My Bob Barker Engagement

~Andrea~ · 07-23-2008, 10:55 AM

My FI and I met about 15 years ago at Pizza Hut of all places! I was in high school and working there as a waitress. He was friends with a coworker and stopped by to visit. He was a total goofball and I was instantly drawn to him. We spent the next two years building an excellent friendship. On a random day while watching a movie together we both fell asleep. We woke up, face-to-face, and he kissed me. After that moment I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face. We’ve been together ever since, for 13 years! The reason I mention all of that is because after being together for so long I started to think we’d never get engaged. I’m sure others have gone through the rollercoaster of emotions on holidays, special days, vacations, wondering if it’s going to happen and the disappointment when it doesn’t. It just never seemed to work out for us and the different situations in our lives.

Fast forward to July 2007… My family had rented a cabin on a lake for a week. While at the cabin we celebrated my 30th birthday. It was a super fun day; we floated on the lake, swam, and went out for a great dinner! After dinner we went back to the cabin and suddenly my entire family began running around as if they were getting something ready. I was very confused and the only thing they’d tell me was to sit down and wait. I’m thinking, what the heck are they doing?!?!?! Suddenly the music from The Price is Right starts playing and my uncle walks out dressed like Bob Barker! I love The Price is Right so my family put together a replica of the entire game show for us to play for my birthday! They made props, name tags, decorations, wrote a script for the host "Bob Barker", and organized 6 games…it was amazing!! After about an hour of playing along, my dad told me I won the showcase and to sit in a chair they had placed in the middle of the room so I could claim my prize. My mom and aunt who had planned the entire thing were very confused because they hadn’t planned a showcase. My dad insisted so I sat down and waited. I could see my FI out of the corner of my eye and he looked a little nervous. At that moment it hit me like a ton of bricks! I couldn’t believe what was about to happen, especially after 13 years! Probably only about 10 seconds passed after I realized what was going to happen but it felt like FOREVER! I was so nervous, excited, and pretty much freaking out all while trying to pretend like I wasn’t on to him! He finally walked up next to me, got down on his knee, and said “so are you going to marry me or what?!” It was so funny and sweet and I wrapped my arms around him and cried for the next 5 minutes! The only person who knew what was about to happen besides my FI was my dad. My FI had asked his permission earlier in the day and recruited him to help with the surprise ending of the game show. The best part of the entire event is my grandma was able to be a part of it. I think she cried more than I did! She was so excited about our engagement and couldn’t wait to get home and tell her friends what had happened at the cabin. She passed away about two months after our engagement so it was all bitter sweet. She knew we were planning a DW cruise and she was trying to figure out how to take money out of her savings so she could be there for our wedding! She had a huge heart and loved us all tons (just like we loved her). We will definitely have a toast to grandma on our wedding day!