Guess Dreams Do Come True!

Chris said he had a plan...and boy did he ever!!!! Here is the amazing story of our engagement...

Thursday morning I left the apartment thinking I was heading to Miami for a much needed vacation with Chris. I was super excited about leaving work behind for FIVE days and getting to spend quality stress-free time with just Chris. Little did I know what the weekend would bring.

When we arrived at the ticket counter at JFK, the agent asked where we were headed. I said Miami. Chris handed her our itinerary and she asked for our passports. Passports?!?! Why would we need passports for Miami (I thought). I looked up at Chris to receive a very charming and sneaky grin as he handed her both of our passports. The agent said, "Honey, you aren't going to Miami...you are going to St. Lucia!" Of course butterflies started fluttering inside.

I was so excited and totally in shock. I also was thinking (as every girl would do), wonder if "it" is going to happen this weekend. I gave myself a peptalk and said that I would enjoy the weekend and not overthink it.

On the way, I asked where we were staying and Chris said it was "just a hotel". As we were escorted into our room (known as a sanctuary on the resort) I knew this was certainly not just another hotel!!! This is a picture of the view from our room...the infinity pool was AWESOME!


Thursday night we had a delicious dinner and then hung out in our infinity pool! So beautiful with the moonlight, mountains and stars.

Friday morning we had breakfast and then went to orientation to hear all about the activities the resort had to offer. We signed up for an afternoon glass bottom boat tour. It was very cool to see all of the fish and coral, but it made me a little sea sick. After showering and recovering from the sea sickness, we headed back down to the water for a sunset cruise. I thought it was going to be one of those booze cruise deals, but was excited to find out that it was a private sunset sail!! The girly voice inside of me started thinking, hmmmm...wonder if this is "the moment". Then I saw how calm Chris was and didn't see any signs of a ring so I decided to just enjoy the fun time. Does this look like a guy who is about to propose!?!?


It was the perfect night for sailing...clear and windy. I think at one point we were 7 knots or something (you would think I would know all of this sailing terminology after a week of sailing in Greece, but no). Anyway, when we got in a calmer spot, we went up to the front of the boat (holding on very tightly to ropes so not to fall in!). We sat at the front and enjoyed the beautiful view of the Piton Mountains and the sunset. Then....Chris turned towards me with a sparkly object in his hand and asked, "Will you marry me?!?" I immediately started screaming (wanted to jump up and down, but thought that would be a bad idea) then I said "Yes!" and told him to please put the ring on my finger before it ended up overboard. :) We celebrated with champagne and hors d'oeuvres while enjoying the sunset and sail. Kevin, our Captain, was very sweet and took lots of pictures for us.








We had a delicious Indian dinner down by the beach and then celebrated with other folks staying at the resort...including a new bride and groom! It was hard to be so far away from friends and family because I couldn't broadcast the news to friends and family, but it was great to be with just my sneaky stinker sweet fiance. :)



The rest of the trip was filled with lots of relaxing, snorkling, biking, sunbathing, and CELEBRATING! The entire weekend was beyond anything I could have dreamed up (and boy do I have a good imagination sometimes). Chris is such a special guy and I am so lucky to be with someone who treats me like a princess. I look forward to spending the rest of my life with such a sweet, thoughtful, and genuinely good person. Every girls dream, right?!!?

Chris and I look forward to celebrating this next phase of our life with all of you very soon!!

More pictures from the trip...

Adelaide's High School Graduation...and more!

Chris and I headed to Atlanta last weekend for Adelaide's high school graduation and to catch up with friends and family. It was a whirlwind of a weekend, but we had some fun and relaxing moments built in as well.

Our weekend started with our seven hour door-to-door trek to Atlanta. As we were driving to Mom's house in our rental car late Friday night, I asked Chris if he wanted me to move back to Atlanta so we could do that trip every other weekend like we used to do. ;) We DON'T miss that at all! We had a very late dinner Friday night with Mom and then hit the sack.

Saturday morning I headed to Adelaide's high school graduation. It was a beautiful (chilly and long) ceremony outside at her school. It was great to see Adelaide and her friends walk across the stage. I felt particularly old seeing former Morris Brandon (school where I taught for my first two years of teaching) students walking across the stage to receive their diplomas.







As you can see all four of the kids are super cute...and grown up. What you can't see in the picture is how truly awesome they really are. All four of them are gifted, caring, and so much fun to be around (well, most of the time).

Lillian and Greg hosted a wonderful luncheon for Adelaide complete with fried green tomatoes, crab cakes, and red velvet cake! It was delicious and fun. Mom and Chris came to celebrate Adelaide's big day as well. Chris got to try "real" fried green tomatoes for the first time and of course loved them!




Although I feel sooo old, I am very proud of Adelaide. She is a smarty pants, but really is a great kid...or should I say young adult. She is going to spend 3 weeks in London this summer and then will be heading up to Dartmouth for her freshman year of college. Chris and I are truly looking forward to having her in the Northeast!

Saturday afternoon/evening we gathered at Brian and Sarah's house for a Mexican Fiesta. Now that folks have kids, it is so much easier to get together at someone's house--restaurants are just too hard. It was great for me! I got to visit with my friends and play with their adorable kids. I didn't get any pictures of the adults at the gathering (oops), but I managed to get some great ones of the kids playing and bathing.






Yes, the kids were playing in the tub of beer. Nice! :)

Sunday we had a lazing morning with Mom and then ventured out to my storage bin. This was quite the experience because I couldn't remember where it was! Yes, I am losing it. Chris was thrilled when he had to turn around several times. We finally found it. It was a little sad to see all of my old stuff (and of course I got teary-eyed), but I love our place in NYC so I quickly wiped the tears and moved on. After loading up some of my stuff Mom wanted, we picked my grandmother up and took her to lunch. We had a wonderful time visiting with her and hearing stories from way back when. Chris was extremely impressed with her sharp memory. He made a comment Sunday night that Grandma's memory is better than mine and Mom's put together. Guess I couldn't argue with that after not being able to remember where the storage bin was. Ha!

It was a wonderful weekend in Atlanta...Adelaide's graduation, catching up with friends, playing with their kids, lunch with Grandma, and lots of time with Mom!