Our Engagement!

We were engaged on Saturday, August 29th, 2009. Here's our story:

It was an average Saturday morning (or so I thought). We had decided that this day would be our home improvement day. We had lots to do around the house (painting, sanding, running cable, etc). TJ woke up early (this doesn't usually happen) and said he was making some eggs and asked if I wanted any. So, I had eggs and toast in bed with coffee. He decided to get in the shower and told me I needed to get ready to go to the "discount audio/visual store" to get 500 feet of TV cable. He asked if I was going to shower and I said "No, why would I shower if we're going to be painting? I don't want to have to shower twice." I went to pick out clothes (lounge pants and a t-shirt...the perfect "working" clothes) and he asked "Aren't you going to wear jeans?" I responded, "No. Why? Should I be wearing jeans?" and he told me that we were going to go flying that day! He said he didn't want to tell me ahead of time because I would get too nervous (I had never flown with him before). I asked him if I had time to shower, and he said no because we had the plane from 9:30-noon and it was already 9:30 by that point. So, I quickly changed into jeans and a sweater, threw my hair in a bun, and put on some makeup. We were out the door within 10 minutes!

We arrived at the DuPage airport and they were having an open house pancake breakfast. I had some OJ and waited for TJ to inspect the plane before we took off. Here is our before flight picture:



























He took me up in a Cessna 172SP. Here's a picture of that kind of plane:

We flew over our house:

























My parent's house:























His parent's house (with the pool):






















and the place where we want to have the reception (Esplanade by Doubletree):















Here we are!


























































































We then flew into the city, over lake Michigan, and enjoyed all of the Chicago skyline. What a cool view!































































































Soldier's Field:

and Lake Michigan:

He offered for me to fly the plane, which I was too chicken to try! We flew back to DuPage airport and while I went into the bathroom the pilots that work at the airport were all giving him the thumbs up (I didn't see this). He had to tell them that he didn't pop the question yet.

So, it was about lunch time and TJ suggested we go get lunch. I agreed.....but he never asked me where I wanted to go eat...and he ALWAYS asks me where I want to go eat. So, I let him just drive. I figured he already had a plan. I also figured he was going to propose, as we don't usually do extravagant things like this on the weekend. As we headed into Naperville, I figured we were going to eat at Key Wester since I had mentioned to him that I wanted to eat there. We drove right past. When we turned on Jefferson, I knew we were going to the Sushi House. It was the place where we had our first date.

We went in and they asked us if we wanted to sit at the sushi bar or table. TJ asked if we could sit in a booth (the little rooms where you take off your shoes and sit on cushions). So, we got to sit in a booth. I was VERY excited about this. I had never been able to sit in one before. Here's a picture of us at the restaurant:

and our sushi:

We paid our bill and TJ "went to the bathroom". I peeked out of our room and saw that he did not go to the bathroom and was still in the restaurant. I knew "this was it!" So, I sat back down and waited. The waitress came in and said that it was cold in here and "I bring hot tea for you." I enjoyed my hot tea and continued to wait. The waitress came back a few minutes later and said "fortune cookie for you" and I put them in our to-go bag. I continued to wait and the waitress came back and said "I bring ice cream for you." I ate my ice cream....and continued to wait. The waitress came back a few minutes later with an unwrapped fortune cookie (homemade) and a note card. I opened the fortune cookie and it read "Your life will change forever today."

The note read: "Hi babe!!! You have been selected to go on a scavenger hunt, so whenever you are ready, get your stuff together and go outside. Go down the stairs, turn left, cross the street, and walk towards the fountain. When you get to the fountain on your right, you will see a drinking fountain. Further to your right you should see an orange ribbon that will contain your next clue. Please take the ribbons and clues with you. Find me at the end and answer one question correctly to receive your prize. Love you. P.S. There are scissors in your purse to cut the ribbon down.

So, I followed the clue. I got to clue #1 and it read "Good you found the first clue. Continue on the path away from downtown towards the river. On the stairs leading down the river you should find a blue ribbon with your next clue."

I was kind of nervous looking for the clues. I thought I might miss one, or get lost or something. People were looking at me to figure out what I was doing.

I got to clue #2 and it read "Nice job babe! Getting closer now. Continue along the river away from downtown. Keep walking under the bridge and past the bridge you will go under the covered seating area. Right past there look for an orange ribbon for your next clue."

I got to clue #3 and it read "Almost there, keep following the river path to the next bridge. Take the stairs right before the bridge-up. Then cross the bridge to the other side of the river. Look for a blue ribbon and your final clue."

I kept searching around for TJ or for anyone we knew.

I got to the final clue and it read: "Alright baby, come and find me!!! Head down to the left. You should be able to see the top of a gazebo. Walk toward that. Once you get there, turn and walk left along the pond and you will find your prize."

I followed all of the clues, found TJ, and he handed me a fortune cookie and got down on one knee. I opened it and it read "Will you marry me???" I started to cry and said "Of course I will." Here's a picture of the proposal (he found a guy to take pictures):

and me crying:

looking at the ring:

the ring:

and after:

This was so awesome!!! We went back to the restaurant and showed the ladies my ring. We left and started to drive. I asked him if I should call my mom and he said to wait about 20 minutes. Oh boy...what is he planning now??? I thought it was over!

We pulled into hotel Arista and I asked "What are we doing here?" TJ said, "We're staying here." I said, "We're not staying here." He said, "We're staying here." I said, "If we're staying here, then where's my stuff?" TJ said, "I packed for you."

We walked in and were escorted up to our suite. Here are the pictures:

Living room:

Bedroom:

Bathroom:

Calling and texting everyone:

After a few minutes there was a knock on the door and champagne, chocolate covered strawberries, and 2 roses were delivered. We relaxed for a few minutes and then started making phone calls and sending text messages. TJ then said to wear the dress he had packed and to be ready by 5:30. We were meeting our parents our for dinner at Key Wester. My mom wasn't feeling well, so she wasn't able to go. She had champagne sent to our dinner table (the same champagne that Obama used at his inauguration). We enjoyed dinner with our parents and then he said there was one more surprise coming to the room at 9pm. I asked, "Milk and cookies?" (We had been to a hotel that served milk and cookies at bedtime and I thought it was cute). He said it wasn't milk and cookies. I asked if it was a Harry Potter movie (as this is my all time favorite) and he said it wasn't. He told me to check his 'itinerary' and at 9pm it said 'couples massage!!! He had a couples massage sent to our hotel room!!! This was awesome!!!

We enjoyed a fabulous breakfast in bed the next morning and had late checkout at 2pm. So, all in all, it was the most awesome, perfect day/weekend of my entire life. I'm so excited to spend the rest of my life with someone as thoughtful, loving, and caring as TJ. I'm very blessed to have someone as great as him in my life.

Thanks for sharing in our story!