TBT: 50 Reasons Why I Said Yes

Things I Love About Ben (list compiled in my journal Valentine’s Day ’13):

I figured since I’m starting this blog at the engagement I should take at least one post to do a little bit of a throwback and let everyone know why exactly I fell in love with Ben in the first place:

1.   He has a solid testimony (this list is not in any particular order, but I HAD to list this one very first, because it is the single most important and attractive thing I could have hoped for in my future husband)
2. He’s a smartie
3.  Lowell and Barbara Camp are so sweet and in love I can barely stand it ;)
4.  He can sing me Spanish love songs
5.  He is an exercise addict
6.       He motivates me to always do and be my best
7.       He’s so mature (*cough cough* older)
8.       He's athletically talented
9. He's my favorite story-teller
10.   And really really hot
11.   He’s super muscular
12.   And tall
13. We like the same kinds of music-
14.   He’s responsible
15.   We enjoy some friendly-competition every once in a while, even though I pretty much always win everything in the end anyway ;)
16.   I love ALL of his family
17.   I love ALL of his friends

18.   We have a mutual love for SoCal and the beach
19.   He is personable
20.   And confident
21.   He’s friendly .. even to strangers
22.   I never ever ever have to open my own door
23.   We have a super-healthy relationship
24.   and great communication
25.   He is decisive
26.    and detail-oriented
27.   He is positive
28.    and happy
29.   We both lead active and busy lives
30.   He is absolutely adorable with kids
31.   I get a foot rub every Sunday
32.   He passed the Moroni test
33.   He has every muscle, bone, nerve, etc. in the human body memorized and that’s just plain impressive.
34.   He is a good example to everyone around him
35.   He is helpful and contributing
36.   He is a great date planner
37.   He has the sexiest country-dancing wink I’ve ever seen
38. He buys me lots of Oreo McFlurrys (with extra extra Oreo)
39.    We came together thanks to...Blink 182,
40.    late-night Sonic,
41.   summertime bonfires,
42.   haunted houses,
43.   football season,
44.   the New York Yankees,
45.    and movies on movies on movies- just a few of my favorite things…
46.   He’s a ginger
47.   He has angelic pale-skin ;)
48.   He still drinks Capri-Suns
49.   He makes bomb snickerdoodles
50.   He doesn’t snore zzz

...and those are just the FIRST 50 things that I noticed, trust me, the list goes on...

Mace Ann Haycock is ENGAGED!!!

Who: Benjamin Lewis Camp

What: The most beautiful, secretive, detailed, sparkly, floral, surprising, sunny, sweet, wonderful proposal in the whole wide world :)

Where: Thanksgiving Point Gardens

When: Thursday, April 25, 2013 (during the Tulip Festival at the Gardens)

How: I’ll start out by saying I COULD NOT HAVE BEEN MORE SURPRISED! I had absolutely no idea this was coming and here’s why: I was positive that Ben would not have asked for my hand in marriage without first talking to my dad and getting his permission… That being said, Ben went on a business trip with Response to the Buying Summit in Las Vegas two weeks ago-. He flew there with management, had a packed schedule, texted me consistently what he was “doing”, AND I knew my dad was supposed to be in Reno that weekend anyway. So little did I know, my mom picked Ben up at the Venetian for a two-hour lunch break to meet my dad right as he was getting in from Reno.  After a slightly intimidating, but mostly sentimental conversation, my dad gave Ben his blessing and my mom cried tears of joy that he “passed the test”.

Ben proceeded to tell me a handful of little white lies for the next two weeks and I continued to drop hints about NOT wanting a short engagement. My stress level was rising every day we hadn’t planned a trip to Vegas and the whole time Ben was just laughing to himself I’m sure.

On Monday, April 22, Ben told me that he was going to take me on a surprise date in Salt Lake that coming Thursday. He told me it was going to be a relaxing, fun, celebration that finals were over, but I knew he really wanted to do something sweet just so I wouldn’t be mad that he was going on a 7-day cruise with three other attractive, SINGLE, guys two days later. ;) He told me that he didn’t want to give it away, but that I might want to dress up a little bit, because we were going to some kind of concert, or show or something. (He also convinced Lauren to do my eyelashes before she left for Vegas on Wednesday without me knowing somehow.)

Ben picked me up from work at 3:30. We drove to the Gardens at Thanksgiving Point first, which I thought was a sweet surprise, since I had never been there before and it was BEAUTIFUL outside. I couldn’t think of more perfect place or person to spend the afternoon with. Once I freed up enough space on my memory-crammed iPhone, I started taking pictures of pretty much everything I saw, typical me. I’m sure Ben was really anxious the whole time, but I had NO idea what was coming. He played it off so well, I didn’t even see the ring-size adjusters fall out of his shirt pocket, or his mom and two cousins creeping around after us! ;P I snapped tons and tons of tulip pictures (some almost matching the color of my boyfriend’s hair) , some “selfies”, and even posted my first Vine then, totally oblivious.

Eventually we made our way to THE SECRET GARDEN… It’s this beautiful secluded garden area with a fountain (my favorite) and a charming entrance (my second favorite). Ben and I took a seat on a bench near the most adorable old couple. I remember Ben asking me something like if I thought we would be like those cute old people walking around the garden one day. I held back a couple of tears then, thank heaven, because I STILL did not know what was going to happen next, I just thought that was a really sweet thing for him to say. We stood up and walked into the main area where the fountain was right after that and he asked me if I thought we were going to be happy for a very long time. To which I responded “I think so… actually I know so”, then he told me that he knew we would be too and he said “I have a question for you” as he was reaching into his shirt pocket! All I can remember right then is thinking: There is NO way this is happening over and over again. I was in such shock I didn’t notice all of the people watching us, and I can’t even really remember all that he said… something like “I love you…Mace Ann Haycock… will you marry me?” and just like that he was on one knee and the only thing I could say was yes (apparently over and over again). Then in a split second I seemed like we were hugging and I was crying and I had a rock on my finger and cameras were everywhere. Everything was perfect. I had a fiancé, and my happily ever after had begun.