Pictures to come soon... promise

Around 8:45 last night, (Ok, more like 9.. I was running a little late ;) my best friend Sasha and her boyfriend, Justin came to my house to start our Southbound adventure to go get DYLAN! I asked them to come and take pictures because both of them are SUCH good photographers and I knew I could count on them to capture the big day!

He called me FROM HIS CELL PHONE which was the greatest feeling ever around 6 that night. I got teary eyed when "Dylan's cell" popped up on my phone because it just made everything feel so real to me. Like it wasn't just something I was hoping for, it was really going to happen.

They had changed the flight times at LEAST 4 times yesterday. First it was 7:40pm, then 11:40, then 10:40 which it stayed until we were on the road for about 20 minutes after 9 and then changed back to 11:40 ... lovely, huh? And I didn't even see his face until 12:30! UGH! So annoying... but of course, like a good friend has been telling me... nothing else matters when you finally see his face. All those little annoyances fade away and it is like they never even existed :)

I was fine on the drive down there. (( I followed Sasha and Justin because I knew I wanted to ride back with Dylan alone, and that it would take him a little longer to get out of there so I didn't want them hanging around so late. They were SO good to come and stick around as late as they did anyway. I'm sure both of them are so exhausted today!)) I could just hardly contain my excitement while I was on the road. I had my music up loud and I just kept thinking "I won't be listening to music on the way home at all... I'll be listening to Dyl!!" I would literally squeal with excitement!

Things started to hit me when we took the Fort Smith exit and my palms got really sweaty and all I could think to do way pray. So about 12 Hail Mary's later, I called Sasha with tears in my eyes claiming how nervous I was. And I was. I had so many things running through my head and I was honestly just ready to get the night over with and start my summer with Dylan.

We made it on base, found a parking spot, fixed my hair and make up :) and then waited for what seemed like FOREVER. Seriously. I met up with Dylan's parents right after we all witnessed the plane land (There were about 1,000 people there!) And surprise surprise, I had tears in my eyes again. I remember grabbing Sasha's hand and saying "I don't know what is wrong with me" or something like that. (She is so good to calm my nerves though... best friend EVER!)

Then we waited... four or five buses pulled up, unloading all the guys and everyone would cheer and run around looking for their loved ones. I remember seeing a mom who just got off the bus and she was holding her 2 or 3 year old baby boy so tight with tears rolling down her face and she just kept saying "I love you baby, I love you" I lost it. Of course.

Dylan was on the VERY.LAST.BUS. So I witnessed a lot of sweet moments between families and other young couples that brought tears to my eyes before seeing his handsome self step off the bus :)

His mom pushed me towards him and I can't remember exactly how it went down after that except that I held on to him so tight. I think I may have said something like, "Don't ever leave me for that long ever again" :) I can spare you all the gooey details. But I will say that when he kissed me, it just felt normal again. Like nothing had changed. Like I had my life back, finally.

The ride home was exactly what I expected. I couldn't wipe the smile off of my face and he just stared at me and told me he couldn't believe he was actually there. We drove over a hill to see our town all lit up at 2:30 am and I looked over at him and he seriously had the biggest, most genuine smile on his face. I said "You're home, honey!!"

I feel like this is a long and unorganized post. So, bless you if you've made it this far! I will share more another day, along with pictures from the talented duo!

Thanks for all the support!