Labor Day Weekend Surprises

I must confess, when our 36 week check up showed some progress on the baby front, I let my hopes soar.  Little Baby Rieske is definitely a product of her parents and let us know she'll do what she wants when she wants.  So when Labor Day weekend clocked us in at 38 weeks I was hoping for some labor and delivery action.
Well, here we are it's Tuesday and she's a no show.  Josh doesn't understand why I'm in such a hurry to "get her out."  So I didn't get what I was hoping for this holiday weekend but I did get something else rather exciting. 

Friday night everyone who wasn't there the night before had settled in, had dinner, and were roasting marshmallows and having dessert.  My cousin Amanda and I were helping my mom carry all the dishes to the motor home to clean them and all the beading things the girls had been working on that day back inside to get all cleaned up for the evening. 
Just when we are in the motor home getting ready to start the dishes my cousin Misty comes to the door and says, "Brittany, we need you out here."
I had literally just left the group a minute ago.  So I asked, "Can it wait 10 minutes until we are done with the dishes?!"

"No, they need you right now!"
So I climbed back out of the motor home and headed back to the fire and table area to see what they needed, expecting my dad or uncle to ask me something or retell some joke they thought was funny.  Halfway back to the fire  I see my Ken and my Uncle Gary holding a big white banner that says in huge blue letters WILL YOU MARRY ME.  Honestly, it took at least 3 seconds from that point for me to realize what was going on.  I said something like, "Oh My Gosh."  Honestly I can't remember exactly.
Josh got down on one knee, opened a red ring box and asked me if I would marry him. 

I started to cry and said, "Of course I will!"  That I do remember exactly.  Misty got my mom and Amanda out of the motor home quickly enough to see it with everyone.  Of course my mom cried, and my Uncle Gary was crying, I was crying, and a little birdie told me Ken got choked up too.  Honestly, I was too shocked and excited to really notice every one's reactions.

I asked Josh when he got the ring, if his family knew he got the ring, when he made the banner, I even asked where he got the big paper.  Evidently, at the moment that was an important element in this surprise.  He got the ring a few weeks before, his parents knew, he made the banner with his friend while I was getting my stuff together for the camping trip, and he bought the paper at the store.  Then my Uncle Gary asked if he had asked my dad.  Which he had that morning when they went fishing.

After questioning Josh I asked everyone if they had seen the ring.  Of course, they had.  But they pretended they hadn't and looked at it again.  This may continue to happen.  Josh's friend Nick who made the banner with Josh has been shown the ring twice by me and saw it before I did, but still politely looks every time.  Amanda and Ken's kids were the cutest.  When I showed the ring to their two year old daughter, she oooed and awwwed at it and said it was pretty and sparkly.  Then their three year old son told us both Congratulations and gave us both a hug.

Needless to say in all the excitement I didn't help with the dishes.  The ring was too small so I kept opening up the ring box.  Josh said I was worse than he was the day he bought it.  We went and had it sized today and Josh put it on my finger.

It was perfect.  I was surprised, he picked out the ring, and added bonus my family was there.  We've both known we wanted to get married to one another for years.  I've probably known that's what I wanted quite a bit longer but I wanted him to ask me when he was ready to.  So after patiently waiting and not pushing the issue or dropping hints, we are officially engaged.  We aren't planning to actually get married for another year.  Josh thinks that's forever for an engagement.  I think that sounds average.

We spent the rest of the weekend hanging out with family.  It was such a great camping trip.  Friday night was definitely the highpoint for me, but it was a great trip.  I made a few dutch oven cakes that were an experiment and turned out delicious.  The boys went 4wheeling, Ken built the kids a swing, etc.  Can't wait for next year.