Vintage Posts -- Installment #5

Okay kids, and anyone else that happens upon this...I will forewarn you, this post has romantic insinuations regarding mommy and daddy. Let's just call it rated PG-13 ;) So, if you have the stomach for reading mushy stuff about us, read on. I intend to tell the tale of how we became engaged...in Hawaii...on the beach.

We were both 23. We were on our Spring Break vacation in our final year of college (graduate school for me and undergrad for dad). I had a slight feeling that he might pop the question on this trip, mostly because I was certain our relationship was headed for marriage and because I could see (I am going to call him Bryan now, okay, not daddy) Bryan taking advantage of the ocean backdrop to make the occasion memorable.

So, the trip was oozing excitement since it was my first time to Hawaii and I knew I might come back with something sparkly on my wedding finger. Bryan did not disappoint - of course. He proposed on the beach the second day there and gave me a beautiful diamond that left me speechless and over the moon with happiness.

We thoroughly enjoyed the rest if the trip as Fiances, sending post cards to let everyone know our news and happily telling anyone we came in contact with that we were getting married.

I want to share a few pictures to illustrate just how in love and young and silly we were...

OH YEAH, PDA in the gazebo:


Every meal was a photo opportunity and we were complete goof-balls:



Our mode of transportation, "the tanning machine" convertible:


Showing off my bling on a walk on the beach to the resort next to ours for a decadent dinner:


We watched as the war in Iraq was announced on the news. It was so surreal:


But the news just made us cling even tighter, because we knew we were embarking on our life together and that was so comforting...knowing we would build our own safe haven, and have babies, and adventures, and disappointments, and challenges, and pride-swallowing, and laughter, and pure joy, determination, and most importantly, the same love we had when we landed in Maui in March of 2003.