I took Alea to the Wichita Wildlife Refuge under the pretense that we were going camping at my Aunt Tamara and Uncle John's ranch which borders the refuge. I left class an hour early that morning because I was so excited that I couldn't focus on what I was painting. My cousins Grady, his wife Erin, and I planned for them to go to "Heart Rock" and post a huge sign saying, "Will you marry me Alea?" while I took Alea to Medicine Park to walk along the river, and then atop Mt. Scott to hike around the rocks before going to set up the make-believe campsite. Also, I invited Debbie (her mom) and Blake (her brother) and my parents Leander and Teresa to the Winery of the Wichita's for a celebration immediately afterword. We spent the afternoon together mostly according to plan, however, we ran into some speed bumps.
When we got to Mt. Scott, it was closed (apparently because someone had fallen off). So, I had to improvise. I called Grady to find another good place to go hiking while he and Erin were setting up the sign. We decided to go hike up Elk Mountain. By the time we got there, I was already running 30 min. behind schedule and according to Alea, it was going to take about an hour to get to the top of the mountain. All the while, Grady and Erin are at the "Heart Rock" site hiding and waiting for us to get there and our family was waiting at the winery. So, as luck would have it (if you can call it "luck") my dog Cooper got tuckered out about 10 minutes into the hike and Alea and her dog Saphira almost got bitten by a rattlesnake. She was ready to stop hiking after that and that was ok with me. As we trekked back down the mountain, I was planning on how to backtrack to get her to Heart Rock. Luckily, she wanted to take the dogs for a swim in the lake where the rock was located. So, I agreed and told her I knew the perfect spot.
When we got there, I was fumbling in the backseat trying to get the ring into my pocket without her noticing. I told her adamantly to wait for me and told her to close her eyes as we were starting to hike up the boulders. To this she responded, "Um, I can't! We're climbing on rocks!" Of course, when I told her this, she immediately started looking for what great surprise might lay ahead. That's when she saw the sign. She turned to me and said, "Are you kidding me?!" I said, "No! But I want to do this the right way." That's when I got on my knee and asked if she would marry me. She said yes!
Afterword, we talked with Grady and Erin a while and then headed to the winery to have dinner and wine with our family. Although not every plan worked accordingly, the night still seemed perfect.
- Cory |
