Ultimate Wedding Week! Day One: The Proposal!

Happy Fourth of July, everyone!  While most bloggers will be doing fireworks & patriotic-themed posts today...I will be going a different route.  Because, you see, one week from today will be my wedding anniversary!

And thusly, I was inspired by a post over at a friend’s blog to do an “Ultimate Wedding Week” during the week leading up to The Hubs & I’s one year anniversary.  One Year!  To think we’ve tolerated each other so long. ;P

Actually, we’ve tolerated each other MUCH longer than that, seeing as how we’ve known each we were in high school.  Now, before you do that “awww, high school sweethearts!!” thing in your head—stop.  We weren’t.  We worked together at a place called Miner Mikes (think “Chucky Cheese”, but with a miner theme).  We hung out a bit at work (along with our other coworkers/mutual friends), but that was about it.

We then ended up going to the same college, also along with some mutual friends & coworkers.  We hung out a fair bit during my freshman year, but after that, I had to get a jobby-job, and then I hardly ever saw anyone who wasn’t a coworker or in one of my classes.  I think we mainly just chatted on instant messenger.
After college, we stayed in touch sporadically via email like, once every 6 months (this was pre-Facebook/ Myspace…I know, we’re like, DINOSAURS or something…) and then a bit more regularly once Facebook came around.

In 2009, I got a message on Facebook from [the Future] Hubs to see if I was interested in going on Memorial Weekend beach trip in Florida with him & a bunch of our other mutual friends.  I was feeling a little homesick (this was about the time that I had started thinking about leaving Louisiana), and Florida was only about 5.5 hrs from where I was living at the time, so I said “sure!”

(Check out my AWESOME sunburn!)

Can't really pin down a moment, but something clicked during that trip...we had a lot to talk about and seemed to have more in common than either of us remembered.  We started chatting on Instant Messenger pretty much every day, and having long phone calls about once a week.

Eventually, I got a job offer and moved back to Missouri; we started dating in November 2009.  And I have to say, it's really wonderful to date someone you've known for that long.  Even without being high school sweethearts, we can talk about "old times"... people who we knew back at Miner Mike's, college, stupid things we did in our teens (and our not-so-teens).  When you've been friends with someone so long, it makes communication a breeze, because you're already used to telling them what you think.  

In February 2011, we took a ski trip to Winter Park for Valentines Day weekend.  Weather was pretty awesome, skiing was pretty good (aside from the fact that I’m a pretty crappy skier), and my old college roommate who now lives in Denver got to come out & ski with us on the 13th.

As in, the day before Valentines Day. (should have seen it coming…)

So we’re skiing…we have some lunch…we take the lift to the top…ski down Whistlestop run (one of the nice long green runs from the top to the bottom, because I am a VERY novice skier), and stop at this really pretty vista area.

I say, “oh it’s so pretty!”
The [Future] Hubs says, “let’s take a picture!” and hands my camera off to my friend.
The [Future] Hubs says, “let’s take our skis off and prop them up in the background!  It’ll look cool!”
Me: Erm…okay… (I’m so not comfortable with sticks strapped to my feet, and trying to get in or out of them is just a pain.)

*click*

 
The [pre-hubs] Hubs: Let’s take one more!
Me: Okay!
…and then this happens:
ACK!  Totally wasn’t expecting it…otherwise I would have probably tried to look less like a hunchback.  You can barely see my face!!!  I’m totally covered because it was crazy-windy.  And it looks like I have a ski coming out my back.  I think I was even too surprised to cry.

And NOW I realize why the skis had to come off…pretty sure if he would have tried the down-on-one-knee thing while strapped in, he’d gone off the side.  Which is not the way to start a life together.
  
Anyway…we went to Winter Park again this past winter in March (not quite Valentine's Day), and stopped at the same spot to take another pic.  We even had our same friend with us to take the pic!

Look!  I have a FACE!  And HAIR!

(Granted, it was WAY warmer this year.)

Stay tuned for tomorrow…the joy of DRESS SHOPPING!