Wow, it's been a long time since I've updated! So much is going on... I think I've been too overwhelmed at the thought of catching up. But I finally decided in some time off today I should upload my pictures and share stories, etc.
First I guess I should start with the wedding. Wow. What an amazing day! Absolutely everything I ever dreamed of and more. We were surrounded by great family and friends! And it all came together with wonderful help from our friend Roni so we didn't have to worry about a thing getting set up and whatnot - she had it all under control (with the assistance of Rachael and Meg I believe!  ).
The night before it rained during rehersal, and was quite freezing. I don't know how many, but I'm sure many many people were praying for good weather (I know I was begging for it!)... and God answered our prayers and kept a clear spot in the sky over Torreon for us. Such a blessing!
I had so much fun getting ready at the salon with all "my girls" and getting ready at Torreon. (For those of you who weren't there, "my girls" were Jamie - best friend and matron of honor, Myca - my sister-in-law, and Nici - one of my best friends from CCBC). I felt like a princess! Not only did I wear the most beautiful dress ever, I also got to wear my grandma's pearl bracelet that my grandpa brought back for her while he was in Vietnam with the war. It's still so hard that my grandpa is not around, but in a way I felt connected to him. And not only did I get to wear the bracelet, but grandma gave it to me to keep. I get teary at the thought of how special it is!
And another special thing for me is that my big brother, Cody, walked me down the isle and gave me away. He has been such a big part of my life, and I will always look up to him and hold him in a special place in my heart. Not only did he walk me down the isle, but he also sang during the ceremony for us. The song was Jesus Be the Centre... our prayer for our lives and marriage.
Since we're on special people... we were also blessed to have Wade Gardner officiate the ceremony. Wade and Dara have been a part of my life since high school youth group... they are amazing people that to me personify Jesus and His love. Mike is just getting to know them, but from conversations we've had, they are becoming just as special to him as they are to me. It was such a blessing to have them share in this very important part of our lives!
Before I move on from the ceremony I have to mention my adorable nieces. They did such a great job! When you have small children in your wedding you never really know what they're going to do, and it can sometimes be scary... well Hailey and Leah were absolutely fantastic! The only snag was before they actually got to where the chairs started, they were already out of flowers, and didn't want to go anymore. So Cody went out and helped them gather their petals (which they ended up not dropping anymore anyway) and they walked the rest of the way down the isle. Such a cute moment!
The reception went by so fast... just a flash of a memory. But I'm sure everyone had fun, especially the kids as they danced while we ate. Great entertainment! We had such a great DJ that kept the party going... and my husband - goodness me! Lets just say he surprised me with some of the moves he pulled out of his hat! *laugh* The garter removal was *ahem* interesting and slightly embarassing to me, but a great memory! And we had a "sexy leg's contest" which he won with his fancy shmancy moves. Great times, great times.
We were blessed to have a great friend, Kimberly, as our photographer. We haven't gotten all of the pictures back yet, but she did post a few on her blog that I've compiled here if you want to see them...
Next... they honeymoon! Mike and I spent a week in beautiful Durango, Colorado. We had such a fun time! We did have a few activities scheduled, but for the most part we just enjoyed being with each other, having somewhat of a vacation from all the craziness leading up to the wedding. It was definitely hard coming back to reality - we wished we could stay on our honeymoon for forever!
The first afternoon we got there we went out to explore the area and had a great dinner out. One thing I didn't know about Durango is that the Animas River runs right through town, and they have built a river walk beside it for people to walk, or bike ride, or whatever (that's one of the great things about Durango too - the people are so active!). So after dinner we went for a walk along the river and enjoyed one of the many beautiful mountain sunsets.
The next day we got up early and headed out for a train ride between Durango and Silverton. I don't have all the information right in front of me, so I might get some of it wrong... but it is the original railroad built back in the 1880's... complete with the original passenger cars and steam engines that have been wonderfully kept up. It is one of the only rail roads of it's kind left, especially because it's called a "narrow guage" rail road. Basically the tracks are much narrower than many rail roads due to some of the mountainous terrain it had to pass through. It was one of the fastest built rail ways, and engineers today still marvel at how quickly they got it done, and how great the quality of work is/was.
We shelled out the big bucks to ride in the "presidential class" car which happened to be the caboose... it was so comfortable, and so worth the money! We had such a great ride, and even got some complimentary gifts.
The ride to Silverton takes about 3 1/2 hours one way... and Silverton is only about 30 miles away. While it's a long ride, it's a beautiful one! The land is so green, we traveled along the Animas river almost the whole way... snow capped mountains in the distance... almost breath taking!
When we got to Silverton we had 2 hours to have lunch and shop - it totally flew by! I didn't get to take many pictures because we were in such a hurry, but I have many great memories of the quaint little mountain town.
Later on in the week we drove down to Pagosa Springs, CO and went on a hot air balloon ride. It was a chilly early morning, but we got our blood pumping helping to set up the balloon. And surprisingly when you're in the bucket it get's REALLY hot from the burners! There were a few times the top of my head felt like it was on fire! On ground level we were at about 7,000 feet... and at the highest point we were 3,000 feet in the air, therefore 10,000 feet total! Wow. We got a great "tour" from the air by our guide of the Pagosa area... and we got to see some local wildlife, including a little family of foxes. At the end of the hour long ride we helped roll up the giant balloon like a sleeping bag and headed back to the recreation area. Once there we had a little ceremony and got cirtificates for flying.
It was still relatively early in the morning, so we decided to drive up the road a bit to Treasure Falls and take a little hike. It's a short hike, but a steep one... let me tell ya, my lungs had a tough time keeping up!
On our other days in Durango we spent a lot of time in the old Down Town where a lot of the original buildings built in the 1880's are still in use. There are great shoppes and great restaurants... one of our favorites was this little french bakery where they used an old brick oven fuled by fire to make their pastries and meals. The ambiance was wonderful!
One thing we decided to do spur of the moment was go to a melodrama put on at one of the hotels. Mike had never gone to one and was slightly weary, but it ended up being his favorite activity we did! The play was great, but the singing at the end was even better. They had this HILLARIOUS melody of songs from past plays... we laughed so hard we cried. It was a great night.
On our way back we decided to stop by the 4 corners, something I'd always wanted to do. The road on the way out to the 4 corners isn't the smoothest in the world, and the rhythm of the truck going over the bumps made mike look like he was on an old slow horse going along... *dudunt dudunt, dudunt dudunt...* I was laughing so hard and he had no idea why. It was great. Anyway, the 4 corners it self isn't much, but it's still neat to say we've been in 4 states at once! We also bought some Navajo pottery Christmas tree ornamants - I've lived near the Navajo my whole life and never seen anything like them. Very cool.
The pictures I took while on our honemoon can be seen here:
Anyway, that's a quick (although long at the same time) run-down of the things that have been going on here lately. You're a trooper if you made it all the way to the end! And your prize for doing so is some special news... WE'RE PREGNANT! Yeah, I know... we just got married.... there's actually a long story behind it, but that will have to be another entry.... | 
But I still really think he liked it. Lord willing he'll be a student there within the next year or so! I would love to live out there again, have Mike experience the amazing school and draw closer to God... and an added bonus is that we'd live near Cody and Myca and we'd get to see them a lot. 
Anyway, I'm getting ahead of myself. First we just need to get married! 
haha.
