She Said Yes!

Do you remember me showing this photo before? I'm pretty sure this was Father's Day. Soccer Son called us right after he got home that night to tell us he was planning to ask his girlfriend to marry him. In about a month. And we couldn't tell anyone. "Especially, mom, don't put it on your blog because she reads it sometimes."

Oh, I hate secrets! And right about the same time? I was told a couple others--and I STILL can't tell those. But now I can tell this one!

Soccer Son took his girlfriend (I really MUST come up with a Blogland name for her!) to a favorite family camping spot on the northern coast of California where he proposed--on my birthday in fact. Cool, huh? But I'm getting ahead of myself.

A few days before he told us he was going to propose, he went to visit her parents to get their blessing. Good kid, huh? Yes, as a matter of fact I DO take credit, although I suspect my parenting skills have nothing to do with it. It's just the person he is. He also told his grandparents ahead of time. And his sister. And I don't know who else--probably no one with a blog though.

And for a few weeks ahead of the proposal, he debated whether to buy a ring or wait until after the proposal so she could pick one out. That's always a big question, isn't it? Unless there's a family heirloom or the prospective bride has already nonchalantly wandered into a jewelry store with boyfriend in tow and expressed her specific tastes, it's hard to know what to do.

So, here's what he did. They arrived at the camp site and headed to Agate Beach where they hunted for agates. At the end of the day, Soccer Son asked her loveliness (that'll work for now) which agate she liked best. Unknown to her at the time, he had brought some copper wire with him, and he managed to somehow fashion the agate and wire into a temporary engagement ring. Cute, huh?

An agate in the rough--not "THE" agate though.

The other funny thing? He'd suggested to her loveliness a week or two before the trip that she look online and see if there was anything in particular she wanted to do in the park on their camping trip. She noticed there was a spot called Wedding Rock, and in her mind, she envisioned her own little fantasy scenario involving the setting, but when she mentioned that hike to Soccer Son, he said, "Oh, we don't need to go there." So much for the little fantasy scenarios we females have, huh?!

Wedding Rock--Where they DIDN'T get engaged.

So where DID he propose? Well, they climbed up Lookout Rock and they were the only ones there. Soccer Son started talking to her loveliness about their future and then he hopped down onto a ledge--I suppose he was trying to get into an appropriate proposal position. His graceful stance was somewhat marred, however, when he nearly missed the ledge and fell off the cliff instead. He then asked her to marry him, and she said yes--probably fearing he'd jump off the ledge if she said no.

And now we wait. I don't know how long. She's going to school to get her masters degree and wants to finish school before the wedding. Of course, I told Soccer Son I was going to have to know when the wedding's going to be because I'll have to do stuff like diet and make a quilt, so presumably they'll let us know in plenty of time.

But they're happy and we're happy--in fact, we like Soccer Son's choice quite a lot! And now I don't have to keep THAT particular secret! Woo-hooo!