So...I was kind of expecting that it was coming soon, but he completely caught me off guard. Here's how it all went down:

We had my brothers that night so my dad could go on a date. I had gone to the gym right after work and when I got home Mike was about to leave with Henry so that he could pick up his nephew, Austin, from the hospital (Austin's mom/Mike's sister just had a new baby the previous day). So I got changed and was helping Appy with his homework, etc. waiting for Mike to come home so we could order pizza and watch movies.

When he walked in the front door he immediately says "Did you drop something in the parking lot when you came in earlier?" He sounded kind of panicked and I'm kind of a klutz and have been known to drop stuff in the parking lot when I'm getting out of my car...so I was like "oh crap...maybe..."

And then Henry says, "Here...I found this on the ground next to your car." And he reached into his pocket and pulls out a white ring box. My first thought was, "wait that's not mine..." Then something clicked and my mind went completely blank. I took the box and opened it and it was my beautiful ring inside. I just stared at it and couldn't even talk...I barely even heard Mike saying "Lauren...will you marry me?"

Nodding works well as a confirmation, so I did that first and was finally able to squeak out a yes. I jumped up to hug him and he was totally sweaty from all of his nervousness (haha). My little brothers were jumping up and down and hugging us and calling Mike "brother" and telling Austin how excited they were to be his "uncles" (imagine...Appy as a 10 year old "uncle" of a kid that is 2 years older than him!).

I could not be happier with the way it all went down. Mike asked me if I was upset that he didn't ask me at some posh restaurant or at the top of a mountain and I told him OF COURSE NOT! Neither of those things are my style. One thing that has always drawn me to him is the closeness that he has with his family and his willing acceptance of my brothers as a huge part of his life. The fact that he thought to include them in on the most special day of my life so far only makes this engagement that much sweeter.

So it's time to get planning! I have a lot to do and I know that I will be asking some of you for advice through this because I don't even know where to start! I'm so excited that I have one of my closest friends to plan a wedding alongside of (DINA!!!!!!). This is just the beginning of a huge new adventure!!

• She is the oldest of 4 (has 3 younger brothers).
• She is a graphic designer.
• She collects Blythe dolls.
• She loves yoga, Scrabble, and beer.
• She refuses to be too old for the Twilight books.
• She hates guacamole, grilled pineapple, and Seinfeld.