35 Years

October 1, 2018,  our 35th Anniversary.

Dating...

The wedding in 1983....

My friend and roommate at the time Kathy, became engaged when we did.  Kathy and I  were at the mall one day and she showed me the wedding dress she wanted to buy but it was too expensive, $180.  Weeks later, mom came to visit me in Dubuque to go dress shopping. We went to the mall and the dress Kathy wanted was still on the rack.  I loved it too and figured if it was still there, Kathy didn't want it.  I tried it on and bought it right away.  If I remember correctly, it was the only dress I tried on.  Of course when I saw Kathy again, she told me she went to buy the dress and it was gone. I felt terrible and told her I had bought it. She was okay with it because she found an ivory one that she liked just as well.

I still have the pattern my sister used for making her dress as well as Sandy's.  I made my veil which you can tell by looking at the beading. 

My parents paid big money to preserve my dress so it wouldn't turn yellow.  One time I almost took it out so the girls could try it on. That was when we would watch "Say Yes to the Dress" non stop for days.  As I was about to open it, the girls convinced me not to open it.  I think it is because they didn't want to try it on because there may have been a chance I would push them to keep it for their wedding some day.  I really can't believe I still have this after our move to Davenport. We sold just about everything we owned when we moved up here but my dress made it on the list of things to keep.

 The paper on top of the box is the hand written list of guests and their addresses.

IT LOOKS YELLOW!

Our first house we rented was in Fort Dodge, Iowa where I got a job as Assistant Manager of Woolworth.  I loved this house because it was so different on the inside.  It had a very unique layout and it had the most beautiful 70's carpet in the kitchen!  It didn't have any insulation and we froze every winter.

We rented a duplex when we moved to Athens, Georgia in 1985.

We rented a brick house in five points in Athens. I couldn't find a photo in time for this story. We stayed there for two years until we found a house.

Our house we bought in 1989.....

Painting the house with my Dad. That is Mike on the roof.

After we painted it....

Our house when we sold it in 2017.  New siding, new windows and new metal roof throughout the years.



We waited nine years before starting a family in 1992 (Molly) and 1995 (Maggie). 

Our family now...   (we didn't plan to be in the same order, it just turned out that way)

Then and now......

35 more years to go!