October so far....

So October has been fun so far! I can’t believe it’s almost halfway over already! WOO HOO!!! Less than a month until my hubby comes home! J SMILES ALL AROUND FOR ME!!!
It started off with the BBQ at Dustin and Ashley’s! Lots of family and friends were there. It was a lot of fun! We drank some beers, ate some food, and hung out! Always a good time!

That next Monday I went to the Lower Buckeye Jail for a field trip. I am taking a Criminology class at the community college and my teacher took us down there to meet some of the inmates. It was pretty interesting! An eye opener for sure!

Last weekend I headed to my parents house. I had a 3 day weekend because of Columbus Day so I decided to hang out with my folks! I got there Friday night and Saturday morning I woke up with a head cold! It was horrible! My parent’s neighborhood has this “Breakfast Cookout” thing once a year and it was that Saturday. I went for a bit but ended up going and sleeping for another 3 hours. It didn’t seem to help the cold. So we all just chilled around the house and my mom told me they were having a baby shower for one of her friends on Sunday. I was so upset. I was so not in the mood to entertain at all. So Saturday night my mom and I played some scrabble and had a few drinks. Sunday we woke up and ran some errands and people started coming over around 1. Well as soon as everyone got there, my mom looked at me and said “this isn’t a baby shower; it’s your surprise Bridal shower you never got!” I was SO SURPRISED! I had no idea!!! It was fun! My mom is amazing and I never expected to get that! All her friends were in on it and brought me gifts! I got some cool stuff for the house and a gift card from my grandma for Wal-Mart! I bought SOOOO much stuff to decorate my house with!! It was a great day and I kind of felt bad for complaining to my mom about people coming over, but she understood and took it! LOL I LOVE MY MOM!!! Sunday I slept in and then my mom, my little sister Emily, and I went for a bike ride! Monday, my mom and I went and saw Couples Retreat and had some lunch. I got home and packed my stuff and headed back to Phoenix. It was an AWESOME weekend!!!

This week has been pretty relaxed because I just wanted to get better and not be sick anymore. Tiffany and Tony Chacon’s baby shower is this weekend and then maybe the fair! Ashley and I are headed to Aunt Cathy’s house on Sunday so I can take a look at what is in Jesse’s trailer that I want to keep or get rid of.

Jesse comes home in 8 weeks!!!!! He is doing well. He is tired and ready for a break he says. I would agree! He has been non-stop since he got over there. December will be a nice break for him and I! Then we have 3 more months to go!!

I think that is it for now. My life in less than a page! LOL

LOVE YOU JESSE!!!

Until next time….

11 more weeks!!!

So it’s now 11 weeks until Jesse comes home! I don’t think I can express just HOW MUCH I want him to be home! This all started in March and I can’t believe it’s October already! It’s so crazy how time has flown by. In a good way! I’ve have kept myself overly busy these past months and it is all starting to slow down. No more vacations out of town (besides to my parents) until February!

I took my last trip in September and went to California for a long weekend. My aunt lives on Redondo Beach and invited me out there to stay with her. It was so nice to just lay on the beach and relax the WHOLE weekend! We got up every morning and went for walks on the beach. The first morning I was there we went for a 2 hour walk! Man, I was sore the next day! She told me to walk in the sand for some of the way because it helps with your calf muscles. AND DID IT! haha Then we walked up 74 stairs like 4 times. Vacation? I think more of a training weekend! LOL
The night I got in I met up with old friends I used to live by in Mesa. Bryan and his little brother DJ. I haven’t seen them in so long. I found out he lives about 5 blocks away from my aunt! So it worked out nicely. My aunt and I went to the Hermosa pier to have some drinks and they met us out that night. I didn’t hang out with them for a long time, but it was good to see them at least.
Friday day, we beached it ALL DAY! Friday night we went out to see my uncle and walked down to the pier again for some drinks and appetizers. After that my aunt and I took a drive to Long Beach to a country bar. BAD IDEA! It was in SUCH a bad area and her car got KEYED! Really?! haha A night to remember, that is for sure!
My other aunt came down on Saturday and we did the beach again for most of the day. We then went and got ready and drove to Newport Beach to see Train in concert! It was the “Taste of Newport”. We got to eat good food, drink some yummy beer, and listen to music. It was a fun time! People in Newport Beach aren’t the nicest though, but we had fun regardless!
Sunday we headed BACK to the beach for a couple hours. Then met up with my uncle again for ½ off mimosa’s on Hermosa Pier! YUMMY! Then I went and got ready and got my stuff together for the trip home and my aunt dropped me off at LAX! I then came back to reality and hated being home. LOL I just wanted to be back on the beach with my aunt!
Jesse’s birthday came and passed and I was sad I couldn’t spend it with him. I tried to make it as best I could! I bought him tickets to a Cardinals game in December when he comes home, a red shirt, and a bunch of goodies! My sister baked him cookies too! I also made a banner and had everyone I could get in contact with sign it and sent it off to him too. He liked his presents and said all the guys were jealous of the tickets! (that’s right….HAHA) He said he got a lot of birthday emails from everyone and told me all in all it was a good birthday! Thanks for everyone who sent him an email, I'm pretty sure they made his day! We will have fun at the game when he comes home for sure!
My mom and I put on a Bridal Shower for my older sister this past weekend! We had a lot of fun! It was “cooking” themed and we played a couple of games with spices and an apron I made her, ate some food, and talked with each other. She got lots of good stuff! It was a fun time. Her wedding is November 7th so that’s coming up really fast!
The month of October is pretty jam packed with stuff too! I will update more later on when things have started happening! This weekend is the BBQ at Ashley’s! Pretty excited for that! I’m attempting to make pasta salad. LOL We shall see how it turns out!
So now im just couting down the weeks till Jesse gets back. Its all I think about these days and pretty much always has been the only thing I think about! I love him so much and just can't wait to have him home with me. :) I still fall asleep every night thinking about seeing him! So SOON it will happen! I LOVE YOU JESSE!!! :)
So thats about it for now. Until next time….:)

Some more summer....

Much as happened in the past couple months!! In the beginning of August I started having the WORST scorpion problem at the apartment Jesse and I were living at off 48th and Chandler. I killed about 6 scorpions in 6 weeks. It was horrible! I decided I didn't want to deal with it anymore and went apartment hunting. My friend Jenna had moved into a complex right next to the one Ashley, Dustin, and Tanya had lived in and I love that area of town. I talked to the complex and they assured me they didn't have any scorpion problems! I WAS SOLD! I gave my old complex a copy of Jesse's orders and I moved out without having to pay any fees! That next weekend my sister, her fiance Mike, and his best friend Adam came over and moved me out in one day! At least all the big furniture! The new apartment is SO much nicer! Its a little smaller but the living area is so much bigger! I have a tiny kitchen, but all who know me, knows that doesn't bother me at all! lol I got all settled in and love it!

At the end of August my Aunt Andi came in town to visit on her vacation. She stayed at West Gate in Glendale. It was a lot of fun! I stayed the whole weekend with her and we just went out and had some drinks, danced, and talked all night! We laughed and had a GREAT time! A good friend of mine got engaged in August as well! CONGRATS JESSICA! :) So a couple of girl friends from high school and I all went out to dinner to celebrate. Ashley and I are trying to start to have dinners more often. Some "girl" time! We went to the Cheesecake Factory and ended up staying there for like 3 hours! :0)

Lots of planning has been going on for my sisters wedding in November! Its going to be a good time! TONS of my family will be in town that I haven't seen in a while! My sister got her dress and we had to bring it to be altered. Nothing exciting, just thought I would share that! LOL

Going into September...

LABOR DAY WEEKEND!!! I got a call from a close friend from school Hannah! She texted "San Diego for Labor Day?" I said "YES OF COURSE!" So that Sautrday night I went and spent the night at her apt and we woke up at 4am and headed to Cali! It was Hannah, her bf Drew, her little brother Ryan, and Me. We brought our bikes with us too! As soon as we got there at like 10am we took our bikes and went for a 3 hour bike ride until our hotel room was ready. We stayed right across from Petco Park where the Padres play! Right next to the Gaslamp District! SO NICE! Our hotel was amazing! After we checked into our hotel we drove over to Coronado Island, parked, got our bikes, and rode them down to the beach! Stayed on the beach for a couple hours and then headed back to San Diego. Got showered and dressed and headed to Dicks Last Resort for drinks and then a Pub for dinner! By 9pm, we were DONE! We passed out! Woke up at 6am, rode our bikes for another 3 hours or so. We rode them down to the airport! SO FAR! It was beautiful outisde! Went back to the hotel, woke up Ryan and we all packed up and headed to Mission Beach! Laid on the beach and went in the ocean! Had some lunch and then went on a bike ride all the way down the boardwalk...another 6 mile bike ride! After that, got our stuff back in the car and headed home. MAN I can't explain how sore I have been for the past two days! SO much bike riding, but it was SO worth it! I didn't want to leave!! I love being on the beach!

Next weekend I am headed back out to hang out with my Aunt Andi. She lives on Redondo Beach! I took the Friday off and am just going to lay by the beach all day, take walks, and have some drinks!! Its going to be my end of the summer trip! It makes me sad I have to wait to go to the beach until February in Florida, but I am REALLY looking forward to that trip! Going home for 5 days!

I have been able to talk to Jesse here and there when he is able to call me. They have him going on every mission. It seems like he never gets a break. I have to admit August was the hardest month for me. It was right in the middle of the deployment and I just miss him like CRAZY! Now that we are in September and he is coming home in December for his leave, we are on the downward end of the first half of the deployment! 3 more months and my love will be home with me! I can't wait to see him! We have MUCH planned for when he gets back! His birthday is September 22nd and I am sending his present to him and its for when he gets home in December! He might read this so I am not going to tell you what it is yet, but I will post it after! :) Its a GREAT surprise! I just can't wait for December!!!

Thats about all that is going on. :)

I LOVE YOU JESSE AND MISS YOU!!!! Always and forever!!!

So far this summer....

Well Jesse left the beginning of June for Kuwait. :( Its been a long two months so far. I have been trying to make the time go by faster by keeping my schedule completely booked. I was able to go to Colorado June 19-20! I have family friends that moved up there. I have known this family forever! My friend Samantha and I have been friends since we were about 6 or 7 I think. SO a long time! I flew up to Denver and she picked me up from the airport. Her and I headed back to her place and talked for like 5 hours! I haven't seen her in about 11 years, since I moved to Arizona from Florida. It was SO MUCH FUN catching up with her! Saturday we drove around and she showed me Colorado Springs; I am going to live there one day! Then I decided I was going to get my nose pierced! haha There was a place up there that is known for their tattoos I guess and their promotion is "any piercing for $10." So I figured, why not? :) I have always wanted to get it done. LOL So I, of course, talked to Jesse to make sure he didn't care. I didn't want him coming home and hating it, plus I tell him everything. SOOOOO I did it and it hurt REALLY BAD! But I love it! I finally got to change it out so that I have a small stud in there instead of the MASSIVE one they pierced it with! SO then her and I went and saw "The Proposal" and it was hilarious! I loved it! I thinking I laughed the whole way through. Saturday night her and I went to a country bar and played some pool. Then walked back to her house. Sunday we went to her parents house! It was good to catch up!!! I love that family!! Then Sunday night she took me to the airport and I headed home.

I have just been hanging out with Hannah and Jenna pretty much the rest of the time. Hannah is my 9-5 wife and we hang out all day at work. Without her, not sure how I could manage my days! haha We keep each other company and its pretty cool that you can work with your best friend! I love her! And I have Jenna. Her and I are always together. We chill at each others house and watch tv and drink wine! Its has been pretty much a weekly ritual! She has been there a lot for me over the past couple months too! I have been talking to Ashley more and more lately too!!! I am so thankful for great friends!!!

Speaking of Ashley and Dustin, THEY GOT MARRIED!!! They asked me to stand in Jesse spot on the grooms side making me the groomsmaid! hehe It was a lot of fun! It was over the 4th of July so that was a nice break to get out of the heat and hang out with Jesse's family all weekend. I had a lot of fun! The wedding went perfect! Ashley looked beautiful! :) Good times and memories all around!

My mom and little sister came up the weekend of the July 11th. My mom, older sister Kristna, Emily and I went to the Broadway Palm Theater and saw High School Musical! It was AWESOME! Emily and I had a BLAST!! I love musicals and dinner shows like that! My mom and Kristina were laughing at us singing all the songs. :)

So last weekend I headed to California. Thank God for having family that lives out there! Its a great escape!!! I have one aunt who lives RIGHT on Redondo Beach. Then my other uncle live right down the road from her! So me and my Aunt Karen drove to Redondo and hung out with my Aunt Andi on the beach! It was SO nice! They were complaining because there were some clouds in the sky, but I was loving it being from Arizona! Its hotter then HELL here! SO I was loving it! Then we went home and went to my Uncle Howies for dinner. My family all came over and some of my cousins were there. We all had dinner, drank a bit, and then headed home. I had to get up early Sunday morning for the motorcycle ride with my Uncle Howie. :) He picked me up at 8am and we headed out. He took me to a small town call Solvang. Its a small Danish town in the middle of nowhere! It was HOT on the ride through the mountains, but as soon as we got back on the 101 and drove down the coast, it was beautiful!!! Just seeing the ocean puts me in a happy place! When I got back to my aunts we just headed to the pool for a bit, went to dinner, and then headed back to the airport! It was a quick, but very eventful weekend! I had SO much fun! I love my family!

SO thats about it till now for vacations. Jesse and I have been able to talk here and there depending if he is out on a mission or not. The past couple days have been nice! We have been talking over Skype for more than 3 hours a day! I LOVE HIM! I miss him so much. But with the stress of scorpions in my apartment, breaking the lease to move, my truck breaking down, his truck battery dying, and getting into our new apartment, talking to him makes all that stress go away. Its weird, when I am talking to him, I am completely relaxed! Its kind of nice! So I really look forward and treasure our converstaions we get to have. If he is on missions, I usually get a phone call once a day. If not, then I get one every other day or every two days. It just really depepnds. I am a very impatient person so when I don't hear from him, I start to get anxious. I am getting better at it, but still really do have my bad moments! I tend to cry at work a lot. LOL my poor co-workers! But he is worth the wait!! He gets to come home for Christmas this year! I am very excited about that! It will be our first Christmas together! SO far each year we just go our seperate ways, but this year its about HIM AND I! My boss told me I could take the two weeks off to be with him everyday! I think we are going ot celebrate our 1 year while he is home too considering he is going to be away for it. Which is fine. Regardless if he is here or not, its still goingto be a special day! :) OH and we are getting a new car for me!! YEEEEESSS!!!! SO EXCITED! I think that his leave is going to be a lot of fun!!! Then I have 4 more months until he comes home for good! I am looking forward to that more than anything! Then we are goign to figure out whats going to happen and then MOVE! OUT OF AZ!! I am pushing for Colorado Springs! hehe So we will see!!!

Well thats about it for now! I have to head out and go meet up with the apartments to figure out what and when things are going to happen! Can't wait to get out of my scorpion infested apartment! Its been insane! 6 scorpions within 2 weeks of each other! You have got to be kidding me! AND the apartment complex says "oh we don't treat for them" HA! I AM OUT OF THERE! lol

Until next time...JESSE I LOVE YOU MORE THAN THE PLANETS!! ALWAYS AND FOREVER!!!!

PS...he bought me flowers and sent them to me!! :) He is a keeper!!! They were beautiful!! We have been married for 5 months as of July 21st! LOVE HIM!

So after Jesse left Flag I was pretty upset. Keeping in contact with him was easy becasue of Skype and he still had his cell phone. I stayed pretty busy with hanging out with friends and family. My parents friends had a Wine-O party on the weekened of May 16th! I healed after getting the flu and went to that! It was a lot of fun! I love my moms neighbor Jackie! SHe is the best!! :) I also got the chance to go and hang out with Jesses family in Utah! His mom bought me a ticket so I headed up there. I went over Memorial Day weekend. I was able to watch Nicole do her high school rodeo stuff! She is AWESOME!!! :) Hung out with Snooze and the whole family on Sunday for a BBQ and headed back Monday night after a nice day of shopping! :) It was good to see them!!

So its June 12th and I am horrible at keeping this thing updated, but I am trying! :) Well May 27th - June 2nd came and went QUICK! I went to the airport and met up with Tesha, Corbin, and Carol Burdick and waited for the boys to get off the plane. When I saw Jesse walking to me...AHHHH...I got so excited!!! A BIG kiss and a HUGE hug later, we were off! Didn't waste any time getting home, he he! I was sooooo happy to see him! We went and got him some food to eat and headed to the apartment. With the time change, Jesse was exhausted! We woke up on Thursday and hung around the house. We went to the mall, got some food and had our rings checked one more time before he left. I turned in my ring my grandma gave me and we headed off to Phoenix. We went to a Braves vs. Diamondbacks game that night! It seems like a tradition to do when Jesse is home on leave! Friday, I had to work :( So Jesse went and hung out with Dustin all day. Did the boy thing and had quite a few brewskis and watched the landscapers trip the palm trees. Sounds weird, but it was pretty insane when I saw them!!! We waited for Ashley to get home and then her and I headed to Fry's. Got some groceries and went back to cook dinner! Casey and his girlfriend Nicole joined us too and the six of us ate dinner and then watched a movie! Jesse passed out during the movie, as always! I woke him up and then we went home. His dad came into town early on Saturday with his dog, Ty. We had a huge breakfast and then went to best buy and bought some movies. It was HOT that day so we just stayed in the house and hung out. Saturday night we met up with Aunt Cathy, Brittany, Nathan, Zach, Ashley and Dustin at San Tan Flats. Jesse met up with a couple of guys he is deployed with over there. They drank A LOT and I ended up having to drive Jesses truck home! He again passed out on my shoulder on the drive home. He was wasted, but it was cute! he he Sunday morning, his dad left early and we got up to get ready for church. We met my sister and Mike at the 11am service. After service was over we said our hi's and goodbye's with Pastor Dave and Cheree'. We took off to meet up with my parents for lunch. They came in town early to have lunch with Jesse before he left and my dad wanted to buy him a beer! It was a fun lunch! Sunday night we headed to Lacie's (Pastor Dave and Cheree's daughter) graduation party. We hung out for about an hour and then took off. We were exhausted from our non-stop weekend that we just rented movies and lounged around the house all night. Monday we went out and test drove cars and again went home and relaxed. It was a harder night for me because that was the last night Jesse was going to be sleeping in our bed for a long time. Jesse kept telling me to not worry and to always remember that he is with me ALL THE TIME!!! That he loved me more than anything and he was excited for our future together when he got home. I knew it was goign to be hard to say goodbye....so when i was finally able to fall asleep mornign came really fast! We woke up, took showers and I got ready for the day. He got all his stuff packed up and we were off to the airport. We went to go and check him in and I talked to one of the Delta people to get a pass to go past security with him and he was really nice about it! I got my pass and we headed to his gate. He was hungry, as ALWAYS, so he got some food and then we waited. We talked like nothing was wrong and then it started to hit me. As we were standing there, Riley and Mike walked up and were hanging out with us. When it was time for me to go, they walked away and I gave Jesse a kiss and hug and told him I loved him more than anything and to be safe and come home to me soon! As I walked back out through the security area I looked back and he was standing there watching me as I walked out. I knew I had to say goodbye then or I wasn't going to be able to hold my composure in front of all those people. As soon as I got to my car I called my mom. Jesse was non stop texting me till he had to turn his phone off. After I left the airport I headed to work. It was kind of a rough day, but I was ok because he still had his phone on him. He called me when he got back to Indiana. ON that Saturday the 6th I headed to Ashelys bridal shower! That was a lot of fun! After that was over I headed to my sisters house and Jesse texted me "headed to the airport" I was crying for a while and then my sisters dog made me laugh! SHe was keeping me entertained for the time being. We were hungry so Kristina and I headed to Applebee's. Talking about nothing and then Jesse called me. He said that this was the last call he was going to be able to make because they were leaving in about 5 min. :( My poor sister and the poor waiter! LOL I couldn't stop crying in the restaurant. After I said goodbye I told her I wanted to go home. So we left and I headed home. Sunday was a long day and finally around 11:30pm I got an email from Jesse telling me "we got here! I will call you tomorrow when I can" PHEW! I could finally sleep! haha So Monday I started my week just as I always would and its been OK so far! Jesse has been able to call me on Skype at least once a day. If he is not on Skype he is emailing me, IMing me on yahoo, or writing me on Facebook. There are a millions ways we are able to stay in contact with each other. So as of now, its a waiting process. Last time I talked to him we were discussing his leave time and were picking what dates he wanted to come back. I was excited to hear that he would be able to be home ON MY BIRTHDAY! Hopefully he gets those dates! If not, then I really don't care either way, I just want to see him. :) So this is a lot easier then I thought it was going to be. I am planning on this deployment to go by a lot faster then I thought it would. I mean, all this started in March and its June already! That went by SOOOO fast! So now we wait! We have lots planned after he gets home. He is putting in paperwork to go full time active! As soon as we find out where we will be stationed at, we are GONE! I plan to quit a month and a half before we have to leave to give us time to visit family and go on vacations!!! HAWAII is our big trip we are planning. It will be our honeymoon since we never really got one! We are both REALLY looking forward to that! Show Low for Jesses family, Tucson for my parents, then to Florida to visit my family because they have never met him and I am sure Cali to see that side of the family and TJ & Amber. OH and I am sure we will HAVE to go to Vegas to see the Marshall's! WOW...We are so lucky having awesome family in friends living in such FUN places to visit! he he


SO that is everything up to date! Jesse JUST called me on Skype sooooo..priorities take over and I am going to talk to him! PEACE OUT!!! :) PS...JESSE IF YOU EVER READ THIS I LOVE YOU MORE THAN THE WORLD!!! THANK YOU FOR BEING MY BEST FRIEND AND THE BEST THING THAT HAS EVER HAPPENED TO ME!!! :)

Its starting/started....:(

So far we have been "together" as a married couple for a total of two weeks since the wedding. :( We knew this would happen, but its still sad. Jesse started his training the beginning of March and has pretty much been gone since. He was in Flagstaff/Florence for March and I was able to see him for two days while he was down in Florence. Then I got to pick him up in Flag and bring him home for a week. We did so much together! Went to the opening day Diamondbacks game, shooting, did pool side for a day, relaxad at home, hung out with the family, went to dinners with friends. It was a fun week!!! After that week was over I had to drive him back to Flag and say my goodbyes. They had a BBQ and all the families were invited. The worst part was just sitting around waiting because time seemed to fly by knowing our goodbye's were coming. After his family left I drove him back over to the barracks and we sat in my truck for about a half hour just talking. I didn't cry until he got out of the truck to come over to my side and gave me a hug. That is when I lost it....looking at his face and knowing I wouldn't see it for almost a year killed me inside. It was SOOO hard! He kept kissing my forhead and telling me to not worry and I all could think was "uhhh YEAH, ok...RIGHT!" We kissed one last time and he told me he loved me and it will be over soon. I shut my door, turned on my truck and started driving out of the parking lot. As I turned the corner to leave he was standing on the side of the road, came up to the truck, I rolled down my window and gave me another kiss and said he loved me!! It was romantic! he he It was hard to drive out of the base, but I did it! I called my mother right away and told her she needed to talk to me because I had to drive down to Phoenix and I didn't want to cry. After I talked to her, I called my grandma! She got my mind off of it quick and was making me laugh! My family, they know me too well! And off to Indiana they went. We download SKYPE on our computers so we talk through that and see each other on WEBCAM all the time. He still has his cell phone so that is my comfort and it hasn't been that hard yet. I suport him and will always be here for him, but the missing him part is what hurts the most!!

SOOOOO...a month went by and he called me and said, "MAY 27th through JUNE 2nd!! BOOK MY TICKET HOME!!!" I got SOOOO excited I didn't know what to do! I bought him a ticket right then and there and now he gets to come home ONE MORE TIME! They weren't going to have this leave, but last minute change and I am OK with it! Its only the 13th of May and its the longest we have ever been apart from each other! The time together before he leaves is what I cherish the most! So now I am just waiting...and waiting...for May 27th! :) I am picking him up at the airport at 10:40pm and we are going to relax and have a good time while he is home! I told Jesse that I am going to be selfish and him and I aren't allowed to be apart AT ALL!! :) I bring him back to the airport on June 2nd and he leaves to go back to Indiana and then overseas. So no more surprise trips home after that...:( I have to say my goodbye's again, at the airport this time. No fun at all, but its worth seeing him again!

All I keep thinking about is all the things we have to look forward to when he comes home! Our future, family, new places to live, traveling, vacations!!! I love him more then the world and will always and forever! I LOVE YOU JESSE MORE THEN THE PLANETS! :)

to sum things up.....

WE GOT MARRIED!!! After our engagement in January, Jesse and I decided the best idea would be to get married before he got deployed. It was a decision that took a lot of thought because we didn't know what our families were going to say. So Jesse and I sat down on February 11th and had a good heart to heart talk about what WE wanted and not anyone else. We decided, LETS GET MARRIED!!! It then clicked in my head "you are leaving in two weeks, this has to be done now!" So I started planning! We went down to the court house in Mesa, AZ and got our marriage license! I had a dress that a friend gave me sitting my my closet. I didn't like it, so I cut it up and sewed it to the way I wanted it to look. It was a short tea length dress and it was PERFECT! I got myself a pair of $17 shoes and my outfit was DONE! I bought Jesse a shirt and tie and his outfit was done. We had no bridesmaids or groomsmen. It was just us! On February 21st we had a quick ceremony in Chandler at Desert Breeze Park at 1pm. We were there with just our families and a couple friends, OH and Jesse's Mom (Julie) and Aunt Susan (Snooze) surprised us!! That was AWESOME!!! Pastor David Wright married us! I have known Dave and Cheree since I was about 6 or 7. They were the pastors of our church I grew up in when we lived in Cape Coral, Florida. They are awesome people and I wouldn't have wanted anyone but them to marry us!! The ceremony went GREAT! My dad gave me away and was honored to have Jesse as a new son in his life. My family really loves Jesse and said they couldn't have picked a better match for me! I cried, my mom and dad cried, and so did my sisters when we were getting ready. The first thing my dad said to me as I walked down the stairs in my sisters house was how beautiful I looked and he was so proud of me! Makes me tear up now thinking of it...:) So as Jesse and I stood up with Pastor Dave, I could feel my nerves start to kick in. I was smiling to relieve my tension and Jesse didn't smile once. He was so serious. I was trying to make funny faces at him just to get a smirk, NOTHING. Poor kid...LOL When it was time to put the rings on and we had to hold hands, his were shaking so bad! It made me feel better that I wasn't the only was nervous! We said our "I DO's" and kissed and it was over! In a week I had planned my wedding, made my dress, and got married! I wouldn't have done it different, excpet I wish all my family could have been there...but they all live in Florida or Cali and last minute flights are insane! So after the wedding was over, my dad wanted to do something nice for Jesse and I. Since Jesse and I did the whole wedding on our own, my dad wanted to take Jesse and I out for lunch with my family. We went to Bennihana's! MY FAVORITE!! It was so yummy! The restaurant messed up on our reservations and ended up opening the restaurant just for us!!! My sister surprised me with a cake she made! It was white cake with Reese's Peanut Butter cups inside of it! There was purple ribbon and purple flowers all over it! We were also surprised when my mom's friends started playing "I loved her first" and my dad and I got to dance in the restaurant. Then they played a rascal flatts song, that I can't remember right now, for Jesse and I to dance to. It was awesome! :) After lunch, Jesse and I headed to the Phoenician where my boss and his wife got Jesse and I a room for the night! It was beautiful!!! We were so tired by the end of the night, we just went to bed, woke up and were ready to go home! Life has been WONDERFUL since! I love him more than anything and I wouldn't change any of it for anything! We have a marriage that will last forever and I am excited for our future together! Its so exciting!!!