Dave and Jen's Engagement

KAUAI PHOTOS

We had an awesome honeymoon in Kauai. We recommend the condo and location to everyone. Checkout some of our photos at:
DAVE AND JENS PUBLIC KAUAI PHOTOS
Thanks,
Dave

posted by Dave @ 2:06 PM

More wedding photos (HURRAY!)

These are from Jen Lam, cousin James' girlfriend (known for her chest bumps with the bride and groom, though she is only 4 feet tall).
Check out their photos:

http://flickr.com/photos/stardustbaby/sets/72157600087863009/

And if you don't have a flickr account, get one and we can all share and print each other's photos.
Thanks again for a perfect wedding and keep sending us your photos
Love,
Dave and Jen

PS -- It sucks to be back from Kauai.

posted by Dave @ 10:59 AM 2 comments

Kauai and Wedding Slideshow

Kauai is unbelievable. We absolutely love driving around Kauai and offroading in our Jeep to the ends of the island. We've lept off waterfalls, swung from trees, drove up and down beaches, snorkeled and surfed(just Dave). We are staying in this incredible condo 30 feet from the ocean, there isn't a pool, but who needs that when some of the best snorkeling and surfing are right out your door. We recommend this place to everyone. We are at Kuhio Shores number 116.
Lastly, Rudy our photographer has completed a slideshow of the wedding photos. We think they're great, but we can't actually load them on our 52k modem. SO, enjoy!
LOVE and ALOHA!
DAVE AND JEN

posted by Dave @ 1:08 PM 0 comments

The Perfect Wedding

Dear Friends and Family,
Thank you so much for helping create the perfect wedding. The next day Jen and I were up on our balcony at the Ahwahnee and I couldn't stop crying, it hit me that this perfect wedding was over. We loved seeing all of ur friends and family from up above on the wedding day.
We are now enjoying our ocean front condo in Kauai and must go. But we wanted to thank you all.

When we get back we will create a site for everyone to upload their photos from the weekend to share with one another, but for now enjoy some amazing photos from our photographer and Dave Lu.

Love and Aloha!
Dave and Jen

posted by Dave @ 11:01 PM 1 comments

Rehearsal + Dinner

For wedding party and immediate family -- ceremony rehearsal is 4:00 pm on Friday on the lawn at the Ahwahnee Hotel.

For everyone -- rehearsal dinner is at 6:00 pm at Glacier Point Room inside the Curry Village Dining Pavilion, and all are welcome! Just show up!

posted by Jen @ 4:39 PM 2 comments

Easter weekend events

For those interested, here's what's going on Easter weekend in Yosemite...

Good Friday Chapel Services
Friday 12:15 pm and 7:00 pm, Yosemite Chapel

Easter Sunrise Service
Sunday 7:00 am, Lower Pines Campground (outdoor)

Easter Chapel Services
Sunday 9:15 am, Yosemite Chapel (Children's Church and Nursery available)
Sunday 11:00 am, Yosemite Chapel (No child care available)

More chapel info: http://www.yosemitevalleychapel.org/

Easter Brunch
Sunday 7:00 am - 2:30 pm
Ahwahnee Dining Room
Make reservations at (209) 372-1489
Adults: $32.50
Children ages 4-12: $16.25
Children ages 0-3: Free

posted by Jen @ 4:36 PM 0 comments

Driving directions

We've gotten some questions about how to get to specific hotels in Yosemite.

For those staying at the Ahwahnee, Yosemite Lodge, or Curry Village, you may have trouble getting directions using online maps. Don't worry! All you need to do is follow the directions that were sent with your invitation to get to the park entrance. Once you come through the park entrance, follow road signs down to Yosemite Valley or Valley Destinations. Once you're in the Valley, there are very clear signs directing you to the Ahwahnee, Curry Village, and Yosemite Lodge.

For those staying at Wawona -- follow signs to Wawona once you come in through the Hwy 41 entrance.

For those staying in hotels outside of the park -- use online maps for directions.

You will also receive maps and lots of good info at the park entrance. But now is a good time to make use of that AAA membership and pick up a good map before you leave.

Here's a useful link. http://www.yosemitepark.com/Destination_NationalPark_MapsDirections.aspx

Dave and I will be pretty much unreachable starting Thursday with little to no cell phone or email contact, so you're on your own! Or as Dave would say, bueno suerte!

posted by Jen @ 2:21 PM 0 comments

4 days!!

4 days!! I can't even believe it.



Tomorrow is my last day at work until after our honeymoon! I can't wait.

posted by Jen @ 2:05 PM 0 comments

5 days before the wedding

For those of you keeping score at home -- don't worry, Dave did send more flowers today (but none over the weekend. I just got to enjoy the ones I took home!) It's taking me longer to post because of craziness at work plus my camera batteries are dead so I'll have to wait until tomorrow to add a photo.

But... on the 5th day (!!) before the wedding (!!) my true love gave to me... 5 beautiful stems of gold stargazer lilies. They haven't opened up yet ... but maybe they will by the time I take pictures tomorrow.

After a rather tumultuous weekend moving me out of my little studio apartment (sniff) and quite a bit of cranky, tired Jen rearing her ugly head, I have to say I'm relieved Dave didn't cancel the flower delivery today. :)

posted by Jen @ 5:24 PM 0 comments

Hiking and Driving Directions

HIKING in Yosemite: Here is a list of hikes around the valley.


And here is a link to Google Maps, search Yosemite Valley, then click on Hybrid in the map window and you can see all the roads and geographical features of the valley. You can even zoom in on the top of Half Dome, or the back of the Ahwahnee where we will be married.

5 DAYS!

posted by Dave @ 1:24 PM 0 comments

Praying for sun

We are praying for sun and God may grant that. Here is a current link to the weather forecast for anyone interested.

National Weather Service Forecast

Weather.com Yosemite National Park

Current Conditions in the Park

posted by Dave @ 12:54 PM 0 comments

8 days before the wedding

On the 8th day before the wedding, my true love gave to me... 8 GIANT calla lilies!

posted by Jen @ 12:29 PM 0 comments

9 days before the wedding

On the 9th day before the wedding, my true love gave to me... 9 gerber daisies!!

posted by Jen @ 12:32 PM 1 comments

10 days before the wedding

On the 10th day before the wedding, my true love gave to me... 10 really cute springy flowers that look like popcorn... can someone please tell me what they're called? No one in office knows what they are.

posted by Jen @ 6:41 PM 0 comments

11 days before the wedding

On the 11th day before the wedding, my true love gave to me... 11 purple tulips!

posted by Jen @ 6:34 PM 0 comments

12 days before the wedding

On the 12th day before the wedding, my true love gave to me... 12 long stem roses!

(Reaction: Jen in complete shock. She has never received flowers from Dave at work before. The card is typed all in block letters, signed DAVD, making Jen wonder, DAVD who?? and why is he sending me flowers?)

posted by Jen @ 6:26 PM 0 comments

Chicken pox, terrorists, and snow!

YIKES!!

posted by Jen @ 2:34 PM 0 comments

Awesome cake and shower

The teachers and staff at Horrall School, where Dave works, threw us an awesome wedding shower on Valentine's Day. Dave likes to remind me that his work is not so spoiled as mine to have a party budget, but they did a great job! Check out the cake! Gloria (one of the aides) is a fantastic cook and she made this for us with chocolate cake and raspberry filling... mmm mmm. Thank you to everyone at Horrall who made us feel so special and loved.

posted by Jen @ 11:53 AM 0 comments

Engagement photos

Dave and I had a busy, fun-filled long weekend in Southern California... brunch with Dave's mom for her bday, lunch with my family for Chinese New Year, poker night with Dave's buddies (I wasn't invited), and engagement photos in Laguna Beach! Dave wasn't really into the idea of taking cheesy posed pictures, but our photographer, Rudy Arpia, offered to do it for free so how could we say no? Even Dave admitted it turned out to be pretty fun -- Rudy was free-flowing about the whole thing and just let us do whatever we wanted to, instead of posing us and giving us specific directions. You can check them out at http://rudyarpia.blogspot.com/. Scroll down on the page to see the best photos, then click on the slideshow to see more. Thanks Rudy!

posted by Jen @ 10:34 AM 2 comments

3 rooms available at Yosemite Lodge

We have 3 rooms at Yosemite Lodge at the Falls, located in the Valley 5 minutes from our wedding location, which are now up for grabs, first come first serve! If you want a room, email me at jentyuan@gmail.com and I'll give you the phone number for our inside connection. :) You can't get it through general reservations. These are real hotel rooms inside the park -- for $179 a night you can have your own bathroom. These rooms are available both Friday and Sat night. Email me and let me know what you need.

Cabins in Curry Village are still available at www.yosemitepark.com but they're also filling up. If you still haven't made reservations, get on it, you slacker!

65 days to go!!

Love,
Jen

posted by Jen @ 11:49 AM 0 comments

Lodging outside of Yosemite

The "real" hotel rooms in Yosemite Valley have pretty much filled up, so now your options are to stay in a Curry Village cabin (see Dave's post below) or stay at the Yosemite View Lodge. Located just outside the Hwy 140 park entrance in the town of El Portal, this is a good convenient location regardless of whether you're coming from So Cal or from the Bay Area. We've never stayed here ourselves but have heard good reviews. Other than lodging in Yosemite Valley, this is the closest hotel to our wedding location -- about a 30 minute drive.

Rates:
$169 for a room with 2 queen beds, facing the road/mountains

$189 for a room with 2 queen beds or 1 king, facing the Merced River. These rooms have kitchenettes and fireplaces.

For reservations at the Yosemite View Lodge, call (209) 379-2681

Comparatively, a Curry Village cabin (with walls, not a tent cabin) is around $90 a night. Frankly we think it's better to stay in the park close to everything, with an amazing view of Half Dome, and pay a lot less, and just walk a few yards to the restroom, but that's just us. :)

posted by Jen @ 12:52 PM 1 comments

Reserve Now

If you received the save-the-date card then you are one of the few close friends and family who will soon receive a wedding invitation. Don't wait until you get the invitation to reserve a room, reserve now. Yosemite will fill up, it is Easter weekend and we want you to be there. You are among a select few. We narrowed down the list from 1,200 people (give or take a few) to 100 people (its a small reception room). The location will be beautiful and the food will be unbelievable (and if it's not, enjoy the scenery, or the dancing, or the wine). So, Curry Village still has one of our favorite lodging options, the cabin without bath. There is a bath with perfectly nice showers, you just have to walk to it. Remember to look up at the stars on your way over. Jen and I have stayed there 10 or so times, it's like being at camp and most of the wedding party will be staying here, so please reserve now. http://yosemitepark.com

posted by Dave @ 10:07 AM 0 comments

The Food

Jen and I spent the week after New Years up in Yosemite. It was beautiful. We are still amazed at how many people we know who live in California but have never been to Yosemite. We spent the week cross country skiing Glacier Point Road, Tioga Road and Crane Flat. Our best day was skiing out Glacier Road 3.5 miles to a small, quiet, powdery meadow where we shared cheese, salami, crackers and my homemade trail mix. *(no I didn't make the nuts, or the raisins, or even the chocolate chips, but I did combine them)* It was a beautiful day with some great food and some little bunny footprints across the pillowy snow. And the wedding should be just like it, without the snow or the footprints but with great food and a beautiful place. Jen's folks also happened to be up there that week, taking photos (http://www.tdyuanphotography.com), and we did some food and wine tasting at the Ahwahnee and boy is it going to be great. I highly recommend the beef, though the fish is quite excellent too. That is all Jen will allow me to say, but the food was amazing. We also went there for breakfast buffet one day and it was fantastic and affordable like $17 for all-you-can-eat greatness. :) So, if you get the chance get yourself reservations for breakfast on Saturday morning. There will probably also be a special breakfast Easter morning there also, call ahead.
http://www.yosemitepark.com/Dining_AhwahneeDiningRoom.aspx

posted by Dave @ 10:06 AM 0 comments

Our Song

Jen has informed me that we need a song. A song that represents us. I was thinking the song that goes "Don't stop, believin, Hold on to that Feelininin." by Journey. It sounds really cool when played by a string quartet (see the Wedding Singer). There are a ton of other great songs that could be our song, anything by Neil Diamond, Elvis Costello, The Dixie Chicks, Prince, Michael Jackson (late 70's, early 80's) and/or Iron Maiden. We need your help, what should our song be? Please do not suggest anything by: Rod Stewart, Toby Keith, 2LiveCrew or Twisted Sister. We would much prefer Clay Aiken or Ruben Studdard or Kelly Clarkson (not Carrie Underwood) than any of the above mentioned. SO, what should be our song? Thanks for the help,
Dave and Jen(more Dave than Jen)

posted by Dave @ 10:58 AM 2 comments

Kids?

For those of you with kids, we certainly don't expect you to leave them back home... so yes they're invited! During the wedding reception we'll probably have a play area in one of the rooms next to the dining area. It's up to you to decide if the munchkins can handle a wedding ceremony and a nice dinner, or if you would prefer an evening just to play with grownups. Or make a family vacation of it and bring your parents/siblings to Yosemite so the kids can stay with them and still go to bed on time while you're partying. :) Your call!

posted by Dave @ 11:17 AM 0 comments

Travel Info

Check out www.nps.gov/yose for info on getting to Yosemite by car or air, plus lots of other good info about the park in general.

Everyone in California can come by car. If you're coming from out of state, the nearest airports are Fresno and Merced, but they're pretty small. You may find better prices and availability on flights to Bay Area airports (San Jose, San Francisco, or Oakland). From there you can either rent a car or hitch a ride in with friends.

Please note there's a $20 per car entrance fee for Yosemite -- sounds pricey but actually quite a steal for access to bazillions of acres of gorgeous scenery. If you carpool it'll only be like $5 a person. :)

posted by Dave @ 1:34 PM 0 comments

Lodging Info - Reserve now!

We know that Yosemite is a bit of a trek for everyone, but we're so excited to share it with you. We think you'll think it's well worth the effort! If there's a decent chance you'll make it to our wedding, make hotel reservations now! Lodging in Yosemite Valley is limited and fills up quickly. Most rooms sleep 2-4 so find some friends and share. :)

People from the Bay Area should be able to drive out Sat morning and just stay one night. So Cal folks should drive up Friday if possible. Regardless of where you're from, we encourage you to make the most of your trip and allow some extra time to explore and enjoy Yosemite!

A little orientation for those unfamiliar with Yosemite: it's a really big place! But most of the hotels and restaurants are concentrated in a small area in Yosemite Valley, which is also where the wedding will be. The Valley is probably a 30-60 minute drive from any park entrance, so factor in that extra driving time if you're thinking about staying outside the park. For example, if a hotel outside Yosemite advertises itself as being "only 3 miles from the park entrance" -- that actually means 3 miles plus another 30-60 minutes through the park down to the Valley where you need to be for the wedding.

Reservations for loding inside the Park can be made online at www.yosemitepark.com or by calling (559) 253-5635. The website has plenty of details about lodging. We usually book online, but sometimes there are more options when you call.

Lodging in Yosemite Valley (the only good places within a 10 minute drive of our wedding location)

- Curry Village (CV): Low budget lodging with a million-dollar view of Half Dome! There are wood cabins as well as canvas tent cabins. Bathrooms and showers (which are perfectly decent) are a short walk away -- a good chance to check out scenery and stars! Linens are provided. If you book a tent cabin, make sure it's heated. April is still a bit too cold for unheated. Curry Village has that fun summer-camp feel and it's a good place to be with restaurants and shops. Our families and bridal party will mostly be staying here. Cost: $50-$100.

- Yosemite Lodge at the Falls: These are "real" hotel rooms, also in Yosemite Valley close to our wedding location. Good for people who are absolutely opposed to walking outside to get to a bathroom. Also has a cafeteria, restaurant, and gift shop. (Not to be confused with Tenaya Lodge at Yosemite, Yosemite View Lodge, or many other places that have similar sounding names but are far away outside the park.) Cost: $120-$150.

- Ahwahnee: Gorgeous, historic, and luxurious! Cost: $400+

If you're arriving on Saturday, see if you can request early check-in so you can get into your room before the wedding. Check-in is normally at 4:00 or 5:00, but sometimes they can get you in by 2:00 or 3:00.

Still in the Park, but not in the Valley...

- Wawona: a beautiful old-fashioned hotel, but at least 30 minutes from the Valley. It's near the southern entrance of the park, out of the way for anyone from the Bay Area. Not a bad option for So-Cal folks but does involve a bit of a drive after the wedding. Not all rooms have their own bathrooms. Cost: $100-$200.

These are in the Valley but we don't recommend them...

- Housekeeping (Hsk) Camp because you have to schlep in your own sleeping bags and you're practically outdoors with only 3 walls around you. For around the same price, Curry Village is much better.

- Camping. The last thing you wanna do after a wedding is have to set up camp in the dark. :)

Other options outside the park...

Near the park entrances, there are hotels in El Portal, Mariposa, Groveland, Buck Meadows, etc. Check a map and see which towns are on your way in, depending on which of Yosemite's 4 entrances you're coming through. There are plenty of options in these towns but they all involve 30-60 minutes of driving on dark, windy roads after the wedding. We may look into getting a room block at one of these places if people tell us that they're having trouble getting what they need or want inside the park.

Book now! In the unlikely and horrible event that you can't make it to the wedding, you can cancel your reservation up to 7 days before April 7 (at least for all lodging inside the Park).

More travel info to come soon.

Love,
Jen and Dave (mostly Jen)

posted by Dave @ 9:09 PM 2 comments

April 7, 2007

We have a date and location:
The Ahwahnee Hotel, Yosemite National Park April 7, 2007.
We are very excited about this place. Jen and I have spent a lot of our lives with family and friends in Yosemite. I (Dave) went with my parents to Yosemite Valley almost every Thanksgiving and to Tuolumne Meadows every summer to hike, see bears and just get dirty. Lately I've been spending time there backpacking (almost dying by lightning --more scary than the 15 foot great white shark -- and of thirst since I ran out of water while by myself) and flyfishing with one of my groomsmen Jeremy Rivera (more on him at a later post). Jen has been spending time there with me (passing out on top of Half Dome) and with her parents and sister Iris. Her dad, Dan Yuan is an excellent photographer (I'm somewhat biased) -- http://www.tdyuanphotography.com/ and has spent many hours and days waiting for the perfect light and shot, while Lily (Jen's mom) waits patiently.

So, if you do receive an invite here are some details:
The wedding will be April 7, 2007 at 4:30 pm.
The location is the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite.
Our parents and the bridal party will mostly be staying at Curry Village, mostly because the Ahwahnee is ridiculously expensive, but if you have the means I highly recommend it. Curry Village also has heated tent cabins and Jen's and my favorite -- the unheated tent cabin, which should be doable in spring, hopefully.

Rooms are filling up fast, so if you want to stay in the valley get a room soon. There are cheaper accomodations outside of the park, but that is a good 45 minute drive from the valley, at least.

YOSEMITE HERE WE COME!!!
Dave

posted by Dave @ 11:14 AM 0 comments

Dress shopping

I got a wedding dress!!

Went wedding dress (excuse me, wedding "gown") shopping with my mom and sister last Wed-Sat, and purchased a dress on Sat morning! Yay! One major thing out of the way.

I now have really strong opinions about bridal salons. Along with the entire wedding industry which finds many ridiculous ways to suck up your money, bridal salons insist on calling it a "gown" which reinforces the bridal-princess image and makes you want to feel extra fancy and therefore spend more money on your perfect "gown".

Major annoyances:
- Salesgirls who work on commission and have the pushiness and fake perkiness to prove it.
- Stores that don't let you touch the dresses or look through the racks yourself even though each dress is individually wrapped in a bullet proof clear zippered bag, and then insist on making you sit there while they slowly bring you dresses that of course are not your style.
- And most of all, David's Bridal, a model of inefficiency and bad business practices.

Major positives:
- Nouvelle Bridal in Palo Alto, where we found my dress. The woman who owns it has been in business for years and she knows her stuff. Will gladly let you dig through the racks and try on anything you want. Beautiful dresses at reasonable prices.
- Glamour Closet in North Beach (SF), where I was tempted to buy 2 more dresses except that wedding gowns aren't the sort of thing you need to stock up on. Gorgeous designer gowns at 1/2 price, including some that cost the same or less than David's but were of visibly higher-quality and infinitely more beautiful.

Finally, I have to say that dress shopping is a humbling experience. There's nothing like a bunch of other brides-to-be coming out of their dressing rooms next to yours and standing next to you in front of a mirror to remind you that you are not a princess and that people get married all the time, so please come down off your high-falutin' cloud and be reasonable about your wedding. :)

posted by Dave @ 12:50 PM 1 comments

First Impression

In an earlier post Dave mentioned that he first met me in the dorm hallway at Stanford, but that I don't remember. That's true. What I do remember from that same weekend though, is that Dave was up at Stanford because he was going to our senior formal with our mutual friend Ruth, and that in spite of a bum knee he'd recently injured playing basketball, he still came up, rented a tux, took Ruth to the dance, and made sure they had a great time -- dancing with crutches and all. Maybe he was on some strong painkillers, who knows, but it left a good first impression on me.

posted by Dave @ 2:57 PM 1 comments

First Kiss

Dave often mentions the World Cup (in 2002, before we started dating) and thinks I watched it with him only as an excuse to hang out with him in the middle of the night in hopes that something would happen between us. He's told that story many times. I would like to go on the official record (this blog) and say that is ridiculous and absolutely not true. In my defense, I truly was interested in the World Cup because even though I am not normally a soccer fan, I thought it was important to be informed about the single most popular sports event in the world. It just so happened that these games were on at 5:00 a.m. and I didn't have cable, so I went over to Dave-the-soccer-fan's house a few times in the early morning to catch the games. Contrary to what he and his roommate think, I was not over there to hit on him.

It wasn't until almost a year later that I made the first big move in our relationship. In March 2003 we were in Tahoe for Erik B's 30th bday bash (the greatest outpouring of love and friendship I have ever seen for anyone's birthday -- Erik is popular). One afternoon, while others hit the ski resorts, Dave took me cross country skiing at Fallen Leaf Lake. It was a beautiful day, gorgeous weather, and fresh snow on the ground. In the 6 months or so before this, we had started hanging out a lot and he had become one of my closest friends. That afternoon at Fallen Leaf Lake, we skied out to a pretty spot by the water, with an incredible view of the mountains across the lake. I walked out on a log near the bank and got Dave to come out too. While we were sitting and chatting on the end of the log, with barely a thought in my head, I kissed him. It's not like me to do anything that impulsive without thinking about the consequences but in the moment it just seemed like the only, perfect thing to do. Later that weekend we of course had the obligatory "talk" (aka the RDT or DTR -- for those of you who went through Intervarsity with me) and started dating that week. Even though I adored Dave I wasn't exactly thinking long-term or marriage at that point -- all we did was take it one day at a time and now here we are. :)

posted by Dave @ 7:42 PM 1 comments

The announcement at Dave's School

Last Wednesday, at a staff luncheon, the town crier Joanne Orlando showed the staff an awesome video that she created for Jen and me, check it out.

posted by Dave @ 5:22 PM 1 comments

The 1st Time We Met

Jen doesn't remember this, but I do. I was visiting my friend Ruth at Stanford. Ruth was introducing me to all her friends in the girls dorm(I liked the place). I was walking down the hallway and I remember this tall asian girl walking toward me. She was wearing sweats and had this short bobby haircut. I thought she was cute and that was it. "Hi" "Hi" and then 5 or 6 years later we hung out.
It was after I had returned from 2 months in Bali. I had taught for 1 year with my best friend Bill out in Rancho Cucamonga(not the best place to live for a surfer). I was a little tired of Southern California and wanted to explore. So, I went and visited my friend Ruth up in Palo Alto. I had fun going to her office (Condi's) and meeting a lot of her cute girlfriends. Ruth was living with Jen and I thought she was super cute and really flirty. So, I stayed at their place for like 2 weeks exploring and having fun and eventually started looking for a job up here. One night, Jen had told me about this great movie that she couldn't believe I hadn't seen: L.A. Confidential. We stayed up til like 2 am (late nights would be in our future: World Cup) on a work night. I was soooo into the movie, it was awesome, I was totally freaking out about who was going to get who and who did what, and I had fun with Jen. That was the 1st time we really hung out. Years later we started hanging out again and eventually had our first kiss. (to be continued)
Dave

posted by Dave @ 12:36 PM 5 comments

Where should the wedding be?

Where should we have the wedding?
Yosemite, Santa Cruz, Pigeon Point Lighthouse, a normal church, a winery? What do you guys think?
Leave a comment below.
Thanks for the help,
Jen and Dave.
p.s. have fun with it, we most likely won't use your ideas, but if we do, way to go!

posted by Dave @ 1:44 PM 11 comments

The proposal!

Hi friends and family! Here is the story of how I barely proved myself worthy to Dave. :)

We had been planning for weeks to go backpacking in Yosemite and I had just gotten myself all geared up at REI with a new backpack and sleeping bag, but then came down with a yucky cold the middle of last week. I took my sickness and crankiness out on Dave and said I didn't think we were gonna make it that weekend. He, half joking in his mean way, said that was it, we were broken up until I could suck it up and prove that I could backpack 8 miles and back. Super. I of course did not know that he had already picked up a ring and talked to my dad that day!! Dave's a good liar.

On Friday when it was time to leave, Dave played it super cool and left it totally up to me whether we went to Yosemite or not. Instead we could just relax, hang out in SF, do a short trip in Marin, whatever, it was all fine with him. By about 7:00 pm I was feeling slightly better and figured at that point we were just going to waste our evening watching TV anyway, so we might as well get in the car and spend our time driving instead. Arrived in Yosemite close to midnight and got a tent in Curry Village, which always makes me feel like I'm at summer camp. :)

Before I go on I should mention that Yosemite is a really special place for both me and Dave and our families. We both grew up going there often, Dave and his parents used to cross country ski there every Thanksgiving, we've had some of our best trips there, and it's one of my dad's favorite photo spots. Dave also had himself a near-death experience in the back country this past summer, but that's another story.

So anyway -- come Saturday morning, we decide to go backpacking at Hetch Hetchy, a 6 or 7 mile hike to Rancheria Falls campsite. We had gorgeous weather and my new gear was awesome. But I still wasn't feeling super well, was coughing all along the way, and went through a lot of kleenex, blech, plus it was actually super hot and dry along the way. It felt like we hiked forever, and Dave was super encouraging, although later he told me he didn't really think I was going to make it. But we eventually did, hurray, and ended up at a pretty campsite with a gorgeous water fall next to it.

Dave, always the water baby, wanted to go for a dip in the 10-degree water, what a loony. Meanwhile I was just happy to be done and sitting on the rocks in the sun, enjoying the scenery. Next thing I know Dave is out of the water, puts his shirt back on, and is reaching into his chest pocket to pull out a box, gets down in front of me, said some really romantic things, and proposed! I was bawling. Totally completely shocked. Did not see it coming. Even looking back now, I have to say Dave's behavior was totally normal that day, no signs of nervousness, nothing to let on that something was up. Plus Dave went ringshopping all by himself and talked to the jeweler and picked out an absolutely breathtaking, incredible ring! As Jen Martin said, "WOW! God bless Dave's little cheap heart, he was just saving up!!" So we hugged and kissed and took pictures and then he told me the story about how he asked my dad, and then I bawled all over again.

That's about it! We enjoyed our campsite, did some more fun hiking around the waterfall the next day, and did the 7 mile hike back on Sunday, me with a little more spring in my step! Also we both really really had to pee which was good motivation for getting back as fast as possible.

By the way -- had I not dragged my sickly self all the way to Rancheria Falls, Dave would not have proposed. For real. He would've just waited until some other time when I had passed the test before he gave me my "reward".

No specific wedding plans figured out at all yet, we'll keep you all posted! I'm just trying to get used to Dave being my fiance! Ahhhhh!!

Love,
Jen

PS -- check out our Flickr pics in the right sidebar!

posted by Dave @ 9:22 PM 4 comments

Asking for permission

So, before I proposed I had to ask Jen's dad for permission, without Jen's mom, sister, or Jen finding out. I didn't want to call him at home because I was afraid Jen's mom, Lily, would find out, and he does not have a cell phone. So, I ended up searching the internet for a phone number to the power plant down in San Onofre, he works for Southern California Edison. I search and search and search and all I find is customer service for SCE customers. For some reason they don't readily give out the phone number to power plants.
I decide to try customer service. "Southern California Edison, this is _____ speaking, can I get your customer number?" "Uh, uh, I don't have a customer number. You might not be able to help me, uhm, but, so, I'm trying to get ahold of my girlfriend's father because I want to ask his permission to marry her." "Oh, uhm, let me see what I can do, hold on" I hold for a few minutes and then she comes back and says, "I can't give you his phone number, but I can email him and have him call you back, what is his name?" So, she finds his name and asks for my name and number and she says "okay, I'll have him call you." "WAIT! Can you add something to that?" "Sure." So, I tell her to write "Dan, please call me, do not tell Jen, Iris or Lily, its a surpise."
5 Minutes later I'm in my office and the phone rings. I forgot about the permission thing and then I look at my phone, "oh crap," my heart starts thumping, a little short of breath, I rush around the corner to the conference room, and I sit down and answer. "Dan, hi" "Hi Dave, what's up?" "I'm sorry for calling you at work" etc. etc. then I tell him how I love his daughter and want to take care of her for the rest of her life and would like his permission to marry Jen. He says "ofcourse"(I think that was the quote). And thats it. I was ready, just had to pick up the ring after work. And ask her.

posted by Dave @ 7:29 PM 1 comments