What a week--Colorado, broken bones, proposal story!

Mark and I were finally going on our snowboarding vacation in Colorado. He had made it seem like he wanted all of our friends to go. So we planned on 10-12 friends as usual to go on our annual retreat in March. One by one, friends and family were backing out, leaving Mark and I to embark on the trip alone. I still do not know if that was a part of the plan. Mark secretly planned to propose on our favorite slope, "OH NO" at the Copper Mountain Resort. He was unable to follow through on that idea because on our first day out on the mountain, and in my snowboarding lesson on that Sunday, I fell and broke my right wrist. I have been skiing for years and never had an injury until I tried something new. I was not allowed back on the mountain, doctor's orders.

Mark had to resort to Plan B. He decided that he would take me up to the Swiss Fondue Restaurant on top of Keystone Mountain. We would ride the Gondola to the top and he was going to propose when we stepped out. Unfortunately, the Gondola was broken and it was closed for the season.

Mark had to come up with Plan C. He planned a nice dinner for Thursday night. He decided to go snowboarding that day and I was going to be ready for the night out when he returned. Little did I know, he had been shopping the day before. When he came home, he got all dressed up and asked me to sit on the couch. He said that he knew I had a pretty rough week and bought me a few things to cheer me up. I had to close my eyes and guess what each of the prizes were in front of me. I first received Easter Peeps. He chose those because he knew I did not care for them and he wanted to be ornery. Then, out came a big plastic box. It was a First Aid Kit to protect me from harm (a little late). I then received a bottle of pills. It was Calcium to build stronger bones (or to facilitate in the repair of broken ones). My fourth prize was a plastic square that I could not even guess to what it might be. It was a flashlight because he wanted me to know he was so bright. Finally, a big stuffed animal was placed in my lap. I knew instantly it was the bear I had seen a few days prior. I felt so much better and thought he was the sweetest guy on Earth for trying to make me feel better. He was, however, not finished.

He started to tell me that after shopping all over Frisco, Colorado, he was unable to find a gift that would demonstrate how much he really loved me. I thought he did a wonderful job, but he kept saying how hard a time he had shopping for a gift that would express his love. He then proceeded to tell me that since he could not find something in Colorado, he had to bring something from home. He got down and pulled out the little white box and asked if I would marry him. That very instant, I could no longer feel the pain in my arm. I said YES and we started making phone calls to our families. We eventually made it to a wonderful dinner that evening and all I could think of was how my week started off so badly and ended so wonderfully.

Brigit D. Kendall