we're here!

tom came and got me last friday! he flew into pdx at 10:30 a.m. i was, of course, anxiously awaiting his arrival! we promptly drove to downtown vancouver and picked up a marriage license, met his parents and mine for lunch at an asian buffet, packed up my car and hit the road!

we had tons of fun (and calories-- but they don't count on roadtrips, right?) on our drive, including a stop at the dalles burgerville for a fresh strawberry milkshake and some really beautiful oregonian scenery. we rolled into boise at about 12:00 a.m. my sweet grandma was still up and waiting for us! we chatted for a bit before our heads hit the pillows- me in the guest room and tom on the couch in the living room (he's a real trooper!).

on saturday morning, we met my aunt at IHOP and then visited my grandpa jerry at his nursing home. he was really excited to see us- he made sure to tell tom that i am a "real, real nice girl." he also shared that he was surprised i'd be getting married and that he thought for sure i'd become an old maid!

we left boise about 9 a.m. in twin falls, id, we stumbled upon some base jumpers that invited us to come up the bridge with them so we could be real close when they jumped into the great abyss that is the snake river canyon. they both jumped succesfully, and it looked kind of fun. kind of. this photo is from the side of the canyon where they were jumping.

although it was a really long drive, we saw beautiful things (the picture to the right is from northern nevada) and had fun spending some quality time together. not only was the scenery magnificent, but it was fun finding random radio stations and also reading some of God's word (have you checked out Colossians lately?) and also some of oswald chambers' "my utmost for His highest." read it!

we arrived in vegas at about 9 p.m. my nieces and brother-in-law were waiting on their front steps with bowls of homemade caramel popcorn! they were very excited to see us and welcoming their new roomie, since i will be living here until the wedding.

we've been having a great time-- we went to church and dinner with some of tom's friends on sunday. we've been running lots of errands and getting some marriage things done, like figuring out car insurance and bank accounts.

i love being here with tom and feel so incredibly blessed to be going on this new adventure. how awesome is it to think that in my wildest dreams i never imagined i'd be living in vegas getting ready to be married to the man that God created me for, but God knew and his plans are always better than we could ever even begin to hope for.