I'm engaged!

Well have I got something to blog about!

Saturday, November 14th 2009

Earlier in the week I had suggested to Michael that we go and spend some time in Boulder this weekend, to get out of the city and take a 4-5 hour vacation.  He said that sounded good, so we made tentative plans to go on Saturday.  When I found out the weather forecast for the weekend (rainy/snowy and cold), I suggested alternative ideas to him such as going to the mall.  He opposed this idea and insisted that I keep the Boulder option open.  We decided to play it by ear, depending on the weather.

Friday night, I had him over for a dinner that I cooked and then when going to bed he requested that I set an early alarm (well, early to me which means about 8:30).  Since it was the weekend and he works on Sundays, I don't like not having a day to sleep in with him, so I secretly set it for a bit later.

We still started to rouse early and while I did the usual snooze routine he was wide awake.  He tried to rouse me but I was needing my 20 minutes, at least, of snooze time, which he usually requires too so I found it slightly perplexing that he was able to wake up so easily.  He went downstairs, then got on my computer and then really pushed me to get going.  I didn't know what the rush was - we had all day to go to Boulder, which is only about 20-30 minutes away.  Still, he got me going and we headed out.  He took me out to breakfast at Einstein Bagels (love this place!) where we got warm from the snow and also ordered the same thing.  We continued onto Boulder, running into pretty heavy traffic for one section of the trip, and sang Michael Jackson all the way there.

We found a good (and free!) parking space and started our day in Boulder with window shopping on Pearl Street.  We checked out the best bookshop in Denver and went into various eclectic shops before going to the Walnut Brewery for lunch.  Again, we ordered the same exact thing, both in drinks and in food.  It seemed like any other lunch, we paid for our own meals and nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

He kept bringing up the idea of going on a hike in Chautauqua park which is located in Boulder and has some mini hikes around the park as well as a big one to the Flatirons mountain range.  He just wanted to do one of the smaller ones, which we had already done earlier in the year on my birthday.  The snow was really coming down and I was thinking of ways to talk him out of it.  I also was way more interested in continuing window shopping and maybe even walking around CU Boulder's campus.  However, he really wanted to go.

I let him take me there.  When we parked, I tried again to get out of it and suggested that we just hang out in the car.  We were technically in the park!  Why did we have to get out in the snow and cold?  He got me out of the car, however, and we trudged up the hill.  The trail was steep and VERY muddy.  I was surprised to see a good amount of other hikers out despite the conditions.  It was funny hiking this trail as I kept slipping and having to stop to scrap the layered cake of mud off my shoes.  At one point I grunted, "Ugh, this is awful!  Well, this trail is.. not the event." Michael started cracking up, which I was surprised at but became proud of myself for apparently making a joke - so I thought.  I then found a dog wondering around by itself and got very distracted by it, trying to get it to follow us.  When it ran off in a different direction, Michael discouraged me from trying to call it back.

We rounded the corner and were in the thick of the woods.  There were no other hikers in sight and everyone's voices had disappeared.  For some reason, I also decided to take my gloves off, freeing up my hands to feel the cold.  We paused for Michael to take some pictures and I stared off through the forest at the view of Boulder down below.  I heard Michael say "turn around".  He wanted to get a picture of me.  I made a face and started to smooth my hair down, complaining "nooo I don't look good" and the usual things that girls say.

He responded, "C'mon!  I want to get a before shot."

Me: "Before what?"

Then, it was seriously as if the world stood still and all my attention was in the moment.  He got down on his knee and my mind knew what was happening but struggled at the same time to believe it.

He held my hands and started speaking.  What he said exactly, I don't remember.  Between blacking out from utter surprise and interrupting him constantly with "What???"  "No way!"  "Oh my God!"  "Is this for real??!"  Before he pulled out the box, I started jumping up and down and screaming.

Then, when he pulled out the box, I paused with anticipation and prepped myself to be happy with whatever was residing in that box.  When he pulled it open, I screamed some more and did a little dance.

He nailed it!  Inside was my dream engagement ring.

He slipped it on, it fit, and asked me to marry him.  In the middle of my screaming and dancing, I said "yes" in many ways.

I kept jumping around and exclaiming "Oh my God!"  "For real?!"  "REALLY!?!"  My mind and adrenaline was rushing and I couldn't comprehend the moment.  After I slightly calmed down, I asked him to do it again.

Like an amazing fiance, he got down on his knee and proposed again, without me interrupting this time.

We jumped and danced around some more, he sent a text that was already pre-made stating "she said yes" and received voicemails and texts back instantly.  We skipped back to the car as I asked him questions about his planning, how he got the ring and who knew about it.  He assured me that nobody knew that it was going to happen today.

I had left my phone in the car and checked it when we got back.  I already had texts waiting for me - word spreads quick!

I didn't want to head home yet so I asked if we could just sit in the car and keep talking about what just happened.  He started to drive home anyways, insisting that he was worried about the weather.

I called my parents on the way home to tell them.  My dad already knew that he was going to propose at some point soon, but my mom had no idea.  Apparently, just about everyone I know knew that he was going to propose soon except for myself and my mom.  It was a great conversation.  Meanwhile, Michael was texting people while driving and I kept urging him to stop since the roads were pretty bad.  He was definitely anxious to get back to my house and became disappointed when we got off at an exit that he thought was close to the house, but was really quite a few miles further.  We eventually arrived at my house.  First, I suggested that we call his parents together in the car before going inside.  He disagreed and said that we should just go inside first.  As we were walking to the front, I asked him to make sure that my roommates didn't know and started to think of how I was going to tell them about this.

I opened the door and heard a collaborative yell of "Congratulations!"  I looked up in total shock to see a room full of people waiting for us!  There was a banner that displayed "Congratulations Kim and Michael... Finally!", glasses with raspberries on the table, 4 champagne bottles, cupcakes from Happy Cakes, lit-tea lights formed in the shape of a heart, a card sitting out and "You're My Best Friend" by Queen playing through the Ipod speakers.

Oh my goodness.

I had NO idea about this surprise!  There were about 16 people there - all of our friends from Denver and my brother and sister-in-law!  As the music continued, I realized that Michael had made an entire play list with songs about finding the one, and getting married, and some songs that are special to us.  After getting everyone champagne, we stood in a circle and Scott and Holly both shared some words and a toast.  It was so special!  Seeing all the friends who support us there was just a perfect part of my engagement day!  Having my brother and sister-in-law there was a very special part of the event!

We mingled together, making our way around the group.  We took turns speaking to his parents on the phone; during which, I made his mom cry by stating how "your son did an amazing job".  I wish both of our parents could have been there.

I can't even express the words to describe how beautiful and perfect this all was.  It was perfect to have the proposal in a very private setting, some time to process it, and then to celebrate afterwards with the best people!  Everyone stayed for an hour or two and then Michael informed me that it was time to get ready to go to dinner.  He had made reservations for the two of us at this highly recommended French restaurant right in the neighborhood.  Again - perfect!  Now, we would have more alone time to process the day.

The restaurant was fantastic.  We had a private table in the back corner that had flower petals and other kind of potpourri items scattered in the middle of the table with 3 candles.  Michael had told them ahead of time what the occasion was.  We indulged (which is also the name of the restaurant: Indulgences) and had a couple of drinks (kir royals for me), I ordered duck and he had salmon, and I also enjoyed a creme brulee dessert.  All the food was wonderful and it was true French dining (very slow and gradual - which I love).  The place is run by French people and all the waiters can speak French.  I got to practice the language a bit with both our waiter and the chef - who came out and checked in with us.  When we informed him about the occasion, he started giving us tips on when to get married.  We practically closed the place down, being there for 3 hours.  When we left, the snow was falling steadily and everything was really covered.  Michael let me wait inside while he went to scrap of the car - the sweet actions just kept coming!

I was also informed of one more surprise - Michael had taken the next day off from work so we had another whole day together!

Again, I can't express how perfect the day was.  Even the weather added so much romance to it!  I am so thankful to all of our friends/family for their texts, voicemails, facebook messages and for those who could make it to the surprise party - not just for keeping the secret, but you all really overwhelmed me with love!  Gosh, the day was just so incredible.  Michael did an amazing job and with the collaboration of my roommates and his work buddies, the day involved more perfection than I could have even dreamed up for myself.

My mind is still catching up to the moment!  I've been wanting this for so long :)  I'm so happy!  I feel different and our relationship feels even more real.

I'll keep you all updated :)