When Joe left the house on Saturday morning, Jill was under the impression her beau would only be gone for a half hour or so. She began making breakfast, french toast, but was soon stopped by the knock at the front door. When she opened the door to find her neighbor standing with a red rose and a card, the confusion set in. After being told she had an hour to get ready, Jill headed out to the nearby lake where she was to find rose - and clue - number two. After a row boat ride across the lake and an obstacle course challenge, she was given her second rose by Joe's fellow Marine before being directed to the National Marine Corps Museum. It was here that Jill realized she needed to prepare her mind, and her body, for the marathon she was about to begin. What she thought was a quick trip to the lake had now turned into a day full of physical challenges, relationship trivia, and lots and lots of roses. From the museum Jill was sent to the Kennedy Center, the White House, the Haupt Fountains, the Washington Monument, the Starbucks on H Street, the Korean, WWII, and Vietnam memorials, and then, finally, the Lincoln Memorial. If you lost count, that makes twelve roses, twelve challenges, and twelve Marines in their dress blues that Jill had to find.
If you haven't had the chance to experience a man in uniform in public, you should know that they draw quite the crowd. During the two and a half hours we were waiting for Jill to find her roses, the boys had little more than a five minute break from tourist after tourist asking for pictures.
Good thing the tourists were pretty cute.
This is Jill at the Vietnam memorial being asked to correctly answer how many children Joe wanted.
Internet World, the following picture is proof that we have seriously brave men fighting for our country. In the off chance you're blind and reading my blog, that's a big audience.
She said YES!
This is Joe. He's handsome.
And this is Jill. She's gorgeous.
And then there were toasts.
Jill, I know you had absolutely no part in planning this beautiful adventure of a day so I'll have to take this moment to thank Joe for letting me be part of his amazing plan. I feel so honored to have been able to document such an unforgettable moment and I cannot thank you enough for letting me come along. Congrats on your engagement and welcome to wonderful world of wedding planning!
Michelle
