The Klaus House : 2009

Time to try on some dresses with the family. It is always a stressful task getting all the Munoz ladies to get together at the same time. It went remarkably well and thankfully all the ladies were able to make it! I spent the day trying on dress after dress but none of them really compared to that first dress I tried on. I keep thinking I'm just going to have to go back to that one...but I have to make sure I give the dress stuff all I got!

Thank God for James! My best friend and Man of Honor was there to keep the overpriced dress designer in check. Also to remind me that I was not getting married in a cathedral so the massive "Belle" esque dress I had on probably had to go. Not gonna lie - it was really awesome to put that baby on. Felt like a real princess.

My mom was wonderful, I honestly don't know what I would do without her. She bought us all brunch and was the perfect consultant when trying on dresses. I couldn't get the woman to shed a tear though...still working on that.

We're engaged! We didn't want to forget a single detail so we wrote down everything we could remember from the day the minute we got home! If you don't feel like reading the play by play, don't feel bad - the important stuff is in the first two words of this blog!

Our Pre-Engagement Story!

July 30, 2009

Jason had planned on proposing to Erica during their trip to Costa Rica. However, the trip wasn’t for another two months and Jason hadn’t seen Erica in three months. He couldn’t wait. So he made the last minute decision to get the ring and propose during her visit to Oklahoma! Luckily, he phoned a few family members first (more later…) while Erica was in the air on a Frontier flight to Oklahoma City from the Orange County Airport with a lay over in Denver.
11 am: Jason tries to reach Erica’s mom, Debi, to ask for her blessing but was unable to reach her. He leaves a message on her cell phone then tries the home phone…no answer.
11:10 am: Jason then calls Papa Jim to ask his permission. He answers but does not recognize that it is Jason – Erica’s boyfriend, “Jason” - at first. Upon explanation, Jim gives Erica’s boyfriend Jason the go ahead but can’t talk in depth because he is at work. Jason explains to Jim he’s been unable to reach Debi so Jim gives him Debi’s work number.
11:20 am: Jason calls Debi’s office and gets another voice mail. Erica will be landing in less than three hours, and still no Debi – the clock is ticking…
11: 25 am: While waiting on the ring to be sized to a 5 ½ (which Jason found out through some trickery and a white lie involving his mother, Jan, several weeks prior), Jason phones his family to fill them in on the news. His mom is elated. His dad did not answer (nor did he listen to his son’s message saying he was going to get engaged and only then found out the day after the engagement when Jason called and asked him if he wanted to go to dinner with him and Erica). His grandmother offered, well, advice.
Jason explained to his grandma Pat that he was going to propose. He wasn’t sure on where to do it though. It was between OU’s campus in Norman or at the airport, right when Erica got off the plane! He was leaning towards the latter because he could barely contain himself. However, after grandma said – and I quote – “You’re going to propose to her at the airport?,” Jason’s decision was made for him – Norman it was.
1 pm: Erica would be in Oklahoma City in less than an hour and Debi still hadn’t called back. As a last ditch effort, Jason resorted to texting Debi that he was about to propose to her daughter but wanted her approval first. That did it. Debi called right away! “Don’t you ever text me something like that!” Despite the first sentence, she was thrilled, even handed the phone off to Erica’s sister, Natalie, because she was crying. She did get back on and give Jason her blessing though – and just in the nick of time. All lights were green. Showtime at the Apollo.
2:20 pm: Erica walked through the gate at the airport after her plane was several minutes late and ran to Jason who was waiting for her with a red and a white rose (which is her favorite – the white, I mean). They could barely contain themselves. Finally! It was so good to be back together! And although Erica is the actor in the family, Jason had some
acting todo for the next two days…

Our Engagement Story!

August 1, 2009

6 am: We woke up to get dressed for a 7 am AA meeting so we could head to Norman early enough to eat breakfast at The Diner which was closed last time we were in Norman.
Erica put on an orange and white striped, hooded sweater with a white T underneath, her new American Apparel jeans and her blue sandals. Jason wanted to wear jeans and a t-shirt but had to change plans in order to conceal the ring box in his front, left pocket. Instead, he wore baggier plaid pants and a short sleeved collared shirt that fell below his waist to ensure no sighting of the ring was possible.
7 am: AA meeting at the May Club where everyone was handed popsicle sticks with phrases on them that they were to share on if they were called upon. Erica’s stick said “Easy Does It,” and Jason’s said “Love.”
8 am: Left for Norman.
8:40 am: Arrived at The Diner on Main Street only to realize that it was closed to “rehire staff” for the entire length of time that Erica would be in town.
9:00 am: Plan B. We drove back across town to Cracker Barrel where Erica had never eaten before. Jason took a picture of her posing in an OU rocking chair outside before entering. While waiting for the food, Erica and Jason took turns reading the newspaper and playing a game on the table with a wooden triangle that held plastic golf tees in every peg but one. The object was to jump the tees over each other and only leave one in the triangle. Erica left two on her first try, Jason left three (even though he had played the game numerous times before).
9:30 am: Jason was trying to scheme a way to get Erica to OU’s campus to propose but did not know how he was going to do it. Finally, Erica suggested going to campus to take a nap on the couches in the Student Union. Jackpot. The food arrived. Erica had an egg sandwich and hash brown casserole, Jason had blackberry pancakes, two perfectly poached eggs and hash brown casserole. Both had coffee. Jason picked up the tab while Erica perused the country style general store in the lobby.
10 am: After driving back across town to campus and finding a spot to park in the parking garage near the music center, Erica and Jason began walking towards the North Oval where Erica had no idea what fate awaited her. On the way there, a car stopped and asked us for directions to the visitor center. Although Jason had spent four years at OU, he did not know where the visitor’s center was. Upon arriving in the North Oval, we soon discovered the visitor’s center was just yards away from where Jason would soon propose to Erica. Erica said she had “a really good feeling about being here.”
10:15 am: Jason sees the “Spoon Holder” where he plans to propose to Erica. Instead of walking towards it, Erica wanted to go look at the visitor’s center. Luckily, the center was closed and after running back into the people that asked us for directions, we resumed walking down the lawn of the North Oval. One last problem: How would Jason get Erica into the Spoon Holder without being obvious? Easy. Erica would see it and just walk right in.
10:30 am: Jason kissed Erica in the middle of the Spoon Holder. She later recalled him acting a little strange or nervous. As she left the Spoon Holder, Jason called out to her. When she turned around, he was down on one knee, ring in hand, and said “Will you marry me?” Erica didn’t take him serious and thought he was kidding until she saw the ring and exclaimed “Yes!” Both were crying and Erica ran up to embrace Jason. Bells from the bell tower rang out playing “Just a Spoon Full of Sugar.” I know. It seems like we’re making it up but it’s true. Bells really did ring out just after Jason proposed. After holding each other for a while, Jason was finally able to put the ring he had picked out on Erica’s finger. It fit…for now (they would later have it resized to a 5 because it was a tad loose and even later wish they didn’t get it resized because it was a tad too tight).
10:45 am: Erica and Jason called their mothers and we discovered that the Spoon Holder was built in 1910 and it was widely believed that “any couple that kissed inside would get married.” It was a landmark where many people had been engaged in the past. Erica said to Jason “Are you sure you want to marry me” to which Jason replied “I’ve pretty much wanted to marry you since you were single”
11:30 am: Erica and Jason wondered around the Student Union and found an old picture from the 1950s of another couple sitting in the Spoon Holder. Erica posed next to it and Jason took her picture.
They spent a majority of the rest of the day relaying the story to friends and family and day dreaming about the wonderful future they were about to embark on…together.

And they lived happily ever after…

The End

The Klaus House

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Assembling a party!

Friday, December 25, 2009

and then there were three..

Friday, November 20, 2009

Munoz/Sugden Engagement Dinner and Costa Rica

Saturday, October 10, 2009

That's what friends are for....

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

The Ring

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Say Yes to the Stress

Saturday, August 8, 2009

First Wedding Rags & First Engagement Dinner!

Monday, August 3, 2009

He liked it, so he put a ring on it!

Our Pre-Engagement Story!