Engagement: The Details

It is true. Riley and I are officially engaged!

Here is how it happened:

June 17th, 1985 is my birthday. A week and a half ago I turned twenty seven. We had just arrived in Seattle on Friday in two cars with all of our things. Needless to say, times have been a little crazy as we worked to figure out housing, last minute trip scheduling, starting work, studying...etc. Therefore, we had no official birthday plans for the day. Riley was fantastic birthday company, however, as his idea for a fun day was to go around the city and do anything and everything that I wanted to do. I thought that sounded like a great idea!

We started off with a delicious birthday breakfast with my parents at home. My mother rushed over to get PCC and the Hi Spot Cafe to get some goodies and freshies for an abundant breakfast spread. It was very nice to sit down together at the start of the day (Dad, Mom, Riley and I).

After we had eaten, Riley and I started our wanderings. We checked out the new climbing gym, The Seattle Bouldering Project. We spent a couple hours there playing around and very much enjoying the fun routes and laid back atmosphere. Afterwards, we made our way over toward The Guitar Center south of downtown. A quick lunch stop at Homegrown fueled our bodies for some more running around. We spent the next couple of hours in the Guitar Center looking for my first guitar (a very kind present from my parents for my birthday). We tested and played and held guitar after guitar, and Riley, the ever patient and always detailed shopper, handed them my way one after one. It paid off because we came out of there with a beautiful Martin.

Just a few more stops...CUPCAKE ROYALE, Recycled Cycles, The University Bookstore...before making our way home. We ate some tasty Mexican Food leftovers from dinner the night before and enjoyed having the time to spend on our own talking at the dinner table. After dinner, Riley went outside onto the brick patio that spans the length of the house, which looks out onto Lake Washington. I stayed inside. He came back in and propped open the door, which had closed and locked him out. Then he went back outside. I was feeling cozy inside and began to strum the new guitar. Eventually Riley came back in. I let him know that I was going to shower off since we had gone climbing earlier. He didn't seem very excited about that, but then decided that he would take one after as well. Once we were both cleaned up, he went back outside in front of the house. I thought that since it was a nice night, we might as well try out his new baseball mitt and throw the ball around for a little while. I took the mitts down and he agreed to play catch with me. After about a half hour or so we were done playing and I suggested that we go watch a movie.

Riley walked over to where I was and gave me a huge hug. I took off my mitt and placed it off to the side next to his. We talked for a little bit about the day while we continued to hug. We talked about what a great birthday it had been and how nice it was to spend the day together. After a few minutes of this sort of thing, Riley said, "I don't want to spend another birthday as just your boyfriend." Then I saw him reach into the pocket of his shorts and as he slowly pulled away to get down on one knee, he asked me to marry him.

He was back up in a flash because along with replying, "YES!" I was jumping into his arms. There was a lot of whooping and jumping and hugging that followed...mostly from me. Riley kept smiling at me and saying that his reaction was more subdued because it wasn't a surprise for him. But we were both grinning ear to ear - excited to tell our families the good news!

From here on out we will be moving our things over to Bainbridge and working with NOLS for the rest of the summer until Riley starts school in late August. At that point, we will begin making plans for the wedding!

Until then, may your days be filled with smiles and new adventures where ever you go!




Cait

Engaged!

As of June 17, Caitlin and I are engaged!

Riley

Dorothy Carlson Hopeman

Dorothy Carlson Hopeman

July 19, 1920 - June 25, 2012

My Grandmother was magnificent and I'm sure going to miss her a whole lot. I was fortunate enough to be with her just a few days before she passed away and I'll treasure those times forever. Saying goodbye to her on Thursday night was a heavy undertaking but one for which I am so incredibly grateful.

I have a myriad of feelings going on inside of me right now. Sadness. Disbelief. Anger. Heartache. More than anything, I feel confused. While I said goodbye, I had so much more to say. So many thank yous to give. So many more smiles. So much more laugher. So many more "I love you"s. Why didn't I say more? I couldn't.

At one point, I was able to say more. Two Christmases ago I organized a massive gathering of Hopemans in Minnesota. During a 90th birthday celebration for my Grandparents, I was able to tell my Grandmother just how special she is to me. On that day, I was lucky enough to say this:

Grandma,

I wanted to take the time thank you and express to you just how much of an influence you’ve had on my life. I have so many wonderful memories of times spent with you and I look forward to many more.

For as long as I can remember, you were always there supporting whatever adventure I was pursuing. Whether it was keeping me in line during my childhood, beating me in Scrabble, or attending my graduations, you were always there to show your support. I’ll never truly be able to show you just how much those times have meant to me.

The way you’ve lived your life has been, is, and will always be a complete inspiration to me. You’ve never done anything half-assed and you play the cards you’re dealt better than anyone I’ve ever known. Whether you know it or not, you’re the rock, the foundation, of the Hopeman family. Without you, I wouldn’t be here. Moving around to Grandpa’s various service assignments, with five kids… I’m still not sure how you did it . And then, slowly losing your eyesight? It might have slowed you down a little but you took it in stride and continued to live an amazing life.

I wanted to share some of the things that you’ve passed along to me that I will take with me for the rest of my life. You taught me to persevere. You taught me to be candid, clear, and concise. You taught me to be kind. You taught me the meaning of family. You taught me to have a sense of humor. More than anything, you taught me to be proud of myself.

Thank you for being such a strong role model for me throughout all of these years. Your support, generosity, and kindness will forever live within me.

I love you.

I never did beat my legally blind Grandmother at Scrabble. And, while I didn't get to say more on Thursday night, the last two things I said to my Grandmother were, "I love you so much" and "goodbye".

I love you Grandma Dort.

Riley

The Times They Are A Changin'

Back from the field! Our course was split into two separate sections, a 23-day hiking section, followed by 12 days of rock climbing. Thirty-five days is a long time to spend out there when there's a lot of "life logistics" in motion.

Just before leaving for the hiking section, I sat down in a dungeon of a testing room in Meridian, Idaho to take the GRE (Graduate Record Exam). This test would be the final addition to my application for a Master's of Education program at the University of Washington. When our bus rolled away from Lander, bound for the Wind River Range, I had no idea how my test had gone.

For the next 22-days my mind often drifted to wondering whether my life would take a drastic shift or whether I'd return to NOLS and this lifestyle I've embraced so fully. It was a great breath of fresh air, however, to return to the mountains and find rejuvenation in simple living and the challenge of working with Instructor Course candidates. The Winds were spectacular, though the lack of snow is seriously concerning.


An early morning alpenglow in the northern Wind River Range, Wyoming.

Leaving the mountains, we returned to Lander for a brief six hour stint. Fortunately, Caitlin was returning from work in Boulder and was at the branch awaiting our arrival! After touching base with my co-instructors regarding the logistics for the rest of the day, I set off to shower and round up my climbing gear.

After getting cleaned up I decided I'd give the e-mail a check and see if there was any news regarding the status of my application. Upon first glance and staring at 137 e-mails, I overwhelmingly caved and figured I'd leave it until June. With this, I returned to my packing. But, just before I left to head back down to the NOLS Rocky Mountain branch, I gave my e-mail one final look. Three e-mails down from the top I opened an e-mail and found the following:

"Dear Mr. Riley A Hopeman, Congratulations! On behalf of the UW College of Education faculty, it is my pleasure to extend an offer of admission to the College’s MEd degree program, beginning in Autumn quarter 2012."

Woo hoo! Talk about a mind shift. Whoa. Life is about to change! But... For now, I'm headed to Split Rock to climb for 12 days. How do you put that news on hold? I didn't.

With phenomenal weather, we climbed! A lot! Split Rock is one of my favorite places to visit. The climbing is great, we're the only ones there, and the wildlife viewing is unbelievable. When I wasn't climbing, I was thinking about my next life steps. Heck, even when I was climbing I thought about it.


A brilliant light display following a rainstorm out at Split Rock, Wyoming.

Which brings us to the present. The past two days have been a flurry of activity with one of my best friend's weddings. It was a ton of fun and allowed me to spend some quality time with a number of people in my life who are incredibly important to me.

And now? I'm moving to Washington. We're moving to Washington. Soon. Very soon. The truck is half-packed soon. I'm excited. I'm nervous. I'm... living. I feel like this change is one of experiencing something really, really incredible and then creating a means to spread that experience to as many people as possible.

Here's to change! I'm can't wait to see what new opportunities and adventures this new pursuit brings.

Riley

Back in the game...

So it turns out that all sports are not the same. If I told anyone who has known me for a good chunk of my life that I was "back in the game," that person would assume that I was referring to soccer. Well, I changed games today. I have ventured into the world of running competitions. I plan to try my hand at a few more things as the opportunities present themselves...I'm up for most things. Today I tried my hand at a half marathon. I was lucky enough to have my parents, who have been my best support crew over the years, by my side.





The race was hosted by the Wood River YMCA in Ketchum, Idaho. We started and finished at the Sun Valley Pavilion. It was a lot of fun, mostly due to the incredible community support at every turn. Here goes nothing...





It was sweet to see the finish line at the end, especially because I had accomplished my goal of running my first half marathon.

Cait