The Engagement

In January, Matt and I traveled to South Africa with the rest of his family to visit his sister who lives there as a missionary. We spent the first week going on safari, riding elephants and ziplining through the wild and then headed to Cape Town for our second week. Our third day in Cape Town was spent on the beautiful Clifton beach and we'd planned to have dinner that night via picnic in the botanical gardens where an outdoor concert was happening. I was worried there wouldn't be enough time to explore the gardens, but Matt insisted we do the picnic anyway. As soon as we got there, I forgot all about not wanting to go b/c it's probably the most beautiful place I've ever been. It's like a cross b/t the sets of Jurassic Park and Lost. At the foot of Table Mountain, it's just one breath-taking view after another. And it's completely landscaped with vibrant indigenous flowers you've never seen before. We spent most of our time there wandering through the gardens and gaping at how beautiful it was. And Matt was having me take pictures of everything. I mean, everything. Take a picture of this bush. Now take a picture of it from this angle. After a zillion pictures, we came upon a secluded bench under a shady tree. Matt suggested we take a break on the bench before moving on. I put the backpack on the bench and when I turned around, he was on one knee in front of me. He pulled a ring out of his pocket (which he'd been carrying on his person for days now) and asked me to marry him. I said yes.