THE Story
Okay, so I think all of you know that I'm engaged. Yay! But most of you don't know the story...I think my family are the only ones who do. SO, I figured I should get around to writing it here (with a nice reminder from Julie!).
So let's set the stage here, shall we? Saturday, June 28th, 2008. It is the evening of Rhythm and Booms, the Midwest's largest fireworks display that is all set to music. The entire city and surrounding areas of Madison (plus many out-of-staters) take over the Northside and Warner Park. Luckily for us, we're just two to three blocks away from said park so we could walk and not worry about having to park, etc. We had planned on going to R & B since we moved here. A fellow recruit (Sarah) had tickets to a Madison Mallard's baseball game (college boys come and play for this league over the summer...no pay, but just to keep on top of their skills, build resume, etc.) Sarah's family was going to be out of town (as it was the beginning of the week-long vacation for the academy), so she gave us the tickets. The ballpark is inside Warner Park and after the game, they let those who had tickets to the game sit on blankets, etc. in the outfield and watch the fireworks, pumping the music through their sound system. Very cool and it wasn't too terribly crowded either. Perfect!
So we watch the game...kind of. We did more people watching than anything else. They are not shy about their alcohol at ALL and on top of that, people are WEIRD. Period. After the game, they did some pass-the-time activities (kickball for the kids with some Mallards players, etc.) and we could all go set our blankets up and everything. Turns out that Sarah's step-mom and family were sitting behind us the whole game so we chatted with them a little bit and then headed out to the field. We laid out our blanket center field and just hung out and talked and did some more people watching for the next hour. I was anticipating it being very crowded, but everyone seemed to respect each other's space and we all had our own little areas. We were also VERY lucky because of the record mosquitos here due to the massive flooding and there weren't that many around. Where they usually catch 10 or so over a 14 hours period, they caught 200,000. Yes, that many zeros. EW. Anyone who knows me knows I detest bugs. ANYWAY. We were lucky because there were only a few flying around and they didn't bother us. I think it helped we were in the actual ballpark and not just in the park because there is a huge marshland on the border of the park and I bet those people got eaten alive.
So it gets dark and they start the music through the speakers. Cam and I just sat back and relaxed, watching the fireworks. They were HUGE. All of you know how great they are in Kollen Park in Holland? There were 100 times better, I kid you not. AMAZING. And then Cam just reached over and took my hand and said "Amanda, will you marry me?" And I of course said YES! He took the ring out of his pocket (that sneaky boy) and put it on my finger and there you have it! Nothing attention seeking, nothing huge and overly cheesy. It was perfect. I don't think any one else around us even knew it happened. Just the way I wanted it.
What gets me is that Cam didn't act weird at all. He's so bad at keeping secrets (sorry, baby, but you are...) and he is always acting weird when he has something to tell me or give to me. But I didn't notice any weirdness from him at all and that's what really surprised me.
So there's the story. Nothing extravagant. But perfect in every way. And besides, not many people get to say they got fireworks to celebrate their engagement! :)
So let's set the stage here, shall we? Saturday, June 28th, 2008. It is the evening of Rhythm and Booms, the Midwest's largest fireworks display that is all set to music. The entire city and surrounding areas of Madison (plus many out-of-staters) take over the Northside and Warner Park. Luckily for us, we're just two to three blocks away from said park so we could walk and not worry about having to park, etc. We had planned on going to R & B since we moved here. A fellow recruit (Sarah) had tickets to a Madison Mallard's baseball game (college boys come and play for this league over the summer...no pay, but just to keep on top of their skills, build resume, etc.) Sarah's family was going to be out of town (as it was the beginning of the week-long vacation for the academy), so she gave us the tickets. The ballpark is inside Warner Park and after the game, they let those who had tickets to the game sit on blankets, etc. in the outfield and watch the fireworks, pumping the music through their sound system. Very cool and it wasn't too terribly crowded either. Perfect!
So we watch the game...kind of. We did more people watching than anything else. They are not shy about their alcohol at ALL and on top of that, people are WEIRD. Period. After the game, they did some pass-the-time activities (kickball for the kids with some Mallards players, etc.) and we could all go set our blankets up and everything. Turns out that Sarah's step-mom and family were sitting behind us the whole game so we chatted with them a little bit and then headed out to the field. We laid out our blanket center field and just hung out and talked and did some more people watching for the next hour. I was anticipating it being very crowded, but everyone seemed to respect each other's space and we all had our own little areas. We were also VERY lucky because of the record mosquitos here due to the massive flooding and there weren't that many around. Where they usually catch 10 or so over a 14 hours period, they caught 200,000. Yes, that many zeros. EW. Anyone who knows me knows I detest bugs. ANYWAY. We were lucky because there were only a few flying around and they didn't bother us. I think it helped we were in the actual ballpark and not just in the park because there is a huge marshland on the border of the park and I bet those people got eaten alive.
So it gets dark and they start the music through the speakers. Cam and I just sat back and relaxed, watching the fireworks. They were HUGE. All of you know how great they are in Kollen Park in Holland? There were 100 times better, I kid you not. AMAZING. And then Cam just reached over and took my hand and said "Amanda, will you marry me?" And I of course said YES! He took the ring out of his pocket (that sneaky boy) and put it on my finger and there you have it! Nothing attention seeking, nothing huge and overly cheesy. It was perfect. I don't think any one else around us even knew it happened. Just the way I wanted it.
What gets me is that Cam didn't act weird at all. He's so bad at keeping secrets (sorry, baby, but you are...) and he is always acting weird when he has something to tell me or give to me. But I didn't notice any weirdness from him at all and that's what really surprised me.
So there's the story. Nothing extravagant. But perfect in every way. And besides, not many people get to say they got fireworks to celebrate their engagement! :)