We're getting married!

We went to the Tanglewood Festival of Lights for our first date. If you've ever been to the Festival of Lights and sat in the car for hours waiting to even enter, you know that date could have crashed and burned really quickly if we weren't able to have good conversation. From the time T picked me up, we learned so much about each other and laughed until we cried. He even rolled down the windows for me when we got to the bells, which was my favorite. I taught him what harmonizing was and laughed out loud at his attempt to carry a tune. Afterwards, we went to Sweet Frog for frozen yogurt where we had our first kiss in his old, red F-150 in the parking lot. Classy, we know. We don't even remember the exact date because neither of us knew that would be our last first date ever. Good news is, the memories live on as we recreate that date every year so that it didn't have to be the last.

Though I didn't know it then, while I was away on a business trip to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, T began planning how he would pop the question. When he went to purchase the ring that we had picked out two years prior, he was told that they do clean outs and no longer had the paper with the ring info - ha! Nevertheless, T had saved the pictures and was able to pick out the most perfect ring. Over the next month, T hid the ring upstairs and asked for my parents' blessing at Christmastime all without me having a clue. Before leaving for the FL Keys for Somerville family vacation, T loaded the bags in his parents' car since they were driving and told them to be careful because there was something pretty valuable in his duffel bag that he didn't want to take with him on his flight. Yes, this is how they found out that he was proposing! Once we got down to Marathon, FL and were on day two of vacay, Liv was the key planner of "family pictures" and I totally bought it. We all got ready for pictures at sunset, and it was actually my idea to get pictures with T to test the lighting for Christmas card pictures. With a glass of wine in my hand, we took pictures. After a few minutes, I felt like I needed to lose the wine for the pictures, so I went to set it down and when I walked back, T got down on one knee. Completely shocked, I covered my mouth in disbelief then, through the happy tears, said, "Yes yes yes! Now, what do we do?!" and T quickly responded (in typical T sarcastic fashion) with, "Well, we get married!" I FaceTimed my family and friends back home to tell them the exciting news, then everyone popped champagne, took the "family Christmas card pictures" at sunset, and went out for dinner. After the week-long vacation, my family and friends surprised us with the most thoughtful engagement celebration at our home in Winston-Salem. It was the perfect celebration to come home to, and we could not be more appreciative! We were so lucky to get to celebrate twice!