August 25th 2009 was our 2 year anniversary! We have had a great two years and time has just flown by, it is hard to believe it had been 2 years. For our anniversary we went and had some portraits taken at Sears, it was fun but more expensive than I had planned. Oh well that is life, it is generally more expensive than you plan. Anyways after we had our pictures taken we drove down to Portland, Oregon and met with an adviser from a pharmacy program in Portland. Then we headed over to Lake Oswego, Oregon and went to the Temple. It was our first time back inside since we were married. Then we had dinner and went home. It was a wonderful day with my wonderful husband. Below are some of the portraits we had taken at Sears.

Dan and Susie's Wedding Weekend!

Mr and Mrs Daniel Appel

Outside the Seattle Washington Temple

Cutting the cake (below)

At Dinner on Friday (below)

There is a new member of the Appel family, and her name is Susie. Their wedding was an adventure, there were many events that did not go as planned, however in the end everything turned out wonderful.

Just in case anyone was wondering, in Washington you need to have your marriage licence 3 full days before you plan on getting married, and you cannot be married without a valid marriage licence. You might be thinking "Oh No! What happened?" well they were a little late getting their marriage license and were not able to be married Saturday morning at the Temple. Not to worry because the Temple President was able to arrange for the Temple to be opened up just for them on Monday the 16th at 12:00am. That is right Dan and Susie were married just after midnight on Monday before they left for their Honeymoon at 6:00am.

Even with the slight time change, the day on Saturday was still very wonderful. Dan and Susie took the schedule changes very well and were very positive and the day was as special as it should have been. I guess I will start with dinner on Friday with the families and wedding party. We had the dinner in Seattle at a Mexican restaurant, it was a full room and was nice to spend time with everyone there and Chris enjoyed catching up with people that he had not seen in years. After dinner a few people went out and did karaoke and then went back to the hotel between two and three in the morning. We all woke up early and and were getting ready for pictures, unfortunately it was raining pretty steadily and they decided that taking pictures wouldn't work. So then we headed over to Wenatchee where they had pictures taken at a photography studio and then went to the reception and ring ceremony. Bishop Cammak was there and he did a wonderful job with their ring ceremony. It was very special and really cute. Dan had so many wonderful things to say about Susie. Susie of course had many wonderful things to say about Dan (hence why they were getting married - they kinda like each other...). I especially like how Susie ended her turn with "Go Cougs" that is school spirit right there. The reception was a lot of fun and people really enjoyed themselves. They had a beautiful cake and lots of great Mexican food.

On Sunday we had a nice day, we had lunch with the family and then headed back to Seattle. It had snowed a lot over the previous 24 hours and so traveling over Blewitt and Snoqualmie took a very long time. Chris and I hung out in Dan and Susie's hotel room until they arrived to Bellevue and then we all got ready to go take some pictures in front of the Temple before their sealing. It was dark and cold, but it wasn't raining. I am very sad because not all the pictures turned out, I think the camera might have been too cold because there are many of them where we look like ghosts. It was neat being on Temple grounds at 10:00pm. While we were taking pictures one of the security guards came over and was very excited to meet Dan and Susie because being married at midnight on Monday in the Seattle temple has never happened before that anyone there could recall. However the wonderful people there did everything that they could to make sure they could get married and that it would be special. It was a wonderful event to be a part of. I don't know if there is anything more beautiful than a Temple marriage, it was wonderful. I learned a lot and was touched by the spirit of the Lord. Eternal Marriage is such a wonderful gift and I am just so happy for Dan and Susie! I wish them all the best, and I hope they do not mind that I told their story, it was a very memorable weekend for me, but I am sure that they have much more to add and many different parts that were their favorite times.

A Year Later!

While in Portland we visited the Temple again. This was the first time we had been back to the Portland temple since we were married last August, almost 1 year later. It was wonderful to be back. It is a beautiful temple, and holds such wonderful memories, for it is the place where I was sealed to my eternal companion.

August 25th, 2007

August 10th, 2008

This has been a wonderful year, and I feel so blessed to have been given such a wonderful husband who cares for me so well. Who always makes sure that I know how much he loves me, and who believes in me when I don't believe in myself. It has been so wonderful to experience being married, and growing together as a couple. I am just so happy and blessed!