L&T

A long long time ago (well over a decade), there was a "round 1." This was truly the beginning. Although neither of us were ready for each other at the time, this is where the journey of "us" really began. Fast forward...a decade or so...after knowing each other and working together through this time, the seed planted round one finally sprouted...and "round 2" began. Clearly a decade of experience allowed us to realize what an amazing connection we have. It did not take long to realize that what we have is wonderful and amazing and something we both wanted to hold onto for ...forever.

Yes, we seem to like to do things in twos...it does take two to tango. I, Tracy, decided that asking this amazing woman to marry me had to encompass all of who she is. So, I created 37 signs (she was 37 at the time), each with a word of something that made me think of her. "determined", "sexy", "compassionate" and the list goes on...I did mention she is pretty amazing, right? With each sign was a matching note of why that word made me think of her. We had planned a geocaching camping trip to Ocala Forest with some friends, and with both of our love of the outdoors, this was the perfect spot. With the help of Kim and Jen, the plan was underway. I feigned illness and ran into the woods hiding the signs along a path. After a quick lunch, we headed for a walk to find a "deer" that had been spotted. There is so much more to the story of getting her onto this path, but this is the abbreviated version. As soon as she saw the first sign, we were on the journey of the engagement...meandering along the path...looking at each sign...reading each note...and finally getting to sign 37 , "love". This is where I asked this fabulous woman to marry me...She said "yes", in case you were wondering. We returned to camp where our amazing friends had engagement themed cupcakes in our colors (Thank you Jen for your amazing skills) and champagne! We also managed to collect about 20 plus ticks along the path! Bonus! Not really.. but nonetheless an amazing weekend shared with fabulous people...and a very happily engaged couple!

So I, Lora, was completely caught off guard with Tracy's proposal. She had managed to make all those signs, pack them & hide them in the woods all without me catching wind of it (there was only a brief moment when her feigned illness to buy time, made me worry she had collapsed on the bathroom floor alone in the woods). I felt honored she took the time to be so sneaky and creative. What's more is I loved wearing a symbol of our commitment to each other. I knew I wanted to put a ring on her finger so she could have those same feelings. There was one ring she happened to love while we were shopping. Nothing traditional about this ring of course, so I wasn't sure it was meant for an engagement. I went to check it out again when the designer's son just happened to be there. I was given an introduction, & we sat together for a while talking & discussing his upcoming wedding in Greece before snapping a quick selfie. After listening to how his mom spent months in Spain inspired by the stained glass windows of the Sagrada Familia cathedral in Barcelona, and how she inscribed the ring with text from the cathedral’s bronze doors, I knew!!! This was the ring! Now that I had the ring, how to give it to her? I decided to have her "discover" it in a geocache! It had mystery, adventure & some personal touches. Plus, we all know Tracy loves geocaching. I used some pictures of us to create a multi stage geocache along a pretty walking path we bike and run on near our home. After designing the web page, I covered an amo can in pictures of our travels & memories to date. Then I hid it, with said ring inside (nervously), in some bushes. I used an excuse to talk her into coming out with me. As we worked through the stages of the cache, the sun was setting which lit the sky up brightly with stunning pink hues. She made it to the final stage, located the ammo can that was chained to the base of the tree, found the ring and smiled from ear to ear! She loved the ring and all it symbolized!