To start things off, it seems like everyone knew what was happening except me. As you read through the story, realize that I was entirely oblivious while everyone else (EVERYONE ELSE) was entirely in the know.
Once a month Rob and I go on what we call "adventure Saturday" (more on Adventure Saturday in a future post). This is the one day a month, every month, that we spend together. Just the two of us. Well in August, Rob walked over to me one day and said, "Adventure Saturday next month will be on the 18th. I found something special for us to do." Then he walked away. Adventure Saturday was going to be on a Sunday that month, but that was nothing unusual. Sometimes that's just what the schedule calls for.
So, now I need to back up a little bit. Once, a long time ago, I told Rob, "If it were a perfect world, I would go to the zoo in every city that I visit." Rob's response was,
“So, let’s make it a perfect world.”
Since then, we have attempted to go to the zoo in every city that we visit. We went to the Central Park Zoo in New York when we were there to see Wicked. We went to the Dallas Zoo when we were attending MegaFest. Rob even came to visit me while I was on a work road trip and found a drive-through safari outside of Charlottesville, VA. So when Rob eventually told me that for September's Adventure Saturday we would be going to a zoo in Pennsylvania that was having a special event, I was totally on board.
We pull up to Lake Tobias Wildlife Park and Rob tells the man, "We're here for the scavenger hunt." The nice young gentleman hands us our lanyards and our clues along with a map of the zoo, he points us toward the parking lot, and tells us to have a nice day. The scavenger hunt rules state that each riddle points to an area of the park. When we get to that area we will find an employee with a clue for us. Each clue is a puzzle piece. When we collect all four clues we will be able to complete the puzzle. Easy enough.
Clue one points us toward the safari tour. We buy our feed, hop aboard the bus, and head out for the safari. We stopped to see all sorts of cool animals along the tour. All the animals know to walk up to the bus because that's where the food is.
Clue two pointed us toward the concession stand. We picked up our clue as well as sat down for a bite to eat.
Clue three took us to the petting zoo. We took time meeting all the animals and we met a few of the zoo keepers at the park too. One girl's task at that moment was to wait for one of the monkeys to get bored with a quarter that a patron had thrown in the cage so she could get it and take it out of the cage. She had already been waiting there for about 15 minutes.
Clue four was the reptile house. They had zookeepers out with a small alligator (or was it a crocodile?) and a snake that they introduced us to and told us about. Then we watched the reptile show where they showed off their large frog, even larger alligators (or crocodiles), an albino snake, and a two toed tree sloth.
When I put all four puzzle pieces together it said "Go. To. The. Island" Well, there must be some sort of prize on the island, let's go. Rob had said earlier that he wanted some ice cream. When I suggested we get ice cream before we head to the island, suddenly he was no longer in the mood. Then I see a car that looks just like my mom's car. There's no way it can be my mom's car because we're 2.5 hours away from home, but the resemblance is uncanny. I took a picture with my phone so I could send it to my mom because it was so crazy.
This is when Rob began to act really sketchy. He's making up all kinds of reasons for why that can't be my mom's car and why my mom can't be there. I'm confused because why would my mom be at Adventure Saturday anyway. Then as I walk across the bridge to the island, he's no longer walking with me but behind me. I get across the bridge and I see all these people hiding behind the trees. Then I notice that those people are my mom, my sister, my brothers, my brother-in-law, and my best friend (who was supposed to be in Michigan). Now I'm very confused about everyone's attendance at Adventure Saturday. They've already missed everything at the zoo.
That is when I turn around to find Rob on one knee and holding out a wooden box with a ring in it. He says, "Will you make it a perfect world with me?" and I don't really hear anything else he said.
According to the spectators I never really answered his marriage proposal. My brother was pulling hard for me to say no (as all big brothers do). However, I remember saying yes…I think. Well, at least I remember taking the ring.
I'm still astounded by all the work that Rob, my family, and best friend did to make my engagement day special. Most of them had been in on the surprise for at least weeks if not months and they even travelled across the country to make it happen. I am so blessed to be surrounded by such a loving and supporting family.
A special thank you goes to Lake Tobias Wildlife Park who was instrumental to planning the whole thing. Turns out the owners of the park, the entire staff, and (I'm convinced) even the animals were in on the surprise as well. They even made a "She said Yes" announcement over the zoo's loudspeaker. There's no way this would have been as special without them.
