not about europe

I've been meaning to blog about the 31 day european adventure for about 31 days now...
but then I uploaded my pictures and 7 straight minutes of scrolling later--
I decided I need some time away from the trip before I will tackle editing (and eliminating.)

But I really just want to talk about last night, because something crazy happened!

Background:
A girl from Central Pennsylvania (me) met a guy from North Texas (Kyle)...whilst both living on the other side of the world (South Korea).
The girl decided she really liked this guy, so she moved to Texas to be with him.  Promptly got a job, and then decided to travel through Europe.
The guy stayed back, labored continuously, and patiently waited.  The girl had given him one envelope for every day she was gone... filled with goodies, notes, and videos.  For some time, the guy had decided he wanted to marry this crazy Pennsylvanian, so he saved up and planned the ultimate surprise...

Yesterday:
Kyle said he wanted us to have a day together so he asked me to take off work.
I reluctantly gave away a shift at work (reluctantly, because I'm poor now.)
First surprise on the agenda was an hour at a trampoline gymnasium... after about 5 seconds we realized we were by far the oldest people there seeking jumps, and after about 5 minutes we realized we were literally too old for this (kyle pulled a muscle and jaime's knees were hurting.)
But alas, we bounced on... determined not to quit early... but keeping one eye on the frozen yogurt buffet downstairs at all times.

We survived, ate our beloved froyo, went home, got cleaned up, and had lunch.
Then, like good citizens, we watched the US team play in the world cup... while sipping margaritas and eating nachos... (spoiler, we lost.)

Kyle had planned for us to go ice skating as well, but we ran out of time (and frankly, my knees didn't mind)
Kyle also had a groupon for a cuban restaurant we wanted to try, but as it turned out, they were moving that day?...
In true Kyle fashion, he let me pick another random place from yelp... we decided to try a turkish cafe.
and in true Jaime fashion, I got a stomachache shortly after eating.

We went home and I ran to the bathroom...
then I changed into pjs and got comfy.
Kyle suggested going to the drive-ins, and I didn't want to disappoint him since two of his other suggestions didn't pan out during the day.
Within 10 seconds of turning on the car, Kyle noticed I was falling asleep...
so yet again, he changed the plans and suggested we go look at the "water gardens" in downtown Fort Worth.
I followed his lead... in my pjs.
Then he randomly handed me a gift which I obviously questioned, but he assured me it was in response to all the gifts I had left for him while I was in Europe.
Seemed legit.
We sat down and he said to read the card first...
it was lovey dovey, but he's been known to be a romantic, so I thought nothing of it.
Then I opened the gift... a great book by an author I recognized.
*Cool! I love books!*
Then he said he got me a neat bookmark too... I found it in the middle of the book.
It immediately looked like something from etsy.com so I figured maybe it was some jewelry that was travel themed.
The "bookmark" was pieces of a map that unfolded into the words
"Will You Marry Me?"
I was TOTALLY shocked...
I turned to look at him and he held a ring and asked the question aloud.

I was so utterly surprised that I said,
"I DON'T EVEN HAVE A BRA ON RIGHT NOW!"
followed by things like,
"IS THIS FOR REAL?"
"IS THIS REAL LIFE?"
"NO WAY..."
to which I quickly corrected myself and said "YES" of course.

There were no photographers or people there popping out of bushes to celebrate,
and that's exactly how I hoped it would be.
it was the craziest surprise I've ever experienced... but in an intimate and very "us" way.

-----------------
As for the wedding,
We will be attending my sister's on Aug 2nd.
Then hanging out in PA for 3 weeks, before departing for Korea round 2.
It's a year long commitment, plus a few months after for travel.
Then we'll be coming back to the states and we can talk about a celebration of some kind.

Thanks for all the love and support!
So many of you have yet to meet Kyle, so we're looking forward to visiting my home town for a while...

Ps. It's so shiny and unique... I'll happily divulge ;)