Michael & Katie Tanner-married August 17, 2008

We've been back from the wedding for a week and what great memories we made there! The wedding was amazing-from the setting to the personal vows. And let's not forget what a stunning bride Katie was! The ceremony took place under a canopy of shade trees in a private park in front of a gazebo. After the ceremony (which took about 10 minutes!) the couple dismissed each row of chairs personally, then people mingled over to the tent to enjoy hors d'vours, lemonade, tea, cotton candy and later some of the best wedding cake I've ever had! We had a blast during wedding week with the family, playing Guitar Hero, visiting the Air Force Museum, sitting around and talking, going to the rehearsal and to Graeter's ice cream after that-fun was had by all!

The flower girls were so lost-it was adorable!

Unfortunately a nasty virus was making the rounds, too, and almost all of us got sick. Ryan missed the wedding so Jared filled in as best man. I must say my husband is really good at making toasts. ;)

E fell asleep in Daddy's arms just a few minutes after this was taken
The Tanner girls-Schanina, Kristen (with baby Michael), Adri and Mandy

We're Here!!!

We made it to Washington! We unplugged out computer on July 30th-come to think of it, I should have posted a note about us not having internet for a few weeks beforehand. Well anyway, we pulled out of Altus Air Force Base on August 1st at 6:32 pm, Jared driving our Ford Ranger and me driving the Honda with E in the back seat. Both vehicles were packed pretty heavily with our temprary household goods. That day it was 107 degress outside. Needless to say we wanted to leave pretty badly. We spent the first night in Oklahoma City. The next morning we left OKC around 9:20 and drove 15 hours until we got to Faulkton, SD at about 12:30. We spent a few days at Nana and Bompa's house relaxing and visiting and had a really good time.
On Tuesday Jared made a joke about leaving E at Nana and Bompa's for the week-after a minute we looked at each other and voiced it-could we really do that?!?!?!! Nana and Bompa said they'd be fine with it (Mom was a little reluctant at this point) and the next morning Jared and I set out, once again in separate vehicles, our 2 kitties in the car instead of E. It was hard saying goodbye to our little girl!
We drove about 533 miles to Billings, MT where we spent the night at the Friesen's house. We had a good time, and it was so good to see them again. We ate some awesome food, visited with the family, and got to meet Molly, JR's fiance. They were so gracious and hospitable to us AND our kitties. Thanks for giving up your room, JR!
Thursday we drove another 500 miles through gorgeous Montana, Idaho and Washington. We got to the base at about 4:20 pm and got to the housing office just in time to walk through a couple houses, pick one, sign a lease, and start moving in!!! That night we unloaded both vehicles. The next day Fairchild hosted an air show so we went to the flightline and got to see our good friend Brian and a couple other friends who had brought a C-21 to the airshow from Scott. It was sooo good to see friends and hang out with them.
Over the rest of the weekend we moved in, got beds made, rooms set up, pictures on the wall, etc. etc. It felt REALLY good to leave the house ready to live in when we left for Michael and Katie's wedding.
On Wednesday we flew to Dayton, Ohio for the wedding and had yet more good times with family. Elena had a blast with Nana and Bompa but it was sure good to hold our girl again. We missed her like crazy!!
So, we are home now, settled, have internet, cell phones that work, and an extra bedroom, which means we're up for company anytime!