We put in the final piece of the canoe on Wednesday at midnight!

Now I am back in Philadelphia and Kristen is going to arrive in about 3 hours. As far as she knows, I have never left.

Unfortunately, I've got to go pack for our Thanksgiving trip and erase all the pictures of the canoe from my computer. The grand deception is not over, however. Only phase one is complete. Tomorrow Kristen and I will drive to Michigan to spend Thanksgiving with her family and I will show Mr. Childs a picture of the canoe and ask him if I could exchange it for one daughter. I really hope he hasn't changed his mind or raised the price!! If he gives his blessing, phase two will be complete.

Once we return from Thanksgiving Kristen will fly out of Philadelphia to go back to Tucson and I will drive back to Michigan to kidnap her sister, Andrea, from her college campus. Andrea doesn't know it yet, but she is going to be with me when I pick out a ring for Kristen. Kristen and Andrea together is an experience that everyone should see. Like the old song says, "there were never such devoted sisters." Kristen loves her sister, and I wanteed to have Andrea play a role in this monumental deception, so she gets to help me pick out the perfect ring for her sister whom she loves and knows so well. Once the ring is chosen, phase three will be complete.

The day after we get the ring I will return to Hood River to finish the canoe. The body needs to be sanded and then a clear fiber glass coat will be applied to the inside and outside. This should be another 4 or 5 days of work. Once the fiber glass has hardened, phase four will be complete.

From there I will strap the canoe on top of Tom's 87' Subaru and drive it from Hood River to Tucson. The 87' Subaru, me, and a 16 foot canoe are unlikely traveling companions, but if none of us fails, we should all arrive in Tucson to ask Kristen the question of questions two days after we take off from Hood River. If she says yes, phase 5, along with this grandest deception of my life will be completed... and a new chapter of life will begin with my dear friend, and sister in the Lord, and love, Kristen.