The Story

We have had many e-mails and phone calls requesting the full in-detail story of the engagement. Like all things in life there are two sides to the story. So, we have decided to write our two separate accounts of our memorable day together.

According to Paul:
Before I start my version of this story I wish to inform you that Alyssa is probably the hardest person I have ever met to surprise. Not only with big things but with little things. She is so perceptive. Another problem I had (which I consider to be a good thing) is I hate, hate, hate keeping secrets from her. So I was in a bit of a conundrum ...

My idea was to have Alyssa over early in the day, around 11 and then tell her that I wanted to take my dog to the beach and hang out. In typical Alyssa fashion she didn't show up until 1. Those two hours of anticipation nearly killed me. I did nearly everything possible to calm my nerves. I even spent time jumping on my parents trampoline.

When she finally arrived I could barely get my words straight I was so nervous. Not nervous to ask her, for I knew what the answer would be (one should not be asking questions of the sort unless they know the answer) but more so nervous for what asking her meant. I spent the next few minutes attempting to sound as normal as possible. We loaded the dog into the back of my car and over to dog beach. Fortunately, I found the energy to remain calm and normal. When we got down to the beach there were lots of people enjoying their Christmas on the beach with their families and pets so I sort of herded the dog and Alyssa north up the beach away from the crowds.

The tides have been ridiculously low due to winter and the full moon so the reefs were easy to walk out onto. After awhile of throwing the ball for my dog and pretending to be normal I took the ring from my pocket and walked over to some rocks pretending to pick one up. I asked her to come over and check out this cool looking rock. She anxiously walked over hoping to see a cool rock. Instead I opened my hand to reveal the ring.

The first few seconds Alyssa just stood in shock. I believe she was half expecting to see a sweet looking rock. After the moments of silence she gave a slight nod of her head at which time I got on my knee and said, "Alyssa Marie, will you marry me?" She barely had the energy in her but she squeaked a, "yes, of course." At which time we embraced the first of many long embraces. And then we looked into each others eyes and she said,"Really? Really? Really?"

After many embraces, kisses and smiles Alyssa began to connect the dots in her mind and said, "Wait, does my family know? Wait, who knows about this?" For which of course i replied, "Yep, they are probably at my parents house now awaiting our arrival."

We got back to my parents house and were greeting by many open arms. An embrace of family welcoming both of us into each others respective sides.

Not attempting to sound smug or anything but I did in fact surprise the unsurprisable.

According to Alyssa:
I must begin by defending myself. I admit that I am often, well, running rather late. However, Christmas is a time to spend with family with little to no agenda. So, while Paul was waiting for me to be on time, I was checking out my Christmas presents and taking my sweet time without a clue that I was supposed to be anywhere "on time."

So I get there, oblivious to anything, spend time with Paul and his family, still oblivious. We go to the beach and I'm just thinking how nice it is to be out on Christmas as I never really get out and do anything. Generally I'm lucky if I make it out of my pajamas before dinner. Now, clever Paul tricks me by making me think he's found a cool rock. This may sound odd to some, but I myself am probably the odd one in that I like to look for rocks. I'm not sure what makes a rock particularly interesting, but he had my attention. So he tells me he has found a cool rock and I come bouncing over to check it out. The only thing is that I was completely thrown off when his hand uncurled to hold something entirely different than what I was expecting.

I'm not quite sure what happened after that. I'm pretty positive that I went numb and didn't say anything, and then made some sort of utterance or gesture to let him know I understood and that the answer was, of course, yes. After that, he'd have to tell you. My body and brain went numb. Wait, that is a lie. I do remember saying "Really?" over and over. I don't even remember driving back to his family's house. I just remember walking back in and seeing my family and his family and everyone saying, "Congratulations!"

Before I continue, I'd like to remind you that at this point I am still numb, rather shaky, in shock, and unprepared for any further excitement. After many hugs and such, someone was bold enough to throw out the question, "So, any idea on when?" to which Paul replied, "Well, we're driving through Vegas tomorrow." Now, I've never passed out before, but that might have been my chance. Regardless, it was perfect and I didn't have a clue. Well done Paul. You surprised me.