Since Dave and I are celebrating our 5 year wedding anniversary today I thought I would take a stroll down memory lane and add some pictures to document how we got to this point in our lives. I really seems like it was just the other day when we got married but SO MUCH has changed since then!
Dave and I knew each other for several years before we started dating and this was all my fault! Luckily the universe worked it out for us to get together when we were living on opposite sides of the country! We were both in my sister's wedding and when he walked into the rehearsal dinner I remember thinking "Man he is cute! Why am I not dating him!?" Then he drove me to Kroger that night so I could buy snacks for the next day. We had the wedding and then headed to the reception where Dave decided to dance with some girl in a black dress and make me jealous the entire evening! Supposedly it was not rigged but it just so worked out that I caught the bouquet and Dave caught the garter… and the rest is history!!
The next day we were hanging out with my sister and Zane before they left for their honeymoon. When it was time for Dave to leave I was waiting for him to say something or ask me to come back to his friend's house where he was staying but nope, he just left. I was so mad! I texted him and asked why I was not invited to come and hang out at Chad's house and he said if I wanted to come then I could. What?! I drove to Chad's we hung out then the next day met up for breakfast with some friends (he let me borrow his TomTom so I could make it home and I had to meet him the next day to give it back). He flew back to Washington that day and we kept talking over the phone. I mailed him cookies and a card with pictures from the wedding. Before I knew it I had booked a ticket to fly out and see him in January.
The logistics of going to see him were crazy! I left school in West Virginia on Thursday evening, drove the 3 hours to my parents house to drop off Sammy. Then I would sleep for a few hours, get up crazy early and drive 2 more hours to Indianapolis to fly out to Spokane and arrive Friday afternoon. We would spend the weekend together and I would fly back on Sunday. Then I would do the whole drive back to school, stopping to get Sammy and then back to West Virginia before classes on Monday.
This picture is from our first weekend in Seattle. We spent a lot of time in the early part of our relationship in Washington and we really love it there! Such great memories. After my first weekend in Washington I got back to school and couldn't believe how much I just wanted to go back and see him. I booked another ticket for February the same day I got back to West Virginia.
We did this flying back and forth to see each other for 9 months. He was able to come to West Virginia for my graduation and we met in Vegas for Spring break. Pretty early on in our relationship we had to both make plans for the following year with our jobs. I ended up getting the job I had always wanted at Cincinnati Children's Hospital and the universe worked it out again that he got stationed at Wright Patterson in Dayton. I moved to Ohio in June and he moved there in September. The following January we moved in together.
Our first house together on Settlers Walk in Springboro
We were loving living in the same state and then the same house and getting to live normal life together. We had so many friends and family close to us and had a lot of fun during that time. In March Dave was at schooling in Alabama and we met up halfway through in Chattanooga. That was a great weekend and we did a lot of fun sight seeing. Right before I was scheduled to head down to Alabama for his graduation we found out he would be deploying that summer. That was a really big shock for me and I was not looking forward to him being gone for 6 months! After his graduation we spent another great weekend in Atlanta. We both love to travel and are so grateful for all the fun places we have been able to visit together.
In May before Dave deployed we decided to go on a vacation to Hawaii. It was an amazing trip and we made some great memories. While we were on that trip we got engaged at Sunset beach on the North Shore and then we decided to just go ahead and get married while we were there. It is funny now how many military couples I have met that have done the same thing as us. We got married by Pastor Karen (the first person that we found that could meet us at the courthouse before they closed) and still made it to our sunset Mai Tai cruise. It was a win-win!
He deployed in July and was gone until January. Looking back on that time it was very difficult but it was also really good for me. I was not a very independent person but after spending 6 months on your own I learned to do many things by myself. I was glad to have Charlie to keep me company and safe while Dave was gone. When he got back we had a reception with all our friends and family to celebrate our marriage.
This picture takes us back to where it all began…. up my dress! :)
After our reception we went back to Hawaii for our "honeymoon" this time to Maui and we had the best time. I think this was the trip where we really fell in love with Hawaii.
A couple months after our reception we found out we were expecting Quinn! It was a very exciting time for us and we were busy preparing for our new arrival.
One of my first "bump" pictures and a great Las Vegas vacation with my family.
About 2 weeks before Quinn was born we found out we would be moving to Utah that summer. It was really hard for me to know I would be leaving my family and my home. We had a crazy few months in which we had a baby, I found a new job, we sold our house, moved in with my sister and then moved across the country! About a year after being in Utah we found out we were expecting Leo and soon became a family of 4. We have done a lot of traveling while being here and made a lot of great memories. Our relationship has changed since having children but I think it is better than ever. I love watching him be a dad and it makes me love him so much more than I could have ever imagined. We are now expecting baby #3 and will be finding out in a few months where our next Air Force adventure will take us. I love this crazy ride we are on and couldn't imagine spending my life with anybody else! We have had a busy 5 years of marriage and I am looking forward to many more to come!
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Marriage is good, life is good
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