Happy Engagement Anniversary!

I am typically not one of those girls who celebrates every date that happens in her dating/marriage relationship (first date, first kiss, etc.), mainly because (I'll be honest) I don't remember. Plus, we dated two different times....seven years apart! So what do we celebrate? Our first-first date or our second-first date or both?

Anyway, I will celebrate our engagement, which was three years ago today! My husband (although, obviously not my husband at the time) planned a big trip and flew me to New York City for the Memorial Day weekend. It was a Friday and once we landed, Uncle Jim, picked us up at the airport and took our bags to his house in Long Island. He then dropped us off at a subway station and told us to find our way home! My husband had done his homework and we were able to make it to Ground Zero. That was my first "real" experience with NYC. It had only been a little over a year since 9/11 and it was a very humbling experience to see that site. We met our cousin, Kris, and she showed us some of the financial district. Then, we took the Staten Island ferry over and back so we could see the Statue of Liberty from the river and right when we left the pier, it started to rain and we could not see the statue! Once we got back to Manhattan and went into a drugstore to buy an umbrella, it stopped raining! We spent some time in China Town and ended up walking almost all the way up to Central Park. By the time that we made it there, it was getting late afternoon and we took a carriage ride through the park. The cabbie let us out right at Bethesda Fountain (see the picture) which I thought was part of the ride and then my husband proposed on a bench close to the lake. We were the only ones there and it was a wonderful, special moment! We went back to the carriage and finished the ride and our cabbie took a picture of us at the end to commemorate the day. We were so close to Times Square that we walked down and bought a hot dog and sat on the curb and enjoyed the moment before we called home to tell anyone. We took the train to Uncle Jim and Aunt Fran's house and they had a nice engagement party for us! Apparently, I was the only one that didn't know....but I did!!

It was a wonderful weekend! Our friends, Rusty and Dotti, and Dotti's sister, Elizabeth, came up on Saturday to chaperon us. Uncle Jim took us back to the city to meet them and we spend the day exploring Macy's, Tiffany and Co., China Town (again), Central Park, Liberty Island, the Empire State Building, etc. We also went and saw an incredible production of "The Lion King" on Broadway! On Monday morning before we left to come home, we got up early and went to "The Today Show". We made t-shirts and a HUGE sign. His tee said, "I asked" and mine said, "I said yes!" When Katie (as in Couric) and Lester (Matt was on vacation) came out, they stood right in front of us and were actually on TV...several times! You can't beat that! We called home (since there is an hour difference) and told everyone there to tape the show! Now we have another wonderful memory of the weekend!

So all in all, it was incredible weekend and experience and is very much worth celebrating!