The Most Magical Day...

I suppose that it is time for my brief (and unintentional) hiatus from the blogging world to come to and end. To say that life over the last six months has been busy and exciting, would be nothing but an understatement. Two moves, a wedding, and a new job for both Andrew and myself is just the tip of the iceberg.

I've been finding myself really missing the blogging world, and now that Andrew's unit is back into full-swing training, I think it's a good time to reintroduce myself as the newest Mrs. Dolan!

Of course, the biggest milestone of the past six months was August 4th, our wedding day. People constantly ask me if it was the best day of my life, and it's a question that's hard for me to answer. Was it the best party of my life? Yes! The most fun I've ever had? Absolutely! But I will always have a very special place in my heart reserved for a mere six months and twenty eight days prior to our wedding day... Andrew's safe return home from his first deployment. It's impossible for me to chose between the two as my "favorite day", and truthfully I consider myself so blessed to have that problem.

Click here to view our Wedding Video!

Day 355. . . Utter Relief

Okay, okay... I think I've taken a long enough hiatus from blogging. Believe me though, you would have done the exact. same. thing. if you were in my shoes.

So far, 2012 has been nothing short of magical. Part of me still doesn't believe that this is all real; that everything I have been hoping and praying for for so long is finally here. But guess what? IT IS! And I couldn't be happier!

As our first deployment began to wind down, I noticed myself getting more and more impatient with everything that had just become "normal life" for the past year. I was over it, 8 Main Body flights with thousands of soldiers had already come home to Fort Knox, and I was ready for it to be our turn.

On Tuesday, January 3, 2012 I started the 599.6 mile journey to Louisville. It was a long drive, but totally worth it when I got to our apartment and had days to get everything cleaned and ready for my soldier's return.

On Wednesday Morning, I got my 72 hour notice call, letting me know that Andrew's flight was scheduled and that the homecoming ceremony for Main Body 9 would be on Friday Evening! I wanted so badly to shout it from the rooftops, announce it on every social media outlet on earth, and text everyone I knew. It was so hard to follow OPSEC and keep this information mainly to myself, but I did it, not only to keep the soldiers safe, but also to ensure that and OPSEC violation wouldn't further delay the flight.

The next few days were long, as I watched more friends return home to their loved ones, and finally Andrew's family arrived in Louisville on Friday afternoon. We had pizza at the apartment, and waited for what seemed like an eternity for my 4 hour notice call. When I got it at 6:58 pm I finally let myself get excited. This call meant that Andrew's flight had landed safely at the Louisville Airport. He was within 15 miles of me, and we just had to get through the next couple of hours (and outprocessing paperwork on his end) and a drive down to Fort Knox (about 40 minutes) before we were done with our first deployment.

I finished getting ready, got in the car with the rest of the family and we were on our way! I wish I could put every thought and feeling I had into words, but the truth of the matter is that the next couple of hours are nothing but a haze to me. I expected myself to be a complete emotional wreck (similar to the way I was when he returned home in October for R&R) but in all honesty, I was numb. Like I wouldn't let myself believe that the moment I had been waiting for so long for was finally here. And when I did see Andrew, I felt nothing but shear relief. No more waking in the middle of the night to a weird cell phone noise and not being able to get back to sleep, no more heart stopping every time the door bell rings (although, I think a part of my mind will always go 'there' when we have an unexpected visitor). My prayers had been answered and my soldier was home.

I know from experience, that the best part about other couples' homecomings are the pictures.... so here are some of our favorites

All of us waiting for HOURS!

Finally, they started lifting the curtain, and we could see boots.

My best guess is that it took about 7-10 minutes to fully raise the curtain. This was one of the longest waits of my life.

On 6 January at 2300 hours, 271 soldiers returned home to family and friends.

Searching the see of identical-looking men for mine!

FINALLY!

So what is next for us? Just enjoying life for once. Andrew is participating in his "reintegration training" daily at Fort Knox and I am returning to life as normal back in Pennsylvania. I have some responsibilities to finish at work before joining him in Kentucky this Spring.

As for the blog... don't worry, it's not going away! DPT's, however, are a thing of the past I'm afraid. I'll be around every now and then but probably not every single week. Just when exciting things are happening!

A Little Place Like Kokomo...

Since Andrew has returned to the sandbox, the best way to put a smile on my face is to look through our pictures from the most wonderful 5 days of the entire year... our trip to paradise.

Andrew and I visited Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic for a little getaway while he was home for Midtour Leave. It was simply P-E-R-F-E-C-T. There is no way for me to explain how amazing it felt to sit on the beach, reading our kindles, drinks in hand and have not a single worry in the world. For the first time in a long, long time I was completely, totally 100% happy. We had no schedule, no watches, no where to go and nobody to answer to. I guess you could say we were quite smitten with ourselves and our decision to take this vacation.

Our view from the room!

 Tiki Hut where we got a moonlight massage on the beach

Good-bye Paradise... until next time :)

We sure do miss our mojito's on the beach, maybe someday we'll venture to paradise again!

For now, as the holidays (rapidly) approach, I'll be busy fast forwarding every clock and calendar I possibly can to get through these next few weeks of "joy and happiness on earth" until my soldier is back home safely in my arms again.

My Girls!

The seven wonderful ladies I lived with in college are my best friends. I'd be lost without you girls and I think you so much for making my pre-birthday weekend special and hilarious!!

For the rest of you, here's a look into our lives. I love everything about this, and Ames, you're amazing for putting it all together in less than 24 hours! LOVE YOU!!!!

Updates on the rest of my amazing weekend at home coming soon, but this had to be shared!

Deployment Positive Thursday- Week 29

Well what do you know, I'm still slacking on my blogging. No excuse except a good clean fun all-American summer. Last week we were at Stone Harbor, New Jersey (although I only went for the last few days because I had to work) with the whole extended Dolan family. Unfortunately we forgot cardboard Andrew here... It would have been way more fun to have the real guy with us though. Instead we decided to pay tribute to our favorite soldier by dubbing our set up at the beach FOB Dolan:




Pretty sweet, right?!? Plus we thought that with eleven children under the age of 10, this would be a great way for any of our little wanderers to find their way back to the family! Plus it made me beam with pride every SINGLE time that flag caught my eye!

When we returned home life returned to normal. I was thankful to have the family home (being home alone is DEFINITELY not as much fun as Macully Culkin (spelling is totally off, but you get the idea) makes it out to be) and also so excited to flip the page on yet another month of this horrid 2011. August is finally here and I couldn't be happier!!






Today is probably my favorite day since Andrew has left. Not only does it mark the 200th day of deployment, but August 4th will forever be a special day for us. On this day 366 days from now (2012 is a leap year, the irony is not lost on me. Remind me to thank the universe for that extra little reminder that I'm not in control of anything in my life) Andrew and I will be married. I am absolutely overjoyed that I finally am within a year of our wedding date and that now the real countdown can begin. Some people might not think a pre-versary is worthy of celebration, but ummmm hello?!? I'll take any excuse to celebrate the days going by at this point, plus it's SUPER EXCITING!!!!

To celebrate, a few of us went to look for wedding gowns today! It was so fun and something about wedding dress shopping can turn any day around! I am one lucky girl. I feel so blessed to have so many wonderful things to look forward to in the next year and so many more in the future. I have a man who loves me very much and even though I don't get to see him as often as I would like, I know that he is living his dream, and I am so proud of him for that.

I can't wait to marry my best friend, my true love and my hero one year from today! Nothing (except possibly his safe return home to me this winter) could make me happier.

NWY

Deployment Positive Thursday- Week TWENTY!

OMG'sh (that's for you, honey!), we've made it through 20 weeks! woo!!! Sorry, I feel like I have been majorly slacking on my blog lately, but now that I'm back in the real world, I promise to get back on track.

Mom Dolan and I had a great trip to Florida, and once all the work was done it was time to let loose and PLAY! It was such an amazing vacation, and it felt so good to just throw all our cares away and just be like little kids again! We also spent a lot of time with her brother, Uncle Steve, who has worked for Disney for over 30 years and gave us all the behind-the-scenes secrets and stories. He works in resort development, which I've decided is basically the coolest job EVER! Also, he introduced me to "Hidden Mickey's" which I quickly became obsessed with. I may or may not see Mickey's when I close my eyes at night....

Here are some of the photo highlights of our trip (all taken from my iPhone, so please excuse the grainy quality):

Checking into the Polynesian! Absolutely Beautiful... with a bride there, no less!

Mickey was waiting for us on the bed!!!

Finally here!!!

One of my only memories from our Family Disney trip 20 years ago was getting these balloons with my brother! We were so upset when my parents deflated them before we got on the airplane (and definitely threw a fit in the airport, I'm sure) but were overjoyed when they were re-inflated once we got home!

Dinner with Uncle Steve. Please note my magical glowing ice cube! 

Back to the park for a late-night visit!

I LOVE THE BALLOONS! The Castle is behind me, even though you can't see it!

My favorite Parade!

"To Honor America!" 

Day 2: Lunch at Coral Reef at Epcot

Mom and I on the Nemo Ride!

Greetings from the Future

Mickey Ice Cream... I felt guilty eating him!!

My Favorite Hidden Mickey... can you see him?!

Last day, about to check out :( My balloon is still going strong though!

So after 5 long days of hard work, we had a great Disney vacation! My favorite part was when I started to get sad about leaving and not getting everything done, and then I realized that this will not be my last Disney trip! I'm marrying into a family that LOVES Disney and goes as much as possible!! I can't wait to come back with Andrew someday and race to see who can find the most Mickeys!! Oh, we've got so much to look forward to... If 2011 would just hurry up and end already, that would be just fantastic!

May the Seventeenth

I have never been one to believe in signs or messages from beyond, but ever since meeting Andrew there have been a few things that have stood out to us that make us sure that if there are such a thing as signs, they're pointing to us being us forever. One of these impossible to ignore signs is this very date: May 17th. This day has been one of the most important days of each year since we have known each other.

Let's take a stroll down memory lane, shall we?

2008:
After studying abroad in Italy for four months, I returned home to the arms of Andrew, who surprised me by picking me up with a beautiful bouquet of flowers at Logan Airport in Boston. My time in Italy was a big test for our relationship, we had only met three months before I left so I was gone for longer than I had known him. I remember my first days in Florence, I couldn't stop talking to people about him (it just kept coming up, like word vomit- name that movie!) everyone was shocked when they found out our relationship was so new. We knew if this was ever going to work for us, long-distance would be something we would have to get used to and Italy was a great test run for that. Plus, looking back, it was a good experience for me to be the one away from home and him to be the one waiting for me. Every single separation we've had since then has been the other way around, so I think it is good we each know what it is like to be in the others' shoes. (er, well, if you take away the war aspect of the equation, I  suppose)

Coming back home and running into Andrew's arms and the fact that the second we got into his truck it was like we had never been apart told me that this was for keeps. I already knew that, but it just validated everything I had been thinking for the past few months.

2009:
Goodbye, College! We graduated from Stonehill in 2009. Emotionally, I had a harder time with no longer living with seven of my best friends than anything else, but it was an adjustment time for both of us. I was such a wreck on graduation day, I didn't even want to take pictures with my family or Andrew for some reason. My parents will get a kick out of this, but: YES I REGRET IT! It was just such an emotionally draining day, but spending time with our families together after the hooplah was all done was a great way to relax.

The night before graduations was hands-down one of the best nights of college. All of the graduation seniors went up to Donahue Hill, which is basically the only hill with a mansion on it on campus, and hung out up there all night. Somebody brought a keg, somebody else brought DJ equipment, it was such a fun time. It started raining at one point and nobody cared, we were all soaked and stayed out til 4 or 5 in the morning when we had to be up at 7:30 for graduation.

wee morning hours- 17 May 2009

2010:
Ranger School Day 1. Something Andrew has been looking forward to for years on end. When I found out last January that Andrew had orders to start "the bad place" on that day, I couldn't believe it. Three years in a row, three huge life events! And arguably the three biggest events in our relationship up to that point (save when we actually met, the first time I kicked his butt at Mario Kart, etc...) it's pretty incredible if you really think about it. Ranger School was another test for us. It gave me a chance to prove that I wasn't going anywhere, even when facing weeks with no communication other than letters, and I think it had a lot to do with us getting engaged when we did.

17 May 2010

A few months ago we also found one more goose-bump inspiring connection to May 17th. Andrew was going to get my engagement ring appraised and insured and took out the certificate of authenticity and my diamond was certified on May 17, 2010. Andrew had no idea when he bought it.

I don't know, maybe we are just looking for reasons to love May 17th and it's all some weird, funky coincidence, but I find that hard to believe. Last year at this time, Mom, Shannon and I were thinking maybe May 17, 2014 (a Saturday) would be our wedding date (that's when I was still convinced Andrew would make me wait til after his first deployment to get engaged).

Today as I drove to work, I was expecting to feel uplifted and happy that we reached another May 17th and that we are 4 months and 1 day into this deployment. Instead I was a little bit let down to not have something really exciting to look forward to today. I think Andrew's unit is on a communication blackout because I haven't heard from him since Sunday night, so when all is said and done, I will count it as a huge victory to get one little email tonight with three little words from a solider who I love very much in a far away place.

Deployment Positive Thursday- Week 3

This morning I came into work (a few minutes early for once) to discover the door to the office locked. Seriously. LOCKED. There are only four of us who work there, but I am always the last one in since I work fewer hours than my bosses and co-worker. And I am the only one without a key. At first I checked my emails on my iPod (since I could still get the wifi signal even though I was outside of the door) to see if anyone had emailed me, but of course not. I was kind of miffed, but knew eventually everyone would be in. So I went to sit in the truck and wait for everyone to come in (yeah, I'm still driving Andrew's truck, have you seen all the snow we have in Central PA? No way do I feel like digging my car out from underneath all of it! Plus I feel a lot safer in "The Silver Bullet" as we call it).

As I was sitting there, just listening to some music, I thought about how nice it felt to just sit and think. Life has been out-of-control-busy lately--and believe me, I'm thankful for that--but it was the first time in a long time (definitely since deployment started) where I could just be alone with my thoughts. It was so liberating, in a weird way, to just sit there and know I didn't have a million things I needed to go and do right away, or be in a rush to get anywhere, or finish another project for work. None of that. Just me and my beautiful country music and my thoughts. I thought a lot about this deployment and how it is so much different than I ever expected a deployment to be, how lucky I have been to be able to talk to my wonderful fiance every day for the past week and a half, and how nice it is to have settled on a date, ceremony site, and reception location for our wedding. Nothing was pressing, and there was nothing I could do about the fact that I wasn't at work. It was a beautiful morning gift.

Eventually my bosses and coworker all came in (my bosses are a married couple and went to a late breakfast and my coworker had a dentist appointment) and I got right to work and had one of the most productive days I've had in a while. I had a task at hand and clearing my mind earlier in the truck really helped me to de-stress and just focus on my project.

My morning gift wasn't even the best part of my day, though! Two more little gifts were creeping my way, in the hours to come. The first, was a call from an unknown number around 2 this afternoon on my cell phone. I almost didn't pick it up, but boy, am I glad I did! You'll never guess who was on the other line; none other than a certain Ranger friend of mine: Andrew Dolan! I couldn't have been happier for our 3 minute phone call! And can I please say that this call was infinitely better than the last call I got from an unknown number with Andrew's voice on the other end. Bahhhhh I still get chills when I think of that bad time in Ranger School. But this was a happy call (once we got past the awkwardness of "who's this" "no, who is this" nonsense) and I am so thankful for it!

My third gift today came at dinner time! Andrew's parents and I went out to Shannon's house but before we ate, Mom and Shannon were acting kind of weird. They got the camera out and told the kids they had a surprise... for Aunt Tina (that's me!!)! Totally unexpected that I would be getting a surprise. They made me stand in the corner with my eyes closed while they brought down my early Valentines Day present. I literally screamed when I opened my eyes to see the face of my solider, right where it should be at just over 6 feet off the ground:

Just to be clear- this is just a cardboard cut-out! He is not actually home with us!

I honestly could not have asked for a better Valentines Day gift, or a more loving family! The kids and I were so excited, it was like actually having Andrew there eating dinner with us. They couldn't get enough of their new, fake Uncle AJ! I couldn't get enough of him! It was such a happy moment! I even asked Gavin while we were eating dinner, "Whose God-daddy is that?" and he said with all the pride, love and excitement an (almost) three-year-old could possibly have: "This is MY God-Daddy!"

Love these kids. Love this family. Love my soldier.

Dearly. 

Our Last Date Night (for a while)

Quick post to tell you about our night tonight! My parents were nice enough to give us gift certificate for a date night in Louisville and we decided to wait until tonight to use it! Definite good decision. We went somewhere way out of our normal price range and even ordered a whole bottle of wine. Here are some highlights!

 Our dinner at Proof on Main- No, we didn't sit on the same side of the booth, not to worry... he came over to my side just for the picture!

The back of the dessert menu. So cool and they let me bring it home for our scrapbook!

 The restaurant was attached to a contemporary art museum. Andrew posing with one of the exhibits. He really loved all the different art on display.

These red penguins were everywhere! I loved them!

Andrew loving the exhibits!

Our favorite painting. Andrew calls it "The Ninja Last Supper" 

Loved this place! I had mussels and risotto and Andrew had a pork chop wrapped in bacon (he was so excited to have double pork on his last night before heading to Afghanistan and not being allowed to have it for a full year!) 

When we got home we had to put the motorcycle into the apartment! That was a fun and interesting 20 minutes! Getting it out will be a whole nother story. 

The apartment filled to the brim with all the guys' stuff!

Okay that's all for tonight.... we've both got lots more packing to do, and I have a lot of Monopoly to kick Andrew's butt at!