It's official...I have the...

ENGAGEMENT RING!!!! Yes!!!!! Paul proposed to me at dinner last night!!!! OK...I know a lot of you just went to scratching your heads and saying, HUH!?!?! But you already have the wedding date set...what do you mean he just now proposed???

We aren't conventional people...we've done everything backwards! We knew right away that we were for each other. Paul informed me one day in conversation that we'll be married by then...and I just let it slide...and then it came up again another day about we'll be married then and well, I didn't let it slide that time. Then we started planning our wedding and he said he wanted to ask Dad for my hand in marriage (and he did!!!!) and then he wanted to proposed to me when I least expected it...and he did!!!! He caught me totally off guard!

We are using my paternal grandmother's wedding ring as my engagement ring...it means soooo much to me to wear HER ring. I refused to wear her ring for many years (I inherited it when she died)...I knew I wanted to wear that ring for only 1 reason...because I was getting married!!!! So, on our wedding day, I will transfer my grandmother's ring to my right hand and on my left hand, will proudly wear the new ring that Paul and I had specially made just for me...so I will have 2 generations of love to wear...

I will post a pic of my engagement ring very soon!!!

Where did he propose??? Well...the day started out HECTIC!!! AT 0840am, our new couch arrived! It's a HUGE sectional...but it's soooo comfy!!!! We can have all 5 kids and us on it to watch a movie. Then the handy man got to the house around 1030...and he trimmed the scrollwork off of the cabinet above the fridge...and now the fridge fits PERFECTLY! Did I mention, WE FREAKING LOVE OUR MASSIVE NEW FRIDGE!?!?!? Then Mom came over and we went to a concert: Rain- A tribute to the Beatles. Well, I went to the concert because Paul LOVES the Beatles...but ended up having a BALL!!!! The guys were AMAZING and I even felt like I was watching the real Beatles!!! They did costume changes, SOUNDED like each person...The guy playing Paul, he could switch from left handed electric guitar to right handed acoustic guitar AND still sing & sound like Paul McCartney!!!! The guy playing John Lennon- WOW!!! The wigs & costumes were soooo dead on target!!!!

Then we got out and ran an errand...I wanted a special photo box to store our collectibles from our dates...and while we were at Hobby Lobby, we found Merv!!!! Who's Merv??? Well, I'll be posting a pic of Merv too. But in the meantime, I'll tell you about Merv...have you known crazy friends in the past that steal a yard ornament from a neighbor and keep it hostage...taking it on a vacation & taking pics of it at various locations like it was sightseeing too??? Well, Merv is a FROG yard ornament...and as TACKY as tacky can be...LOL!!!!

Here we are in Hobby Lobby- Paul's in a beautiful navy suit and I'm in a full length black & white maxi dress...we are very much over dressed...and we are running from aisle to aisle looking at these yard ornaments...and trying to figure out which would look the best in our pics for years...We really liked a pink flamingo w/ a hat and riding a surf board...but his legs would be lost in the pics...we made soooo many people laugh w/ our antics in Hobby Lobby...it was soooooo much FUN!!!! We didn't care...we wanted our traveling buddy and when we passed a display, I started saying Oh! Oh! Oh! and Paul knew exactly what I was thinking and then we went wild searching...yes, it was a blast!

Then we went to Paseo Grill...and any OK people that want to go to dinner and have it feel like it's an EVENT and want it to be special...you must take your loved one to Paeo Grill!!!! It was our first time for both of us...and we were soooo impressed the moment we walked in! The booths have fine sheer so you feel like you're all alone, the music is very low so you can whisper to your tablemate and be understood. It was so intimate feeling! The waitstaff is impeccable too!!!! The chef...is a genius with food!!! We both were in culinary heaven w/ our first bites...I got a most wonderfully tender pork chop and he got a butterflied New York strip steak...both were served w/ a house mashed potatoes and glazed carrots...everything was sooo succulent!!! We started the meal off with a house salad we shared and fried green beans...yeah, they were both delectable too!!!! And we finished off the meal sharing a dessert that was sooooo divine....it was called Chocolate Divine cake...and it was THREE layers of pure chocolate divinity!!!! As we were waiting for dessert, a nice gentleman brought us fresh berries in a small wine glass with REAL heavy whipped cream on top...and it was such a nice touch too.

I heard a chef on the Food Network say when he goes out to eat, he wants to get something he cannot make at home...well, trust me folks, I can't make our dinner at home, in the restaurant kitchen or anywhere else!!! This was truly something of a DIVINE treat for me!!!!

So, WHEN did he propose to me??? When we were seated, he shortly thereafter excused himself to the restroom...and when he returned our wine was already served...and he started talking...and his posture was different...and then he was talking differently...and we were holding hands across the table (which we often do!) ... and then he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a ring box...and I about died! I didn't think he was going to propose until after I met his parents (which is tonight!). So, he caught me totally off guard!!!! My parents knew! They totally kept the secret!!!!

So, I am officially ENGAGED now...YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'll be marrying the most wonderful man in the world in October!!!!

Love!
Robyn