It's Official! (take 2)

So, the cat's out of the bag (actually he was never in it (it's hard to get him in any confined space)). Gina and I are engaged! It went down last Wednesday on Grandview Dr. in Peoria. And we're pretty excited about it!

Gina has wanted to go on a picnic ever since we started dating. And we just hadn't done it. So I thought it was fitting (and she wouldn't suspect anything) if we had a little dining out of doors a couple of nights before she left for vacation on Cape Cod. She was very excited and I hoped she hadn't figured anything out since I had made a 3-hour pilgrimage (one-way) to a jewelry store in Indiana with two of her friends on the Friday before to buy the ring.

So the evening started out absolutely lovely. The weather was perfect, the sun was shining, there were sailboats on the river and we had a perfect view from the bluff. I had packed a TON of food, so we ate and made casual conversation (and all the while the ring sat a foot away, tucked into a pocket of the cooler bag, like the pounding heart under the floorboards in some Edgar Allen Poe story). After dinner, we sat for awhile, exchanging sweet nothings while joggers and a stray cat passed by. Then I told her I had made something for her and pulled out a piece of paper with notes of how much she meant to me and how I knew she was the only one for me, etc. Gushy stuff.
And then I pretended like that was the grand finale. I gazed at the surroundings. Enjoyed the silence.
Everything calmed.
And then I said there was one last surprise, but it probably wasn't what she was anticipating. The ring came in a very large box, so again, she wouldn't suspect anything. (She later remarked she thought I had gotten her a dog charm or something stupid). I got on one knee, at which time she figured she should stand up, and asked her the million dollar question. And she said yes!

So we spent the next several minutes swooning. It was a moment that was instantly burned into my soul and I will never forget (like one of those flashback moments from a sappy movie where the 98 year-old guy is in the nursing home with his wife, etc.). It was magical.

Then we spent 3 hours on the phone calling relatives and friends and oogling over the sparkliness of her new hand ornament.

Life is good.

And the planning is now in full-swing! Which is insane.
We're shooting for a November nuptial date (yes, of this year).
Woohoo!