back from boston - a proposal for forever

we are back in the midwest with big news!
on wednesday afternoon, i agreed to forever with an enthusiastic "yes!" on the harbor. 
the beginning of our boston adventure transformed into a formal beginning of our life adventure together. 

as soon as we arrived at the hotel, we got back out into the beantown air. we dropped our luggage and started our much anticipated vacation.

we walked by our old haunts. 

we decided to grab an appetizer and drinks. we had calamari and mozzarella triangles. we talked about how great it felt to be in boston. how crazy our lives were going to be upon returning to nebraska. how 2013 was going to be a great year for us. how eerie the holocaust memorial across the street looked. everything but engagement/proposal/wedding. i had no idea. 

[in looking back at the pictures, we had to laugh at the obvious ring box in C's left pocket.] 

C even had a shot of jameson with his beer at our first stop. i just thought, "yay! vacation has started!" little did i know it was to calm his nerves. 

 we walked around quincy market and faneuil hall. 

we made our way to the harbor which was especially calm and beautiful. i took a hundred photos. we let the sunshine hit our face. we smelled the salty ocean air. we held hands. we laughed. 

i stopped again to take this picture. i just wasn't getting the chain to water ratio right, so i snapped and readjusted at least five times. little did i know, C was down on one knee behind me. 

and the rest is history. there was a lot of hand flapping and "oh my goodness" and "yes! yes! yes!" that followed. we hugged and danced and jumped around. no one else was in sight. it was me and my love and the boston harbor. pledging to the rest of our lives. making a formal commitment to ten years and forever. it was perfect. 

we called our families, danced some more and walked back to quincy market for a celebration drink. we landed at ames plow where again, we were nearly the only people in sight. our bartender congratulated us and we just smiled. in shock. in awe of what had just happened. everything seemed the same, yet so different. we have been committed to each other for so long, but now our love was visible. tangible. alive for the world to see. and it felt so good. 
i typically don't like "ring pictures" but i knew some readers would want to take a peek. 

for the rest of my life, i will look at my left hand and remember that moment, that day, that feeling. i hope it will carry us through the challenges and joys that lie ahead. i hope it will continue to hold that tangible reminder of our love, our history, our future. and C, i hope we never stop dancing, jumping, flapping hands, and saying yes! in celebration of us. on the harbor. in our living room. on the street. and in our hearts. 

[thanks to everyone for your love, encouragement and excitement the past week. we feel it in every cell of our bodies. we are blessed with the best people in our lives. you have been our constant companion and cheerleader! we love you all. xo]