Our Proposals!

In the midst of the pandemic, celebrating a birthday had to be done in a creative style! We started out Robbie's big surprise day with a coffee and treats from our favorite place and a morning stroll.

Robbie often refers to the reservoir as "our spot", and in truth we've shared so many wonderful memories there over the years! One of the most important being our first date!

We walked the path down memory lane and fondly joked and laughed the whole way about our first date.

We set up our spot and Robbie was SO excited to start metal detecting with the new pointer he got for his first present.

Part of the plan was for Robbie to go off and explore with his new equipment, while I got everything set up to propose to Robbie in the exact spot of our first kiss.

A moment I had planned for months - I had a special copper fishing lure made, along with a custom 14K gold ring inlayed with meteorite, dinosaur bone, and Blue Box Elder Wood. A ring as unique as him!

I practiced this moment so much in Kendra's kitchen! I pretended to fiddle with my fishing rod and called him over to ask for help putting my "new lure" on my line. He turned around and I was ready.

I'll never forget the happy smile and tears as Robbie chuckled and said "Oh yeah, you're going to beat me to it? Of course I'll marry you." I obviously couldn't stop happy crying as well!

There were many parts of the proposal that for me didn't feel like the went smoothly, but ultimately Robbie says it was absolutely perfect and wouldn't have changed anything.

Karina's birthday weekend started with a mystery drive - She had no idea where we were going. The car was packed, snacks ready, and music cranked. We went to Bar Harbor - one of her favorite places.

We explored downtown Bar Harbor and took it nice and slow, enjoying the scenery - Karina literally stopped to smell the flowers and I loved getting to watch her just enjoy the moments.

As we drove around the coast (and neared our next secret destination) Karina looked out the window and said "This is so beautiful, I'd love to stay somewhere along the water here someday."

I laughed when she said that as we pulled into our AirBnB for the night - a coastal cottage rental on the water. She was so excited and couldn't wait to get out and explore.

We dropped our things off and got to know our space, but I was excited to bring her out to the real attraction of the cottage - the ocean.

The weather was perfect, warm and sunny with amazing views on the coastline. I couldn't have asked for a better day.

We took out the paddle boards! Karina had a big smile on her face as we paddled out into the water. She made me laugh so much because she was so cautious to go too far out and "get lost in the ocean"

But with some encouragement and love, I got her to brave it out farther and she was so happy she did! The views of the coastline were amazing.

We had the best time on the water together, watching the sky and exploring the little hidden spots on the shore.

I told Karina that night that we needed to be up VERY early the next day for a surprise. She agreed but next morning I had to drag her out of the shower and hustle her into the car! I was so nervous.

I had gotten tickets for Cadillac Mountain sunrise viewing, and we raced up the mountain to see the sun! Karina surprised me and asked if we could stay at a quiet lower spot (the top was packed).

The spot she picked ended up being perfect. There was no one around, just us, as the sun came up. I asked her to come take a picture with me - I completely surprised her when I got on one knee!

After her surprise mountain proposal, Karina got to pick what she wanted to do next. She chose a harbor cruise tour - we got to see seals and giant lobsters.

Karina was so happy that before the weekend her mom and my mom had taken her out to get her nails done (I had make sure her nails looked good lol). She kept saying how happy she was!

Of course the perfect end to a day for Karina is always a delicious pizza - so on our way home we got a crispy perfect pizza and enjoyed it together.