living room lit with at least a hundred candles! The whole room was illuminated with candles surrounding the entire room. They were on the floor, on the mantle, on shelves, everywhere! It was so romantic. It was like a dream or a movie. Seriously, I had to pinch myself.
Spencer thought of everything! He kept on surprising me! There was a blanket in the middle of the floor that had our names embroidered into it. There was also a little table with all of our favorite treats that had some sort of special meaning or memory to them. Some of the things that were on the table were two dozen roses, the cookies that we made on our first date, fresh fruit, and our favorite drinks with champagne glasses. Spencer's cute mom is a professional calligrapher and she had made a new label for the Fresca bottle that said "Spencer and Megan's Drink." Everything was so personalized and had so much effort put into it!
We sat down on the blanket and ate some of the treats while listening to our favorite love songs in the background. Spencer then gave me a shadowbox frame with EVERY single ticket of anything we have ever gone to - dance competitions, movies, corn mazes, plays, etc! Seriously! I haven't even kept all of those! It was so special. He also had a letter that I had written him on his mission sitting there. We read over it and laughed! Then one of our favorite songs came on, "If I Die Young" by The Band Perry. Spencer and I have this little thing that we sometimes say to each other... if one of us can tell the other one is thinking something, we say "penny?" and the other person has to tell you what they're thinking. We got that from the phrase "a penny for your thoughts" that is in that song. So, as we were sitting there, that line in the song came on and Spencer told me he had another surprise. He told me to close my eyes. Thinking he was so funny, and getting this idea from his brother Danny, Spencer started apologizing for making me think something else was going to happen that night (the proposal). He told me that he had a different surprise for me though. I opened my eyes... and there was a journal with our picture on it and writing that said "Spencer and Megan's Penny Journal." He told me that he wanted to give me a special journal that we could write our thoughts in and notes to each other.
So, we were laying on the ground and I opened the journal. Spencer had written me a letter in it. He told me to read it out loud. After reading the first line I started to cry. It was the sweetest letter anyone has ever given me. He told me all the things he loved about me, some fun memories that stood out to him, some special spiritual thoughts, and how he couldn't wait to spend forever with me. I could hardly get through it because I was so teary. It was so special! I will cherish that letter forever! I got to the end of it and thought it was over... until I saw the little arrow pointing to the next page. I turned the page and saw in huge writing.... "THIS IS THE PART WHERE YOU STAND UP!! STAND UP!" I dug my head into my hands and started to cry. I looked up at him and said "Really???" He had tears in his eyes and said "Yes." We stood up and... Spencer got down on one knee, told me he wanted to spend eternity with me, and asked me to MARRY HIM! I think I said yes a dozen times, in between the hugs and kisses and tears! The ring was absolutely PERFECT! Spencer surprised me with a customized ring I wanted and dreamed of!!! Everything was perfect!! I couldn't believe I was going to marry the most amazing, perfect man!
Spencer makes me so happy! He makes me want to be better in so many ways. I love every single thing about him. He is the most thoughtful, mature, funny, light-hearted, worthy, selfless, optimistic, smart, hard working, and loving man I have ever met. I thank my Heavenly Father every day for blessing me with him in my life. He's everything I dreamed of and so much more. He fits so perfectly into my family! My parents and siblings love Spencer so much. My mom said she knew he was the one really fast just from seeing the way we interacted and how I talked about him. I'm also so excited to gain a new family! Spencer's parents and family are amazing! I can't wait to make Spencer my husband on August 26, 2011! I can't wait to have a family with this man and grow old with him. I love you Spencer! Thank you for being my everything!