We're married!!!!! :)

It was the most amazing wedding we had ever dreamed of having! Everything and everyone (except a few of you!) came together for such a magical weekend that no one will hopefully ever forget. Thank you to all who made it to the wedding and made it the event of a lifetime for us. Here are a few pictures of the day.

We'll post more when we get time (we're still trying to unpack, and get some "honeymoon" time in :) ) Some of our friends and family have also posted a few pictures of the event....take a peek when you get the chance!

Kevin and Spring's Blog
Brooke's Blog (one of our amazing photographers!)

Lisa and I are in Tucson after more than a year of preparation to finally make it official. The big day is approaching fast and we are looking forward to having all of our friends and family together for the big celebration (s). Here we are at the entrance to the Hacienda del Sol finalizing some last minute details.

We went down to the courthouse and got our marrige license, so we are all set to tie the knot.

Can't wait to see you all here!

Our engagement party

Our gracious and amazing "family" up here in Alaska, Andy and Lisa, threw us an engagement party for those of our friends who can't make it down for the wedding. They did SUCH an AMAZING job, surprising with each new item and event that appeared. Thank you guys!

They set up this table all themselves, with scattered pictures of Ben and I and a beautiful cake and a flower arrangement done by Lisa herself! They framed a picture of us and our wedding invitation...absolutely beautiful!

Andy did some AMAZING grillin for the party, some teriyaki goodness wings that had been marinating over 12 hours! We drooled a bit :)

Lawn games were a plenty! Cornhole, badmitton, and horseshoes were placed around for everyone to enjoy, and enjoy we did!

Some friends including Shaun (the gracious host) on the left, enjoying the amazing food and wine!

The party was temporarily shut down by rain.......imagine that, a party with meteorologists, thrown by meteorologists, that gets poopoo'd on by the weather!

And then came the toasting and cake cutting. Bens saying still wrang true - "go big or go home" with his toasting glass :)

Andy and Lisa let us borrow their serving utensils from their wedding

And here come the action shots...

hmmmmmm.....is this how the wedding will go to???? Lisa hopes not, as she couldn't get the frosting out of her nose for nothin!

People were so gracious with gifts, and Ben had a riot opening them!

Not only did Andy and Lisa throw us this amazing party, but they also gave us a scrapbook of our favorite pictures together! Something I've been meaning to do for years!

A great time was had by ALL!!!!

Gotta Love the Alaska Summers!

We had an amazingly sunny and warm day yesterday which spawned a whole day enjoying frisbee, go-karting, going to the driving range, ping-pong on the driveway, bean-bag toss, and grilling.............oh, and getting a sunburn like we were back in Hawaii! What a great day. Then I had to go to work that night, and this is what it looks like just after midnight right now.....LOVE IT!!! You can see Mt McKinley in the very back, on the right. :)

My Trip Home

I just recently got back from a trip back down to the Lower 48. It was for my bridal shower (that my wonderful sister did an AMAZING job with!) and to see my grandma in Iowa.

I got to see my super-fun neice Kayla

I got the great chance to see my cousins (something like 5 times removed, but they're still family right!) Bob and Maureen that I got to work with in Hawaii, they were up there for a NWS class and then to go STORM CHASING! I'm jealous. It was great to see you guys!

The next day was my bridal shower. After a whirlwind of a morning at the DIA airport, we were all together, getting to see special women in my life that I hadn't seen in years! Here's the friend clan of Ponderosa...Leah, Charmian, myself, and Amber Brogger.

This was funny! This was bought from a store, which included too many "I"s and no "R". I was doin some sort of gangsta impersonation - yeah, not the best :)

Bridal Shower

My mom had set us all up in the beautiful King Suite in the Downtown Denver Marriot. Gorgeous room with really tall ceilings - we were princesses for a day :)

Our view of 16th Street below from our room, it was so fun to people watch!

Charmian, Amber and I :)

A girls night out!

After the bridal shower and dinner, those of us who stayed to party (only 5 of us!), did just that, we went out dancing and partying and having SO much fun.
My mom and I.

My soon-to-be Mother-in-law, Cheryl and me!

The Ambers and I (Amber #1 and Amber #2, aka Amber Kauffman and Amber Brogger)

I don't really remember this part, but for those of you who know why I sleep sitting up, it was a great night :)

My visit with grandma

I took the opportunity while down in the Lower 48 to go see my Grandma Tinnes. She recently had a decrease in her health making her not able to come to the wedding. It was great to see her.

She's a great artist, and the home she is at has a weekly art class. She isn't used to watercolor yet though, she's always used oil paints - she still did a great job.

My mom and I would take her for as many walks outside as we could, as she doesnt get to do normally. We found a magnolia tree and brought her some of the flowers.

Here is her wedding picture with my Grandpa, I will be wearing her necklace in my own wedding! :)

I was still in Iowa when Cinco de Mayo rolled around, so a rallied the troops and we headed out to the local Mexican Restaurant. Of course we had to drink some margaritas!

My Last Day

On my last vacation day, my mom had volunteered myself to talk to the entire 5th grade class of the local school about being a meteorologist. It was totally on the fly and I didn't have much prepared, but the kids loved it and had so many great questions...inclucing "How many penguins have you seen?" "How many polar bears have you seen?", and my favorite, "How much do you make?" :)

Then before heading to the airport, I stopped by the (locally) famous Kalona Cheese Factory to pick up Ben some cheese kurds, his favorite! Notice where the truck is from (WI, where he was born and lived for a while, just long enough to develop his craving for cheese!)

Kalona is an Amish town, many of them still getting around by horse and buggy.