"...then comes marriage..."

Well, folks, our four wedding showers are officially done and that just leaves one thing... the wedding! This entry will be briefly describing the four showers, as they were all very different. The one above was this past weekend in Hartford, thrown by my aunt and gram. We had enchiladas and margaritas, two splendid things. The theme was to use a piece of lingerie as decoration in the wrapping process. How creative! And let's just be honest- it's fun to have cute new undies and outfits for my married life.
The pictures above and below are from Le Sueur, Minnesota, and this shower was put on by Becky's family. It was really nice to meet some of Ceej's more distant relatives at this St. Patrick's Day themed party. We played Pfeffer (I literally got the worst score of everyone) and ate Mexican food. We also got to spend lots of time with his aunts and uncles after the shower, which was a blast!
The next two pictures were from an evening shower in Stillwater thrown by my sister, Jenni. The first was an intense "hot bouquet" type of game (which my aunt Sue won). The second picture is me holding my ice cream cake, homemade by Jenni! It was fun to drink wine and spend time with my aunts and sisters in a non-holiday setting.


Not pictured (due to not having a camera there) was my shower in Eau Claire thrown by both of our moms. We played fun games and had a soup and sandwich buffet. This shower was lovely and had a lot of people from the area... a bonus for those unable to travel!

Showers can be overwhelming for some, but I really loved them! They were all so unique and wonderful. I feel so blessed to have such great family and friends (I know-I'm super corny). I can't believe we'll be married in 25 days... this amazing time has gone by so fast!

Easter Blessings

Ceej and I had a fantastic Easter this year. It began the good ol' fashioned way- by dying eggs with his siblings. It was a great time and we made some very attractive little eggs!
Easter Sunday was spent going to church with my brother and then heading over to my aunt's for the annual egg hunt. Mickeegan and Elliana (above) were really excited to find their eggs! To do a little "Auntie Em bragging": Mickeegan is 6 and reading in our wedding! He actually MEMORIZED his reading, and it's so cute that I'm a little scared he's going to steal the show. Elliana is going to be 2 in May and already potty trained! Isn't that crazy?! Both these kids are just amazing and I'm very proud of them!
Rylan is getting so big! He already has a mouth full of teeny tiny teeth that resemble mustard seeds. I had to include the picture below, too, because his little smile is SO adorable. He is crazy about his bear and laughs histerically when it "dances" in front of him!

Bright and White

You're probably thinking, "What in the HECK is going on in these revolting pictures?!" Actually, we are quite excited about them! My brother is great for two reasons: 1. He's really fun and 2. He's a dentist. For our wedding gift he offered to bleach our teeth, and these pictures represent the process. Did you notice how distressed Ceej looks and how thrilled I appear? Well that would have to do with the large object on my face administering laughing gas. George wasn't shy about crankin' that bad boy up, which explains the joyful look on my face. Afterward we were both really sore, but we are so happy with the outcome! Thanks for such an awesome job, George!

Wooohoooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!

There are two reasons why I am currently celebrating:

1. It is finally spring, which means that bike riding season has begun for my daddy and me.

2. I have been accepted to the Masters of Occupational Therapy Program at the University of Minnesota to begin September 8th! It's a 2 1/2 year program taking place in Rochester. It is mostly online and increasingly becomes more face-to-face as the semesters progress. That is, the first semester is 2 consecutive days each month, the second semester is 2 consecutive days every two weeks, the third is 2 per week, and the fourth is 4 per week. For the first year my beloved cousin will be living in Winona, about 40 minutes from Rochester, so I'll be staying with her. We'll figure out the rest as it comes. We are very thankful for this opportunity, and I can't wait to start!

Our New Home!

We have a new home! We are currently in the nesting stage and very excited to move in on May 24th! It's a sweet little duplex in Altoona and we are thrilled with it! There are 2 bedrooms and 3 levels. The basement is unfinished but that doesn't phase us- we bought a large piece of carpet and are in the process of setting up our pool table and a card table down there. It's been so fun to "prepare" our first home and move in slowly... enjoying every step of the way!

We got a new table as a wedding gift! Our dining area is pretty small, so we needed a tiny table to fill that space. It's the perfect size and really, really beautiful!
Our little kitchen... here is a picture of a night after one of the bridal showers... we unloaded all of our gifts, washed the dishes and cookware, and organized our cupboards! It was great because I especially love organizing.

Ceej with our first ever bag of garbage. I thought it was a monumental moment... but now it just sounds dorky.
I have been feeling so domestic! Above are some items that I spray-painted black to fit with our decor better. It's a really exciting new hobby, especially with garage sale season coming up! I will probably start thinking in all shades of color... seeing objects as blank slates that I can paint into masterpieces. So beware, I may start mismatching clothes. Below is the reminder that I am just a novice, as I forgot to wear gloves and still have black nails 3 days later.