Reinging in the Wedding Planning

Thankfully I have a good friend who is able to see where I lack and is able to pick up the pieces without missing a beat. I have really not being doing so hot at wedding planning. I had no idea how miserable at it I would be, there is a lot of pressure and expectations involved here people!! But now I am finally getting my act together. Part of the reason that it took me so long to get a start on it was that I knew we would have a long engagement because I was going back to school and for the same reason I have no time. With spring break being last week, my good friend, A, sprung it on me - it's time! Time to get your silly butt in gear and make some stinking progress. She did not say it in those words, actually, she didn't say anything at all, she didn't have to, she just presented me with this:

Now I can keep everything organized and in one place and finally get all of my thoughts organized! It has a tab for EVERYTHING! She even made the pages to put into the notebook with our initials on them! I have to admit, I was a little embarrassed that I didn't think of doing this for myself, sometimes I swear I am helpless. Even Andrew thought it was cool! It got me really excited about having more concrete plans for the wedding and really got Andrew and I thinking. Such an awesome gift! I am so blessed to have such a thoughtful friend that knew just what I needed!

March Madness!

march, the time of year when all of the men in my life suddenly lose the capability to hear absolutely anything that I am saying because of one thing: college basketball. this is a picture of dad and andrew filling out their brackets, intense. it's funny because being this into sports is something that has defined my idea of what a man should be. it would be really weird to be if andrew wasn't into sports in an intense way. also, if i didn't have dad and josh i would probably be totally confused by andrew's strange behavior. after all, we had to meet a nondescript man, at a hole in the wall bar, on a wednesday night, just to drop andrew's brackets off. josh however, is probably the worst offender. he had the girls at work act out the mascots of each of the 64 teams so that kira could choose HER OWN BRACKET. when she smiled at the acting, that was her choice. wow. i wonder when she'll figure out that maybe this isn't totally normal. anyway, after all of the men calm down and stop the screaming and shouting and betting and predicting, i have to say, that deep down i really enjoy the madness. i like to cheer for the underdog and see how excited the fans get, basketball is something that brings people together, united behind a team of 20 something boys. i smile and i wonder if the packed house at 8am mass this morning had anything to do with the gonzaga game starting at 9:10 am... madness, isn't it?

Trying Not to Laugh

I think that everyone has those moments from time to time. Those moments when the whole congregation is quiet. That moment when your Dad says something hilarious. Those moments when you cannot help but laugh. That moment when you are trying to figure out how not to bust into full blown laughter and draw a ridiculous amount of attention to yourself while being completely irreverent and disruptive to a community of believers.
This morning at mass, I had one of THOSE moments. During the Peace of Christ we all shake hands and pass the peace of Christ to one another. Finally as it was drawing to an end I leaned over and tapped Mom on the back, she had not offered me Peace of Christ, she looks at me and says, "Oh whoops, I forgot." Forgot what? Forgot to offer me Peace? Forgot that I was there? Forgot that I was her daughter? Dad turns his back to Mom looks at me and says out of the corner of his mouth, "Forgot? I'm not buying it." And then, THAT moment struck. I could not help it. I probably seems much less funny being removed from THAT moment, but let me tell you, it was definitely one of THOSE moments. I laughed, out loud, just a little, and then I got a hold of myself.

Last Day of Winter

Happy last day of winter! I had a great little study break today and got a chance to have a nice long chat with Steph. I miss her so much so it was great to be able to talk and get in a little exercise - ideal! While I was buzzing around the neighborhood I was snapping some pictures. I never think to take pictures of the blossoming cherry trees because they seem to common this time of year and reappear every year at this time. However, what if I stopped taking some of these beauties for granted. Today I'm celebrating the last day of winter and saying hello to spring!

Watch That Baby Grow! - 6 months

I love this picture of the three of us. We were trying to get a nice picture of the three of us together for Mom and Dad and then Kira's sock flew off, and then she decided she should eat her sock which grossed Josh out. I like this picture because it shows us how we really were at that moment in time, nothing posed or forced, just us being us, baby socks and all.

Kira decided that Uncle Drew needed some help reading the newspaper. She was really not sure about him at first but after the first day together they became buds. She was propped up against his legs when she noticed the newspaper. She tried to eat that too, or really just suck on it a bit.

She is a daddy's girl. She loved being with Andrew and I but she would light up every time that she could catch Josh's eye. I can't quite explain how excited she gets when she looks around the room spot Josh and to realize that, "oh my goodness - there's my dad!" She is looking at him in this picture, she keeps an eye on him for us.

Bed and Breakfast

andrew at the bed and breakfast, we were the only guests that night

I quickly became really intrigued with the details of this place, just look at those gorgeous doorknobs. I had no idea I would ever be interested in doorknobs.

The shower was housed in the original clawfoot tub that came with the house originally built in the 1800's.

Andrew and I took a quick, very quick, trip over to visit our niece. Andrew hadn't met Kira yet and I knew that I needed to see her during my break. I had my eye on this bed and breakfast since Stephanie and Ellen were here and we went over to the west side, unfortunately for that girls weekend the B and B was booked. This time around, they had a room and I am now hooked! It was the first time that I had ever stayed at a bed and breakfast and this was a new and exciting experience. When we checked in I was totally freaked out! We were to be the only guests that night and I was convinced this place had to be haunted! I made Andrew check the place out and I was sure that I would not sleep that night. We had gotten up at 4 am to drive over and I was exhausted, and yes, had a mini meltdown about staying in an old house that I was sure I would be sharing with past guests that never left...

The next morning, you can guess, much to Andrew's dismay, that the first question I asked the innkeeper was if the house was haunted. His response made me laugh, he told us that it's only haunted when people drink too much. We had a great breakfast cooked by the innkeepers and got to play with their beautiful 18 month old daughter afterward. What a fun way to spend a morning! Being so busy with school it was awesome to be able to spend time with Andrew and to check out something new like this bed and breakfast together.

I always thought that Abby could read my mind. Now my suspicions have been confirmed; we are on the same wavelength. This picture might not do justice to the coincidence of this situation - we were literally wearing the exact same clothing components, making our outfits frighteningly similar. Black shirts, purple flowing sweaters, skinny jeans, tall boots. Oh my.