A brief serious moment...

I recently transformed my girlfriend Audra into my fiance. Below is an email that she sent out to her friends and family. Audra is a great writer and has a way of getting her feelings and thoughts across using the written word.

And now...


They say that diamonds are a girl’s best friend. While few can argue, I was fortunate enough to have met my best friend a year and a half ago. It wasn’t a diamond, rather a man who has since made all my dreams come true. While I always hoped our journey together would last forever, my hopes were answered this past Saturday when the man I love dropped to one knee and proposed.

I am ecstatic to announce that Mike Kirtland and I are officially engaged!

It might have been cold our there, our snowmobiles pulled off to the side in a snowy landscape outlined by trees, but it would serve as the ideal setting for ‘catching me off guard.’ The previous hour had been spent racing down the trails, me riding with Mike, two close friends of ours riding closely behind. Suddenly, Mike pulled over, like he had done numerous other times along our route. How was I to know that this would be any different? As he climbed off the snowmobile and chatted with our friends, I sat patiently, trying to keep warm. He came back asking me to remove my helmet, to which I replied, “no way, it’s cold out.” He tried to take it off for me, which I again refused. After disappearing from a couple of moments he came back and calmly asked, “could you do me a favor and take off your helmet.” It was then I knew!

“No way! Here! Now!” was my initial response. He got me. Though the signs were there all along, I was caught completely off-guard. As he asked me to take off my glove and reached into his pocket I was ready for whatever came my way. He got down on one knee and uttered the most sincere words I could imagine. Would I marry him? YES! While my response my muffled with teary eyes, it was official. As he slid ‘the most gorgeous ring I have seen’ on my finger, we embraced, sharing our first kiss as an engaged couple. Our friends captured the whole thing on camera, which will serve as a great memory for years to come!

In true Mike and Audra fashion, as we geared back up and started to drive off, we misjudged the snow bank and tipped the snowmobile over, sending us flying off. It was a slow-speed crash and we laughed and laughed, knowing it was the perfect ending to a very exciting moment!

Perhaps the most interesting part of the journey was the car ride to the rental shop. Mike had been practicing a song on the guitar, “Wonderful Tonight” for a couple of months and we always joked that when he played that song for me, we would get engaged. As he turned on the radio in the car, that song was playing! I had no idea what was to come, but it couldn’t have been more prophetic!

All in all it was a wonderful engagement and we are thrilled! I may have met my best friend a while ago, but for those times when he isn’t nearby, I can now look down on my left hand and know he is never far away…

Thanks for everything along the way!

Audra


Here's the email I sent out. I think it's nice in it's own way. And the pricing is very fair.

Well, we finally did it. On Saturday, I asked Audra to marry me and she said yes. So I officially have a fiance.

We went snowmobiling in North Conway and we stopped along the trail. I had Steve and Caren with us to take pictures and carry the champagne.

I caught her completely by surprise. It was great moment. She loves the ring and hasn't stopped smiling since. At first I just thought she was frozen, but it's stayed on.

The story is a good one and I'm sure I'll be telling it until you're all tired of it.

I should be posting pictures as soon as we get them from Caren but here's a picture of the ring on her finger.

Hopefully we'll be seeing everyone soon. We'll be up on Friday for Championship/Toga. Ring viewing will begin at 9:00 and continue until Sunday at some point.

Pricing will be as follows:
See the ring- $2
Touch the ring- $4
Picture with one half of the couple (your choice)- $4
Picture of the whole couple- $6- time permitting.
Picture of the couple in front of the keg- $14
Pour the man fiance a beer- $0

For those value minded people, we have a special where for $1 you can look at the ring from afar, but won't be able to come into the same room as the ring without incurring the above charges.

Mike Kirtland- Fiance haver