Well the big cat is out of the bag and Erik and I have officially announced our engagement on Facebook and we picked out our rings after Christmas. It was sized and I was able to pick it up on New Year's Eve.
We've been planning this wedding the entire time, like since last August. We've booked a venue, hired a photographer, a photobooth company, found our minister and have picked a DJ. We've picked the food, the cake, and the decorations. The ring was NOT a priority. I'm glad we finally got it though. It makes it all so real and it means so much. It's not a large diamond, it's not the cost of a house or a car but it is a symbol of our love, our future and our promise to each other.
We spent the first week of October in Las Vegas for five days. We had a great time and it looks like that may be the honeymoon destination. Our plans were leaning towards Jamaica and an all-inclusive resort but circumstances have changed and we will do that trip later. The main focus is being together and having fun. Erik has wanted to go back to Vegas since we came home so it's a good choice. We'll have as much to do as we want or as little.
We went to Arizona over Veteran's Day weekend to visit my brother and family. We had a good weekend, it was a really short trip. We packed in a Suns basketball game and a trip to the White Tank Mountain Park. This park is just awesome if you want to get out into the natural elements. Modern facilities do exist and the water from the fountain was surprisingly good and cool. We took some great photos in the park and it was a nice dive. Some people don't think about Arizona being an agriculture state but we saw cotton fields and commercial flower fields along the way. We took the exit off of the 101 and drove straight to the mountains until we couldn't go any further.
The other exciting, yet not all that positive thing about the Arizona trip was that on the night we were driving into town for the Suns game we had a new experience. I was behind the wheel on the 101 and we had just approached the sign saying left 2 lanes for the I-10 East exit. This is where we needed to be to get to downtown Phoenix and the sporting complex/entertainment district. Traffic really began to slow down and at some point stopped, then it would pick up again, including the HOV lane. We had passed a cop on the right giving someone a ticket. A little while later he comes running up past us with his lights on and turns his car to the left and stops. A woman was driving the wrong way on the 101! In the fast lanes! Thank God no one was hurt! I was in the lane to the left of her and the cop and couldn't believe it.
Our plans for 2013 will be small scale since we are paying for a wedding. We are excited to have Howdy Bell as our minister for the wedding. Howdy is the voice of the 500, turn two to be precise. Since we are both racing fans and have worked at the track this connection has been awesome. Howdy is wonderful to talk to, he's entertaining and like someone you've known for all of your life. We are so happy to have met him and have him officiate at the wedding.
We're going to have a fun wedding. While there will be bittersweet moments as we've lost loved ones since we started this relationship and we'll be missing them, we'll make the most of it and enjoy those that will be around us.
Happy New Year 2013
Happy for you both, Rene! All the best!
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