February 2009The day our adventures began.
May-2009
Wayne had just graduated from WLC a course required for NCO's. We had a busy day that day, I went to his graduation on base and had about 45 mins to get ready for the All Ranks Army Ball that evening. We clean up pretty well, I must say.
June-2009
In June we went down to Castle Rock, WA to meet the Fisker's and my new Sister-in-law Whitney and her boyfriend Michael. We had a really great time and I really enjoyed meeting people that cared so much about Wayne. The Fisker's are fantastic hosts.
We also went to Badger Lake in Eastern Washington. Jillian's parents have a cabin and boat on the Lake. We had a lot of fun relaxing and boating with the siblings.
July-2009
In July we went to Las Vegas to visit and meet Wayne's grandparents, aunt, uncle and cousin. This was such a memorable trip for me as I really got a glimpse into Wayne's childhood. As any grandmother would, she told stories of Wayne as a child and I got to look through numerous photo albums of what I think to be the cutest child I have ever seen. The pictures posted are of us with G'ma and Pa Stough and of Wayne's bedroom at his grandparents house. We did some tourist-y things, visited a few casino's on the Strip, toured Hoover Dam and went to the Cirque Du Soleil show-KA at the MGM Grand.
August-2009
We had a low key but very nice Reception in Eastern Washington at my parents' house. It was nice to have some family come together and celebrate with us. Jillian and Beth get a big thanks for planning and making the amazing Red Velvet cake. Thanks also to my folks for having this in their back yard and being so supportive.
September-2009
It was back down to Castle Rock in September. I had to keep my mouth shut for well over a month that my other Sister-in-law Allison, her boys Kellon and Kolby and step-dad Chuck and Aunty Peggy were coming from Colorado to surprise Wayne. Boy was that hard but well worth it. I almost cried when they popped out of the Fisker's spare bedroom and surprised Wayne. We had a very fun weekend and I really enjoyed watching Wayne play with his nephews. He really loves those boys and I figured out really quickly why. They are the funniest, sweetest and cutest boys I've ever met. It really is cool to be an Aunt "Emmy" to such rad boys. The weekend was also a surprise for Whitney as she didn't know Chuck was coming either. I'm glad we pulled off the surprise. I can't wait to see them all again!
In October we decided to get a puppy to keep me company during Wayne's upcoming deployment. That unfortunately didn't work out too well, poor little guy was diagnosed with the Parvo Virus and died a week later. Reluctant to get another dog, a friend contacted me a week later to see if we were interested in adopting an adult Shih-tzu named Bentley. After Thanksgiving we took him home on a trial basis and fell in love with him. He is now apart of our little family.
December 2009
Before heading back down to Vegas for Christmas, Wayne and I had some Christmas photos taken by my good friend Justyn. Wayne bought me a Wii for Christmas and I was so excited!
When we got to Vegas we got to see one of the very first shows of the new Cirque du Soleil-Viva Elvis. Although you could tell they had some work to do on the show, we really did enjoy it. Pa, Wayne and I went on evening walks around Green Valley Ranch and we had fun riding the Carousel. Vegas is very beautiful at Christmas time and I would take the weather there over Seattle weather any day.
We had an action packed year and we are very grateful to have such wonderful friends and family to share these memories with.
