I Said Yes, Obviously.

Steven and I have been (happily) engaged for exactly (pretty much to the minute) one week now : ) How crazy is that?? I can't believe it! I'll admit that I was expecting it sometime soon, in fact, we were already in the process of planning the wedding, but Steven totally took me by surprise!

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He could not have chosen a more perfect day and when he suggested we go to Volunteer Park on Capital Hill to watch the sunset... well, I had no idea what was in store. I was certain he didn't have the ring yet so I was doing my best not to anticipate something that I didn't think would be coming so soon. We spent the afternoon playing Bananagrams in the Tea Cup and by the third round Steven's brain had "stopped working" so he suggested we head over to the park -- evidently his nerves were starting to have an impact on his spelling abilities, plus, little did I know, he had a schedule to stick to : )

As we walked through the park, I was a bit confused as to why we were walking away from what I thought would have been the perfect place to watch the sunset. Then, Steven kept suggesting we sit in the non-sunny places. And I was getting all whiny because I didn't want to sit in the shady spots... that would be my "princess complex" coming through -- I'm not always proud of it. Then he said, "Okay, well, I do have one more question for you..." my heart sort of skipped a beat and I got a little anxious but I think for half a second he wasn't quite sure this was the way he wanted to ask so he added "no, really. I have another question." And I think I got a somewhat exasperated look on my face thinking seriously?? What is he playing at here? And then he knelt down, pulled out a ring and asked me to marry him.

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Here's where our stories change a little bit: I would tell you he that he knelt down, asked me, I said yes, and then he popped back up and I kissed him and it all went by really fast. He would tell you that I didn't say anything at all but just smiled and sort of nodded a little bit and he had to give me a questioning look before I said "uh-huh!" Uh-huh? Eloquent. Is that really what I said?

Anyhow, I thought it was a total whirl-wind. Regardless, I gave a positive response of some sort and Steven stood up and kissed me and it was a lovely moment. I thought that was it. I was wrong.

All of the sudden there were seven ninjas running out of the woods (okay, small cluster of trees) at us. I was slightly perplexed. They threw a blanket down on the ground and set out a picnic basket and pulled out plates of cheese and crackers and a bag of m&ms and someone was lighting a candle and there was wine and someone pushed Steven back down on his knees and handed him a bouquet of flowers to give to me and rose petals were being thrown everywhere -- you can actually see them flying in the photo below. It turns out that when Steven was suggesting we sit in the not-so-sunny areas, he was really just trying to distract me from the clump of trees to make sure I didn't see any of the ninjas who were hiding there.

While all this was happening, I was just standing there. Staring. At one point I think I asked Steven if I should say hello to them and he told me that they weren't supposed to talk to me. I didn't want to get them in trouble so I didn't talk to them either : ) At this time I noticed Mandie taking photos from the trees where everyone had been hiding. I was so excited to see that she was taking photos!! There are so many cute pictures from our proposal and I feel like I'm very lucky to have them. She definitely caught some interesting emotions from me...

Here's a photo of our ninjas: Morgan, Kira, Michael, Charlie, Tim, Lena and Aaron. Thanks guys!!

As the ninjas retreated back into the woods Steven looked at me and asked "are you going to take the ring?" "Of course!!!" He had been holding it that whole time and I hadn't even gotten a good look at it! It fit perfectly and it's absolutely beautiful!! He chose it all by himself and I just love it!
Steven was still shaking as we sat down on our blanket. I don't know why he was nervous -- we had already chosen a date and I had already ordered my dress at this point, I think that means I'm pretty darn committed -- but I guess it was just a big surge of adrenaline.

I called my mom and a few other people who I thought should be the first to know and we spent a little bit of time with a few of our ninja friends before settling down onto our blanket. We sat and enjoyed our picnic until the sun had set and we were so cold that my fingers and toes were starting to hurt. I didn't want to leave! It was such a special time and I really didn't want it to end. Honestly though, I was plenty surprised and I couldn't have imagined a more perfect proposal. I just love Steven so much and I can't believe I have to wait six more months to be married to him! Really, it's far too long.

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From there, we went out for Thai food on lower Queen Anne and spent the rest of the evening calling everyone and sharing our good news. We even made a few surprise visits so that Hilde, Chelsea and Claire could be excited with us.

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And now, I have a wedding to plan... good thing I like lists : )

**For a better look at the photos check out my sisters blog
http://sindisiwephotography.com/blog/?p=430