Since I didn't blog back then, I thought I'd be fun to reminisce about our engagement before time passes and I forget what few details I remember five years later. :)
First, a little back story. After dating for ten months, we closed on our house in April of 2009. (Technically it was Craig's house, as my name wasn't on the mortgage. We weren't yet engaged and didn't want to get too far ahead of ourselves.) Anywho, after closing in April, we worked our booties off day and night to update the appearance of our home. It was built in 1989, so think orange, wood everything, nasty carpet, and horrible wall colors. We painted nearly every square inch of the place--trim, doors, walls, kitchen backsplash. You name it, we painted it! At the time, it was kind of fun...what else did we have to do? Oh, who am I kidding? It was awful. Never again will we buy a house that needs so much cosmetic work. But I will say, we made quite the difference and were ready to show it off!
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August 8, 2009
After working hard on our new home for four straight months, it was finally time for a housewarming party! The party had been planned for two months and we literally worked on projects up until midnight the night before the party. In fact, I think the window guy was working to replace a window mere hours before people were to start arriving. Talk about being stressed! Prior to this day, we had talked about marriage and had even gone ring shopping, but an engagement was honestly the last thing on my mind that day.
We had an awesome turn out at the party - friends, neighbors, and co-workers. Between the keg and a huge pitcher of mojito, I was feeling pretty good and enjoyed showing off all of our hard work. Next thing I knew, a friend was rounding up everyone inside and out and told them to make way to our deck. When Craig started talking to the crowd, I was confused as to what he was doing. After all, we didn't plan for a speech or a toast...it was just a housewarming party! I asked a friend what was going on and she just smiled and shhhhed me. (She was one of only three that knew what was coming.)
I don't remember much of what Craig said that night, but I do remember something to the effect of...when he moved to Kansas City he hoped he would find great friends...and he obviously had due to our amazing turnout. He also said he hoped he would find that "special someone"...and he had...and he wanted to ask me a question. The next thing I knew he was down on one knee and all I could do was stare with my mouth wide open and nod my head yes! He slipped the ring on my finger and just like that, we were engaged! Oh, and apparently, instead of responding yes, I asked "How big is [the ring]?!" Hey, it was larger than what we had looked at and I was surprisingly shocked! That's when I knew I had a keeper. Haha just kidding. :)
I slipped away to call my mom. She was well aware on an impending proposal and it was her first response when I said "Guess what just happened!?!"
The rest of the night consisted of lots of hugs, congratulatory wishes, and showing off my new bling! I just couldn't stop staring at it, not to mention, I couldn't believe we were engaged! Our housewarming turned engagement party was an amazing end to my summer and the perfect proposal for us.
Luckily, my friend, Julie, had her camera and captured the moment. It's crazy to me that should something like this happen today, every partygoer would likely capture the proposal on a smartphone camera. And those cameras are probably higher quality than the digital camera from just five years ago! Nonetheless, I'm so glad we have photos of the proposal!
And that's the story of our engagement. Cameras aren't the only things that have changed in those five years. A super fun wedding, lots of vacations, even more home improvement projects, and two kids later, life is better than ever! I'm already looking forward to our 5-year wedding anniversary next summer (think kid-free vacation), but more importantly, the next fifty-five years.
Thanks, Honey, for proposing five years ago tonight and making me the happiest I've ever been. Lots of love!!
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