I just realized that I haven't shared some very good news! Patrick and Amber got engaged on June 30th!.

Here is how he pulled it off:  I told Amber that I had tickets to the Florence Freedom Baseball game and asked them if they'd like to go with us. Baseball has been so much a part of Patrick's life for so long that it only made sense that he would propose at a baseball game! He had it arranged ahead of time with the people at the game that they would call Amber up (she was chosen at random(ha ha) from the stands to come up on top of the dugout and play the "what's in the box game" between the top and the bottom of the second inning. The first box had a sponge in it and they asked her if she'd like to trade for what was in the second box. The second box had a battery in it so they asked her if she'd like to trade for what was in the third box. The third box had a doorstop in it.  Then the emcee said that there was one more box but that her friend, Patrick would have to give it to her. With that, Patrick walked up on top of the dugout and dropped to one  knee and asked her to marry him in front of the whole stadium! The crowd went crazy cheering and Amber was in total shock and awe. What she didn't know was that her Mom and Dad and their best friends were there watching from the wings along with Patrick's grandmother and aunt, and Amber's cousin Michelle, who along with me set them up on their first blind date.

I was video taping the actual proposal but here are some pictures taken with my camera right afterwards:

On July 26th Amber's Mom and Dad had an engagement party  for them at their home. Here are some pictures from that party: (It was a luau/swim party)

They are getting married in October of 2009. Happy planning days ahead!