June 30th 2006, My Engagement Story
Here's what everyone wants to know... now the question is:
where to even begin…
So on Thursday (6/29) evening I started moving into my new apartment and that continued on until Friday (6/30) morning. Once we were out of our old apartment we went to lunch with my family and then Paul and I headed out to the Huntington Beach so that we could relax and detox after moving.
It was literally the perfect day to be at the beach and we both just relaxed and had a great time talking about life and the miracle of how the world we live in works. Around 5:30 we went to my old boss’s house off of Main street in Huntington. I was told that I needed to be the “essence of hotness” for dinner so we showered and got ready there. Then we took Mark’s (my old boss) Infinity M45, which is an amazing car by the way, out to go to dinner.
We pulled into Olive Garden’s parking lot and I was told to stay there and not get out of the car… so I obeyed like and obedient girlfriend, but I was a little curious about what was happening at that point. Paul got our food and came back out to the car and we drove to Huntington Beach Harbor where, unbeknownst to me, Paul’s former trumpet teacher lived.
We arrived at this house and as we walked in I saw Dave and was pleasantly surprised and totally confused about what was happening. Then we went through the entry way out into the “backyard” which was the harbor and I saw a small boat next to the dock. The first thing that I said was “this isn’t happening…” because the boat had white lights all along it and vases of roses around it and then there was a little area in the front of the boat where there were blankets spread out for both of us. Paul’s response was something like, “Well, we can leave if you want to.” I definitely said, “Uhh…no, get me in that boat!”
We got into the boat around 7:45 and started to eat our Olive Garden dinner while Dave piloted us around the harbor and we asked him questions about the multi-million dollar houses and boats that we were cruising by. It was such a relaxing ride and we had a wonderful time eating and chatting while the sky changed from deep reds and yellows to light blue and finally to dark blue which was so gorgeous and all the house lights were reflecting off the water… ahh it was wonderful. Paul then started to sing a variety of Disney songs, though mostly Sebastian’s “Kiss the Girl” (Paul note: It was just a catchy tune stuck in my head and I felt a bit like a French crustacean that night anyway.) However, after a few tiems through, I begged off further repetitions by requesting Beauty and the Beast. This he managed sufficiently well, with a few gentle cues. At this point I was thinking it’s now or never, but it was starting to look like never.
We pulled back into the dock and I needed to go to the bathroom but first I wanted a picture of us in the boat because it really was a wonderful date if nothing else. So we asked Dave if he had a camera and he said that “he might be able to find one” (Paul note: Dave was grinning a bit too widely for being able to fulfill such a simple, common request).
Anyway, he proceeded to tell me a story/poem (Paul note: About a monkey named Smee and his two best friends a flea and a bee named Goldie) that he had written and then he explained that he hadn’t finished it yet so he had to continue it and so he did and then he said to me, “Chrystal Dawn Browning, I want you to be my wife for the rest of my life.” After that it was all kind of a blur but basically he said he wanted to have a family and a home with me and that he wanted to love me the rest of his life. Then he said, “Without further ado… (as he reaches for the ring)… Will you marry me?” I said “Yes” and then we kissed and all was beautiful…
It was actually quite humorous because Dave was outside the boat taking pictures this whole time and we wanted some pictures of us kissing but the camera was not cooperating so we had several 10-15 second kisses while we waited for the camera to flash, it was so hard to not laugh during that. We then prayed together and admired the ring for a little bit and I told him how much I loved it.
After that I was finally able to go to the bathroom and then we left to give Mark his car back, along the way I talked to my parents and then Cari and while I was on the phone with Cari I was looking at a slideshow that she had made for me. It made me cry, I’m pretty sure it was the only thing all night that made me cry because I wanted her to be there so badly. Anyways, enough of the sentimental stuff so we got to the condo and we walked in and the satellite radio was on playing smooth jazz so I walked through the entryway and set down my stuff and turned towards the hallway and all of these people emerged from the darkness yelling surprise! It scared the living daylights out of me but it was such a wonderful surprise. We then talked and ate some yummy goodness with everyone there and then we all headed out to go home.
All in all it was one of the best, if not the best day of my life. It was so relaxing and so natural that I was perfectly at peace with everything and then to get engaged after that made things even better! Well I’m sure that I have taken up enough of your time by now so I will let you savor the pictures and ask me any questions when you see me. Much love!
where to even begin…
So on Thursday (6/29) evening I started moving into my new apartment and that continued on until Friday (6/30) morning. Once we were out of our old apartment we went to lunch with my family and then Paul and I headed out to the Huntington Beach so that we could relax and detox after moving.
It was literally the perfect day to be at the beach and we both just relaxed and had a great time talking about life and the miracle of how the world we live in works. Around 5:30 we went to my old boss’s house off of Main street in Huntington. I was told that I needed to be the “essence of hotness” for dinner so we showered and got ready there. Then we took Mark’s (my old boss) Infinity M45, which is an amazing car by the way, out to go to dinner.
We pulled into Olive Garden’s parking lot and I was told to stay there and not get out of the car… so I obeyed like and obedient girlfriend, but I was a little curious about what was happening at that point. Paul got our food and came back out to the car and we drove to Huntington Beach Harbor where, unbeknownst to me, Paul’s former trumpet teacher lived.
We arrived at this house and as we walked in I saw Dave and was pleasantly surprised and totally confused about what was happening. Then we went through the entry way out into the “backyard” which was the harbor and I saw a small boat next to the dock. The first thing that I said was “this isn’t happening…” because the boat had white lights all along it and vases of roses around it and then there was a little area in the front of the boat where there were blankets spread out for both of us. Paul’s response was something like, “Well, we can leave if you want to.” I definitely said, “Uhh…no, get me in that boat!”
We got into the boat around 7:45 and started to eat our Olive Garden dinner while Dave piloted us around the harbor and we asked him questions about the multi-million dollar houses and boats that we were cruising by. It was such a relaxing ride and we had a wonderful time eating and chatting while the sky changed from deep reds and yellows to light blue and finally to dark blue which was so gorgeous and all the house lights were reflecting off the water… ahh it was wonderful. Paul then started to sing a variety of Disney songs, though mostly Sebastian’s “Kiss the Girl” (Paul note: It was just a catchy tune stuck in my head and I felt a bit like a French crustacean that night anyway.) However, after a few tiems through, I begged off further repetitions by requesting Beauty and the Beast. This he managed sufficiently well, with a few gentle cues. At this point I was thinking it’s now or never, but it was starting to look like never.
We pulled back into the dock and I needed to go to the bathroom but first I wanted a picture of us in the boat because it really was a wonderful date if nothing else. So we asked Dave if he had a camera and he said that “he might be able to find one” (Paul note: Dave was grinning a bit too widely for being able to fulfill such a simple, common request).
Anyway, he proceeded to tell me a story/poem (Paul note: About a monkey named Smee and his two best friends a flea and a bee named Goldie) that he had written and then he explained that he hadn’t finished it yet so he had to continue it and so he did and then he said to me, “Chrystal Dawn Browning, I want you to be my wife for the rest of my life.” After that it was all kind of a blur but basically he said he wanted to have a family and a home with me and that he wanted to love me the rest of his life. Then he said, “Without further ado… (as he reaches for the ring)… Will you marry me?” I said “Yes” and then we kissed and all was beautiful…
It was actually quite humorous because Dave was outside the boat taking pictures this whole time and we wanted some pictures of us kissing but the camera was not cooperating so we had several 10-15 second kisses while we waited for the camera to flash, it was so hard to not laugh during that. We then prayed together and admired the ring for a little bit and I told him how much I loved it.
After that I was finally able to go to the bathroom and then we left to give Mark his car back, along the way I talked to my parents and then Cari and while I was on the phone with Cari I was looking at a slideshow that she had made for me. It made me cry, I’m pretty sure it was the only thing all night that made me cry because I wanted her to be there so badly. Anyways, enough of the sentimental stuff so we got to the condo and we walked in and the satellite radio was on playing smooth jazz so I walked through the entryway and set down my stuff and turned towards the hallway and all of these people emerged from the darkness yelling surprise! It scared the living daylights out of me but it was such a wonderful surprise. We then talked and ate some yummy goodness with everyone there and then we all headed out to go home.
All in all it was one of the best, if not the best day of my life. It was so relaxing and so natural that I was perfectly at peace with everything and then to get engaged after that made things even better! Well I’m sure that I have taken up enough of your time by now so I will let you savor the pictures and ask me any questions when you see me. Much love!
posted by Chrystal at 3:10 PM
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