We had almost an entire year to work out the details. Mom secretively text back and forth with Kyle trying to iron out more and more details as the time got closer. Not without a mishap or two, though. One day there was a text that Kyle accidentally sent to Amy {meant for mom} that talked about a possible plan for the engagement itself. It didn't include details about the cruise or any names so somehow Kyle convinced Amy it was meant for someone else's engagement!
We thought we had worked out the details and coordinated different times to arrive at the port and get on the ship. We also had worked out when and where the engagement would happen and then made every attempt to avoid seeing the other on the day of embarkment.
Lunch outside on our first day in Miami! We came a bit early to see Justin's family.
Not a bad view of the water!
Surprisingly, it all went very smoothly. We were worried at one point while we were in holding that we may not get on before they arrived. The plan had been that we would check in at 10:30 am and they would check in at 12:30 pm. The first snafu was when dad realized that he left his jacket and sunglasses in the hotel room. The rest of us went ahead and checked in while he took another round trip Uber ride to the hotel and back again. He ended up getting all settled with us about an hour behind schedule. We thought we were in the clear still at this point. But then, we found out they don't let anyone on the boat until noon anyways, so even though we had checked in, we still had to sit there and just wait, hoping Amy and Kyle didn't walk right up the stairs and see us. When 12:30 pm rolled around and we still weren't on the boat, we started to get a little worried...
As it all turns out, they were running a little behind schedule and then the groups for boarding began to get called, and we got on the boat relatively quick. Most all of us checked our bags with the porters where the taxis dropped off so we didn't have to worry about much. We found a spot to eat lunch at the buffet outside and took advantage of the cell phone reception that we still had to let Kyle know where we were, so they could avoid us.
On board!
Ready for some fun times with family!
When our staterooms were ready {around 1:30 now} we headed to them. We thought it might be the safest place to make sure we didn't run into anyone and spoil the surprise.
At 2:00, it was go time.
Kyle had reserved a room for an hour prior to us leaving the port of Miami. When we walked in, they were already there with Amy's back to us. Kyle told her that he had a surprise for her and then she turned around to see us all there! When she turned back to Kyle, he was on one knee to propose. She said "yes" and the rest is history!
The rest of the evening we spent talking over drinks and dinner and celebrating the newly engaged couple. It was surely a bit overwhelming for Amy to be surprised with so much in a short period of time, but it was really special to be a part of this big moment. We really loved having the opportunity to spend the week with family in the Bahamas and are looking forward to some wedding planning & fun to come!
Trying to be good listeners at the mandatory safety stuff...
Bye, Miami!
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