Pre-New-Years - New Year's Resolution

So, I know... I have completely failed at blogging this year... But, as a New Year's resolution, I hope to blog more! SO, to get a jump on it, here is a post! I feel my life is usually so ordinary, it isn't worth blogging about, but here I am!

Last night I baked GFS's pre-made sugar cookies, so that I could decorate them tonight, and bring them to Shared Leadership Council (SLC)'s cookie exchange in the morning (my idea :-D) Here are some of my favorites! And they don't taste all that bad either! Now what to do with all the extra frosting.....

Honeymoon Teaser

Lest the honeymoon be shown up by a perfect wedding, our honeymoon has done a pretty good job so far of living up to that standard. I've been keeping a decent journal describing everything we did, but it's hard to find the time to assemble my record into something worth reading. Everything has been a blast, and earlier today we had trouble deciding what has been our favorite part of Aruba. I'll try to give you a little taste...

After getting in, we had our first meal at the Casino attached to the hotel. We met two Honeymooners from Colorado, who we met up with a couple of more times. It was the first of many surprises of how great the food is here, even at

little unassuming cafes and restaurants. The fresh baked buns for our burger and awesome onion rings made for a great meal off the plane. I also got my first taste of Balashi, which is a pretty darn good local pilsner.

We didn't waste much time Wednesday getting to our first tropical drink on the island, which came at the Iguana Cantina. Jill is drinking a Pink Iguana.

Iguanas are native to the island, and

they're all over

the place. Hence, there are plenty of drinks and restaurants with Iguana themes.

Thursday we rented a car (which has turned from a Mitsubishi Gallant to a Nissan Altima, but that's a long story that ends in a quick change of a tire by me). We took that grocery shopping, and eventually made it out to Senor Frogs in downtown Oranjestad. We actually ran into Wit and Courtney (from Colorado) after dinner. Things got a bit crazy,

but it went something like this:

We had a great time, and also hung out with another couple of honeymooners, who were out for

their last night on the island. [Note: As I'm writing this, it's getting close to time to go out, so I'm afraid the narration is getting shorter...now...]

We found time to make it to the beach:

(my shadow)

I'll leave you with just a couple more pictures, with explanations to follow later.

Sunset Catamaran Sail

Near the Natural Bridge

Aruba or Bust!

It's 5:56 AM, and we're all checked in waiting at our gate for our flight to Atlanta, and I just wanted to take a moment to thank everyone who made this past weekend so unforgettable.

The past week, for me, has been a busy blur of finishing a semester and preparing for and celebrating our wedding, followed by moving in with Jill. Everything went so well. Jill did a fantastic job planning our wedding, and I have to thank her mom and dad in particular for supporting her from the biggest decisions to the smallest details. I'm sure Jill's high school friend Lauren, who had been looking forward to Jill and Helen's innumerable hand-made touches, didn't leave disappointed. The church and the reception hall were both decorated perfectly. Our accommodations at the Amway Grand Hotel were beautiful; we had views to the North, West, and South, overlooking the Grand River from the sixteenth floor. It was a perfect weekend.

My only regret is that I didn't have more time to sit and visit with everyone who came to the wedding and reception. It was truly an honor to be surrounded by so many of our friends and family. I hope everyone knows how important it was to have you all there with us. We couldn't have had the amazing time that we had without each and every one of you.

Well, I'm sure I forgot to say something that I wanted to, but our plane is boarding now. Be sure to check back in for updates as the week goes on. No promises, but we hope to have the time to check in.

Now, off to the honeymoon...

Just a quick post with some pictures from this past weekend's camping trip...

12 people, 12 million misquitos, 285 jello shots, 1 rascally racoon... I know I had a blast... :)

Wedding Prep

As the wedding prep continues, here are some updates!

We've now had engagement photos taken...

And I picked up my practice bouquet this weekend... It was beautiful!

We are adding red dahlias, but couldn't get them this early in the season...

And last Saturday, I had my Bachelorette party! We had so much fun... Here are some of the girls and I,

enjoying some wine and hors devours...

The we went downtown.. And I of course got lots of looks with my veil and sash designating me as the Bride!

We all went to dinner at Ottawa Tavern, which has great food

(just don't ask about the service...)

Then we went to Mojo's the dualing piano bar, and had blast... Lots of dancing and fun times!

And then we ended up back at the hotel for the night.. Here is me and two of my favorite girls!

(Emily and Suzy...)

Spring time!

Hi Everyone - Sorry it has been so long since I've last posted... I've taken pictures with the purpose of posting, they just havn't gotten here yet... So, other than wedding planning, this is what we've been up to!

Grill Master Jim has been preparing some wonderful meals...

We used our new veggie griller to make a great side to go with our chicken. The veggies were marinaded in olive oil, a little lemon juice, and... from our new spice rack... which I had never heard of....

It went very well with all the veggies... I just had never heard of or used it before!

I've also been doing a ton of spring yard work... Just for Dad - Diagonals!

Also, planted some flowers...

Jim already got started enjoying the scenary and relaxing!

We are going to ARUBA!!!!

Jim kept telling me - everything will work out.... Now I finally believe him!

I got a call this morning, and we have finalized our trip to Aruba thanks to Uncle Bill and Aunt Robyn's timeshare club! Yippee!!! The timeshare starts Aug. 28th, so we will be able to use the whole week... We will probably also look into going a couple days before that as well as flying will probably be easier midweek.... So, I bought some sunscreen today, cuz I'm headed to the beach! (in 4 months... haha) The Aruban Resort and Casino (www.thearuban.com) will be wonderful - take a look!




This weekend was also my first bridal shower! It was so much fun.. Everyone who reads this and is female was probably there, so I'll just say that I had a great time, and appreciate all the hard work and wonderful gifts! It is finally starting to feel real - Jim and I are getting married!!!! :-D