So....it begins at 6:30am with our alarm going off...we are getting up early to make the drive to Detroit for Scott's niece Nycole's 5th birthday party and we have to hit the road early. Ugh.
"Should I shower?" I wonder out loud, deciding against it since a) it buys me a couple more minutes in bed and b) we'll be sitting in the car for 5 hours.
We get ready, throw a few things into our bags and get into the car.
"
Oh!" exclaims Scott, "
Let's swing by the boat and get those measurements for my mom" he looks at me, and sees a faint look of
'lets just hit the road' - and says, "
It's on the way, and we've put it off so long". Okay, no biggie. We
do keep forgetting those measurements.
The "measurements" are for cockpit cushions that his mom (bless her!) wants to have made for us. She has been asking for them all summer, and we KEEP forgetting to get them to her. So this is a legit "excuse".
On to the boat we go.
Once we get to the boat yard, I tell Scott, "I'll just wait in the car" (as he knew I would - am I so predictable?) and he proceeds in without me (after a few unsuccessful and frantic tries to unlock the gate, he finally gets it - phew!). I just sit back and flip my way through my new Women's Health, basking in the November sunlight as I read about excersizes that are sure to keep my butt in shape over the holidays.
About 5 minutes later, my phone rings. It is Scott. "
Hon, I need help with these measurements, can you just come up here quick and help me?"
I do think it odd that he needs help with something as simple as measuring, but it raises no suspicions, and I reply "Sure, be right up!" and to the boat I go.
Let me preface this by saying I could not have ordered a more beautiful day. There is not a cloud in the sky, the sun is casting that perfect golden morning light across everything, and already the temperature is 60 degrees!! It is only 8am!! Heaven!
I climb up the scaffolding to our boat and see a smiling Scott. I clamor up and over the life lines and onto the deck and immediately see rose petals
EVERYWHERE.
Then I knew. Holy crap. This is really happening!
I gasp because I did NOT see this coming. (I mean we
have very seriously talked about marriage and knew it'd happen, but I didn't suspect this day, this morning). Scott gets down on one knee, procurs a box with a ring, and with a little quiver in his voice says, "
Brittany, I am so in love with you and cannot imagine spending my life with anyone other than you. Will you marry me?"
With tears of joy in my eyes I throw my arms around Scott's neck and exclaim, "
Yes!".
Aside from trying to put the ring on my right finger, it goes off without a hitch. It is perfect. I couldn't have dreamt a more appropriate way for us to get engaged; in a boat yard next to the river, on our boat, on pretty much the most perfect day that 2009 has given Chicago. Scott brings out a bottle of champagne (the good stuff!!) and, true to form, we drink the whole thing. Bliss.
We sit in the cockpit - hugging, kissing and making excited phone calls to close friends and family. All with giant grins plastered on our faces.
About an hour later, we drive to Michigan (we still had a 5th birthday party to attend at Chuck E. Cheese's). We play one game of "
Deal or No Deal", choosing the case that represents our special day, 14. We win. The crowd of tweens and toddlers go wild as 50 whole tickets spew out of the machine. High fives all around. We think we have hit the jackpot but apparently, at Chuck E. Cheese, 50 tickets will get you little more than a few stickers or a plastic commemorative spoon.
Either way, we think its a good sign.
LOTS OF LOVE,
Brittany and Scott
What a year this has been! There is so much to be thankful for!
Sigh. Oh plans! I have always been more of a "fly by the seat of my pants" type of girl. I like to dive in head first and just get downright and dirty with what I'm gettin' into. I have found the chances of backing out are significantly less when you are, well, immersed. A toe in the water is easy to take out - but a whole body? Now that is commitment!
To say we have been busy these last couple of weeks would be an understatement. Not only were we thrwarted into wedding planning bliss (insert large, toothy, purposefully strained grin) but we had the holidays, family parties, out-of-town guests and - well, lets face it - our upcoming July 24th nuptials took precedence the end of November. Wedding planning, FYI, is not for the faint of heart! Did you know there are brides out there that book venues BEFORE they get engaged? Yeah. Enough said.
Anyway, this past couple weeks of wedding induced chaos has put a monkey wrench in boat work. HOWEVER, we have hired a wedding planner (hooray for me and my sanity!) and now, boat work can commence! And boy oh boy did it ever on Sunday. First of all, we arrived at Canal Street and the magic elves at the marina shrink-wrapped our little beauty so we can work on her in rain, sleet or snow (sounds fun, right?). Our boat is now a super-cool fort! It was great timing really, as it was rainy on Sunday - and there we were, working away on deck completely dry. Sigh. Luxury (Not quite, but it's all relative).
The big news is we removed 4 of the 5 seacocks in our boat! What is a seacock you ask? Well - it is a valve on the hull of the boat that can either allow liquid to flow in (for engine cooling intake, for example) or out (from the bilge, for example). Our seacocks are of the "gate valve" variety and have been on the boat for 35 years. They are old and need to be replaced before we shove off. It is incredibly important to have your seacocks in top condition, for if and when they "break" you have either a VERY wet boat (at best) or a very sunken boat (at worst). We're not taking any chances. We're replacing them all. 
So....it begins at 6:30am with our alarm going off...we are getting up early to make the drive to Detroit for Scott's niece Nycole's 5th birthday party and we have to hit the road early. Ugh.
"Oh!" exclaims Scott, "Let's swing by the boat and get those measurements for my mom" he looks at me, and sees a faint look of 'lets just hit the road' - and says, "It's on the way, and we've put it off so long". Okay, no biggie. We do keep forgetting those measurements.
The "measurements" are for cockpit cushions that his mom (bless her!) wants to have made for us. She has been asking for them all summer, and we KEEP forgetting to get them to her. So this is a legit "excuse".
About 5 minutes later, my phone rings. It is Scott. "Hon, I need help with these measurements, can you just come up here quick and help me?" 
I gasp because I did NOT see this coming. (I mean we have very seriously talked about marriage and knew it'd happen, but I didn't suspect this day, this morning). Scott gets down on one knee, procurs a box with a ring, and with a little quiver in his voice says, "Brittany, I am so in love with you and cannot imagine spending my life with anyone other than you. Will you marry me?"
With tears of joy in my eyes I throw my arms around Scott's neck and exclaim, "Yes!".
About an hour later, we drive to Michigan (we still had a 5th birthday party to attend at Chuck E. Cheese's). We play one game of "Deal or No Deal", choosing the case that represents our special day, 14. We win. The crowd of tweens and toddlers go wild as 50 whole tickets spew out of the machine. High fives all around. We think we have hit the jackpot but apparently, at Chuck E. Cheese, 50 tickets will get you little more than a few stickers or a plastic commemorative spoon. 
