The Proposal

Since everyone has been asking me, I thought I would blog about how Zach proposed to me!

(P.S. For those of you who for some reason didn't know, Zach and I are now engaged. YIPEEEEE!!!...now back to our scheduled programing)

I turned 21 on the 1st of June, which was during school. Zach had wanted to take me on a trip for my birthday but since he knows how Type A I am and how important my grades are to me, he respected that I didn't exactly want to take a trip with him when I had to be studying for an anatomy and physiology lab final. I tend to get cranky when I'm stressed. So he waited until a couple weeks after school (Father's Day was the weekend after finals, and as much as his dad loves me, I know he'd want his son there for his big day). I have come to discover that Zach is not very good at keeping secrets from me, so he told me where we were going beforehand. We set out on June 22, 2013.

"And so it begins..."

Our first stop on our trip was the Tillamook Cheese Factory. I am of the opinion that you can never have too much cheese, and being the awesome boyfriend that he is, Zach knows this; and since I had never been to the Cheese Factory, it was a necessary stop. I must say, the free cheese samples and the ice cream were the best part. Now, don't judge because if you went there, you'd know what I mean. The factory is kinda neat and all, but who can resist free food?? We then travelled up the road to our ultimate destination of Rockaway Beach. The weather had been crappy off and on, but thankfully it wasn't raining at this point. Lo and behold, there was a small pirate faire next to one of the main beaches in town, so of course we had to stop! We checked out the booths and then went down on the beach and drew in the sand and played in the water. We managed to find a motel that was right on the beach ($112 for one night mind you...with my AAA discount). Our room had a fantastic view though! (this would come in handy later)

For dinner that night, Zach had said he wanted to take me out to a nice restaurant. After consulting with a local at the pirate faire, we determined that the nicest place was Pirates Cove in nearby Garibaldi. In my opinion, it wasn't the nicest restaurant I've ever seen and I feel like the food was a bit overpriced, but they certainly served large portions. Zachary got BBQ swordfish that cost $26 for the plate with fries. Me, being frugal, and not wanting such a large portion, got a cup of clam chowder (I'm also not much of a seafood person...aquatic or masticated). This "cup" was the size of a cereal bowl, no joke! Delicous though. At this point, the rain was really coming down outside and I was looking forward to a relaxing night in the hotel room watching a movie or soaking in the hot tub (I think that was what was most exciting to me besides the view from our room). We got back to our room and Zach said that we were going back down to the beach. I was less than eager to tramp out into the rain and wind just because he wanted to go to the beach again. But, I relented and down we went.

"Most girls cry; not me evidently."

We walked to the beach right in front of our room (see picture) and he told me that he wanted me to write our names in the sand again. First, a stick had to be located, which proved to be a difficult and wet endeavor but at last I found a satisfactory stick. With the wind threatening to blow me over and my umbrella inside out (the latter would have upset me more), I proceeded to write our names in the, dry, sand. Needless to say it did not work well at all and I was a bit peeved that I was out in the cold and wet when I could be inside and dry. I turned around and he stepped under the umbrella. He then proceeded to tell me that his buying a motorcycle had given him the opportunity to do what he was about to do. Confused, I merely stared (or maybe glared...). He dropped down on one knee and asked if I, McKenna Marie Brown, would do him the greatest honor of marrying him. At this point, I am shocked beyond words. I had guessed this was coming after his many hints throughout the day, but even then I still wasn't prepared. Most girls cry; not me evidently. I just stood there with a shocked yet surprisingly vacant expression on my face for a few seconds; even then, words appeared to escape me as I vigorously nodded my consent rather than eloquently saying "yes" as you're supposed to do, right? Unbeknownst to us, two teenage girls were watching us from what appeared to be the room next to ours. They were clapping and cheering and yelling "congratulations" at us. It was very sweet.

"Now I have to face the reality of decision making."

I made my calls to my family members as well as his mother and mass-texted all of my friends, then made it "Facebook official." We all know that nothing in life is official until it's on Facebook. So both my phone and my Facebook page were exploding. Zach had his fair share of people to contact and congratulations offered as well. We both got to bed late that night, but it was a happy night. Even by the next morning it still hadn't set in. It's finally starting to set in. I'm still excited and love showing off my ring, but now I have to face the reality of decision making. When to have the wedding, where, how I'm going to plan, colors, dress, bridal party, on and on on on and on...decisions stress me out and according to my chiropractor, I need less stressors in my life. It's killing my back, neck and hips. Maybe I should let Zach do the planning, eh? HA! That would cause me even more stress. We've already disagreed on the color scheme I have chosen. I have a feeling it will be a long road ahead of us. But, for now, I'm going to attempt to enjoy being a newly-engaged and revel in my new relationship status and being the first Brown cousin in awhile to become engaged.

*Note these pictures were taken the day after the proposal happened*

<3Hey Baby, I Think I Wanna Marry You<3

Engaged: June 22, 2012

Wedding: TBD