Brian and I regularly do "date nights" so it wasn't at all strange to me that he wanted to take me on a "date day". He told me very few details about what we were doing, all I knew was that we needed to be somewhere around noon, he wanted me to curl my hair so I looked cute and he wanted me to wear my nice coat "in case we took a pretty walk". I kindly obliged, grabbed my camera and away we went!
First up? A fancy lunch at Three Tomatoes at Fossil Trace Golf Course. The meal was really good and the mussels that the waiter recommended were super delicious. We also got to say hi and congratulate our friend Jaime on her recent engagement so it worked as double duty. During lunch I had been "bugging" Brian about going to try on rings and go shopping for jeans, to which he pretty much blew me off since he had other plans...
After we were done with lunch, we were off to another spot, another surprise. As we drove up the hill on I-70, I could see the Mother Cabrini shrine off in the distance and thought for sure that's where our pretty walk was going to be to, especially since we've talked about going to check it out and haven't done it yet. As we drove past the exit, it was now clear to me that we were going somewhere else. I kept quiet, though very difficult, as Brian struggled with directions to his surprise location. Finally, we turned the corner and I saw Evergreen Lakehouse - we were going ice skating! And then I saw a sign that said "Evergreen Winter Ice Fest"...ummm, not really expecting that in addition to the 300 people that came along with it. Now normally, I wouldn't care that there were 300 people there, however this was my first time ever ice skating so I was a bit scared/anxious that I wasn't going to be able to do it and be mortified in front of all these people.
As we walked into the Lakehouse to get our skates, the queue was ridiculously long. I turned to Brian, with attitude in my voice, and said "Are you sure you want to do this? Cause I'd really rather be shopping right now". He talked me into staying and skating, being the voice of reason that he is, and I shortly got over it and decided to seize the moment. Once the skates were on, I wasn't as nervous...it was sort of like rollerblading, but much harder. It was really hard to stay upright on the thin little blades and I found myself getting tired pretty quickly. A few times I wondered how the heck ice skaters do jumps and flips...they've got to be a little crazy and definitely super athletic! While there, we even ran into one of our neighbors who was also on a date with his girlfriend. This was the perfect moment to get a picture of us for this blog post...
Picture taken by our neighbor, Alex
By this point, I was getting tired and mentioned it to Brian. He talked me into taking one more lap around the ice and I once again obliged...it was pretty fun, so why not?! As we concluded this lap, Brian slipped and fell down. I legitimately thought this was a real fall, but as it turns out, he was faking. As I reached down to help him up, he turned towards me, got on one knee and pulled a ring out of his jacket pocket! I couldn't believe it!! All I remember saying was "Oh my god, are you serious? Are you serious?" as tears of joy and happiness streamed down my face. I only vaguely remember what he said to me as the moment felt like time had stopped yet also flew by all at once. I know he said something along the lines of being his perfect partner in life and would I be his partner forever. I do know he had to ask me "is that a yes?" as I was in such shock I hadn't answered him. Haha! YES!!! As the people around us ooh'ed and aah'ed and clapped and yelled congratulations, I said to Brian "we need to get a picture!" He laughed and told me that he had that taken care of...he had planted a professional photographer friend of ours in the crowd who had captured the whole thing! I was astonished and could not stop smiling!
After the big proposal, we decided to take some "engagement" photos and spent the better part of the next couple hours kissing, frolicking and playing in the snow while Dave captured the magical happiness of the day. This "date day" was simply amazing and beyond anything I could have ever imagined! I am so incredibly blessed to be marrying this man and can't wait to see what future adventures this life has in store for us!
Shea and Brian...Engagement Photo Slideshow
http://vimeo.com/davidlynnphotography courtesy of David Townsend, David Lynn Photography
Now, just when you think this is the end of the "date day" story...it's not. It keeps going...see next post.
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