The Question was Popped

On Saturday, August 16th, Clint and I became officially engaged to be married. How did it happen, you may ask? Read on, friends. Read on!

Throughout this entire summer, I have been wanting to go for a picnic. Clint and I took several picnics last summer and had a wonderful time on each outing. We picnic pretty well; cheese, wine, hummus, and chocolates! The forecast for this weekend was to be hot; a predicted 93 high temp. For Seattle, this is virtually unheard of. I decided that this was the day for our picnic!

Clint and I spent quite a while deciding where we should go. We had the Seattle Parks and Recreation homepage in front of us for a long time when we finally decided on Magnuson Park on Lake Washington. Before we reach the park, though, we make a stop to Trader Joe's for munchies. We select our cheeses, our wine, and I ask if Clint would like to get another bottle of wine, or perhaps Champagne. Without hesitation, Clint exclaimed "Yes!" to the idea of champagne. I should have been suspicious...

Magnuson Park is wonderful, with lakeside knolls, an off-leash dog park, kite hill, and all the wild blackberries you can eat! We selected a nice patch of grass underneath a tree and spread out our picnic.

We opened the bottle of wine and set out the hummus and cheeses. We munch a little here and there, and play a few minutes of a really weird game that we probably won't ever play again. We smooch, and Clint lays with his head on my lap, and we just enjoy the day and the company.

Then, during a mushy moment, Clint kisses me, tells me that he loves me and that he wants to spend the rest of his life with me. As we talk like this somewhat frequently, I didn't think anything of the moment. Then Clint got up on one knee, reached into his pocket and pulled out a blue box, opened it, revealing a spectacular diamond ring, and asked me to marry him.

Now, of course, my eyes instantly tear up and I'm at a loss for words. I force out an enthusiastic "Yes" and wrap my arms around Clint. I think there were probably some "Oh my God"'s in there, too, but I honestly can't remember it too well. Clint is still holding out the ring box, and I tell him to "Put that away." I needed a minute to process what just happened. I gather myself together and tell Clint that "Nothing would make me happier than to be your wife."

Then I ask to see the ring again. Clint tells me that it belonged to his grandmother, and that his family would be honored for me to have it and join their family. More tears (not crying, mind you; just tears) follow, and, with a shaking hand, I reach out and pull the ring from the box. Of course it is too small for my finger, but I wear it at my second knuckle nonetheless before I get too afraid that it will fall off, and transfer it to my pinky where it is more secure.

We decide to dump the rest of our open bottle of wine, and we pop the cork on the Champagne. Somehow, Clint manages to shoot the cork about 20 feet away! It was pretty funny. We drink, ad kiss, and talk about what it will be like to call one another "Fiancee" and what it will be like to be married. We decide that being married won't be much different from how we are now, except that I will be on Clint's medical insurance through Boeing.

So, there you have it. Of course there is more happening, but that was the engagement as it played out. We have gone looking at new settings for the diamond, and we have found a couple that we both like. We need to have the ring appraised, though, before we put it into a new setting. This is a good thing to do, but it's killing me that I can't wear it (properly) yet. I have it on my pinky for now, but it will be awesome when it's in a setting that fits me.

We know that we want to get married next summer, and most likely outdoors. I like September because it is beautiful, but we'll wait and see how the planning turns out! I will keep everybody updates as our plans progress...

Much love!