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Scott's Blog

Wednesday 8th August
Last night we booked the wedding cake! A lady from Willunga is making it and Robyn and I met her last night to arrange it all. Was quite an interesting night! I never thought picking a cake was such hard work, but never the less, 2hrs later... we had a cake! I wont say what it looks like as it will be a nice surprise! I will say that is is a chocolate mud cake! mmmmmm cake! :) On Friday night last week, David (best man), my Dad, Robyn, Callum (Page boy) and I went to Ferrari Formalwear in the city to try on suits. Like the cake, that was a hard choice! I don't think I've ever tried on so many of the same type of clothes in my life before making the decision - there were many good suits but we didn't find the exact one I was after until about 1 1/2 hrs into the sitting! I wanted to make sure the suit was exactly as I wanted it because it's the suit I'm going to be Married in! Callum was great too. He loved the suit we put him in!! At more than one stage, we had to move him away from the mirror so we could use it! He was making faces and 'arm muscle' poses in front of it! Robyn got some classic photos of that too! At the end of the night, we had chosen the suite, shirts, colours etc and walked out very happy with it all. So, now with the suits and cake done, the rest of the week involves bridesmaid dresses, invitation making, looking at the cars and arranging the music for the ceremony! Busy busy busy (but heaps of fun!)

Thursday 2nd August
Well, we can now say officially that we get married next month!! :) Even though it is 58 days away! (Who's counting? lol!) Both Robyn and I have been struck down with the Flu this past week. All but 3 people at my work got it as well (thanks John) and I was away for 4 days. Robyn got hit on Monday and spent 2 days at home. She did have a cough, which she gave to me, so it was only fair that I gave her my flu! We share well in this relationship! Since my last update, I have moved into our home at Maslin Beach and am loving it 100%. It is an awesome house and I just love being 2 minutes away from Robyn too. I have been driving into work most days as it is more convenient than the train right now. Once they finish the tram line extension down King William St, I'll give that more of a go! We started doing some weeding in the front garden 2 weekends ago - there were that many soursobs there that we filled the green waste bin to the top! The back garden still needs to be weeded but at the moment the wedding planning is top priority.. Speaking of the wedding plans, they are coming along really well. We spent most of last night finalizing lists and ideas. Tonight we are arranging the Bridal registry, tomorrow night we are arranging my and the groomsmen's suits! Robyn's dress is now made as well and that is getting fitted/tried on next week.

Saturday 7th July
Noosa is amazing! I've been here over a week now and really like the place. The weather is just brilliant but unfortunately, I've been stuck inside for most of the time! The rally is going very well, to the point where it is a bit boring for me BUT that is the way I want it! It means the computers are running as they should be! Robyn is on her way up here (it's 11:25am now), she is in the air from Sydney to the Sunshine Coast airport. Wont be too long before she gets to the Sheraton at Noosa where the Rally HQ is! Yay!

Friday 29th June
I'm typing this in Sydney Airport! Had an interesting flight over here... in Adelaide, (somehow) the security screening of bags found some fireworks in some luggage... they somehow let it get into the hold of an aircraft. Problem? They couldn't remember what plane it was in!! So all Qantas planes were grounded until they found the bag! What the??? I still cant work out how they let it go onto the plane in the first place! Anyway, I just had a really good Felafel in Sydney Airport Terminal 2. Highly recommend them! Robbie also packed me a 'gift' for each day I am away. I opened today's on the plane and it was awesome! Some garlic tablets (they help with sinus congestion), a lolly pop, a nice bible scripture and a suduko version of a Rubik's Cube! Was awesome!!! It feels very unusual travelling without her - as my last three trips away have been with her! Bring on the 7th July when she gets up to Coolum with me!

Monday June 25
Work are shipping me off to Queensland on Friday for 10 day! I am going to the Sunshine Coast (Coolum to be precise) to run the IT for the SunCoast Classic Rally. It is a car tarmac rally throughout the Suncoast region. I have been working on it for the last week at work, setting up servers and workstations ready to go. We shipped three pallets full of computers and parts on Friday! Things have been moving on the house front as well. I have been busy cleaning up my place by throwing out old stuff and papers ready to move. Also, taking the speakers off the walls in the lounge room has taken longer than I expected. The first time I did it, I was not happy with the result... so I re-applied some of the plaster and have begun to sand it back again. Hopefully tonight I'll have it finished. We get the keys to our house on Friday (29th) but that is when I fly out to Queensland! Talk about bad timing!! It's all good though, I have some time off work when I get back, so we will move then. We lost Hockey again on the weekend but it was a fun, fast paced game out at Golden Grove.

Tuesday June 12
Well, the plans keep rolling on! We have been looking into cars and Bridesmaid dress colours and styles lately.... well, I've been looking at the cars! :) With two of our three bridesmaids pregnant, Robyn and the bridesmaids are looking into dresses that will fit them comfortably and not cause them to be too tight! Anyways, onto the cars! We've decided on old-style cars, 1920's vintage. Robyn has a good friend who owns one and is in a car club as well, so we are hoping to be able to use their services which would be great. We've just had a long weekend here too, Queens Birthday. Thank's your Mag! I know England doesn't get a day off for your birthday, but we do. Go Australia! We spent the weekend down at Goolwa relaxing with Val and Douglas. Was really nice. Robyn did heaps of marking and report writing, while I played games on the laptop and helped Val pull out some old crusty barbed wire and fencing wire from across the road. Will be nice and safe now to run through when we are chasing a footy! Other than that, I continue to prepare my house to move out - I've now removed the speakers from the walls and have commenced patching and painting them plus I am getting in the cleaning mode to ensure I don't take any useless crap down to Maslin Beach with me!!

Tuesday May 29
I can't believe our Engagement Party has come and gone! It was an absolutly amazing day up at Belair (photos soon!) - around 21 degrees and sunshine. We decided on the Thursday morning that we would not need the large marquee we had on standby and that was a good decision! The day started out early for us all and Robyn, Wade, my parents, Lou and I got there just before 11am to start the setup. Friends started arriving around 12 noon and it was really good to have a slow trickle of people arriving so we could at least say hello to everyone! Once the Balloons were out and the BBQ's were fired up, people starting arriving in droves! I am very glad we chose such a big area, as there was more than enough room for everyone! As lunch was served, we had a large line of people hungry for the BBQ. A big thanks to all those who cooked! As the afternoon went on, we had some quick speeches before the massive cake was served to everyone. The day started to wind up around 4pm and at about 4:30, we started to pack up. Robyn and I left the park at 5:30pm and headed down to Goolwa to spend some time with Tom, John, Douglas, Amanda and Val. We were stuffed when we arrived but it was well worth it. That night, we sat around just chatting and enjoying catching up with each other. On the Sunday, we went back to my place where we opened our gifts. Talk about spoilt! Wow! We really do have some amazing friends and family in our lives. Each and every gift/voucher is very much appreciated and will be put to the best of use.

Tomorrow marks the end of my unit too... which is sort of sad but very exciting due to what is around the corner - our home at Maslin Beach! I have been starting to patch the walls where my speakers were and tidying up the cables etc ready for handover. I am renting the house back until Maslin is ready so that gives me 4 more weeks to finish the work. Robyn and I have been on the phone to Conveyancers, Mortgage Brokers, Real Estate Agents enough times over the last few weeks to last us 10 years at least!!

Once Maslin Beach settles on Thursday, all we need to do is move my stuff down there and then it is full steam ahead to the wedding.. which is 4 months away Tomorrow!

Wednesday May 16
We were in Sydney for the past weekend for Ben and Helen's wedding (Ben is my cousin). Mum, Dad, Louise, Robbie and I all flew out at 6:20am on Friday morning which was an early start! Just as I was about to take my nice fresh coffee on the plane, the gate manager for JetStar informed me that I was unable to take hot drinks on the plane! Apparently it had been said three times over the loudspeakers but none of us heard anything about that! Robyn then took the first few sips and we then added cold water so I could scull it! Woohoo! Quick caffeine buzz there! The flight was good - no issues and we landed in Sydney. From there, we caught the train to Circular Quay and the Ferry over to Manly. I love that trip! Once we arrived at the hotel, it was back to the Corso to find some food. We were starving at that stage! Lou, Robbie and I decided to go to Taronga Zoo for the day but we realised that my camera memory card was back in Adelaide.... so we found one in a chemist (I hate paying retail for IT stuff! LOL!). Back at the Hotel to get the camera and guess what.. FLAT. That leads me to another story... As we were passing through Security in Adelaide, I accidentally left my camera bag (with the video camera, charger for it and my still camera plus Mum and Dad's camera) there.... Oh crap! Lou tried to get the flight attendants to call Adelaide but we were told if they didn't get back to us before the flight landed, we were to call Adelaide ourselves. As soon as we touched down in Sydney, I rang June (my aunty) who had just arrived at the airport in Adelaide. I told her what had happened and she went over to the security check in. Fortunately, the security guards knew about the bag and once I had spoken to them, they gave it to June!

The Zoo was awesome (photos in the photo page). We walked around for hours just looking at everything. Lou and Robyn thought that I looked like a monkey... so we took a photo... You be the judge. I can't see it myself! :) After the Zoo, we caught the Ferry to Circular Quay and met Mum and Dad at the Oyster Bar for some drinks. Was awesome. From there, we caught the Ferry back to Manly and went to the pub where everyone was gathering. For dinner, we all went to the 'Bavarian Bier Bar' at the Manly Peer. I had a Franziskaner Hefe-Weissbier Dunkel which was a German dark wheat beer. BEST BEER EVER (at $9.50 for 500mL, it had a lot to live up to!).

The wedding on Saturday was awesome. The church was right in the heart of Manly and a 5 minute walk from the Hotel. I was asked to Video the wedding, so with an extra tape (thank god!) and battery, we went to the Church. Helen was 15 minutes late (Robyn - please don't get any ideas here!) and the service began. It was an excellent service and both Robyn and I were commenting afterwards as to how many similarities there were between Ben and Helen's compared to what we have in mind for ours! The reception was held at The Spit - can't remember the restaurant name but rest assured, great food, service and atmosphere! We had a blast. The Sunday we met everyone at a Pub on the Corso for a relaxing afternoon before we headed back to the Airport. As we were walking back to the Hotel to pick up our bags, we bumped into Jon and Bernita! Talk about a small world! We chatted with them for a while before they headed to the airport a bit before us. We ended up being on the same flight back and had a quick opportunity to catch up with them which was great.

I've also found out that I have been asked to go up to Noosa for a week or so in late June/early July for the Suncoast Classic Rally! We did the IT support (at work) for the Classic Adelaide Rally last year and they now have me doing the Noosa rally as well! I'm hoping to fly Robbie up for a few days as well - can't beat staying in a 5 star resort on the Sunshine Coast in the middle of winter!

The house settlements are kicking along well too.... 14 days to go until it all is finalized which is very exciting!

Tuesday 8 May
Confirmed! Cracked rib! Went to the Doc today and confirmed (as much as you can without an x-ray - I'm not going to spend $150 on an x-ray that will tell me it is sore! The Doc agreed too!) 3 weeks of no sport... Will just have to make up for it by watching Fox Sports more! :)

Monday 7 May
What an amazing 2 weeks we have just had. Robyn had 'Susical' the school Musical rehearsal then performances where she was the Stage Manager. Louise, Val and I saw it on the Friday night and then I was lucky enough to watch it back stage on the Saturday night for their final performance. It was an amazing show and Robyn did a brilliant job in stage managing. The show ran so smooth! We are all so very proud of the job she has done.

Since my last post about the house.. They did sign the contract (from the 26th April) which was awesome! We decided to open the house for inspection on the weekend as it was already advertised in the paper to be open on Saturday and Sunday. We had heaps of interest which was excellent. Damn glad we did.... They cancelled the contract on the Monday afternoon. No real reason given which was the pits. We were back to square one. Caleb then sprung into action. That night, I raced home from work to clean the house (Robyn and I had been making engagement party invitations and the lounge room was a mess!) as Caleb had arranged for up to 12 groups to come through and have a look. That night, we had two confirmed offers and had given a deadline of Tuesday 11am for everyone else to put in an offer. I got a phone call around 1pm saying we had 9 offers on the house!! It was an amazing feeling and I doubt I'll ever forget that phone call. We discussed all of the offers and decided to accept a specific one. The next day the contract was signed! We also had the cooling off period began as soon as the contract was signed - as it was hard for all parties to get back in a day or so to sign more papers! It was then a wait until Saturday morning at 12:01am for cooling off to end. I set my alarm and we had a big sigh of relief when 12:01 came around. That morning, we rang Caleb to confirm he had not received any faxes saying they have cancelled the contract. Fortunately, there were none! We did not celebrate until Sunday night as Saturday (day and night) were the last 2 performances of Susical! So when we did celebrate, it was for an amazing performance and effort towards Susical and to the sale of my place. With the contract now unconditional, our home loan for Maslin Beach is also unconditional!! YAY! We now need to start working out when I will move out of Torrensville and down to Maslin as we have a clause on the Maslin contract that allows them to rent the house back from us until their new house is built. Hopefully, the person who purchased my place will let us do the same (as they are planning the lease it). This means only one move instead of moving temporarily to Mum and Dad's then a few weeks later down to Maslin Beach!

We are off to Sydney on Friday for Ben and Helen's wedding which is going to be fantastic. I also ripped some muscles in my right side rib cage area from playing Hockey yesterday. I bumped into an opposition player and heard a 'click'. It did not hurt at first but later on that day it rendered the right hand side of my body useless and it was incredibly painful to move. Today (Monday), I have spent most of the day in bed not moving at all. Back to work tomorrow as I have no holiday or sick pay left and I am able to drive (went around the block tonight to confirm I could)! :)

Thursday 26 April
It is a weird feeling right now! Why? Well, it is raining and I am sitting in my car, about 50 meters from my house and surfing the internet via my broadband (go wireless networks)!! I can see lots of faces going "huh?".. so I better explain further! Right now, there are people in my house!! I don't know them! I do know one of them, my cousin Caleb. He is a real estate agent and is currently selling my house! :) There is a lady who is interested in the house and has come back for a second look. I am hoping they are about to sign the contract! I'll then get a phone call and go in and sign it too!.

Oh.. one more thing... I ordered Dad the Vegan meal on Qantas when we fly to Sydney in 2 weeks! hahaha!!

April 18
Well, so much has happened since I last wrote anything in here. Life has been very hectic! We have been to Tamworth (see photos), Goolwa, The River (near Mannum) on top of our daily lives!! It has been amazing. I would not have changed a day... well sort of....

I have been a bit ill lately, to the point where I have used up all my sick leave at work... That just sucks!! I had to eat into my holidays, which has worked out ok and was really good of work to allow me to do that. For me, it was either that or take time off without pay! I had a viral infection which hit me first a couple of weeks before Easter. 2 days off work. Then came Maundy Thursday.. Woke up and threw up. Went to the Doc. Got a week off work. Ended up going back to work on the Thursday after Easter. Was glad to get back as I was getting way too bored at home!

In the middle of that was my Birthday! Robyn got me this amazing commitment ring that I now wear on my middle finger. (it is fun to show people on that finger!) Val got me these amazing photos of my aerobatic plane flight (more info below) and Douglas gave me a fantastic framed photo of Robyn and I on the day after our engagement. Mum and Dad got me a really nice leather toiletries bag, which was great timing as my current one died!

Robyn had a birthday in late March. It was an awesome day! I'll leave it up to her to write more about it but let's just say 1/2 bottle of Sparking Shiraz and Robyn gets very, very funny (especially crossing the road in McLaren Flat, going into the Deli and asking for directions!) :)

Now.. this aerobatic flight.. Robyn got this for me as a Christmas gift. WOAH. It was in this single engine airplane that just looked great. I'll get some photos up here ASAP. Anyways, it took off from Aldinga Airfield and we climbed to 3000 feet as we hit the coast, just north of Sellicks Beach. That is where the fun started! Full loops! Stall turns! Upside down turns! Far out. It was unreal. Then, I was allowed to pilot the plane back to the airfield, where we did a pass-by before the pilot took control to bring it back to earth. It was just amazing.

Tamworth. Wow. What a weekend. Louise, Robyn and I left Adelaide at 6:20am on the Friday. We landed in Sydney around 9am and decided to catch the train to Circular Quay and have breakfast in front of the Sydney Opera House, looking towards the Bridge. Not a bad way to have breakfast if you ask me! I was not too well (that virus I was talking about earlier) but we still had a great time walking around towards the bridge then looking at some Galleries in The Rocks before heading back to the Airport. Once back there, we bumped into June, Paul and Mike Rouvray. This was around midday. We all then jumped on a Turbo-prop QantasLink plane and rattled our way towards Tamworth! That was a fun trip! Air Traffic Control would not let us climb to clearer skies so it was very rough for a while. It was made worse because we were all at the very back of the plane and our view out the window was obstructed by the engine pod! When we landed in Tamworth, Mum and Dad met us at the Airport, where we all piled in the car and went to the motel. Very nice! After a rest, we went down and had drinks with everyone in the bar. That is when I asked Ben Rouv to be a groomsmen as well! He was very happy to accept, as I was asking him! As the night went on, I started feeling very crook (no, not alcohol related either). Robyn and I went back to the room while everyone else went out for tea. That is when I took a turn for the worse. Fever. Shivering. Headache. Nausea. Clammy. Yuk. Robyn took such good care of me. She was amazing - even setting her alarm for 2am to help me take some more tablets. What a great gal! I rekon I should marry her! :) The next morning I was feeling better and was actually able to eat something. Coco Pops. mmmmmm. :) We then had a lazy morning before the girls started to get ready for the wedding. Dad and I just laid on the beds watching sport. When it was time to go, we all piled into a bus and were driven to the winery where the ceremony and reception were being held. The church was a nice old weatherboard building - very well preserved. Great ceremony! 1 word: BUBBLES! As Elisa and Adam were leaving the church, we blew bubbles which looked great! We then had 2hrs to wait until the reception. Wow did that time fly. We were all in this amazing outdoor lawned area surrounded by vines and the mountains surrounding Tamworth. Very tranquil. The reception was great too - GREAT food and service plus the speeches were excellent. I think Robyn and I were taking notes the entire time! After some dancing, we decided to call it a night. The next day we went to Adam and Elisa's for a BBQ before flying back to Sydney where we spent 3hrs waiting for our flight back to Adelaide.

Easter was a great weekend too! I was still feeling unwell (which was annoying) but we ended up going the the Borthwick's holiday house up at Teal Flat which is just north of Mannum on the Murray River. We only stayed a night but it was very relaxing. On the Sunday, we went to church at McLaren Vale, where my parents came down and joined us. It was really great having them there and seeing what the Church looked like and introducing them to all of our friends. I think they were a bit overwhelmed by it all! (in a good way!). After Church, we went and had brunch at Market 190 in McLaren Vale. As Lent was over, Robyn had a coffee and I had an Iced Coffee (we gave them up for Lent). After some food and chatting, we decided that it was a great opportunity to show Mum and Dad the reception venue at the Willunga Golf Club. That was such a great idea. We stayed there for well over 1/2hr just brainstorming ideas on how we could see the day running once everyone got to the Golf Club. Some really good ideas for it all came out of the chats and I know we both feel much better about how it will all run there before we arrive! We then headed down to Goolwa and spent a night with Val and Douglas. That was heaps of fun! Other than the Crows winning.. (woo hoo!), we spent the entire evening going over wedding 'stuff' with Val. At the end of the night we both felt more relaxed about the whole planning of the day as before that we were worried that time would beat us.

So what is next? Well, we have Seona and Xavier's engagement party this weekend, my Mum's birthday as well plus Hockey is back! On top of that, Robyn is heavily involved with the school musical for the next 2 weeks and then we are off to Sydney for another Rouvray wedding - my cousin Ben and his Fiancé, Helen. Should be an absolute blast. All the Adelaide based Rouvrays are staying together in the same Apartments in Manly. Should be interesting!!!

Scott's amazing Week! (30 Feb)
Well, it is hard to start this story at the same time as Robyn's due to what happened in the weeks leading up to this day! It all started for me about 3 1/2 weeks before the day. I met David at Bell and Brunt jewellers in Adelaide where we met June. For those of you who don't know, my Mum and June go way back. I had always known that June was going to help me with an engagement ring one day - it was just the way it was! I couldn't have gone to a better person. David and I were looking at rings when I explained to June what I was after. This ring was going to be custom made. No doubts about it. As the discussion went on, June asked 'What size is Robyn's finger?' To that I replied, whatever fits on my left hand little finger! Robyn had 'accidentally' put a ring that fits on her wedding ring finger onto my little finger a few weeks prior. I knew exactly the size. Perfect!

It was then time to pick the date to propose. I ended up going with the 24th February. Why? Well, that day is 1 month to Robyn's birthday and it was a Saturday in just over two weeks time. Now the tricky part was to ensure it remained free without letting this little secret out!!! I then started out working the details of the day. God bless the internet! After a good 4 hours solid of looking for the ideal location, as close to Belair National Park as I could get without jumping the fence! Horse Riding! It was so simple now! Robyn absolutely loves Horses and I could not have thought of a better activity. Now, to keep this secret, I 'booked' our calendar with a lunch at David and Anetta's house. David and Anetta both knew of this, just incase we bumped into each other before the day!

Just on 2 weeks later (the Monday before I proposed), I returned to pick up the ring. Wow. It completely blew my mind. I had an idea in my mind what it was going to look like for real (other than the drawing!) but it was stunning. I could not have been happier about it. Earlier that day, I placed a phone call to Goolwa. I spoke to Val (Robyn's Mum) and asked if she was free that night. We arranged to meet at Val's place around 7:30pm. I asked Val to keep it a secret incase Robyn rang!

That night, I met Robyn for dinner at Tatachilla. We were going to have dinner back at her place before Robyn's Choir practice but someone left a building open at the School and she did not have a key to lock it! We had dinner of iced coffee and rice crackers (with vegemite for me, tuna for Robyn!). Not long after that, I left to drive 'home' (hehehe!). As I left, I ensured I took a road to make it look like I was heading back to my house at Torrensville. I then took a right turn and headed south on the Victor Harbor Road... down to Goolwa!

That drive was the longest of my life (until Saturday AM!). I just wanted to get there and ask Val for Robyn's hand in Marriage. It meant the world to me that I had her Mum's permission. When I arrived, I grabbed a quick drink before Val and I sat on the old Church pew outside the back door. After throwing the toy to Lucy a few time (the dog!) we started chatting. I cut straight to the chase! The suspense was amazing. I just wanted to ask Val! I said to Val that I loved Robyn with all my heart and wished to ask for her hand in Marriage. Val was a bit suprised at first I think! Then the two words I have ever heard came back (other than Carn' Crows!!!). 'Of course'. I then produced the ring to show Val. PFEW!!! We then chatted for about 90 minutes before I had to head back home. I was worried that Robyn would call and I was still driving - as I was supposed to be at home! (Robyn - I promise this was and will be the only time I have ever lied to you.) I got home and called Robyn but got her voicemail! Would you believe it, she was on the phone to Val! Robyn just decided to call Val that night. Apparently, Val was very happy!!! hehehe!

As the week went on, I was getting more and more excited. I don't think I was ever that nervous but I know I just wanted the day to go off without a hitch.

On Friday night, just before we drifted off to sleep, Robyn said to me 'there is something special about tomorrow'. My jaw hit the floor! Lucky the light was off, or she would have known something was up!

Saturday morning came around. I had the best sleep in weeks! As we were getting ready, I said to Robyn that we needed to leave dead on 10:15. I hoped that it did not give anything away. We then got in the car and headed off. I had already gone out and put the address of the property in my GPS, as there was no way I was getting lost today. Driving along Greenhill Road towards the Hills, I asked Robyn if she knew where Uurbrae was. Fortunately, she knew roughly where it was but not in detail. Pfew! I thought as we headed onto the Freeway that she may twig something is up (you will have to read Robyn's blog for more info there!). We took the Mt Lofty/Crafers exit and headed towards Upper Sturt. It is such an amazing piece of bush up there. We turned down the street and came to a driveway. Well, it was more of a track than driveway - just graded. No bricks or paving! By this time, Robyn was wondering where were were and why we were there! I gave in and said that we are not having lunch at David and Anetta's place but we are going Horse riding instead! Surprise!! As we got out of the car, I went and spoke with some of the people who run the property. I worked out with them that the lake was the perfect spot. I then confirmed that there was going to be Champaign and a rose waiting for us.

The trail started. I was riding LouLou! We headed up the driveway (see above again!) and into one of the top paddocks. It was amazing. The whole time, I had the ring in a pocket of my shorts. I would hate to count how many times I checked to ensue it was still there!! I do remember some of the scenery of the top paddock but the whole time, I was going over what I was going to say, how I was going to say it and what the lake would be like. My heat was going nuts!

We crossed the driveway and headed down towards the lower paddocks. As we wound our way down there, we passed the lake. Sh&t! We were there! We stopped under some trees at one end of the lake. As most Horse trails do not dismount half way through, I wanted to get Robyn's attention as soon as possible. It was then that she came over and helped me dismount LouLou (Heart rate now close to 200, I'm sure!).

I took Robyn by the hand and asked her to come with me over to the Lake. As we walked closer, I said to Robyn 'The Horse riding was not the only surprise I have planned today'. As we got to the edge of the lake, I mentioned to Robyn that I had gone down to Val's place on Monday night and asked for her blessing, which I received.... I then got down on one knee (for those after ALL the details, I was on my right knee!) and said 'Robyn, will you marry me?'. I don't think I had quite finished saying 'me' before Robyn said 'Yes, of course I will'. WOOHOO (just for Suzy, w00t!). We then kissed, hugged and just smiled at each other! A minute or two later, we were joined by another couple that were on the ride with us. They turned towards us and just said 'did you two just get engaged?' YES! we replied! Then, one of the owners of the property brought out a bottle of Sparkling Shiraz! We shared it with the others on the ride (5 of us in total, plus 3 staff) and stayed there for a while. Before we got back on the horses to finish the ride, we rang Val to tell her the news! Surprise! She already knew!!! We then continued the ride, Robyn, being an experienced rider was allowed to trot and canter her horse, while I, being a beginner (other than 1 or 2 bets on the horses in the Adelaide cup!) was allowed to trot the horse. I highly recommend NOT wearing boxer shorts when blokes do this. TRUST ME!

We then headed to my Parent's house and walked in. Dad was in the kitchen. We made eye contact and Dad knew straight away that it was all good - via a wink! We then went into the lounge room and gave Mum a hug. Robyn and I were trying to work out a way to tell Mum, as Dad knew it was happening (thanks for the advice and support Roof!). Mum said to me that my shirt was very nice. Robyn then said 'do you want to see something else that is nice?' and put her hand in front of Mum! Mum's eyes lit up. 'What have you done?' 'Are you serious?' came out of her mouth as she looked towards me. The news could not have been broken to Mum any better!