6.8.12 Kenneth and Annie: Our Engagement

7.1.11- Temecula, CA

Every summer, Kenneth and I escape the Arizona heat and head to Los Angeles. After a hectic month in May and a weekend trip prior to this one, I was not in the mood to pack up and getaway. Kenneth was very adamant about getting out of the heat and claimed he needed a break from work; so I finally caved in on one condition- it had to be an area that we hadn't visited before. We finally agreed on Temecula, CA. So on June 30th, Kenneth picked me up after work and we were on our way. We arrived in Temecula around 8:00 pm. We were really hungry and tired and as usual, Kenneth was craving Thai food. During dinner, Kenneth mentioned that we had to wake up at 4:30 am the next day to go horseback riding. As much as I love surprises, by this time it was already 8:30pm and I was not looking forward to waking up that early. On top of that, I didn't get much sleep that night. When I finally fell asleep, the alarm went off. I kept sleeping as long as I could before Kenneth finally said we had to go. We headed towards the winery and we got the first glimpse of Temecula.

After a 30 minute drive, we pulled up to Wilson Creek Winery and I spotted this.

I was extremely confused because 1: we were suppose to go horseback riding and 2: after years of begging and pleading to Kenneth, he finally agreed!
Kenneth frantically refused every time I asked him due to his fear of heights. Still in complete shock, we signed in and walked around the premises. Right before we hopped in the truck, Kenneth gave me my all time favorite present: a letter. He told me not to read it until we got in the air. We pulled up to an empty lot and Kenneth started to help assemble the hot air balloon. I was still in total disbelief as we were about to board a hot air balloon.

30 minutes later we were off!

And the view was breathtaking.

Right after this picture was taken, the balloon operator announced that we had 20 minutes left in the air. That was Kenneth's cue. He told me to read my anniversary present and I was a bit hesitant to, because I was nervous of what it might say. I quickly scanned the letter to make sure it didn't say the four little words, and it didn't. I was relieved, as I didn't want him to ask me in front of a group of people. I turned around, gave him a kiss, thanked him, and put the letter in my purse. As soon as I turned around again, he was on his knees, holding a beautiful ring. Then he said the four magical words... during that time, all that came out of my mouth was OMG OMG OMG and I was contemplating on taking my camera out to capture the moment. After a quick decision, I decided to enjoy the moment and said YES! Other people in the balloon witnessed the moment and took a few pictures for us.

It was all very surreal... the beautiful scenery, being in the wine country, and now, being engaged to the man I loved for over 9 years. I didn't think he would ever propose in front of a crowd, but once again, he surprised me. Once we got off the balloon, we went to a breakfast gathering where we were presented with a bottle of wine and a congratulations all around.