Top 12 Moments of 2012

12. Spent the beginning part of the year going to any and every concert that was in the area. I got to see Luke Bryan and Jason Aldean, George Strait and Martina McBride, and Wade Bowen to name a few.

11. Traveled to Seattle with my best friend, Alli to visit our friend, Marcus who lives there. It was one of my favorite trips ever. We had such a great time and did so many fun things!

 

10. I ran my first half marathon with my longtime friend, Sabrina (it was also her first half marathon). We had a lot of fun training and gossiping on all our long runs together.

 

9. Caught the biggest fish I'll ever catch in my entire life while fishing with Aaron and his friends. I might have cheated and had some help, but I still think it counts since I put my hand/arm in it's mouth.

8. Hosted my first "Favorite Things" party with some of my favorite girlfriends to celebrate my 24th birthday.

 

7. Aaron got a job and found out he would be moving to Arkansas, 7 hours away from me :( I was so happy for him and thrilled to hear the news, but sad at the same time.

 

6. Spent July 4th weekend at a resort to celebrate our first annual family reunion with my dad's side of the family. We had a blast swimming, horseback riding, golfing, playing games, and enjoying each other's company. I also shot my first and only eagle while playing golf. It was one for the books.

 

 

5. Made the trip to Aaron's new stomping grounds to house hunt. We were successful and found a great 3 bedroom rental house for him to live in.

 

4. Celebrated big life moments like a wedding and lots of babies with sweet friends. Still waiting on a few more babies to make their grand entrance. I loved having the opportunity to capture these moments through photography.

 

 

 

 

3. Went duck hunting for the first time in my life and really enjoyed it.

 

2. Spent quality time with some of my favorite people in the world...my best friends.

 

 

 

 

1. Last but definitely not least.....while helping Aaron move into his new house, I got engaged! It was by far the greatest thing that's happened to me this year.

 

2012 was such a wonderful year. I'm thankful I have this blog to look back on and serve as a reminder of all the many things to be grateful for.

 

Something tells me that 2013 is going to be even greater. It will be one of the busiest years of my life. I will be planning a wedding, moving to a new state, traveling to Vegas and Nashville for two different weddings, traveling to Myrtle Beach, SC for a bachelorette party, Dallas for my bachelorette party, and paradise for our honeymoon. All of that crammed into the next 6 months. WOW....that makes me so excited to think about, but I really can't fathom yet how it's all going to be physically possible. I know one thing is for sure...come July, I will be so ready to relax and settle down into a quiet little town with Aaron :)

 

Happy New Year to you all. Hope you have a fun and safe holiday!

6 Months!!!

Today marks exactly 6 months until our wedding day! I am getting so anxious and excited. My wedding dress came in this week and today I had my first fitting and I got to bring the dress home. That made it way more surreal. Thankfully, the dress fit like a glove. It fit so perfectly that I won't have to alter it, except for the length. That also means I cannot gain a pound from now until June. I plan to kick it into high gear starting Jan. 1st and hopefully tone up and lose a few pounds.

Here's a list of the things I've gotten done and/or am working on right now:

-Save the Dates are printed and 3/4 of them are done being addressed. I still have a handful left to do, but I plan on sending them out next week sometime.

-I designed and ordered our Thank You cards and they came in the mail today. They turned out just like I had envisioned.

-I ordered my veil tonight and it should be here in less than 2 weeks.

-I submitted our engagement announcement in the local newspaper and it should be published sometime this month.

-I bought tickets for my first bridal show next Sunday....I can't wait!

-My bachelorette party plans are in the works. We picked a date and location for it. Dallas/Ft. Worth here we come!

-I have cake tested at one bakery so far and I have an appointment to cake test at another place next week. Hopefully this next one will be a WINNER because her cakes are gorgeous!

The wedding planning process has been so fun and I've thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. There is so much going on in my head at all times and I'm constantly thinking about what I have to do next.  Next on my list is to:

-Book the honeymoon

-Start wedding counseling with our minister

-Try on and rent tux's/suits

-Start on invitations

Aaron has been so pleasant and low key throughout the whole planning process. There are certain things that he's particular about and the rest of it he pretty much agrees with me on. His main concern is the music and what he's wearing. Every thing else he is go with the flow on. He was really sad he couldn't make it to the cake testing. He's convinced that's the best part about wedding planning. There isn't a day that goes by that he doesn't tell me how ready he is for me to be there with him. We are both so ready to finally be married and living in the same town and house....and that makes me so anxious for June 29, 2013 :))

What I'm Loving Wednesday- Christmas Style!

I'm linking up with Jamie today for What I'm Loving Wednesday.

 

I took a much needed two week break from blogging. I wanted to fully enjoy this busy Christmas season and the time I got to spend with family and friends. My calendar was full with Christmas parties, birthdays, baking, and lots of food. Here is a recap of all the craziness and what I loved most about this Christmas:

1. We celebrated both my mom and dad's birthday this month. We got a special surprise on my mom's birthday. One of my oldest/longest childhood friend's, Rachel, had a baby girl on my mom's birthday. We got to visit her in the hospital and she was just beaming and looked so great. Her little girl is absolutely precious. My mom took a pic on her phone and I couldn't figure out how to send it to me so that's why there's no picture of her.

2. My entire family loaded up in one car to visit my Me-Ma for Christmas. It was a short, but sweet trip. It was fun to show my fiance and my brother's wife around the town. It was their first time to visit. It was also great to see my aunts and uncles and my Me-Ma. I was so happy that I got to spend part of Christmas with Aaron.

3. We had our annual tacky Christmas sweater party with my friends again. It was so much fun and I got to see some friends that I haven't seen in a while because they live far away. The tackiness was at an all time high this year. We had everything from tie dye onesie pajamas, a Christmas tree, a Christmas girl scout, to Mr. Griswald himself.

 

4. Yesterday we celebrated Christmas at our house with my family and my aunt. We opened gifts, watched movies, and played games. Below are a few entertaining videos from our day.

My mom and sister-in-law playing Just Dance on the Wii. Ignore my annoying commentary, but please notice this...... my mom looks like Annie Oakley with her pig tail braids and overalls. No, she does not wear this on a regular basis, but it sure makes her look even funnier.

 

My brother and dad got this miniature golf game and it is hilarious to watch and play. It is pretty tough to play, but it kept us entertained for a while.

 

5. We also went sledding at the man made sledding hill that they make every winter. We went with my cousin's family and it was a lot of fun.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6. Tonight is the last Christmas party of the year and it is one of my favorites. It's our girl's night gift exchange with my three best friends from elementary school and our friend from Nashville will be in town. Can't wait to see them and catch up!

 

If you've made it this far in the post, thanks for sticking with me....I know it was super long! I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas. Enjoy the New Year and I hope it's filled with many, many blessings.

Weekend Happenings

I had such a wonderful time this weekend!

-On Friday I went to the movies and saw Playing For Keeps. I liked the movie and thought it was pretty cute. Yes, it was predictable, but getting to watch Gerard Butler for two hours was fine by me :)

source:filmofilia.com

-Saturday, my brother and sister-in-law hosted a tacky Christmas sweater party. I had so much fun at the party. We ate, played dirty Santa, catchphrase, and Balderdash. It was seriously the funniest game of Balderdash I've ever played...and I've played some pretty funny Balderdash games. We laughed so hard we cried. I don't think I've laughed that hard in a LONG time.

 I got to borrow the coolest/tackiest/most festive Christmas outfit from a friend's sister....isn't it awesome?

 



-Sunday, I headed to Arkansas to see my friend, Caitlin and her baby boy. We took pictures, had our usual girl talk, and may have even gotten peed on. It was totally worth it though. I think the pictures turned out so sweet and I'm so glad I finally got to hold him!



- Today, I had the day off so I went to the hospital to visit my friend, Amy who just got out of surgery to remove a brain tumor. Scary stuff. I'm so thankful her surgery went well and she looked great! It was great to see her smiling face. Praying for good results!



- Tonight, I am going to dinner with my family to celebrate my dad's 60th birthday. It's so crazy to think that my dad is 60 because I don't think he looks or acts it. Happy Birthday Daddio, you're the best!



-I also got something fun and exciting delivered to my front porch today. I just love it when I see a bright orange package on my door. Especially when it's our wedding guest book that I made from Shutterfly. I'm not going to show you the whole thing yet, but I will give you a sneak peek of the front and back cover.....I'm in love and so happy with the way it turned out :)))