After finally telling everyone through telephone calls, email, and the gossip train, I can finally post some big news. If you didn't get my message and this is the first time you have heard anything about it, I apologize!

On February 12th, Jon proposed to me!!! We're engaged! Want to know the details? Read on...

We were celebrating Valentine's Day. It all began with a lie in (which, let me tell you, is a rare thing with our schedules) and a homemade breakfast of waffles with fresh maple syrup and some mixed fruit in unsweetened yogurt. I'm just kidding. I don't remember what we ate. We just ate something for breakfast.

Anyways, at Christmas time we started the 88 temple pilgrimage and decided that today, our Valentine's Day would be the perfect time to visit some more of the temples along the ocean. There is a famous road on Shikoku Island called Yokonami Skyline that runs parallel to the ocean. The scenery is amazing. The temples are only open until 5 p.m. so after our last temple, which we arrived at just in time, it was off to Kochi city for some Valentine's Day shopping and a romantic dinner.

Jon had made reservations at one of our favorite restaurants called Tofu-ya. It is a restaurant that serves tofu in every dish. It is one of the very few restaurants that will adapt to vegetarians. I recommend the tofu steak and the mango tofu smoothie.

I have always wanted to take pictures of Kochi castle at night but it just never worked out. After exchanging our Valentine's Presents, we decided tonight was the perfect night to take pictures of the floodlit castle. We preceded up the stairs, laughing and taking pictures along the way.

At the top of the stone stairs, Jon pulled me over to the side and said, "I have a question for you." I, completely oblivious, replied, "OK. What?" Jon started fishing around in his pocket and I still had no clue. He got down on one knee and at first I though he was kidding. I knew he had been looking at rings when we returned to Canada for summer vacation but he had convinced me that he had not been able to bring it to back to Japan. I thought he was playing a trick and remember thinking, "This is the meanest joke ever. It is not funny at all because we had such a romantic day." I though about hitting him. Luckily for him, he asked his question before I had a chance to follow through.

"Will you marry me?" My heart started fluttering. I realized it wasn't a joke and he really was asking me. He placed the ring on my finger and of course, I said yes.

We haven't decided any details except that the wedding will take place somewhere in Saskatchewan. We will begin the preparations once we return to Canada. The tentative date is set for sometime in July, August, or September of 2006.