Spencer and Allison :)

So, my little brother is finally engaged. :)

Spencer and Allison have been dating for over 9 1/2 years now! I think she was like 14 when they started dating. :) Spencer has been working with my dad at J&J Pools for the last several years and has been taking on more and more responsibility with the company. Every summer, he saves his money and makes a big purchase...a jet ski, a wakeboarding boat, a Harley Davidson motorcycle, a boat, and most recently a farm and a house. And we kept thinking...but what about a big sparkly purchase?? :)

So Spencer finally decided that he was ready to ask Allison. He came to me and Mama for a little assistance, mostly with logistics. :)

Apparently, when they were at the Beach a while back, Allison wanted to build an alligator at the Build-A-Bear Workshop at Broadway at the Beach. The alligator was a special limited edition animal and was only going to be sold in Myrtle Beach. Spencer was working everyday from dawn 'til dusk during the time. I was on Spring Break after Spencer got the ring and Mama and I were at the Beach, so he sent us on a mission. :)

This is a picture of Mama and me when we were putting the heart in the gator while the girl was stuffing him. They actually have you close your eyes and make a wish, but Mama and I started crying when we were doing that, so I decided not to put the picture up. :) We prayed for Spencer and for Allison and for their life together.

When the girl who was stuffing figured out what we were doing, she got sooooo excited! And all the people who were in line behind us (which was like 50-75 people) were passing it along and telling one another. We could hear them saying, "OHHH! That is so sweet!" and stuff like that. I was really, really hoping that we wouldn't see anyone we knew! Our secret would have been blown!

That alligator (whose name is registered now as "Glitter Gator" at Build-A-Bear) was so cute! They packaged him up and stuck his head out of the front and his tail out of the back. We bought some shorts to put on him and everything! These shorts are the kind that Spencer wears when he's working, so he looks like Spencer. :)

Spencer was so excited when Mama brought the gator home. He had actually planned on waiting until Friday night, but he got so pumped up about it that he did it on that Thursday night instead.

His idea was to put the ring inside the alligator's mouth and to propose to her that way. Isn't that cute? The alligator is holding a heart in front of him that says "I Love You" and it has a voice recorder on the inside that Spencer had recorded the words

"I love you Allison. Will you marry me?"

It was really exciting, too, because he proposed the Thursday before the Cup in Camden. This is a picture of them that Saturday before the Cup. I had Allison a koozie made that said "Just Engaged" so that she could carry it around and people would see it. :) She had such a blast getting to tell people and show them her ring. That's like the best part of getting engaged!

They're getting married in February, after pool season is over. And last I heard, they're going to Disney World for their honeymoon. I'm so jealous!!! But they're super-excited and so am I.

It's about time!! :)