So it's real and it's set. After April 6th, I'll be off the market and on the wagon.
This be she
IMG_5823_5x7 by Skatchkins, on Flickr
This be us lookin' baller
The engagement trip
The surprise engagement dinner
Looking civilized
The engagement story if you need it:
I told Noel that it'd be fun if she helped with the Christmas tree project I started last year where I decorated my mini tree and took a quick pic of it in different locations. Crafty as she is, she liked the idea of making ornaments for it and then taking it with us while hiking some time. We covered some marbles with foil for balls and then made some hearts out of clay, painting them red after baking them. We made a large heart for the top that I secured eye screws in, suspending it in the star we made from a coat hanger.
It ended up that Tuesday after work would work best and we were to meet at Squaw at 6:30.
At work I snuck a ring into the tree topper, wiring it to the centered heart.
We met and she almost immediately asked why I was so giddy. "I guess the new cold weather just got into me." She responded, "I like it," and we began the trek.
Once we were at the summit, we backed down a hair to a flat spot to set up our tree. I took out the mini ornaments and we started hanging them all over it. Once it was to our liking, I gave her the padded envelope with the star. It came out, ring side down and she asked how would it stay on. I told her the wire should just slide into place and asked if one side looked better than the other for the camera. She spun it around using only the night glow to view it and stated, "There must be something on the this side, so the other one is better." I marveled, "That's odd. I thought I protected it, did it crack?" She turned on her head lamp, spun it one more time and said, "Oh my God!"
The yes came quick and she somehow allowed us to take a photo with it still on the topper and on the tree. After a few pics, she yanked it off and put it on. I asked her to dig and get whatever was at the bottom of the bag, we might need it. She dug until she found the champagne bottle and little cups.
Not thinking clearly, I popped the top haphazardly, which launched well over the side of the mountain, maybe all the way to parking lot after the hike jostling. That of course meant that we had no choice other than to finish it off. Much like the bell ring-angel wing thing, did you know every time someone proposes on a mountain with a ring, a Ringtail shows up and asks if he can have some champagne? It's true. I didn't know it until he photobombed one of our pictures.
Anyway after a bit we broke camp and began back down. We were both hungry and I playingly hassled her for not bringing the trail mix.
Good thing I have great friends that can keep secrets with me and don't mind hiking a table, chairs, burner, candles, table cloth (with leaves attached from our Bear Canyon hike, and the Crawfish Etouffee I sneakily made beforehand, 80% of the way up Squaw. She didn't even see the candle lights until I said, "Let's go look out there." We walked out to find the set up on the best dining room table in the city. Dinner was great and the company too. If only Mr. Ringtail had stuck around for the main course instead of trying in vain to get sauced off cheap bubbly.
I mistakenly told one of my personal sherpas the next day that I was surprised it wasn't too heavy getting it all back down alone. Steve, 15 years, my senior, said, "Sure it was easy for you, you were going downhill and all hopped up on gushy love."
It's true.
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