NEW YEARS EVE is always going to be a day to remember for Dave and I. Two New Year's Eves ago was the when that Dave tells me that he was fully falling for me. We went dancing together in San Diego with some close friends and we were just like magnets with each other! This was the day we decided would mark when our dating started. Then, this time last year he got down on one knee and asked me to to be his wife. One year exactly from our "falling for you" day. I don't think I've told a lot of you the story of proposal, and it is too good not to share!
NEW YEARS EVE 2009 started out like something out of a storybook...I spent the morning in court, trying to fight a ridiculous traffic ticket I received. And Dave spent the morning at the dentist getting one of his wisdom teeth yanked out. It was a lovely morning. Storybook right? Told you.
After leaving the court I made sure to lighten up and look forward to the rest of the day because I knew Dave was waiting for me at my house and that we had a fun day date planned. The plan was to go down to Huntington Beach and ride bikes along the boardwalk, have a picnic, hang out at the beach, window shop, and then get sushi later that night.
We arrive in Huntington and unload our bikes. We set off cruising the streets and then hit the boardwalk. We were just having a good time like usual, but I was getting pretty hungry. I kept telling Dave, "This looks like a great spot to stop and eat," or, "How about over there?" He told me, "Why don't we go down to that spot by the getty that we used to go to and find shells?" I thought...that sounds nice. We ride up to that spot to find a dazzling table set up with a draping table cloth, martinelli's, and a vase full of my favorite flowers...gerber daisies. At first I was thinking...that is for someone else.
Dave said, "What do you say we eat our lunch there?"
I said, "Dave, we can't, that is for somebody else."
He literally had to take me by the hand and walk me over to the table to sit down because I was so shocked and did not believe that this was for me. Needless to say I forgot my hunger. Here is the part that I start getting major butterflies and my mind is racing. Is this just a nice dinner? Is he going to propose? Is this a goodbye dinner? What is going on? I finally calm my mind down and I sense that he is a little nervous too. He's got the Martinelli's bottle by the neck and can't seem to pry off the top. Forgot the bottle-opener. I tell him, "Hey, I learned this cool trick my freshman year to get bottle tops off, let me see it..." (I swear I don't drink! as lame as that line sounds haha.). He hands me the bottle and I walk over to one of the rocks in the getty that seems to have a nice ledge on it. I take a firm grip on the bottle and then smack the top on the rock. The whole neck of the bottle breaks off, crumbles to the ground, and cuts myhand and foot in the process. This was not how it was supposed to go.
I start laughing, maybe feeling a little silly at this point. Meanwhile, Dave's face goes white as he sees the blood from my cut. He tells me later that in his mind he was thinking, "Here is the girl that I am about to propose to and she is standing there bleeding!" I try to ease the situation and remind him that I have extra gauze in my purse to wrap around it! (Remember earlier when I mentioned Dave getting his wisdom tooth out...yep...that gauze was for him). We both start laughing, he makes sure that I am ok and then we go back and sit at the table. The whole situation was pretty hilarious.
We finally settle down and Dave tells me that there was supposed to be a red card at my seat when we got there, but he said he would just tell me what the card had said. Dave then starts telling me about his love for me, and how he has seen it grow, and how he doesn't want it to end. We later found the card luckily because I couldn't remember half of the things he was saying because my mind was going a million miles a minute. In the card one line sums it up pretty well and says, "I have thought a lot about how much you mean to me, about us, about our future. I am so lucky to have found you and I can't let this end."..and it goes on. He then comes around to my side of the table and gets down on one knee. He opens a black velvet ring box with the most beautiful gold ring inside! Before he can even say anything I slide onto his knee and wrap my arms around him and start hugging him. Dave says, "Wait, I haven't even asked you yet!" I laughed and then pulled myself away enough that he could finally pop the question that I had dreamt of hearing for so long. The words left his mouth so sweetly, "Courtney Marie McAffee, will you marry me?" Of course I said, "YESSSSS!!!!!!!!!" With a million exclamation marks! I jumped up into his arms and we kissed and hugged. Seconds later we hear rapturous applause behind us. Quite a few people had gathered on the boardwalk and they were all cheering for us and clapping. I hadn't even noticed that they were there! I was so in the moment and just taking it all in. Our good friends Kari Amundsen and David Cox then popped out from behind the getty and congratulated us. They were the ones who set up the table and everything! They told us to go enjoy the rest of the day and that they would take care of the table and everything. So we hopped on our bikes and rode together in pure happiness. I rememeber I kept looking down at the ring on my left hand and I couldn't stop smiling. I probably almost crashed a few times because I couldn't take my eyes off it!
The rest of the day we spent walking hand in hand around Huntington talking about the future and what fun was ahead. In a couple days we would be hopping on a plane to the island of Oahu to go to school together.
We had sushi at Spicy Tuna in Huntington.
Then went home to share the good news with our family. It was such a good feeling being SO in love! Later that night we went out to enjoy the New Year dancing the night away with friends. It will be a day I will never forget.
Here are some of our engagement pictures that my best friend Kari Amundsen took a couple days later. She had to get them done because we were leaving for Hawaii the next day!
It is funny to me how I thought that I could never love Dave more than I did that day. But in this past year I have gotten to know him better, and love him more then ever before. And I am sure that this love is a perpetuating thing. It will not ever end. I am so thankful for that.
THIS NEW YEARS EVE was pretty low key. Dave had to work, so we spent the late night with family. Shot off fireworks, banged pots and pans, and rang in the new year with a good kiss. Can't wait to see what this next year will bring us!
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