Finalmente! This is a photo we've all been waiting a long time to see...

Check out the bling, y'all! Richie and Gabriella got engaged!!!

He took his good ole time, but damn the boy did it right. This was the idyllic setting -- Gabriella's most special place in the world, a Fantasy Island-like resort in the Phillipines called El Nido. At night, under a full moon, and with a ring that contained her grandmother's diamond, Richie popped the question. And oddly enough, she said YES! Gabriella calling folks with the good news.
Richie doing the same. The way Richie announced the news to us was wonderful. Everyone in our family received a postcard from Richie with a cute photo of the two of them and a headline that read, "Finalmente!" (Spanish for finally) On the back he wrote, "By the time you receive this postcard I will have asked Gabriella to marry me. Let's hope she says yes." Of course, we all screamed and wept happy tears. And wept some more. Then more screaming. Gabriella has been a part of our family for many years now, but it still bowled us over to hear the happy news.
I dunno. There's just something about Gabriella that makes me think she'll fit in perfectly with our family.
This is what Gabriella's family in the Phillipines cooked for a party.

And in this way, our two families are exactly alike.

Richie and Gabriella with her parents.

Richie and a slithery friend enjoying a floating market outside Bangkok.

Some exotic treats.
A sign in Bangkok. She can't figure out why she doesn't get more American business.
Catching some Z's on the 24-hour journey home.

The happy betrothed couple.