Saturday, December 3, 1999

Six years ago on this very day (and it was even a Saturday!) Kevin and I went for a hike up to our favorite rock overlooking the valley. However, that is not where the story begins. Earlier that week Kevin and had talked about going snowboarding on the weekend. I explained that I couldn't because I had to study for finals, and Kevin was a little upset about it. That was my first clue, because normally he didn't complain about school or school work one iota. My second clue was a couple of days later when I heard Kevin's dissertation on all things diamonds. The cut, the color, the clarity, you know. He told me everything he had learned. And then Friday night, while sitting under the Christmas tree, Kevin reaches into his coat pocket and says, "What have I got here?" My heart jumps into my throat and quickly back into my stomach as he reveals his cell phone. "KEVIN!" I yell at him. "What?!" he teases. "Like you don't know! " I say back. Then we head off to dinner with our best friends to a place with kareoke and some guy proposed to his girl there. I very clearly explain that I think that is the cheasiest thing ever. Meanwhile, Kevin and I make plans to go on a hike on Saturday in the middle of all my studying. On Saturday, we arrive at the beginning of the trail. It is a beautiful and clear winter day. The sun is shining, but it is still chilly. We start making our way towards the top. I remember being very tired. About half way up, Kevin, who has already been so transparent this week, asks if we can run the rest of the way. Eyeing the many steep switchbacks and trying to catch my breath, I giggle out a "Yeah, right, I can't do that!" So we make our way up the rest of the hike. We scale the rock that looks like a ball-cap and look out over our beautiful valley. We snap a few pictures of each other. Then, Kevin, reaches into his coat pocket and says, "What have I got here?" This time he pulls out a little jewelry box. Then he opens it up, and says (something to the effect of), "Sarah, you are my best friend, and I love you. Will you marry me?" I have probably been beaming since oh, Tuesday, but I smile even more and say, "Yes." Then Kevin realizes he is not down one knee, repositions himself- and asks again. And of course, I say "yes" again. Then we snap some more pictures of each other. And happily skip back down the trail. Later, he reveals to me that the night before while we were sitting beneath the Christmas tree, the ring had been hanging on one of the branches and had I been observant enough to notice, he would have asked me right there. I gasp and giggle at the thought, but I am really glad it happened the way it did. In the year and a half preceding the proposal I had gone on the same hike with my best friend Melissa. While sitting up there and pondering what lay before us, I had said to her, " Wouldn't it be neat if you got proposed to up here?" And there I was with Kevin, who had no idea I had ever said those words, and he was proposing to me. It was perfect. I'd like to say things still are, but this is reality and they aren't all the time. But I love him even more now than I did then. My life has been so full and rewarding, and changed in ways I could never imagine because of him. I love you, Baby!



These are the pictures we took that day and my cheesy way that I put them in my photo album....