Thursday, July 25, 2013

The Best I know how...

I thought the quickest and easiest way to catch up some would be to post random pictures of times since we have started life together. :-) These do not represent near ALL the things we have done, nor the best pictures that Im sure we have. Im mainly going off of "Dropbox" photos that I took from my cell phone... as my camera isnt in operation at the moment. Apologizing in advance for the poor resolution of some of them!
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Aaron & Nett along with their family was so willing to make the LONG trip out to bring my vehicle & belongings after the wedding. I cant thank them enough for this! 


During their time here we did a ton of fun things.. a cruise, visited museums, legoland, etc.
At the apartment, Emilee was occupying herself with selling tickets to all these fun places. I "bought" several of them after listening to some detailed descriptions of each and every place. What a creative imagination..




 Thanks so much Lynette for all your help while here. It was SOO nice having your family here with us.

There is this road called Sunset Blvd... which lines the coast. This place is like an attraction in itself. Like clockwork, when the sun is about to set, the cliffs are packed with people waiting to take in such a beautiful moment.
 Tim & I have been doing a lot of camping and have been enjoying our time exploring the desert! 
We have been having fun researching items and updating our camping supplies/collection.

 This being one of the things we dont use anymore...
After each trip, we try to explore a nearby town or city to see what they have to offer. 
Took this horse and buggy for a ride, visited a Gold mine, several old fashion shops, museums, etc.



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Of course, we cant forget Balboa park...this place will always be near and dear to me. We've visited it several times and picnicked there.





We have created so many fun memories already. Looking forward to MANY more!

And another month later....


My Sister's Beautiful Wedding Day

To represent the day, I thought I would post some shots(just a few), as some I'm sure have already seen these too. :-) I didn't have my camera there either so working off others shots.





So honored to be a part of your day, Ange. Thanks so much for asking me to be in it!
You look sooo happy!

One month later...


It was time to start the celebrations for Ange's upcoming wedding in June. I flew home for 2 short days to help with the last minute preparations. There was very little down time, but with several people's help it came together very nice! Ash and I worked on making the favors the night I arrived and then some the next day. I had started the "Thank You" tags prior to getting there and just had to ACTUALLY put them together- All the pieces were cut and accounted for! We planned for a "Spa" themed shower, so Ash found this awesome idea to create slippers and have Epson salt in mini bottles... I loved the idea.













Glad I was able to be there to help celebrate Ange!

A Bridal message..

The Day I Married My Best Friend is a Day I'll never forget! 
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One of my bridesmaids wanted to make a public announcement for all in the Hotel to see!
I actually thought it was very sweet :-)

Prep1, Prep2 & Day of Hair styles

A couple weeks after my shower, I had several final appointments to attend to in Lake Placid prior to the wedding. Mom & I made a trip north for an overnight and met up with Aunt Ruth  and then later the rest of the family for dinner. Aunt Ruth, Mom & I went to all my appointments.. I figure the more the merrier, and well for moral support as Tim couldn't be there this time. One of the main appointments was my trial run for the wedding day hairstyle. I had spent HOURS searching for that "perfect" style and was hard pressed to find one that I totally felt confident with. This one below, was (what I thought to be) my final choice! I know that you cant get your hopes up to have THAT exact style done on ones hair, but for some reason I thought it could be pretty close- Long or short hair. Needless to say, it turned out to be a MASSIVE curly bun and a huge bump in the middle (in side views). I had guessed that the stylist had put 300 bobby pins in my hair, as thats all she seemed to do, and I was feeling every one of them :-(  In the end it was only 75-80 I think. I was pretty shocked.

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Not so convinced....

I left the salon after paying $100 and not being satisfied:-/ I made the hair appointment my first for the day, so had to deal with a not so good up-do the rest of the day. Needless to say, I gained a MASSIVE headache within an hour of leaving.. and tolerated it until about 4:30ish. I pictured my wedding day then and having an early hair appointment and a more evening wedding/reception and concluded that this just wasn't going to work... I was back to the drawing board again. Shortly after, as I didn't have a ton of time left.. I started messing with my hair and trying other ideas myself.. I was skiddish at the idea of my wedding day being another trial run, but I was willing to take that chance.. I wanted to enjoy my day rather than have that headache again. 





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The Day Of..

I expressed my concerns about my last trial run.. I tried my very best to explain my new idea as I had decided just to leave it down, as that would be the safest. She attempted SEVERAL times to braid my hair down the sides like I had wanted, and I could tell very quickly that she had NO IDEA what she was doing. Over and over again, she would tear it apart and start over. I thought, forget it... if she doesnt know, then I'll just do it myself.. I wasnt taking any chances of it not meeting my expectations THAT day... and took over I did. Not totally sure she liked it, but oh well.... :-)



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All in all, I was a very happy bride-to-be when I was done!
There was such a peace and confidence that I didnt have before. 
I could now go to my wedding:-)





Wednesday, July 24, 2013

My Shower... to be a Bride:-)


What a whirlwind of a year so far, but what wonderful memories have been made! My prayers were answered & dreams came true when I was asked to marry my handsome prince! Life as I knew it in that moment, picked up speed. Flipping through magazines for ideas, internet pages, asking for guidance from friends and family, etc became my life as I had a wedding to plan for! 
I was soooo excited:-)

March 22nd, my to be mother-in-law, to be sister-in-law, and her friend came and spent the night prior to my shower. We had such an awesome time.. Joy, Heidi & myself camped in the living room chatting, watching a movie or working on curling hair for the shower. Never heard of such things before, but it was brought to my attention that they were gonna use socks to tie in their hair to create the curls. I actually pulled up some snap shots of that moment, but Im just gonna be nice and all (as I am NOW family;-) ) Thank you guys so much for making the trip. Your overnight visits were great!
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Most have probably by now seen these snapshots, but for the sake of the event, I thought I would go ahead and post them. I chose just a few of the MANY that are out there. Anyone that knows me, knows that I HATE to be the center of attention... and this was no different. You always wonder what you will say, how you will act etc when EVERYONE is there for YOU! In that moment, it seemed like a dream to me... Im going to MY bridal shower and within a few short months will be marrying the man of my dreams. So nervous & excited all at once. 
For Love, I was willing to go through the process!
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These girls have supported me throughout the process... Thank you so much for wanting to be by my side!




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Mom, thank you so much for all your hard work in so many ways! You have spent long hours helping in the wee hours of the night, offering a shoulder to cry on when emotionally overwhelmed, was my shopping buddy returning to the same stores SOOO frequently etc. and dove right in on all my crafty projects. Your love and support meant soooo much! <3 nbsp="">

A large spread of some delicious food!
So glad to have had my NOW mother-in-law and family  there! It meant so much:-)
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Where do I begin to say thank you for ALL your support & love over the years with events that our family 
has had?! You all have made it a priority to attend graduations, baby/bridal showers, weddings etc etc. Your family involvement has meant so much to me over the years. It was truly an honor to have you there!
Other family members that arent in these pictures that were there, are also included in this! :-)





What a wonderful day..