that's right. on december 21, 2013, kenneth got down on one knee and asked if i would be his wife for time and all eternity and i said YES.
the days before i had been vacationing on the big island with my mom, sister, and nephew. we flew back to oahu that saturday and then would be leaving late that night to go home to georgia. we spent the majority of the day at my house, packing up the last 3 and a half years of my life (that took awhile). then we went to the beach to soak in some sun for my last day on the island.
we had been planning all week for my family and kenneth's family to meet up in halewia and grab dinner that day. however, i sold my car that day and needed to drop it off at the new owners house so kenneth's parents drove to laie and picked up my family and all my luggage, and kenneth and i took the rest of the luggage in his truck and drove together. we all planned to stop and watch the sunset as we drove up to halewia.
as we were driving up, my sister texted me telling me that hayden (my 6-year-old nephew) had to pee so they pulled off. which wasn't abnormally weird because that had happened probably 5 times during the trip. so she said they would be a few minutes behind us. kenneth asked me where i wanted to see the sunset and after thinking about it i decided on one of our favorite spots that was near sharks cove.
kenneth and i spent one semester where we would race every day to see the sunset and would pick a new spot every time. this spot was always our favorite and for multiple reasons it is special to both of our hearts.
as we walked down to the beach i saw a tiny little puppy walking in the sand. at first i just thought it was a stray and then as we got closer i realized there was a bow tied around its neck. my first thoughts was 'oh my gosh kenneth bought me a dog for christmas?!' within the next .2 seconds i went through a whirlwind of thoughts wondering why kenneth would buy me a puppy when i was leaving that night and then leaving again in a few weeks for africa?! as we got closer, i saw a bouquet of flowers next to the puppy and by that point i knew :)
kenneth gave me the flowers and as we knelt down in the sand and pet the puppy, he untied the bow where the ring was tied to. and at the point i remember clenching kenneth's knee really tight and smiling and saying "kenneth, kenneth, kenneth, kenneth!" and we both did that giddy laugh as we were kneeling in the sand. at that point he said "i'm gonna need you to stand up haha" we stood up together and he began to say a bunch of sweet things. most of which i don't even remember because everything is pretty much a blur from this point on. but i remember him getting down on one knee, asking if i would marry him, i said yes, we kissed and hugged, and did a lot of giggling and freaking out. and we got to watch one of the prettiest sunsets on the island.
our good friends dave and catherine helped kenneth set everything up and they hid in the bushes and took pictures of us and then came and celebrated a little with us and then they left and kenneth and i just spent some time on the beach together and watching the sunset and freaking out. i do remember that i kept saying "we're actually engaged?!" "this is really happening?!" "is this real life?!" (insert teenage girl scream) (and then another,) "we're actually engaged?!" and the cycle continued over and over.
we then drove up to halewia where both of our families were waiting for us and had dinner there. we spent more time together for the next few hours before kenneth drove me to the airport and said goodbye to my fiance.
it was crazy and such a whirlwind, and i would not have had it any other way because kenneth is the one that proposed to me and nothing else mattered. i'm so grateful for kenneth and for the timing of our love. i don't want to get all cheesy and emotional, but i just love him a lot. kenneth and i have been through a lot more than a lot of couples i know, including married couples. i feel so unbelievably loved by kenneth. love that i never knew could even exist. 2013 was a miserable year for me. but the last few weeks ended as some of the best. which makes me extremely hopeful and excited for 2014.
love. love. love. life is good when you're engaged.
p.s. i look like a crazy person in 90% of the photos that dave took of us. i didn't realize my excited/giddy/in love face looked so nuts haha. but enjoy anyways.
