i got rob a golf bag for christmas...

and he got me a ring!  Oh, and I said "yes" and gladly accepted it.  Ok...so it was after Christmas, but before New Years Eve.  I should have known that when he got me a coffee mug and a picture frame as my Christmas gift that something was up :)

People have been asking if it was a surprise and I say yes...because it was...but I did come home to my dad's house right before Christmas to find Rob and my dad having a beer, when Rob was supposed to be on his way to St. Louis.  So did I know that Rob was thinking about it, yes, did I know when, no.

How he did it...We drove to the lake on Thursday after I got off work and met our friends Joel and Amanda at the park where Rob grew up.  HaHa Tonka...ever heard of it?  Well its an awesome park at the Lake of The Ozarks that Rob and his family grew up in, no seriously they grew up in the park because his mom runs it. I had never been there but Rob said we were meeting there because it was on the way (first clue that I missed, not on the way to anywhere).  Joel and Amanda beat us there and we were supposed to meet them up at the castle since I had never seen it (see pic below).  Since it was dark, all I could think about was Joel jumping out of the trees and scaring me off the cliff so, again, still pretty oblivious. We got up to the castle and Rob was telling me about all the history (which I am sure he was so thrilled I was asking numerous questions) and then next thing I knew i was climbing some wall and that's when I began to get suspicious...I don't just climb walls in the dark really close to really tall cliffs.  But I went with it...we came to a spot that he always imagined proposing to someone that overlooked the lake and tons of trees and whatnot (red x). He started saying really nice things that I don't really remember (sorry) and when he started choking up....I turned around and he was getting on one knee!! He got out the ring (which I couldn't see because it was dark) and showed it to me....and I said yes!  I am going to emphasize "show", he didn't let me put it on until we got off the cliff...too dark, too big, not insured- he had a valid point.  So after a few moments, I asked "where are Joel and Amanda?  Are they hiding in the trees like paparazzi taking pics of this awesome moment?"  We walked about 20 yards and saw a romantic display of candles in mason jars on another cliff with a beautiful view (blue x). Oops. As fellow newcomers to the HaHa Tonka park, it was pretty tough to guess which cliff Rob was referring too.  I LOVED it, and it made the moment even better when they did come out of the trees and we could actually see them...we enjoyed a bottle of champagne before heading to dinner with Rob's parents!

HaHa Tonka

Rob did a good job with the bling, explains why I couldn't put it on right away!  And yes, this was taken at work.

Soooo, Rob and I are engaged and couldn't be happier!  He gets so excited every time I come home with a new bridal magazine, reception idea, etc. He even told me he would start on the guest list this week...

No we don't have a date set, but my New Year's Resolution is to get Married!!  I am a pretty lucky girl and have a pretty awesome fiance, life is good today. 

Ready for a bold statement? 2011 has potential to be the best year of my life!!