The Bugbee Bunch: 3 Years Ago Today....

Three years ago today I was one VERY HAPPY lady!! :) It was the day that I got engaged to the most incredible man ever!!

I think most people know our story but the quick synposis is:
1997-Met at Texas A&M through mutual friends
1998-We both graduated and headed in separate directions
1998-2005-We both focused on our careers-Chris got his Masters in Public Administration and moved out to DC to work at the Dept of Labor, Health and Human Services, and the White House. I went to work at Dell and lived in Austin, Nashville, Dallas, and then back again to Austin. We kept in touch, traveled to visit one another, and were great friends during this time but it never turned into more than a good friendship.
2005-Chris and I reconnected and something was completely different. We started talking in July of that year...and decided to pursue our relationship further by Halloween. The rest is history!!! :)
Oct 2005-May 2006-Dating long distance between DC and Austin
May 2006-Sept 2006-Chris moved to Austin from DC, and we got engaged on Sept 17, 2006 in Savannah, GA
Sept 2006-May 2007-Engagement
May 2007-The best day of my life...my marriage to my best friend of almost 10 years!! :)
So now that you have the quick summary, I can get into the best part-the most amazing engagement story that I could have asked for!! Have I mentioned how creative my husband is? WOW! :)

We had been on a few trips leading up to our engagement. After each trip we would fly back and sadly not be engaged. I was so confused and wondered why it was taking so long-HA! :) Patience is not a virtue I possess by the way! :) So I struggled with the waiting piece of the whole engagement puzzle....and of course it was more than worth the wait. :)

Chris and I had planned to take a trip to Savannah, Charleston, and Hilton Head. I had wanted to go there for so long, and we decided to go to celebrate my birthday a week early (since my b-day is 9/25). We booked our flights, and I booked our hotel and car for while we were there. We were all ready to go and I was sooo excited!! :) We flew into Savannah on a Friday evening, and once we got into the rental car, Chris said to me "Um...there has been a slight change in plans." I was like "WHAT? Are we NOT going to Savannah?" He just laughed and said "No, we are going to Savannah but there are just some changes in the hotel plans. I booked some different places than what we had originally planned." I was so confused but I was along for the ride. And I am so glad that I trusted that sweet man b.c. I was in for a complete treat! :) Little did I know! :)

Come to find out, Chris had booked the most AMAZING and FANCY bed and breakfasts that I have ever seen. They were straight out of a movie!! :) We stayed Friday night and Sunday nights in Savannah at different places...and then Saturday night in Hilton Head. All of the places just blew my mind, and every time we checked in, there were gorgeous flowers waiting for me. I was so confused. :) I really was not sure what was going on at this point. :) When we did not get engaged the first night, I just assumed that this was another fun trip we would take but more than likely I would still have to wait for the engagement. So we enjoyed the most awesome weekend of sightseeing, being tourists, eating great food, and taking loads of pics!! We had a blast!! Chris had booked so many neat things for us to do, and so many great places to grub it up! :)

Then Sunday night came..and we checked into the Mansion at Forsyth Park. UNREAL!! Love that place! :) Chris was so excited to get out to Forsyth Park across the street from the hotel...and start taking some pics. It is like a mini central park and it is very pretty. I could not understand why he was so anxious to get out there, and I honestly just wanted to rest from all the craziness. But I gave in and we headed out to the park to take pics. I failed to mention that Chris had bought a fine new Nikon camera (I still did not catch on)...and he had brought a tripod with him on the trip (still not getting it). So we headed out there and found the perfect place to set up for lots of good pics. Chris wanted to get some of us in the park, hence the reason he had the tripod. So we proceeded to take MANY pictures over the course of the next 30 min or so. It was fun to be silly and get some good shots. Chris would set everything up, hit the button, and then run over to me and pose. After about 50 pics like that..he hit the button and ran over to me and got down on his knee. I FREAKED OUT!! The coolest part is that the camera was flashing like crazy and capturing all of this!! What a fun idea! :) So he said a million wonderful things and asked me to be his wife. I was ECSTATIC, and of course I said yes among a ton of tears and other blubbering. :) I was in so much shock and so very overwhlemed with emotion. WOW!! After being the best of friends for almost 10 years...we were finally engaged!! :)
We spent some more time out at the park taking pics and then headed back to the hotel to get ready for dinner. There were champagne and strawberries waiting, and of course we wanted to call everyone and share the great news. :) So after a scrumptous dinner, we called all family and close friends and shared our fun stories! :)

To this day, I could never have anticipated such an incredible engagement or a weekend that included so much time and preparation. I was so spoiled and I felt like a complete princess. :) Chris-you completely blew me away, and you have made me the happiest woman in the world since you got down on your knee 3 years ago today!! Thank you for all you have done for me, and for sharing life and so much love with me everyday!! :) I LOVE YOU!! :)

Here are some pics from our fun engagement weekend in the Southeast.. :)

Fun tours that we took...