Erin & Troy

Posted Monday, January 04, 2010 3:07 PM

 My boyfriend, Troy, and I had been dating approximately one year when he asked me to go for a weekend winter get-away at one of his work friend’s (Jim and Susan’s) cabin in Flagstaff, Arizona. I had just taken a tough exam for work in mid-December and looked forward to the opportunity to finally get in the “Christmas spirit”. Troy forwarded me an e-vite from Jim and Susan announcing a “black-tie” Christmas party on Saturday night that weekend at a resort in Flagstaff called “Little America.” Troy told me his friends, Jim and Susan, really wanted us to go and they were making arrangements for limousine transportation so we could enjoy the party to the fullest.
 
On our drive from Phoenix to Flagstaff Friday night, Troy told me that Jim and Susan modified the plans a bit. He handed me a new e-vite which changed the theme from “black-tie” to a super-hero costume party where the husband/boyfriend chooses the costumes for the couple. I was a little hesitant, but I always enjoy themed parties, so I was looking forward to the event. I immediately tried to guess Troy’s superhero costume choice, but Troy told me that he wanted to surprise me and would give me the costume on Saturday before the party.
 
Late Friday night Troy said that he “couldn’t wait to give me my Christmas present.” He handed me a large box which looked like an XL pizza box. I unwrapped it and saw a beautiful hand painted canvas. The canvas was a collage of pictures visually telling our dating story from the time we had met in early 2009. In the center of the collage, there was a circle which read “Troy Loves Erin.” I absolutely loved the collage and couldn’t believe that Troy had worked with a professional artist for several months in making my gift.
 
On Saturday afternoon, I began getting ready for the costume party when Troy handed me several wrapped packages and advised that my costume was inside. I was going to the party as She-Ra, the Princess of Power, and Troy was going as He-Man. Troy told me that he had seen a home movie at my parent’s a few months back where I was running around as a 3 year old pretending I was the all mighty Princess of Power She-Ra. Troy also told me that he had to order these from London as they weren’t available in the U.S., so I knew he put in a lot of effort to make this night special. Our costumes were to the “nines” including blond wigs for the both of us! After putting on the full costume, Troy showed me that he had two pieces of battle gear for his He-Man character, a shield and a battle axe. He told me that She-Ra also had two pieces of armor but that she would have to work for them and he sent me on a scavenger hunt. Troy handed me a note which told me to go to the “Collage of Power” (everything in She-Ra/He-Man was an item of power) and take a magnifying glass for my first clue. I went to my collage and using the magnifying glass saw that my first piece of battle gear was in the loft. Off to the loft I went and found She-Ra’s “Sword of Protection.” After finding She-Ra’s “Sword of Protection” I unwrapped another package and saw a She-Ra headdress with a pair of what looked like 3-D glasses.  The instructions were to put on the glasses and go to the “Collage of Power”; there I would find the second piece of battle gear.
 
When I looked at the “Collage of Power” with the special glasses & headdress that Troy hand-made for me, I found that the red “Troy Loves Erin” circle also read “Will you marry me?” Troy AKA He-Man got down on his knees and gave me in full She-Ra attire a beautiful ring. I was stunned, but of course said “YES!”
 
We later got out of our costumes and went to a beautiful cozy restaurant in our “black-tie” attire. (The Vance’s were not having a super-hero costume party, but they were in on the surprise from the start!)