Locking it down

Miriel had gone away for a girls retreat over the weekend. When she came back to our apartment, she found the place filled with these:

(SPOILER)http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4.../1balloons.jpg

Then she was given a puzzle piece with a note:

(SPOILER)http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...uzzlepiece.jpg

Similar pieces were scattered throughout the apartment and she had to discover them all through a series of clues. Where could they lead?

(SPOILER)http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...zzlehidden.jpg

After she got all the pieces she then had to put the puzzle together. Completing her puzzle revealed her prize: an impromptu romantic getaway to Lake Tahoe! Congratulations!

(SPOILER)http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...er/4puzzle.jpg

3 hours later, we were in Tahoe in a room overlooking the beautiful lake. We had a nice dinner, then rested up for the 'big day' (though
she didn't know it yet). The next day, we had a lunch of... you guessed it, tacos! After lunch I took her up to the Stateline Fire Lookout, one of the most beautiful and best kept secrets about Tahoe. The views were amazing.

(SPOILER)http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...rder/5view.jpg

The hike up was a lot longer and tougher than I expected (especially since I was carrying a cooler), but she was a good sport. And at the top, I brought out her favorite drink, apple cider, which never tasted better.

(SPOILER)http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...der/6cider.jpg

We had the entire lookout to ourselves. I looked into her eyes, and asked her if she wanted a present. She braced herself, knowing what
was coming...or did she? Probably not, because instead of a ring, I read her this silly poem I had been working on at her request:

http://forums.eyesonff.com/writers-c...r-my-head.html

I think that caused her to let her guard down, but my presents didn't end there. I next gave her this scrapbook I had been working on for
months. It chronicled our entire relationship. From the first pm I sent her at Eyes on Final Fantasy, to all the places we had traveled
together, and even included pictures of her dogs which complete our family (which she particularly liked). Near the end of the book it described what was about to happen next, because then I pulled out the final present...

(SPOILER)http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...rder/7ring.jpg

Both of us in tears, I asked her to marry me. She couldn't speak, but she did nod. And that's how I got engaged.

(SPOILER)http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...r/DSC01140.jpg

Thank you Eyes on Final Fantasy for introducing me to the love of my life. I love you baby!

Aww, congrats man!! What a special way to propose, and I'm really happy for the both of you!

(SPOILER)Del Murder and Miriel for Cutest Couple End of Year Ciddies 2011? You betcha!

Congrats!

You've certainly set the bar on marriage proposals. This is the sweetest thing I've read in a long time.

Hey, she did not shoot you down! You should be pleased with yourself!

Also, great and adorable story. I almost cried before I caught myself.

yeah basically trying to keep from tearing up here!

many happy years, you two~

Congrats guys. :) Del you smooth player!

You guys are my role models, swear to god. I am so incredibly happy for you I can't stand it. I want to jump up and down.

[img]http://home.eyesonff.com/images/smilies/heart.gif[/img] y'all. I want to see sooo many pictures of the wedding.

oh smurfing hell now I'm crying what the hell man

that was like the most romantic thing ever and you even made a scrapbook of things that's so cute

:heart:

You guys are pretty much are the dream of peaceful and happy appreciative couples and I really hope I can have the long term happiness you guys have achieved. You really deserve this, you guys, work it! ;A; <3

aww yeah, limit breakin' the post

Huge congrats to both of you :3

Holy crap, you are one romantic mothersmurfer. Congrats, man! :monster:

P.S. I'm probably going to steal your idea.

Goddammit, I'm jealous of you.

You two are both two very genuine, kind-hearted, and good people and I'm so wordlessly happy for you both.

Tony also arranged for a 1 hour couple's massage, and took us to one of my favorite restaurants for dinner afterward. Filet mignon with foie gras butter, oh yeeeeeaaahh.

The book he made for me was amazing. Perfect. It made me laugh so hard and also made me cry. There's a really funny bit in there that I might share later on. There were 3 pages that included photos of our dogs, which pretty much got me bawling because Lizzie & Charlie are such a big part of our lives and I love that they were part of the proposal.

And the treasure chest was super cute and again, so perfectly suited for me. Whenever I play games, I will literally shout TREASURE!!! whenever I see a treasure chest. It took him a long time to find it too. :) Oh and I am addicted to apple cidar. No lie, I will guzzle it straight from the bottle. I can clear 2 bottles in 20 minutes, easy. I love that he brought a bottle of it up on the hike, instead of something typical like champagne.

We wanted to enjoy the day and keep it to ourselves, so we didn't tell anyone right away. We wanted it to be just for us. The next morning, I sent out a mass text and my phone BLEW UP. I got so many amazing phone calls and texts and tweets and facebook comments. Honestly, it made a beautiful proposal that much better to share it with so many people who care about us. Some of my friends work together and they called me and you can literally hear them jumping up and down and screaming at 9 in the morning. I got a lot of "my coworkers think I'm crazy!!!" messages. Honestly, I can't remember the last time my heart felt so full. Perfect perfect perfect.

Oh and my ring is bomb. Best ring ever.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...ementring1.jpg

GORGEOUS~~~

This is one of the sweetest proposals I've ever heard of. Lovely ;~; Super duper congrats to you two!