GRADUATION CAP & GOWN

Caitlin picked up her cap, gown for graduation!  Feeling more real as these monumental moments are crossed off the calendar!

MARCH 24, 2011- LAST UNDERGRAD CLASS!

Today marked a monumental moment in Caitlin's college work towards her Nursing degree.....It was the last day of her undergraduate course work.  No more essays!  No more late night hours studying (that is until the BIG nursing test for licensure after graduation)! No more classes!

So what's next?  Caitlin starts her preceptor work in an emergency room setting for 5 weeks....then GRADUATION!  YAY!

NURSING HONORS

 In an earlier post, I blogged about how Caitlin was in a photo shoot for an ad campaign.  Here's one of the ads she is in.  She is on the left.  :-)

 Caitlin was inducted into the National Honor Society of Nursing for her GPA.  She will wear these honor cords at graduation!  WE ARE SOOOO PROUD OF HER!

Here's Caitlin with one of her former roommates, Morgan.  Morgan will be a bridesmaid in the wedding.  :-)

THE FOLLOWING LETTER WILL BE IN THE WEDDING INVITATIONS:

Dear Family and Friends,

Many changes have happened in our lives since the Save the Date cards were mailed out a few months ago! Joe's National Guard unit will be deploying to Afghanistan in late August for 12 months. Because of this news, the wedding plans have been moved to a new date. The only date available with all of the wedding vendors is August 20, 2011.

This new date does not give us much time to enjoy our marriage before Joe is deployed. Therefore, we decided to have a private exchange of wedding vows on 3/13/11. Because you have shared in our lives, by friendship and love, we hope to celebrate our marriage on August 20, 2011 with all of you.

Due to possible unexpected changes in deployment dates, please follow us on our wedding blog at http://dasonfamily.blogspot.com/ which we will continue to keep updated for our family and friends. If Joe deploys before August 20, 2011, a celebration of marriage will take place upon his return from Afghanistan.

With all our love,
Joe and Caitlin

3/13/11- INTRODUCING MR. & MRS.

MARRIAGE LICENSE!

Caitlin and Joey have made a huge decision......they got their marriage license today and will be meeting with their pastor this weekend to discuss a small wedding ceremony in the next couple of days.  Nothing fancy at this time and only with close family...... but they want to have some married time together before Joey leaves.

We are still planning the big wedding ceremony and reception for August 20, 2011 so Caitlin can have her dream wedding that she has been wanting since she was a little girl.  

MORE PLANS

We are extremely lucky to be able to change all the wedding stuff to August 20, 2011 without losing a booked event such as the caterer, photographer, reception hall, DJ, cake and so on......LUCK, LUCK, LUCK......even better, the caterer (where most of the wedding expense lies....) is willing to work with us if the groom happens to get deployed before August 20th.......even if it means that the big wedding is postponed until he is back from deployment in a year.  If this worst case scenario happens, Caitlin and Joey will have a quick exchange of vows before he leaves and will celebrate BIG time with the dream wedding when he returns!

Meantime, we are planning full force for the August 20th date.  This week, Caitlin is on Spring Break.  Making the best of the day, Caitlin and Joey went ring shopping to pick out Joey's ring.  Next, the kids registered at Kohls, Target and Bed, Bath and Beyond.  Soon we need to think about the invitations.  A special letter from Caitlin and Joey will explain the situation and ask guests to follow this blog for updates.....especially if a last minute change or cancellation happens.

One thing I do know, by the deployment date, these two will be married with or without a big celebration before he leaves.

AUGUST 20, 2011

After a whirlwind of a day trying to figure out a new date for the wedding, before Joey deploys on August 22 the only date that works is......August 20th.  This means we need a back up plan if his deployment is sooner rather than later.  What is the backup plan you ask?  A last minute church booking and reception in the church hall......We are bound and determined to give our little girl her fairy tale wedding that she has dreamed of......even if that dream is altered to fit the situation at hand.....we will make it work one way or another!

CHANGE IN PLANS=OMG!

Joey and Caitlin shared that he is being deployed (National Guard) in August!!!!  OMG that means the wedding can not be in September as planned.  July is the only safe month to plan the wedding since he will be home between boot camp and deployment.  Originally he was only planning on serving his one weekend a month rotation, but after he signed up, he found out that his unit is scheduled for deployment to Afghanistan. So now the big planning begins....hopefully it is not tooooo late and we can switch the caterer, church, reception, photographer and DJ to a date in July.  It will take some coordinating, but well worth the effort......looking on the bright side.....Caitlin and Joey will get to be Mr. and Mrs. earlier than expected!