A Love Story: The Proposal Part 2

If you missed part 1 of the proposal, click here.

I was in utter disbelief. Was I seeing things? Was my boyfriend really down on one knee asking me to marry him? Didn't I just convince myself that it WASN'T going to happen this week?

Through the tears that were in my eyes, I sank down to my knees in the sand to meet him. "Of course I'll marry you", I said. As if it were planned, fireworks started to go off behind us at that exact moment. We spent another few moments taking it all in--there was a lot of kissing and many "I love you's". Unfortunately, I had left my phone back at the house--I wanted to see the ring! Z took out his phone and lit it up so that I could see it. I still couldn't see it very well, but I immediately knew it was perfect for me. I was ready to go back and break the good news to everyone!

As we walked back, he revealed just how sneaky he had been. He managed to do everything--from picking the ring out, designing it, picking it up, and asking for BOTH of my parent's blessings (which was very important to me) without me EVER having a single thought about it. 

Meanwhile, back at the beach house, (or so I'm told) everyone was getting anxious. Apparently, they all knew what was going on. The word had spread like wildfire after Z told my dad and a few others that he was going to do it that day. As I walked ran back to the yard, I was greeted by a flurry of people--and the first person that made it to me was my dad. We hugged, and I cried lots of big tears. I told everyone that wasn't quite paying attention the big news, and there were lots of congratulations and of course, the showing of the ring.

Once I could find some time away, I immediately found my phone and called my mom. She knew it was coming, but wasn't sure when. She sounded as happy as we  were. We also called Z's family, as well as my best friend. I felt so special. I had always told him that when he proposed, I wanted it to be just us. I didn't want a huge crowd around, and I didn't want him to make a big deal out of it while it was happening. However, he knew that I would want my closest friends and family there right after it happened, and that's exactly what happened. I couldn't have asked for anything more perfect. He proposed at my favorite place in the world while I was surrounded by (most of) my favorite people in the world. And now I'm blubbering while trying to write this.

As the night went on, I pressed him to tell me everything--I was still so confused! How did he manage to do this without my knowledge? Without me even having a CLUE? Well-- He picked the ring out one weekend afternoon while I was out of town with my family. Remember that time I walked to raise money for Spina Bifida? Yeah. That day--amidst a very busy weekend. Ironically enough his family, who had planned to come into town the next day, decided to move their trip up a day and ended up coming in that afternoon. That evening, we saw Wicked at the DPAC, and we celebrated Mother's Day with my family the next night. He picked the ring up one day on his lunch break. He had lunch with my mom one afternoon and asked for her blessing, and he asked my dad while we were at the beach. The ring was hidden in our house for almost a MONTH, and in his satchel for the few days that we were at the beach before he proposed--it was even in his pocket the day of the proposal!! How I never picked up on any of this or stumbled upon the ring, I have no clue. He even pushed our New York trip back because his original plan was to propose there and he was afraid it wouldn't be ready in time!

The next night at dinner, we had dinner at Mike and Mary Beth's house. After dinner, Mary Beth brought out a carrot cake that she made just for us! I spent the majority of the rest of the week in my own world, dreaming of dresses, wedding cakes, and receptions. We went home for a few days to unpack, do laundry, repack, and head to the Big City for what we now refer to as our Engagementmoon! :)

I've gone as far as to buy a few books and magazines--and I am constantly daydreaming in my head. We haven't set an official date yet, but we're hoping that it will be sometime next fall...September, most likely. The weather is perfect here in NC during the fall. Our next few steps are to find a venue and nail down an exact date! I've been working on the guest list as I can think of names. I can't wait to dive head first into planning. Soon, I will be known as Mrs. Kuhn to my students. And let me tell you, I can't wait. I'm over the moon. 

A Love Story: The Proposal: Part 1

As I sit here trying to kill some nerves before my consultation with the oral surgeon, I figured it would be a great time to write about our proposal. I'm going to break it down into two parts--the story leading up to the proposal, and the aftershock and reactions.

*****

Z and I had been talking about marriage for a while. Heck, we had been having the marriage talk since before our first anniversary. We always talked about "oh, well when we get married I want this...." or "when we get married I want to do it this way"...we've talked about how our lives will change, what we expect out of each other, how we planned to take steps to prevent divorce, and how we want our marriage to work. I knew from a few months in that this was the man that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with, no doubt.

This spring, I was starting to get anxious. The joking had started a while back--whenever we were at the mall, one of us would say "Oh, there's a jewelry store!" or "oh, Diamonds Direct. Let's go there." But we never did. Looking back, I think both of us had some butterflies about going to look at rings for the first time. I knew he was saving up for it, but I didn't want to feel like I was pushing him into anything. I knew that I loved him--and it didn't matter if we were dating, engaged, or married.

One night in April, we finally decided it was time. I needed to pick up some pants at the dry cleaners at the mall, so I asked Z to tag along. One of us made mention of going to look at rings. We headed to the mall and before we drove past the jewelry store, I remember Z saying "I kind of want to go look"....so of course, I said "Let's go!" We spent about an hour perusing the store and looking at things that we liked and didn't like. I noticed that he had a lot of knowledge about diamonds that I didn't expect him to have. That was my first sign that he had actually taken the initiative to research things himself. We left the store with smiles on our faces, and I figured he would be popping the question soon. I should have known better. You see, Z is the kind of person who does his research before he buys ANYTHING. He makes sure that what he buys is the best for his money--even if that means paying more.

Then I started waiting--and waiting--and waiting. I was looking for any bit of a sign that he was nervous, or staying out late, being coy about things, or just acting different. I never saw any of that. He was being his normal self. I started to doubt that it was ever going to come! April passed, then May and June, and then July came.  I had convinced myself that a proposal was coming no time in our near future. Our two year anniversary was fastly approaching, and I thought that it would pass with no sign of a proposal. I started to get really discouraged. Each time I would see someone get engaged, I got increasingly jealous. I really, really wanted Z to propose. I loved this man and I couldn't wait to spend the rest of my life with him as soon as possible. So WHY didn't he feel the same? Again, I put the thoughts back in my head that maybe he wasn't ready. I had to remember that we were in love and happier than pigs in mud. I didn't need a ring to be confident in that. 

July first came, and we headed to the beach for our annual vacation with my family. For the first few days, I was in heaven, without a care in the world. The weather was hot, I got sunburnt, and I ate too much food. One night a few days into our vacation, I happened to be browsing facebook, and saw yet ANOTHER engagement. My mood turned sour immediately, and I couldn't kick it. I (selfishly) pouted for about 12 hours. Finally, Z caught on to the reason for my bad mood. We separated ourselves from everyone else and had a heart to heart. I left that conversation with the feelling that it wasn't going to happen while we were on vacation.

Once my mind was clear, I was able to get my mind off of things and jump right back into vacation. We helped bake cupcakes and make a cake (I mostly watched), we helped set up my aunt and uncle's backyard for the party, and we spent some time talking about our pending trip to New York. Everything was back to normal, or so it seemed.

July 4th came, and the day was perfect. We had the parade, rested for a while, finished setting up, and got ready for the party. The party was wonderful as usual--games, drinks, too much food, a magician, and good friends. Everyone started to disperse when it got dark. A small group of our closest friends stuck around and hung out underneath Lauren and Michael's house or in my aunt and uncle's backyard. My sister, Lauren and I even started having a mini dance party for 3. Once, when the songs were changing and I sat down to take a break, Z made mention that he saw fireworks. He said the he wished he could see them better, so I suggested we go walk on the beach. I thought nothing of it.

We walked hand in hand down to the beach access, having a conversation that I cannot recall. Once we got to the beach, we watched the fireworks go off on either side of us. It was dark, and there was hardly anyone out on the beach at that time of night. We watched for what seemed like a few minutes.

At one point, I turned around to see the fireworks on the opposite side of him, and when I turned back around, there he was, down on one knee with a ring box open. He said those 4 words that I had been waiting to hear--

"will you marry me?"

Stay tuned for the aftershock and the reactions tomorrow! :)

Playing Catch Up and some BIG news!

Holy vacation, batman!

We've got lots of catching up to do.

I suppose I should just do a photo dump.

Although, you might miss the BIG news amidst the other pictures...

WE'RE ENGAGED!

Boyfriend Fiance popped the question on July 4th while we were walking on the beach. It was perfect. I'll blog about that later. I'm pretty overwhelmed with this entire wedding planning process and I'm going to need help!

Now that that's out of the way...

We spent an amazing week with my family at Topsail, the place I love the most.

sweet Riley Q's baptism
(not my picture)

...perfect.
(not my picture, either. Lauren's.)

my sweet (then) boyfriend

a storm rolling in

Riley Q!

lots of Law and Order on Netflix

sissies

our cupcakes!
(and by our I mean I watched them make them this year)

July 4 Parade

Lauren's cake

before the party

magician.

Hold on--let me pause here. This magician was AWESOME. He took Summer's phone without her even noticing. He dropped rings into Lauren's fist. He created Marilyn Monroe. It was pretty amazing.

a beautiful day by the sound

yummmmmm!

They made us a cake!

I love that Island<3

daddy and his girls
(this dress is going in the trash....eew) 

still can't believe we're getting married!

sissies

baby in a bar!

can't stop staring at it...

engageaversary

2 year anniversary<3

my father is a horrible photographer.

love<3

babysitting!
"hey...get this thing off my head and let me drink my water"

babies!

We couldn't have asked for a better week. The weather was h-o-t (I may have gotten burnt multiple times), the company was perfect, and who doesn't love a good love story? :)

We headed home on Sunday morning and were at home for a few days before heading to New York City for a few days to celebrate our engagement! We were actually supposed to go earlier this summer...but little did I know, Z had to move our trip because he was afraid my ring wouldn't be ready before we left for our trip. His original plan was to propose in New York. I thought he moved it because of work/family plans. Funny how things work out. 

Anyway...we decided that it was the best option to drive to New York since I had never been to most states in between here (NC) and there, and it was also cheaper than flying. Z decided that we were going to try the "signature" food from each state that we stopped in. We had planned to do some on the way up and some on the way home....oops. We ended up eating everything on the way up! We started our journey at 7am on a Wednesday morning.

Starting our journey with Starbucks, of course.

reading material.

VIRGINIA Ham Biscuits

MARYLAND Crab Cakes

going into the Baltimore tunnel...

my first toll!

Signs for New York!!!

PHILLY Cheese Steak
(blegh. Gross.)

 We stayed the night in Neptune, New Jersey and decided to make the last part of our journey in the morning. We stopped for breakfast and headed to the train station, where we parked my car and hopped the train to New York City!! :)

Waffles in New Jersey

FINALLY in New York!!!

the view from our hotel

Times Square!

Look who we found!

9/11 Memorial Pool

  

The "Survivors Tree" at the memorial.

I spy the Statue of Liberty!

Wall Street

Brooklyn Bridge

Red Velvet Pancakes!

Baked French Toast

Bethesda Fountain (Central Park)

Sushi Date with my two favorite men<3

Look closely...you will see a man with a CAT on his forehead.

There was a storm a'brewing!

NC welcomed us back with a beautiful sunset

We got back last night around bedtime. It was a WONDERFUL first trip to New York City...I couldn't have asked for anything better. There were many things that I didn't get to take pictures of, but we saw A LOT. We also wanted to make sure that we had time to relax during our trip; we didn't want to be going at all times. In fact, we spent most of one day in our hotel. We walked around all morning in lower Manhattan and by 1:00, we were spent (and I had a a headache). We managed to go out for lunch, but the rest of our night was spent in our room. We had a fancy dinner of McDonald's and watched Law and Order all evening before calling it an early night. :)

****

Ya'll, summer is halfway over. I can't believe it. Still on my list to do:

-get wisdom teeth out (and recover)

-go to Michigan for leadership training

-get my classroom ready

-teacher workdays

and school starts in 29 days!!!!!!!

You'll have to excuse me while I go cry in the corner...