They finally got their Uncle AJ back!

Today was the day that Jared, Alisia, Lillia, Gavin, Quinn and Austin had been looking forward to all summer (not to mention Mr. and Mrs. Dolan!)!! After months without their favorite youngest uncle (Victor and Sean are awesome uncles too!) and a 14 hour drive over two days, they would finally get to see Uncle AJ!!! I made a DVD slideshow of all the pictures I could find of Andrew on my computer for everyone to watch on the drive down and put American songs in the background (like "Proud to be an American- which Lillia and Alisia know EVERY word to- so precious)! The slide show was a hit and Andrew's mom even said she cried! Not my intention, but always nice to know people appreciate your work!

Jen and I picked up the guys from Camp Rodgers around 4:30 this afternoon and after a quick stop at the apartment Andrew and I were on our way to the Dolans' hotel (he was still riding shotgun at this point) for the big reunion. As I drove up the the SpringHill Suites in Columbus I saw all the kids lined up along the fence just waiting to see Andrew! I pulled into the closest spot I could find, put the truck in park and watched as six little munchkins came running at their hero. I couldn't help but cry. It was the most touching moment you could imagine. It almost meant more to me than my reunion with Andrew yesterday (I said almost, let's not get carried away here). I knew the kids had missed him all summer and I was there to talk to them if they had questions or just wanted to talk about Uncle AJ, but I know that I can never replace him. I am finding it so hard to put into words how much this moment meant to me. To see these six kids-- who I have come to love so much in the past few years-- run towards the man I love and want to eventually start a family with was just so moving. He couldn't have been happier in that moment at Gavin (the youngest at 2 1/2) offered to share his lollipop and proceed to shove it into Andrew's face! I just stood back and took it all in!

Mom was next to get a hug, followed by a handshake and a hug from a very proud Dad! Everyone was so happy to see Andrew again and I could tell that Mr. and Mrs. Dolan were so thrilled to have their WHOLE family together again.

We took pictures galore! And nobody complained one bit! My parents also made the trip down for the graduation and it was so great to see them as always! So the 16 of us piled into 4 vehicles and headed off to dinner at the Mellow Mushroom, a local (delicious) pizza place! We had a great meal, went back to hang out at the hotel with everyone for a while and then it was time to head back to the apartment to pick up Zack and Jen and bring the boys back to the barracks for the last time!

Tomorrow is going to be an early day, but so worth it. Andrew will officially become an Army Ranger! Today he told me that he wants me to be the one to pin his tab on. I had secretly hoped he would ask me, but it is extremely unorthodox to have a girlfriend do the pinning so I am beyond honored. I can't wait to see him tomorrow and be able to say that Ranger School is officially over!!