Betrothal

DAN AND CARLYNNE ARE ENGAGED!

This is Carlynne hi-jacking her sibling's blog once again to share the exciting news.

While I was still in Kenya, Dan was being very sneaky. He designed the ring himself and here he is doing a final inspection.

The day after I arrived in Edmonton from Kenya was my 25th birthday. I knew Dan had some surprise fun planned. But I didn't know just how fun....

I woke up at 6:00am October 13th to some beautiful tunes, including a song Dan had written and recorded, blasting from under my bed. It was Dan's CD alarm clock with instructions for a treasure hunt taped to it. Having taken a sleeping pill the night before, I was a little slow solving all the riddles...but I eventually accomplished everything:
1) Finding a scrapbook Dan had made of the two of us
2) Calling Julie and Lowell to come over right away for breakfast
3) Packing the scrapbook, something warm to wear, something nice to wear, my teddy bear, and a pair of goggles

After a lovely morning meal, we got in the car (just Dan and I...sorry Julie) and started driving towards the mountains. Dan had chosen a number of special spots to stop. All beautiful viewpoints or short little hikes. Each stop correlated with a section of the scrapbook.

Our special day was made even more special by a few wildlife friends.

Here's the ring "bearer":

You must be thinking that I knew exactly what was going on this entire time. To be honest, I was HIGHLY suspicious. But it was my birthday...and Dan does do wonderful romantic things for me all the time... a girl can never be sure...

Our last stop was Athabasca falls. He proposed a little ways away where there was a lovely mountain view and while the sun was setting. Perfect.

And now...we are engaged.

A little taste of Dan's hidden scrapbooking talents.

Next on the itinerary: dinner reservations at Jasper Park Lodge.

And here's the ring: