(as re-told by Kerry) So would you like to hear the story of how the best proposal story I've ever heard of actually happened to me? Shortly after the end of my contract with SLOC, Lee came home one day and mentioned that I should keep the 2nd/3rd week of May open for a little surprise trip. We had talked about going away for a break after the games so I didn't think too much about it. I was getting ready and about to leave for a week at the beach with my Mom & sister (& her 2 children) in Jupiter Florida. When I got back, I had only 3 days until our "surprise" departure - each of the three mornings before we left, I received one of the vague clues below, typed, printed out, rolled up and tied with a red ribbon: 1. You will depart SLC International Airport at 11am on May 7th and return the night of the 14th. 2. You will be in a city for the entire duration of your trip & will require on outfit for an elegant evening (That day he bought a suit, for job interviewing I thought. Later that afternoon, when he casually mentioned bringing it along on our trip, I panicked. What in the world was I supposed to wear?? He casually took me to Nordstrom & bought me a gorgeous black evening gown!!!) 3. The temperature will be between 60-75 during the day & 50-60 in the evening. Rain is probable. On May 7th, as the taxi drove us up to the terminal, he decided we should forgo the curb-check and wait in line for the counter - just to prolong my agony! By the time we reached the counter, half the people in line as well as the security attendants had heard the story & were waiting in suspense to see where he was taking me. They cheered when the counter clerk called out Paris. I, of course, started to cry. You would think that I might get a clue that something big was up - who goes to Paris unexpectedly? Wouldn't any red-blooded, romantic-hearted girl think we were going there to get engaged? Although we had talked about it, I thought we were about six months out from the popping of the question. Especially since we were both unemployed and uncertain of our career futures, I never thought for a minute that he would do something so daring as ask me to marry him. Boy, did he sweep me off my feet. The whole trip was so special for me because he did something so out of character. Remember, this is the same guy who diligently buys at least one birthday gift a month in advance & then wants to give it to me right then and there because he's so excited about what he bought for me, that he can't wait for me to open it. He's terrible at keeping secrets - or so I thought! While we were waiting for the plane, he told me that our "elegant outfits" were for a night at the Opera Garnier where his mother had bought us box seats for a performance. So in my mind, the surprise was out of the bag and we were on our way to a wonderful week's vacation together. Lee had arranged an absolutely charming hotel for us, right in the heart of the Latin Quarter. We were upgraded to a fabulous atelier room on the top floor with wonderful French windows and a Jacuzzi tub (such a treat for my legs!). We were just a block from the Seine with the grand Cathedral of Notre Dame directly across the river. The oldest church in Paris - built 680 was just around the corner. It was such a fabulous & romantic trip. I speak French, know Paris fairly well & had spent several summers in the countryside. The fact that I had no idea where we were made the trip so wonderful - I had no time to prepare or plan & we truly just rediscovered the city together. We did none of the touristy things but rather walked & wandered through neighborhoods, galleries, churches, shopping, stopping for coffees, bread, wine - whatever & wherever looked good. But there was one more surprise in store for me… On the second day we decided to try to pick up our tickets to the opera early since the tickets were held at will-call and we would need to arrive extra early to avoid any possibility that they would be resold. It was late afternoon when we got to the theater. We had no idea that it was a French bank holiday and that the office would be closed until the designated will-call pickup time. Had we been able to get the tickets early, we would then have had extra time to get dressed more leisurely and then be able to arrive at the show just prior to the start. The closed box office put us very behind schedule - we were all the way across town & had to race back to the hotel, get dressed & then race back to the theater for fear of losing our seats. What a panic - I didn't even shower, just whipped my hair up in a bun & put on a little extra perfume! We got to the theater on time, got the tickets and finally tried to catch our breath over a glass of champagne in the foyer. We strolled into the parquet & gold chandeliered gallery over-looking the Place de l'Opera. All of a sudden, Lee gets down on one knee! Oh my God, I was just floored! With all the frenzy of trying to get there, in the first calm moment, he had caught me so completely off guard! Had I even thought he was going to propose there, I would have thought it would have been on a lamp-lit bridge or in a cozy, romantic restaurant. In fact, he's such good a planner that I was never even suspicious. We didn't even have a dinner reservation until about an hour before the performance! The show was spectacular, although I can't promise I paid very close attention, I was so thunderstruck. Afterwards, we went to an elegant little restaurant we'd walked by the night before on the Ile St. Louis called L'Orangerie. Very old-school Parisian elite - bejeweled & bedecked…Not a person in the place was under 50! As we waited for our table, one eccentric-looking group seemed to be carefully eyeing us - we were so dressed up. Would you believe that we were seated right next to them (which in Paris is truly elbow to elbow)! Within minutes, we had told them our story and their high-nosed aloofness disappeared. They welcomed us into their fold, telling stories, toasting with us & taking photos for us. It turns out that the most boisterous among them was quite an exceptional Artist and the other was his Brazilian art dealer accompanied by their wives and mother! We had the most amazing meal, drank a 1990 Veuve Cliquot Grand Dame and called our parents at almost 3 o'clock in the morning to share our news. Of course, no one but me was at all surprised. Lee's parents had been in on it from the beginning and mine were not in on the travel plan but were pretty suspicious since Lee had secretly flown back East to ask for my father's blessing! The rest of the week was truly a dream! My parents met us at JFK where we were changing planes to head west - we had an insane 15 minute family celebration in a hallway, with typical Brennan style - champagne & all! My brother Billy gave us this huge mylar ring-shaped balloon. What a hilarious scene we made as we tried to get that through security!