count 'em, 3 years! that's 21 in dog years.

and what an uber fantastic three years it's been!  June 21, 2008 i married my sugar-daddy... i mean, my dreamboat!  i thought it took me forever to find someone like ryan... and now time is whizzing by us.  i hope to be the little old(er) lady sharing about our 50+ years of marriage someday.  i bet blogs will have changed by then.

anyway,  here's the story of us... a love story-

once upon at time, in the land of aggies, God's country, stillwater, OK, a romance blossomed.  WAIT... i am leaving out the best part of the story... you see the story actually starts back in high school. i played basketball for a high school power house {go redskins}, and ryan caught a glimpse of his wifey-to-be when my team dominated his school's girls team.  (he told me years later that he knew who i was in high school... stalker, j/k).  he had no idea then, but i'd steal his heart in four short years as seniors in college.  now fast forward 1 year, katie and i are causing some mayhem at a date party {sorry, john somebody for affixing a hula girl to your tv permanently}.  we even knocked on several doors in the fraternity and introduced ourselves... ryan's door was one of those. (again, he remembered me...i didn't really recall shaking his hand that night...oops). still we didn't make a connection.  again, fast forward another three years, i had just returned from a student exchange program, and ryan was pursuing an internship in tulsa during the spring of our senior year.  kelly, katie, and i moved into a duplex next to ryan and all his friends.  since ryan was off being responsible, i had to scope him out in pictures at his friends' house.  even asking who was that strapping blond gentleman.  finally, we meet!  in the driveway of my next door neighbor.  fireworks went off... okay, just kidding, but i did think he was {like totally} cute!  that semester we go to date parties together, hang out and talk on his roof, and he kissed me, then... we graduate and move thousands of miles away from each other.  not what you were expecting?  well, that's what happened.  i chalk it up to him being shy and me unsure of how he felt.  he says i was the hard one to read and he wasn't waiting around. ok, i added the part about him not waiting around.  but anyways,  he takes a job in Houston, then KC, and i go to grad school, then move to OR. before i left for OR i call ryan.  i knew he'd be so proud of me for landing a great job.  one summer evening, i picked him up at his parents house, we drive to sonic for a 'drink'.  we talked a lot about what we hoped for in life after college.   back in his parent's driveway, i asked why we didn't work out.  bold huh? i really just wanted him to know i was still {REALLY} interested in him.  he seemed unsure of a long distance thing, and he was about to get of my car, then he turned back around and planted one on me...and the rest is history.  we did the long distance thing for a year, although, there were some rough patches along the way and some "hate email" got sent (from me... he's too sweet to do that).  but now we are happily married with one perfect little girl and two doggies.  every morning i wake up to an amazing life.  i realize everyday how great i have it.

Here's some pics of our journey together:

the engagement:

the wedding:

this hand shake sealed the marriage! 

i wonder what the rest of life will bring our way... great things I'm sure.  Happy 3rd Anniversary to my better half!  I'll keep you around for another, oh say, 100 years.  Here's to making it that long and not being senile.  Love you Mr. Burger! 

Tara