Early this summer, a Co Conspirator was forward thinking enough to pin down Robin and put a twist tie around her ring finger.... after a bit more dating to give her time to get used to the idea, and for her to meet my family, and for me to ask her dad, I got that critical dimension and ordered a ring. After looking at that shiny little thing for a couple days on my desk, it was finally Saturday. We headed out towards Rattlesnake Arches in Fruita - second only to Arches National Park for arch coolness. Its a fairly long hike.
After about an hour of nice desert hiking, it was time for another shade break and lunch. We came across a perfect spot where the trail went right by a cliff, and there was really good shade. I knew I had to ask her then... all the sudden I got nervous... I spun her around a bit and bumbled around a lot, spun her around more to camouflage the jitters, then said something like, "Robin, I'd like to love you, protect you, provide for you the rest of my life. Will you marry me?"
And much to my everlasting delight, she said "YES!!!!!!!!!!"
AAAAAAAAnnnd we hugged and smiled, a LOT. We decided early on while dating to save our first kiss for our wedding day, so that was avoided. Is it wrong to kiss before marriage? I think it isn't necessarily, but it does seem like a wise choice for a few reasons. One of the big points of dating is to point each other to Christ, and let God figure out the time interval of our relationship. If it seems wisest to part ways and not get married, it is my job as a man to protect my sister in Christ. (1 Timothy 5:2)
Anyway, there we were, grinning from ear to ear, about 5 inches apart, center to center.... after a while, I pulled a ring out of my pocket, conveniently cloaked in a Platypus hydration bladder bite valve cover from an extra winter insulation kit.... padded with a bit of napkin so it wouldn't rattle.....
It fit, thanks to good sneaking by my Co Conspirators.
It went something like this.... below the cliff and tower in the next picture.
We continued on for a while, being excited and happy together, talking about life together, a bit about wedding planning, when to get married,.....
Anyway, we didn't make it in to the arches, so... oh dear, we'll just have to go back! As it was, we were still sitting down to a Thai dinner at 8 pm....
What excitingness!
