CAMP 2012.

we've been back from camp for a week, but feels like it has been a million years since we were on the lake enjoying this view.

future sister and i on the booze cruise! 

a loon. this was the first year i saw one and they were talking to one another like crazy. they kind of sound like turkeys on water. there is a stuffed one in the dining cabin {sad face} and they kind of look like - and are the size of - penguins! i am obviously not a loon expert, so here's the wiki link. aren't they pretty?

going her own way.

night of the engagement!

fishing on the dock. little brother rhody even caught one!

can't stop. won't stop. 

last day, a storm rolled through right before we left. still the most beautiful place.

until next year, tupper lake.

JULY 8.

i honestly cannot even believe i am writing this post.  

we are engaged!!!!

a little back story for those who have requested: when b and i moved in together in january 2011, i was very open and honest about what i wanted from the relationship. aka, i knew he was the guy i wanted to marry. {let's be real, i knew that about three weeks into it.} but b needed his own time to get there. and so i waited. sometimes patiently, sometimes not.

camp is incredibly special to b and his family. it was a safe bet that if it were to happen anytime soon, tupper lake would be the place he would pop the question. so, what does a girl do? well, if you're me, you ask if it's coming. yep. i just flat out asked if we could possibly be getting engaged while we were at camp. b gave me a long, sweet response about how he was saving, but now wasn't a good time. i was sad, but understood and totally bought it.

we do a canoe ride, just the two of us, every year at tupper. on sunday afternoon, b asked if i was ready to canoe and we took off, stopped at sheppey island, and climbed to the top to check out the view. {here's a mention of sheppey in an article about when president calvin coolidge visited!} unlike year's past, the grass and trees were super dry, making it a hard hike in flip flops. the branches were cutting me and i kept asking b if we could turn back and leave. he was encouraging, but not insistent, and finally we made it to the top, to take in this: 

beautiful. but after 10 minutes of just standing and looking, i was humming the jeopardy tune. i asked him if we could go {again} and he said "let's just enjoy the view". then i asked if we could sit down and got a strong no. this is when i started wondering what was going on.

b was standing slightly behind me with one arm around me. he asked me if i loved him and i turned around to give him an "of course" and the ring was in front of my face. i'm pretty sure i momentarily died of shock because i don't remember him asking me to marry him, though he says he did, or saying "yes", though i must have at some point! after crying and laughing and me asking about 300 times if it all was really happening we took some photos and paddled back to camp.

b told me on the way that his parents had helped him through the ring buying process {since it was a family-friend jeweler where b's dad bought the engagement ring for b's mom} and that he had told his mom, dad and sister that he was going to propose when we canoed to sheppey. so, when we pulled up, i was nervous that everyone knew. {i have no idea now why this is nerve wracking. obviously, i had a lot of emotions going on.} all the ladies on the dock turned around and asked how the ride was and i just blurted out "we got engaged!" his parents and sister had kept it a secret, and so his aunt and cousins were all so surprised! champagne was opened and all of us stood on the dock and looked at the ring and smiled and took photos. i was so glad they were there. i am crying just thinking about how special it was to be surrounded by the love of his whole family.

i still feel really shocked that it happened. and really happy. it was a simple proposal, and it involved our families, and was more perfect than i could have dreamed up. also, the ring is pretttyyyy stunning.

our spot, taken from the boat ride on the way back to the mainland. we actually share a similar story with b's uncle rhodes and aunt lisa, and they are getting ready to celebrate 30 years of marriage. we called to tell them and got to hear about their sheppey island proposal and it makes me smile to know that it's another way i get to be connected to b's family. 

thanks to each one of you for the facebook messages, tweets, texts, calls and general well wishes. we didn't have internet access or phone service while at camp, so i am trying to catch up now and make sure you know how much i appreciated each and every one. 

i have never been so happy. 

THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR.

that's right, it's camp time!

we were very nervous that we wouldn't be able to swing going to tupper lake this year, with moving and new jobs, but luckily we can! for the next few days i will be sitting on the dock, drinking vodka tonics, watching the boys play bocce, petting poodles and generally being grateful.

plus, ohmygosh, i have guest bloggers lined up! i cannot explain my excitement that some of my fav nash ladies are going to grace this little webspace! so stop back and check out what they have to say when i asked them where their favorite vacation spot is.

camp: the people.

this is the final installation of the camp posts. okay, one was entirely about the airport. and another was lake placid. but the one did have photos of camp.

now, it's all about the peeps. lord knows i felt like a total weirdo snapping pictures of every little detail, so i didn't catch everyone on camera. but, here are some winners:

dogs are people, too. miss ellie beans.

the boys. being very manly, might i add.

duh, you knew about 800 of these were just of us.

me and the momma. and ellie sitting like a person.

millie.

saying goodbye on the dock. 

my bff.

lake placid.

lake placid is only 40ish minutes from camp. i didn't go last year, so we took a girl's trip up.
the town is well-known, mostly because the miracle on ice took place there.

but, also, bill pullman {i LOVE the movie "while you were sleeping"} was in a movie about some creature coming out of the lake. i didn't know this until i just now googled.

i'm sure it is a really great film.

the city itself seems like it's based around one main street {similar to athens} and still really proud of their olympic history.

back seat boopin'.

super quaint.

do you see the structure that held the flame? it's in a horse field now.

all the flags still up around the track area, which is in front of a high school.

olympic center.

time to eat!

  

mirror lake can hold it's own against tupper when it comes to the scenic view, but at least we don't have to worry about killer alligators.

picture it: camp.

get it? from sophia, "picture it, sicily..." if you don't get that reference, then you probably don't enjoy this blog. since that show is about old ladies, friends and romance. as is my life.

back on track... one of the coolest things about camp is that we are staying in the original buildings. like, from the 1920s. we're talking legit vintage, people.

let's take a tour:

the official camp name.

how camp's boathouse used to look a long, long time ago. the history of this place boggles my mind. the top part of the boathouse caught on fire and burned. we still use the bottom part.

boat house today.

hilltop cabin, where we stay.

another cabin.

the little details.

and my favorite: the views.

back to town.

after a late arrival last night, i'm just trying to get back into the swing of things today. here's a photo of us, relaxed, sunned and enjoying the beautiful view at tupper. sigh. i miss it already.