wedding oh wedding

I was trying to waste the battery on my camera because it was almost dead, and I came up with a pretty shot of my ring : ) I like it a lot. 
The Wedding.

The dinning room/table has become the wedding war zone. Where battle plans are laid and hopes are raised. This was taken a few days ago and I must say that it's even more full now. 

The Tasks:

1. The cake--almost finalized, I just need to decide how I want the dang flowers to go on it.

2. The flowers--my bouquet is decided...and that's about it. I am now attempting to turn my interest into making sure my man looks dapper that day with a sweet boutonniere. A friend is arranging all of the centerpieces for us, but we still have to figure out the flowers from Costco (did you know you could order ahead! That makes saving money with Costco flowers even more groovy)

3. Decorations--I'm leaving that all to the decorations lady, she knows what I want, right?

4. Food--we're going to sample some at the caterer's tomorrow, yum yum!

5. Drinks--ummmmm????? no idea...

6. The Dress--going in for a fitting next week : ) yay!!!

8. Dapper Dan's Suit--waiting for him to come and try it on

7. Luncheon--just need to type up the menu

8. I'm sure there are many more things...

Anyways. This is what my life consists of. Figuring out wedding stuff all day long. It's all rather fun unless one is overly tired or stressed and then one may become a bit whiny and a bit full of worries which can really grate on people... but I'm never like that of course. I can't believe its only 23 days away! Sooooo close, and yet so far... hopefully the battle plans will all be in place soon! 

good ole fres-yes

Practicing my make up for the big day! Please excuse my not so cute looking hair... I had a hair trial later that day : ) 

So I've now been home for a week... it's been nice and the time has flown by! which is awesome because that means I get to see my boo that much sooner. I have also accomplished many things:

1. worked out every weekday

2. practiced my make up for the wedding

3. had a hair trial for the wedding

4. went to Costco and decided on flowers for the wedding (they even have peonies!!!! yay!!)

5. Attended Spencer's graduation from Bullard (attending a high school graduation is rather entertaining now as I have now completed my Masters and am thus completely done with my formal education) 

6. Spent time with old friends 

...... and much more that I just can't think of without looking at my calendar. So far it's been fantabulous : ) Let's hope I can keep this busy the next three weeks so time flies by until I see Dan the man!

home again, home again...

Best part of home? Waking up to warm, delicious, clear, non-humid, shining California sunlight! I swear it's better for you than any other sunlight in the U.S.! sigh, it makes me weak at the knees just sitting here next to the window!

I am finally home, for my last sojourn as a single woman in my parents house. A little crazy to think that the next 5 weeks are all I have left of being solo. I'm glad, but the only reason why I'm glad is because I found this big lug...

A lifetime is a long time, and eternity is even longer. I went in for an interview with my Bishop last Thursday to receive a sealing recommend and he told me that one of the most important things I could do once I'm married is to pray to love Dan and to be charitable towards him. He said that we as human beings don't have the capacity to continuously love a person at the same level always. We have to ask the Lord to help us and to remind us sometimes why we thought being stuck to that person for forever was a good idea. I am pretty excited right now though at the thought of being stuck to him for-eh-ver (read it like they say it in Sandlot). I think it'll be a real barrel of laughs : ) 

Soooo on a lighter note... I'm home! And I have nothing to do but go to the gym and various (and infrequent) wedding appointments and whatnot. So if you're in the Fres-yes area, give me a ring and I'll gladly play with you!

Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam!

Please excuse how awkward my arms look...

Sunday was the last day Dan and I will teach our Sunbeams. As you can see in the picture, the lesson was on being grateful for our eyes. I'm really going to miss teaching our little 3-year-olds. These kids made church extremely entertaining, and the lessons were a good reminder of the basic principles of the gospel and how even those are important to learn. It was really exciting being able to watch Dan teach, he's such a good teacher, has so many good ideas and knows how to captivate children. I loved being able to see how good Dan is at his career. I also loved watching him with children because he loves them and they love him, and I know he's going to make an awesome dad and that makes me smile! Oh sunbeams how I will miss you, especially while sitting through the "hump" hour of sunday school...

This last weekend, we also moved all of my stuff out of my apartment with Julie and into Dan's apartment! WIERD! Presently I am living out of a suitcase and sleeping on Julie's futon (as our other friend Zaneta has moved into my old room). This is my last week living with the girls and being a full fledged member of the "girls club." Sunday I'll fly home to Cali to help mom finish up all of the wedding plans and go crazy! I'm excited and can't wait to get married to my boo, I think it will be awfully nice... don't you?

Memorial Day fun

For Memorial Day, Julie, Dan and I all went for a bike ride in Central Park. It was a beautiful day and perfect for a nice bike ride. 

Dan and Julie during our snack break

Dan rode around without a shirt on, woot woot!

Julie's sexy pose, yowza!

The bikes... I had a little basket on mine for the water bottles

ME

Thanks for taking at least one pic of me Danny boy

Dan and Julie laid out and tried to get sun kissed, while I attempted to stay in the shade as much as possible : ) It was sooooo nice to have a relaxing day and not have to do anything!! vonderbar!

oodles of pictures!

Last week, the fam bam came out to visit for my graduation. Here are some pictures from that crazy week : ) 

Daddio and me on top of the Empire State building (I hadn't been up yet!)

We attended a Yankee game which the Yanks won of course!

Mom and Dad

I attended the LDS temple for the first time : ) 

Accompanied by my parents, Dan, future mom-in-law, and oodles of wonderful amigas! 

On Sunday after church (after the fam-bam had left) We all hiked through the Cloisters in the rain. Dan and I accidentally took a cheesy engagement photo.

I was trying to get a group picture and Rachel was the only one paying attention

And Dan decided to display his wonderfully round bum. Our children are going to have such a hard time finding pants that fit...

And the group Ben (Julie's brother), Julie Mack-a-doodle, Danny Boy and Raquelita.

Last week was crazy, but I'm so grateful that my family was able to come out and support me in my graduation. And I'm so glad I got to go through the temple surrounded by so much family and great friends! It was a big growing up week, I just hope I can fit into the giant shoes I now have to fill!

Oh what a day!

As my 2nd grade teacher Mrs. Broughton used to say, "you're not done, that's what a turkey is, you're finished."

Ashley and I went to elementary school and 7th grade together before she moved across the country to Virginia. So we graduated 6th grade together and 9 years later we earned our masters degree together. Crazy!

Zaneta's been my buddy this year. She's actually taking my spot in my current apartment next week after I move all of my stuff to Dan's before the wedding. I'm really glad I get to be friends with her some more : ) 

Oh Columbia, filled to the max!

So for some reason, at Columbia only doctoral students receive hoods. All of us masters just have these long sleeves which are very convenient for holding treats and cameras, etc...

The momma!

The parents! Who loved me and supported me moving across the country once they realized that Columbia's a big deal : ) 

Heck yeah I just graduated!!!

Danny boy. He edited my Columbia application (which I know is the only reason why I got in!) and he's been there for me all year long as I've gone crazy with papers and homework and stressed about what a crappy brand new therapist I am. We've been able to share the experience of starting our careers and it's been hard but really nice to be able to go through it together. He's just fantastic! 

The grandparents (Poppa, Grandad and Marcie) are all here too, but I guess I didn't get any of the pictures with them on my camera! More will come I'm sure : ) I am surrounded by love!

Thanks family and friends for all of your love and support, and for making me feel like I could do this. It's been somewhat stressful, but now it's done and over with. I've got to really grow up! Wish me luck on becoming a real productive member of society! : )