After spending the day at the beach on Saturday, we all made the hike up to the campsite from the boats and beach at about 4pm for dinner prep and to greet those who would be joining us for dinner. What a dinner it was... We had an even bigger feast this year than last - the picnic table was chalk full of food; ham, turkey, salads, twice baked potatoes, fire roasted peppers, the list goes on. This was not a normal campfire dinner of wieners and marshmallows, we went all out. After dinner Cali and Ashleigh asked me if I wanted to join them to take the dogs for a walk and to hit up the ladies room. Not thinking anything abnormal I jumped at the chance to walk off some of my turkey dinner. We took the long route to the washrooms but I thought it was just to give the dogs a chance to stretch their legs, apparently we stalled a bit until the girls heard "the signal" to return to the campsite.
Upon our return, Ken told me that Rob had needed to go back down to the boat to grab something that he had forgotten and wanted me to meet him down there. I didn't think anything of it as I remembered seeing Rob's runners on the swim grid as we headed up to the campsite, knew he was only in sandals and thought that's what he went down to get. Ken and Cali offered to walk down with me. Again, nothing unusual. We walked a bit down the trail when I saw some tiki torches all lit up along the bluff. I thought, "nice, some one's doing something really cool over there." I walked a bit further and saw our friend Darren standing behind a tripod in front of the tiki torches. I again didn't think anything was up, my first thought was "how nice, Darren's doing something romantic for his wife." I called Darren's name a couple of times as I was walking and this guy who is usually super happy and full of hugs ignored me... Strange. We got a bit closer to where Darren was and I saw a red carpet laid out with rose petals scattered on the ground around it. Then Darren said to me in a very stern voice, "Lisa, step on the mat please." I'm pretty sure my heart beat doubled at this point.
So there I was in my camping grubbies, dirty jeans, red wine stained fleece and vest with my hair a giant frizz ball after 3 days of camping and not washing it, standing on a red carpet covered in rose petals on a bluff lit up with tiki torches overlooking the lake. And then I saw Rob. He stepped out from behind a tree wearing the suit we had just bought for him 2 weeks before, looking absolutely incredible. I immediately had tears in my eyes and my mind was racing as I watched my ridiculously handsome boyfriend casually stroll towards me with his hands in his pockets like nothing strange was happening at all. I also had no idea that all 30-ish of our friends had very quietly followed me down to the bluff and were all standing behind me to watch. Rob started talking and I immediately interrupted to tell him that "I look like shit" - classy, I know. He told me I looked perfect, that's when I really knew what was happening. He got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I think I was crying to much to get any words out so I nodded yes. Rob got up and gave me a huge hug and said, "I didn't hear your answer". To which I replied, "I think I just got snot on your new suit." He told me that wasn't the answer he was hoping for and I replied, "yes, I said yes."
A big cheer went up from our friends and after a round of hugs and congrats, Rob announced that he had one more surprise back up at the campsite. We all made our way up to the campsite and shared a round of champagne as the guys set up a white tarp and projector. We then watched an 18 minute video that Rob had put together of our lives from the night we met through to that very night. There were photos of the two of us, of the things we loved, of our family and friends and of many, many memories we have shared all set to some of our favorite songs. It was by far the sweetest, most romantic and heartfelt proposal I have ever imagined and it is ours! As my friend Katherine asked when I told her the story, "are you telling me about a movie or is this actually real life?" This was real life, and it is my life - I have never felt more special and loved by not only Rob but by everyone who had a part in pulling the whole event off. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart - it was perfect.
So here we are, five days later and I still can't get this silly grin off my face. Reflecting on how we got to this point, I can honestly say though it wasn't always easy, I wouldn't change a thing. We have had our ups and downs, mostly surrounding the five hours that separated us when we first met and the lack of support from many of my friends when I made the decision to move. Rob has been my rock and his friends have absolutely welcomed me with open arms, for which I am ever so thankful. Through it all, he has become my best friend, partner in crime and now I couldn't be happier to be his fiance.
Health and happiness,
Lisa
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