Five years???? Really???? Father time, are you sure it hasn't been twenty-five years? Only five years since the day my handsome Marine "dipped" me in my wedding dress?
Of course our journey didn't start that day. Nope, it began on the fateful day of June 2, 2004. Mr. Riley J Fanning pulled in with his ol' blue wheat truck at W.B. Johnston Grain as I was finishing up a quick nap on the steps outside....
And so it began.....and I fell head over heals in love with that twenty year old wearing the worn out Wranglers and his green military-issued t-shirt.
Oddly enough it was that less than smart Golden Retreiver, Miss Lucy, who won me over just as much as Riley did......
Riley and his cute bate
We spent a very fast and fun summer dating and having the time of our lives. Looking back I can honestly say that I knew for sure that I was going to marry this man five days after meeting him. Riley left for a three week stay in California for his summer Marine training. After only two weeks of dating it seemed like he would never return. Three weeks felt like a lifetime.....
Young, crazy and in love
We both started our semesters that fall. Me in Weatherford and him in Stillwater. I'd never had a long-distance relationship but didn't even think twice about one with Riley. We had a blast that school year with many trips back and forth....most weekends were spent in Stillwater having picnics at the park, going for long runs around campus and lots of movies and eating out...unless he had decided to surprise me with a home-cooked meal. I quickly came to discover that I had found the funniest man in the world.....
See what I mean?
To say we had fun everywhere we went would be an understatement....
Not only did he keep me laughing, he also showed off his thoughtful side each week by making home-made cards for me sitting by a bouquet of flowers waiting for me when I arrived in Stillwater every Friday afternoon. Ya see, he was usually in class when I drove into town so I would always be giddy about walking into his house because I never knew what would be waiting for me. We usually didn't even have to leave the house...we spent most of our time being complete goofballs and loving every minute of it. Now I can't talk about our weekends in Stillwater without addressing the obvious....bedlam was the only day we didn't get along. This picture was taken pre-game of our very first bedlam spent together....this is why he still has a smile on his face.....
Our "friendly" rivalry was born in Stillwater and it continues to this day...just not so "friendly" anymore. :) I do have a confession to make though.....I actually tagged along with him to a few Cowboy games. Of course I was dressed so that I wouldn't stick out like a sore thumb...but just in black though. Not a speck of orange. :)
Before we knew it we were celebrating one amazing year of dating. We were spending another summer like our previous one....me in Shattuck living with my Grandma and Aunt Sharon while working at the grain elevator and him working on the farm for his Uncle Tom. Thinking back I have no idea how we functioned at work on a daily basis....for some reason we found it appropriate to stay out until 4 a.m. most nights....usually out at the lake or just sitting on the tailgate watching the stars. As June 2nd approached I quickly realized that I'd caught the engagement bug....I didn't hide my disappointment when our anniversary rolled around and no proposal happened. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't begging for a proposal....but more wanting that magic moment to happen pretty soon. Two short summer months later and I got just what I'd been hoping for.
The proposal spot
We were in San Antonio on a mini-vacation which was a last minute change of plans after our trip to Destin fell through two weeks before we were to leave. Apparently twenty-one year olds cannot check into a hotel on the beach so we were out of luck. San Antonio turned out to be the perfect place for a romantic trip. And now it's a trip I'll never forget. He popped the question outside at a quiet little spot overlooking the river...he had a slideshow with pictures throughout our lives leading up to when we met and our relationship through the past year....as sweet words were rolling across the screen after the pictures were done flashing, he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him....
Wedding planning began as we headed off to our last year of undergrad. He had begged me over and over to transfer back to Stillwater but it worked out well in the end because I was able to hole up in my apartment being the study nerd I was....I found out that spring semester that I'd been accepted to physical therapy school. All of that studying had finally paid off!! We finished out the school year with lots going one: packing, moving, planning for school, wedding planning, finding an apartment in Edmond....we were worn out by the time we took our last finals. I have to take a second to brag on my husband who took 43 hours during his final year at OSU...oh my!!!! He credits me for motivating him but I give all the credit back to him because I never did anything that crazy! He always impressed me with his determination when the task seemed literally impossible. We celebrated his graduation May of 2006...he was a lucky dog for graduating the year that President Bush flew in on Marine One to give the commencement speech. Quite a day!
After graduation Riley began his final assignment to finish up schoolwork....an internship at the health department in Woodward. I stayed behind in Enid being a caretaker for the mother of a family friend. Lots of hard work but some wedding planning snuck in here and there. My world revolved around my calendar....cake, dress fitting, hair, nails, honeymoon reservations, wedding planner meeting, photographer, wedding favors, flowers and the list goes on and on. I'm pretty certain that Riley was glad that he was in Woodward and not smack dab in the middle of my planning frenzy. The wedding day finally came and went in a blur as most weddings do. Pictures remind me of that day but my memory hasn't served me so well. I do remember that it was a day I will never forget, but yet can hardly remember. If that makes sense at all. :)
After a honeymoon to our favorite place, Las Vegas, we made our home at The Links in Edmond. We were ecstatic about moving into our first place together...just not excited about the moving process. Our parents helped us move caravan style....we had six vehicles moving all of our "junk." After we emptied all the cars and everything was inside my parents left. I will never forget that moment because Riley still reminds me of it to this day. I cried like a baby. I wasn't prepared for that feeling. He also likes to remind me of how I stood in line at Walmart and broke into tears as I held the basket full of Hamburger Helper and realized that we were flat broke. Thank God for student loans...or that's what I thought at the time.
The day we moved into our first "home"
Riley kept us both laughing through our first year of marraige. I needed some form of comic relief because PT school had proven to be as stressful as it appeared. I learned to always expect the unexpected around him....I have no idea where he came up with most of his tricks....
Cleaning with the military issued gas mask
Shortly after celebrating our first Christmas as a married couple we received some very shocking news that Riley's reserve unit was being deployed to Iraq. You can imagine our reaction to this news when we had never imagined that it would happen. I transitioned into the role of military wife and began going to deployment meetings and getting geared up for a year without my husband here in the U.S.A. He spent four months at training in various places in Oklahoma and California. I kept myself busy by studying like crazy and spending time with friends and family. To say that this transition didn't put a stresser on a new marraige would be a bold-faced lie so I will just say it was definitely a character builder. Riley deployed with Fox Battery 214 to Iraq that July.....
We were able to communicate more often that we had expected...mostly through email. We were able to talk on the phone a handful of times and surprisingly enough it usually worked out well because he was on a schedule that allowed him to call the US during waking hours. A phone call was exactly the thing I needed to keep chugging along. The good thing about living in an apartment when your husband is gone is that there is no maintenance or yard work to be done. God bless those wives who have homes and children...I can't even imagine. Riley got to live his dream and be an active member of the U.S. Armed Forces during his seven month stay in the dessert.
He spent his time there doing things that us civilians are not privvy to (lol), working out, dieting and returned looking super HOTTTTTT! "Ow ow" was all I had to say the day he returned and came marching in with Fox Battery 2-14.....
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After year #2 of our marraige was spent apart, year #3 proved to be a bit challenging. I was finishing up my last year of school, Riley started his new job at Opeco and Grammy had begun what turned out to be a six month hospital stay at Integris in OKC. We survived a very stressful period of time and lived to tell about it (more like forget about it). Life got back on track quickly and before we knew it we were purchasing our first home and I was about to graduate from PT school. Busy, busy time but a very, very blessed time. After three years cramped in our apartment studying my life away I was ready to celebrate. And celebrate we did with lots of classmates and my husband who just happened to be the life of the party......
Grad banquet night
The day before graduation we moved into our home in Mustang. See, I told you things were busy.
SOLD!
Home Sweet Home
We found that a home is exactly what we'd been longing for. Space to keep our things and space to have hobbies. Riley became very good friends with the three-car garage and his yard. He took on random projects to spruce things up and loved doing anything that involved hard work. I spent my time playing in our yard with our new addition to the Fanning family.....
Our first "baby": Emmi Lane Fanning
Our new BFF
After one month of "vacation" after graduation, I took my PT board exam and passed! I began my first big girl job at a skilled nursing facility in OKC while Riley continued to work at Opeco. He worked his way up the ladder and was soon an outside salesman who served the Northeastern part of the state. Long hours but a very good job....and even better coworkers. We had finally settled into our home when we realized that we would need to set aside a room for a certain someone who would be arriving in ten months.....
That's a positive!!!!
Our little miracle
Riley and I were busy bees prepared the nursery for our sweet girl and tried to take advantage of our last few months as "just the two of us"....
Still goofy
In July of 2010 Hallie Grace Fanning made her arrival into our lives and things would never be the same.....
The first day of our "new" life
And I think that catches us up to the beginning of our blogging adventures.....that right there is and always will be my favorite story of all time. I love my husband. The last five years have both flown by yet moved slowly at the same time. I'm a sucker for a good love story and although Carrie and Big's romance is one that gets me everytime, I am quite a big fan of our love story.
Thank you husband of mine for keeping me laughing. Here's to our next five years together.
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