Saturday, February 13, 2010

I Could Not Help Myself

I was really happy tonight to get the news that my cousin Patrick proposed to his girlfriend Jessica today. I have this thing where I never think anyone will be good enough for the men in my family, and then when I meet their ladyfriends, I'm like, "Dude. Seriously. Lock it down. Best put a ring on it NOW." My dad emailed my sibs and me to give us the news, and he thoughtfully attached a picture of the ring. I am so glad that guy got an iPhone!

I think those are sapphires but I'm not sure. I am sure however that I want one just like it. I wanted to tell y'all about this whole event because, when I called Dad to get the story, he told me that Pat had put the ring in a coffee can and buried it in the backyard, then concocted some story for Jessica about digging up a time capsule, and after he asked and she said yes, a mariachi band came out of Pat's house and played for them. You know, the usual: diamond, coffee can, trowel, unexpected mariachi. Possibly nothing more adorable has ever occurred. Those are all the deets I know, maybe Pat will come by and expand upon this outline.

Anyhoo, I remembered this post, one of my favorite Matt posts ever, and I wanted to give it a rerun. Because Jessica, my wish for your future is that you and Pat will attain this level of romance:

On Friday night we were on our way up to the mountain house for the long weekend, and I turned to Matt and said, "Tomorrow is Valentine's Day, you know." This seemed like new and surprising information to him.

So I asked, "Did you remember to pack my present?"

And he said, "Sweetie, I'm always packing your present."

Then he whooped and high-fived himself. He's such a hopeless romantic.

Happy Valentine's Day! Anybody get anything sweet? Flowers, candy, other tokens of affection? We are sticking close to home. Hank is much better today. He still has his cough, but no more fever, and he played in the snow and had a normal day. Have a great weekend, y'all!

23 comments:

Maggie said...

My sweet romantic hubby gave me a huge surprise birthday party today with all of the friends we have here in Colorado. He put tons of effort into it and did a fantastic job. I think that is pretty romantic for a man married to me for 28 years!! Ah, ain't love grand?

delaine said...

It IS a beautiful ring and yes those are sapphires. Patrick is a fun, creative romantic guy and Jessica is a lovely, smart and sweet young lady.I know they will be a great pair! Maggie is absolutely right: love is grand.

Kelly said...

What a beautiful ring! Great choice!

I remember when you first wrote about that car ride and that comment still cracks me up. Simmer down now!

Keely said...

No mariachi band here. We pretty much ignore Valentine's Day around here (double ignored this year as we were at a funeral yesterday and didn't really have time to think about it).

That is, however, a gorgeous ring and pretty much the sweetest/weirdest (sweirdest? squirkiest?) proposal story ever.

Jenni said...

That is a gorgeous ring, and a very sweet proposal.

I got handmade valentines from Oscar. Doesn't get any better.

Michele said...

Love the ring and the way it was presented. Glad to hear that Hank is feeling a bit better. JR got me the sweetest card. He never forgets. Tonight when he gets home from work there will be a surprise for him. Stop it, a surprise of the food type.

Becky said...

Michele, what other kind of gift could there be???

Happy Birthday Maggie!

gretchen said...

The whole proposal thing (coffee can, mariachis) is priceless. I hope she knows what a great family she's marrying into!

Amy said...

Keely, our cousin Patrick is a perfect combination of sweet and weird! :) And I mean that in the best way possible. It's a gorgeous ring!

In our emails back and forth yesterday about it, I said "Dang--I knew I shoulda held out for a bigger diamond." And Becky wrote back, "Oh--HELD OUT. That's what I should've done, not put out." And then Dave said, "You know, I'm still holding out for one too, AND putting out."

Way to go, Pat! And Beck, that man of yours is hilarious.

Lawyer Mom said...

Happy V day, Becky!

Our V day was a snow day. My sweet H trudged out into the thick of it to get a card but the Godiva chocolate-covered cherries will have to wait . . .

Amy said...

Gorgeous ring... I now wish I had picked out something higher-profile than I did, and that one fits the bill perfectly! I lurve sapphire+diamond.

And I remember that post!! I think it might have been one of the very first ones I ever read here at SubMat. Such a funny man. Hoohaw!

Camp Papa said...

Patrick has always been able to hear a multitude of different drummers. A sweeter man, you will never find. And, God bless her, Jessica has met the whole family and is still on board.

Dave said...

That's an awesome and very Pat-ish engagement story. Can't wait to hear first-person deets.

Valentine's Day here was a weird mishmash:

1. Tailgating Senator Scott Brown on Capitol Hill,
2. Watching The Book of Eli
3. Mussels, bourbon, and cookie dough ice cream,
4. Watching the Olympics.

Scott said...

I'm gonna have to steal that line from Matt. That's classic. Now, the game is waiting 'til someone asks if I'm packing a present for them.

It does sort of remind me of my engagement story: Stephanie and I went on a picnic at the beach. It started raining and we took cover under a pavilion. When she least expected it, I slipped it into her hand. Later, I also gave her a ring.

BaZing!

To sum up: very excited for my brother and his future wife. Way ta go, Pat.

Becky said...

baZING! Scott, I am slain. Slain in the spirit.

Elisa @ Globetrotting in Heels said...

oooh, love the ring! And the proposal too, so cute! Congratulations to Pat and his fiance!

Crystal Keilers, that's me. said...

Woo Hoo, GO PAT! Couldn't be happier for him. We went to college together and we all love Pat.

Amy linked your fabulous posting today (& btw, your hubby's comment almost trumped Pat's engagement), so that's why I'm stopping by to HI! And I'll also add that your entire family is so witty, it must be a genome thing ;).

Anonymous said...

Um, no one has yet commented on the time capsule excuse. Really? She didn't find it odd that they'd be digging up a time capsule? Do people make time capsules except in the movies? I am definitely going to need more deets on that aspect of the story. Where is this Pat that you speak of??

Becky said...

I know! I need to hear more about this time capsule ruse too. I keep hoping Patrick will wander in and explain more, but I guess he's all busy and stuff.

Casey said...

Oh my, that's the best engagement story I've ever heard. How stinkin sweet! And the ring, yum.

Fantastic Forrest said...

I am laughing my lips off over Matt's witty rejoinder.

And I have a sudden craving for chiles relleno. I think it's the mariachi band reference.

Sara said...

post and comments full of good laughs!

oooh! what a pretty ring, too!

I'm totally cornfused by the proposal set up but I guess that's what makes it so surprising and memorable. Congrats to the couple!

Not a darn thing for V Day, but we *did* just buy a generator, so I told him repeatedly that he was off the hook this year.

I love that Matt quote. And Scott's comment is also classic. Just classic.

Patrick said...

Hey Beck!!
Sorry it took me so long to get on here and explain, but this is how the proposal went down...
A few years ago, my friends--Jeb and Jonathan-- and me made a bet who would get married first. We wrote our answers and the dates on pieces of paper and buried them with the rules of our little game in a box in my parents backyard to be unearthed at the first person's bachelor party. I had told Jessica about this bet and thought maybe I could use it to surprise her when I proposed (thinking that she would maybe expect it on the fancy date we were supposed to go on later that night). So I told her my dad wanted me to help him trim the brush on the back-fence. She agreed to help, and so I went and picked her up and we started clipping away. At one point, I told her I thought my friends had forgotten about the game and that I wanted to dig up the box to see what we had wrote. So I got the shovel and started to dig up "the box" (which was the coffee can I planted earlier in the day near it). She got by me as I pulled it out, noticing the can and the bag it was sealed in looked oddly new. "Hmm, that's funny", I responded. Anyways, I opened the can and pulled the ring box out of the bag inside and opened it. It all happened so quick, she was in complete shock. I asked her to be my wife and she said--with tears and laughter-- yes!! Then after a couple of minutes, I said since it was such an unromantic setting, I had hired a Mariachi band to come and play for us. So I motioned to the house and my friends, Jacob, Kyle, and Jon, who had snuck in the front while we were out back, came out and played an original song in full Mariachi attire. They did awesome. It actually was recorded on video, but I havent seen it yet. As soon as I do, I'll let you see it!. Phew! Well, that's the long and short of the whole story.