off to the beach we go...

back in may, maybe early june, i had started bugging honey bunches to find out the size of her ring finger, since she couldn’t tell me outright what the size was. she’d always respond “my mom has the tool to size it; i’ll do it when we’re there next…”

this happened probably 20 times – to be honest, i lost track – and i eventually gave up on getting the proper size. i rationalized with myself that i could buy the ring and “guess” – but, i’m not a ring expert and have no idea how many times it can sized/resized before it cannot be done any more.

early august rolls around and with it brings a visit from my best friends from arizona. i had hoped anthony would be able to go with me to look at some rings – this wasn’t, at this time, something that i was comfortable doing myself, for the simple fact that i was 100% serious about buying and didn’t want to screw it up. however, our play date ran long and time just wasn’t allowing that to happen. upon our return to his in-laws (where he and his wife were staying), i was being interrogated about when i was going to pop the question – by this point, it had become a rather popular question by everyone i believe (family, friends, postman, coworkers, milkman, school teachers, etc etc). i contended at the time that i was going to do it soon, just wanted to save more money. it wasn’t about the desire, had plenty of that (i’ve known for some time that i wanted to marry honey bunches), just didn’t think i had enough for the purchase of the ring that i wanted to give to her.

after that interrogation, i went home and decided i’d just look if and when i had a free moment. and that moment presented itself on august 17, 2007. i had to pick her up from a team event (work) near belle square mall. turns out, the jeweler i wanted to look at was in the mall (thank you to the fabulous recommendation), so i planned to look before i picked her up. little did i know that it would take me 3 minutes to find the most WONDERFUL and BEAUTIFUL ring for her? i sat down and the gentleman there showed me 2 rings, unimpressive rings – yes, they were nice, but they didn’t scream at me and i couldn’t envision them on honey bunches finger. then i saw it, i pointed, he picked it out of the case and i asked to buy it…walking out a few minutes later with a ring and no idea of how i was going to make the proposal. after i picked her up, and after a day of drinks for her, she pulled me into a jeweler, thankfully not the same one, and got her finger sized - ironic, no?

fast forward 4 weeks. i had asked jun and carole (her parents) the day after we came back from vegas for their blessing. i knew honey bunches was disappointed, as confirmed by her mom, that i didn’t propose there – and honestly, i half knew she was expecting something which is one of the reasons i didn’t do it there. they had asked what i was going to do and i still hadn’t solidified anything.

after a week (9/6 or so), i had the idea in my head and ran it by my mom - mostly because she was being a nosy nancy and kept feeding me ideas (she was excited). this was going to take some work and help coordinating – i didn’t even ask, she ran with it and did everything that i wanted to have done (i'm telling you, she was completely excited about this – my mom LOVES honey bunches and the little one…i’m not sure i’m giving her enough credit by saying that either…).

on 9/7, i asked honey bunches if we could go out the following Friday. have a nice dinner, maybe go to a movie or go for a walk…something date-like. that day (9/14), i asked her if we could leave early from work. it was friday, i was tired of working, just wanted to spend some time with her. she complied and finished getting ready for work. while she was doing that, i packed her a change of clothes and some shoes and made sure that i had the ring - all secretly of course.

we left work with plans to go shopping at nordstrom rack and toys r us before dinner (at mccormick and schmicks…reservation for 6:30). we got in the car and started our journey.

we passed by nordstrom rack and (she was on the phone) pointed as we went by. i told her not to worry, i wanted to go for a drive. we ended up heading south on 405. she asked again, “where are we going.” to which t replied, “don’t worry, i just want to go for a drive.”

down in renton, before we got to the I-5 interchange she remarked, “you wanted to drive around the lake, um, ok.” i responded by heading south on I-5 and not saying anything. at some point after that, i made mention of heading to portland (she mentioned it that morning), and that she should probably cancel the dinner reservations, we just weren’t going to make it (you should’ve seen the disappointment) just to get the wheels turning. traffic was terrible that day, and all I could think about was maneuvering in and out - had places to go. after just over 2 hours, we reached olympia and started heading toward aberdeen (which is where my family lives). at this point, i think she was getting a little peeved and told me that i didn’t have to be secretive, “you could’ve told me that we were going to your mom’s.” i think i replied again, “we’re just going for a drive.”

the trip from olympia to aberdeen is about 50 minutes and halfway through, she turned to me, before putting her earphones in, and said, almost snotty, “you could’ve told me we were coming down here.” this time i told her that i really couldn’t, but wouldn’t elaborate and i could tell she wasn’t happy at all.

we drove through aberdeen and started heading the back way to the beach. let me back up just a bit – i would be remiss not to mention that adding to her crankiness was that she also had to go to the bathroom, but we couldn’t stop. owing to my mom, i knew we had to reach our destination before sunset or my plan would be ruined.

we made it to moclips, a little town on the beach, and the restaurant which i had made reservations a few days before. she asked if she could use the bathroom, and i told her no (i’m so nice) we had reservations at 7:30 and i wanted to get down to the beach so she could experience it before the stairs down closed. down the massive stair case, all 1,302,306,098,296 steps, and we ended up on the sand. it was a gloomy day, but it could’ve been worse.

we were walking along the beach toward the water, talking back and forth aimlessly about who knows what (i only had one thing on my mind), heading toward a little spot in the sand. we stumbled across 3 little hearts on sticks at the base of a giant heart with “honey bunches” written in the middle of it. above it were the words “will you” and above that “marry me?” with some roses next to it.

she froze when she saw it, looked at me after reading and asked “is…is, is this for me?” i shook my head yes, got down on one knee and held out the ring asking her to marry me. i cannot describe the shock and disbelief, followed by the emotion that came next. but i can tell you this: before she said yes, she put her hands on my cheek and told me that I was “such a big dork” (which is a compliment), then said yes and began to cry (well, at least that’s how I remember it)…

(For those of you who do not know, she had never been to a washington state beach before – this was her first time on the gray sand and I had decided to make it special)

i explained to her how it was done, made sure her irritation was gone and we were then congratulated by my mom and step-dad. we walked back up the stairs and changed into the clothes i had brought and enjoyed or dinner and the rest of our evening together (even the drive back home after diner).

...and that is the story of our trip to the beach.

now we can officially be "honey bunches and oats" - silly i know.