an extra special engagement

So throughout 27 years of fabulous marriage, my parents have never had wedding rings; my mom - never a diamond on her finger of any kind.  It's not that my dad deprived her, she just didn't want one.  Their love was enough on its own - they didn't need anything to prove it.  Lucky for us kids, they decided long ago they'd rather save the money to create experiences for us together as a family (climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, hiking the Inka Trail, cruising the Baltic Sea, learning to cook in Vietnam) instead of spending it on one silly piece of showy jewelry. 

But this year, something in my dad made him change his mind.  He decided that this Christmas Eve he wanted to propose with a gorgeous diamond ring.  But given that over the years my mom has developed a strong aversion to this symbol of love, he knew he'd need to wrangle in the help of us three kids. 

Over Thanksgiving, my dad, sis, bro and I poured through David Yurman's site picking out our favorites.  We finally landed on a simple yet elegant design we knew she'd adore:

But my dad knew he needed to be sneaky about it finding every which way to throw her off his proposal trail.  To make sure she never caught sight of a DY box, we shipped to me (oh how I love being in on the surprises!) and - since my mom and I have the same extra large hands, fingers, and feet - I tried it on to confirm DY's largest size was big enough for us Krieg gals.

The day of the proposal, we were out and about running errands and picking Gretters up from the airport when Dad declared in front of Mom that he needed to do some last-minute Christmas shopping for her.

"Do you think they'll have what I want to give to Mom at Bed, Bath & Beyond, KK?" -Dad

"Hmmm, I don't know.   Maybe at Walgreens?" -Me

"Yeah, I am sure Walgreens would have it.  Or a CVS." -Sam

"Okay, let's make a quick stop.  Liz (Mom) - you're staying in the car.  I'll be quick." -Dad

In he goes quickly snapping up a medium-sized box of anything to set her off his tracks (men's NIVEA lotions and scrubs) that he had the sales lady triple bag to conceal its contents.  As he hopped back in the car, my mom professed:

"OH I KNOW WHAT YOU GOT ME!  One of those new snuggies with the arms in it!!  Oh, I am SO EXCITED.  You know how I love those infomercial goodies!"  And boy does she - more on that another time.  "But the real question is - what COLOR did you get me?"

1

"I'm not saying a word.  But you have to promise me, that if I got the right color, you'll wear it at dinner tonight." -Dad

"Deal." -Mom

So home we went to wrap a little box inside that medium box and head to the Pink Elephant for dinner.

He set the box in the center of our table, not saying a word as we toasted champagne, devoured an appetizer of their Island Jerk Wings, shared some Blue Cheese Wedge salads, and enjoyed our entrees of fresh swordfish, beef brisket, and burgers.  Finally, as we perused the dessert menu, my dad passed the box her way. 

After she opened the box and the shock from the sight wore off, she tried her best to convince him she didn't need it: it was too ostentatious, extravagant, opulent - you name it.  But eventually, with Nana, Pops, Gretters, Sam and I on his side, Dad convinced her to put it on.  And boy, did it look good.

"Is it the right color?" -Dad
"Yes.  That's a big, big yes." -Mom

As soon as we finished our second bottle of champagne and headed on home, Mom, Gretters, and I did a little photo shoot after to showcase her new rock and our matching outfits.

Yep, that's right.

Matching mother-daughter look isn't just for 2 year-olds any more.

But that wasn't the end of his slew of surprises.  The next morning - after waiting until all other presents were opened - he presented her with an accompanying bracelet:

While you may think these gorgeous gifts marked the weekend's top excitement, you haven't seen nothing yet.  Tune back in tomorrow for a recap on the Krieg Olympics.

xoxo
KK