What a year! Dan and I have been so blessed and have enjoyed the ride of 2008!
January started the year with a full house! Alex, DJ and Becca all came out for Christmas and stayed through the first part of the New Year! We had one of my most favorite New Year's Eve's, which we spent playing Clue, other board games, watching the countdown and toasting 2008 with sparkling cider! The middle of January really kicked our wedding planning into high gear! I flew out to Medford and met my mom, Lauren, Karoline and Nohe for an intense 6 days of appointments, decision making and tastings! In that time we were able to book and just about finalize everything, and were exhausted for our efforts! We also got to enjoy dinner with some of Dan's family, which was a nice treat! February proved to be a very cold month that added several feet of snow to the ground. Turns out we set an all time snowfall record in Madison with a little more than 100" of snow! We started to dig out in March and Becca-bug came out to visit for spring break! The three of us discovered the Kalahari Resort in Wisconsin Dells where we spent two days going down water slide after water slide after water slide! We also discovered Becca was not a fan of the "toilet bowl" slide, but a big fan of the snow! April was more cold! My mom flew out for my first bridal fitting, which was followed by me flying to AZ a few days later for my bridal showers with friends and family. They were spectacular affairs put together by my aunts and the other by my 4 bridesmaids and mom! They really went all out and surprised me with personalized wine glasses, the selection of wine we selected to serve at our wedding, a chocolate fountain and lots of yummy food & pretty decorations! May FLEW by! Carly came to visit from New Jersey for the weekend for my final dress fitting! We also picked up supplies for my bridal emergency kit, made shirts to wear before the wedding and had a wonderful time catching up! The next weekend (and two weeks before our wedding and our first time traveling together) Dan and I headed to AZ for my cousin Andrew's wedding in Flagstaff. June was the best month! Of course, Dan and I got married and got to have an incredible day that we shared with family and friends who traveled near and far to celebrate with us at Eden Valley Orchards! The forecast was PERFECT! Sunny and 70! Everything was perfect for that matter... one of the best days of my life! Afterward we headed to Napa Valley for a week and then to Florida for another! The honeymoon was relaxing and fun! We came home tan, relaxed and Mr. and Mrs. Arthur. July the chaos continued, but we had the best summer weather possible! I arrived home to mid-terms and Alex and Becca flew into town the following week! We rediscovered the Kalahari, but this time got to also ride the outdoor slides and spent another day at Noah's Ark while the kids enjoyed the Tommy Bartlett Exploratory! They also spent many days at the local pool, the coffee shop, we took a trip to the zoo, and played Scrabble until we were out of 2 letter words! Dan and I also enjoyed the bike paths in Madison on our two new bikes we got as wedding gifts from my brother! August left us with Becca for two weeks by herself. She and Snowball kept on hanging out and Becca and I also finished up our scrap booking! I also flew south to Mississippi State University for my final work shop and preparation for the accumulative final I was getting ready to take! Becca headed home to start school mid-month, I took and passed my massive final becoming a Meteorologist and the stress washed away from my life! September was low key and enjoyable. October was more of the same, but also filled with the excitement of the presidential election. Dan and I also started training for our Marathon and half marathon in Phoenix in January. November had a disappointing start, but has been followed by Dan moving to middays on Star Country, a second straight year of preparing a successful turkey and Thanksgiving dinner and our first snow. We also bought a camera and gear, launched MDA Productions and are getting ready to book our first wedding! December (while not here yet) should prove to be low key. My folks are coming to visit mid-month and we're taking them to a Broadway Dinner Theater Show and also having a Christmas dinner and celebration together, early. Then, to kick off 09' we're picking up the kids in Vegas, driving to Phoenix, celebrating a belated Christmas and running our Marathon!
We love you all very much, miss you, can't wait to see you again and hope 2009 is better than 2008!
The Arthurs
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