Thinking back to our perfect wedding day and the time leading up to that day made us also think about how we met and how the proposal went. I found our wedding website randomly while cleaning up bookmarks on the computer and the site was still live. Since the site will probably not be live forever, we thought it would be fun to copy over how we met and the proposal to this site. What better day to do it than on our anniversary.
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| Redhook patio in Woodinville, Wa |
How We Met - 4/27/2006
Ry and K met through a mutual friend, Doug*, at Redhook Brewery in Woodinville, WA.
K and Doug had planned for an after work get together with some friends. Ry was planning to tag along with Doug after the two went mountain biking at a trail near the brewery. When they arrived to the pub, K was sitting on the ground outside playing backgammon with a friend and didn't take much notice after brief introductions. With the whole group assembled they found a table inside, ordered food & drinks, and just hung out chatting. Several times K and Ry exchanged some looks but still nothing was said. She was on one side of the table and he was clear on the other side staying close to Doug. As some of the group departed, K and Ry finally got to chat a little. They learned they had similar interest in the outdoors and music, like The Refreshments. They swapped phone numbers at the end of that Thursday evening with tentative plans to see Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers in concert on Sunday...which is where the sparks flew!
*Ry knew Doug through mutual Boeing friends, they both like mountain biking, quoting movies like Anchorman and Dumb & Dumber, and being silly. K met Doug through Curt, a friend and classmate from Virginia Tech. K and Doug were friends because of their same interest in hiking and joking around.
K and Doug had planned for an after work get together with some friends. Ry was planning to tag along with Doug after the two went mountain biking at a trail near the brewery. When they arrived to the pub, K was sitting on the ground outside playing backgammon with a friend and didn't take much notice after brief introductions. With the whole group assembled they found a table inside, ordered food & drinks, and just hung out chatting. Several times K and Ry exchanged some looks but still nothing was said. She was on one side of the table and he was clear on the other side staying close to Doug. As some of the group departed, K and Ry finally got to chat a little. They learned they had similar interest in the outdoors and music, like The Refreshments. They swapped phone numbers at the end of that Thursday evening with tentative plans to see Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers in concert on Sunday...which is where the sparks flew!
*Ry knew Doug through mutual Boeing friends, they both like mountain biking, quoting movies like Anchorman and Dumb & Dumber, and being silly. K met Doug through Curt, a friend and classmate from Virginia Tech. K and Doug were friends because of their same interest in hiking and joking around.
Our First Date - 4/30/2006
K impatiently called Ry Saturday night because the
concert was on Sunday and Ry still hadn't called K. K
suggested the two do something outdoors during the day before going to
the concert. Ry suggested mountain biking at St. Edwards State Park
Sunday afternoon. Ry picked her up at her house in Redmond where they
loaded Ry's sexy 4Runner up with bikes and headed out.
At the park, the two hit the trails, but not for long. After about only ten minutes of riding they discovered that an earlier rainstorm had flooded out the trail he wanted to take her on. Since they didn't want the outing to end, they ditched the bikes back at the car and headed for Lake Washington on foot. It was a blessing in disguise because had they ridden all afternoon, they wouldn't have realized the potential the two had together. Instead, while hiking during the gorgeous spring afternoon, they shared their love of dogs, airplanes, hiking, etc. Once at the lake shore, they sat, chatting in the setting sunlight, neither wanting it to end. Before heading back uphill to the car Ry's mom made her regular Sunday phone call. She discovered the two were on the date Ry had told his mom he was excited about earlier that week. Things had gone so well, they decided to have dinner with one another before the concert so as not to leave the others company.
The concert at the Tractor Tavern in Ballard was stellar; Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers became the soundtrack for their new lives together. Although unspoken for a few months to follow, both ended the evening thinking "I have found the one."
At the park, the two hit the trails, but not for long. After about only ten minutes of riding they discovered that an earlier rainstorm had flooded out the trail he wanted to take her on. Since they didn't want the outing to end, they ditched the bikes back at the car and headed for Lake Washington on foot. It was a blessing in disguise because had they ridden all afternoon, they wouldn't have realized the potential the two had together. Instead, while hiking during the gorgeous spring afternoon, they shared their love of dogs, airplanes, hiking, etc. Once at the lake shore, they sat, chatting in the setting sunlight, neither wanting it to end. Before heading back uphill to the car Ry's mom made her regular Sunday phone call. She discovered the two were on the date Ry had told his mom he was excited about earlier that week. Things had gone so well, they decided to have dinner with one another before the concert so as not to leave the others company.
The concert at the Tractor Tavern in Ballard was stellar; Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers became the soundtrack for their new lives together. Although unspoken for a few months to follow, both ended the evening thinking "I have found the one."
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| Moments after the "big" question |
Our Engagement -12/26/2007
R&K: We were at K's parents' house in Lake Owassa, NJ
for our Christmas vacation. K's mom Celeste made a wonderful
Christmas dinner of lasagna, homemade meatballs, salad, and bread.
Dinner guests included Celeste, Ry's mom (Beryl), Ry's Sister Tania,
her husband Andrew, their two girls Camryn and Elsie, and longtime
Hammell family friends Edgar and Susan. We had wonderful food, amazing
company and a beautiful setting (the dining room looks out to the lake).
K: After dinner Ry wanted to go for a walk. We had been busy with family all day and hadn't been alone so a walk sounded nice. He wanted to go see the ice on the lake. We grabbed a flashlight and headed down to the gazebo. While I was watching my footing because the steps were icy,
R: Andrew turned the lights on so that the gazebo lit up just as K got down to the last step. We had found the lights in the house earlier that day and put them up around the gazebo while K and Celeste were out running errands.
K: I said "Wow, Mom decorated the gazebo, that's weird, she said she wasn't going to decorate for Christmas, I wonder why she did that." It looked beautiful. It was really cold down by the water so Ryan was holding me close. We walked into the gazebo.
R: I was planning to have Andrew light all the candles around the gazebo, but when we got to the gazebo none of them were lit and there was a box with candles in it. It was breezy and the best Andrew could do in the few minutes he had was to find a cardboard box and put some the candles in it - that way we'd at least have a few candles!
K: I looked into the box and saw all the candles and I said "That is not safe, what is going on?"...2 seconds later I saw the ring in the box with the candles and was shocked, Ryan took over the talking.
R: K started crying, so she couldn't say much, I asked her "would you be my wife" I got on one knee and proposed.
K: With Ry on one knee and my Mom cheering from the deck up at the house I said "Yes!" Although Ry will tell you later he never heard me say yes.
R&K: We opened the bottle of champagne Andrew had prepared and toasted Ry's proposal. We sat enjoying the champagne, shivering in the cold, tears running down Katie's face, both wearing huge smiles. We talked about how much we loved each other. Shortly after, excited about our good news, we went up to the house to share hugs with the family.
K: After dinner Ry wanted to go for a walk. We had been busy with family all day and hadn't been alone so a walk sounded nice. He wanted to go see the ice on the lake. We grabbed a flashlight and headed down to the gazebo. While I was watching my footing because the steps were icy,
R: Andrew turned the lights on so that the gazebo lit up just as K got down to the last step. We had found the lights in the house earlier that day and put them up around the gazebo while K and Celeste were out running errands.
K: I said "Wow, Mom decorated the gazebo, that's weird, she said she wasn't going to decorate for Christmas, I wonder why she did that." It looked beautiful. It was really cold down by the water so Ryan was holding me close. We walked into the gazebo.
R: I was planning to have Andrew light all the candles around the gazebo, but when we got to the gazebo none of them were lit and there was a box with candles in it. It was breezy and the best Andrew could do in the few minutes he had was to find a cardboard box and put some the candles in it - that way we'd at least have a few candles!
K: I looked into the box and saw all the candles and I said "That is not safe, what is going on?"...2 seconds later I saw the ring in the box with the candles and was shocked, Ryan took over the talking.
R: K started crying, so she couldn't say much, I asked her "would you be my wife" I got on one knee and proposed.
K: With Ry on one knee and my Mom cheering from the deck up at the house I said "Yes!" Although Ry will tell you later he never heard me say yes.
R&K: We opened the bottle of champagne Andrew had prepared and toasted Ry's proposal. We sat enjoying the champagne, shivering in the cold, tears running down Katie's face, both wearing huge smiles. We talked about how much we loved each other. Shortly after, excited about our good news, we went up to the house to share hugs with the family.
The last 4 years have been an adventure! We have tackled big debt, hiked many trails, bought a real house, paddled some awesome NW waters, scrambled many mountains, said goodbye to our first pet, got baptized together, climbed and summitted Mt. Rainier, got our first puppy, improved our beautiful home inside and out and the grandest adventure of all is the new world of parenthood. PJ, your parents love each other!
Thanks for 4 great years Ry! I am enjoying nearly every step on this journey.
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