Christmas Recap.

My Christmas was better than I ever could have imagined. We spend Christmas Eve with family friends. We went over there and had a big lunch, exchanged presents, played some games and then headed off to church. Christmas Eve service is probably my second favorite of the year after Good Friday, there is such a sense of peace and calm, absolutely amazing. 

This year I decided to start a married tradition of drinking champagne with our toasting flutes from our wedding and opening our presents to each other on Christmas Eve. It was great to have that time to ourselves and have those moments. I can see them being even more special as we get older and have kids and the alone time doesn't happen as often. I get so excited thinking about how our Christmases

On Christmas morning we spent the day with my Mom's family. Each year we get matching PJ's and this year we went with snowflakes.

One of the gifts that I was most excited for was tickets to the Pacific Rim Championships for gymnastics. I'm a big gymnastics fan (even though I never did gymnastics) and I watch all of the meets online and follow all of the National Team on social media. This is an event that is happening in my state and gymnasts from all over the world will be there. I'm super excited to be able to see these athletes competing in person just a few months before some of them will be at the Olympics.

I also gone a ton of other awesome presents, cute sweaters, booties, earrings, and a bunch of stuff for our apartment/future house. I am so blessed to have been able to spend this day with my amazing family and be given so many wonderful gifts. I hope everyone else had just as wonderful of a Christmas! 

Weekending: Winter Break is here!

We have reached winter break, can I get a hallelujah?

Unfortunately the weather wasn't cooperating and while we were supposed to travel to my in-laws on Friday after school, we had to wait until Saturday morning because the mountain pass was closed. It opened on Saturday, but the roads were super snowy and it was a terrifying drive. Thankfully we made it here safely.

I did some last minute shopping with my sister in law and picked up a few stocking stuffers for C. I am trying really hard to make our first married Christmas a memorable one and I think it's going to be great.

Today we are celebrating with his family and exchanging gifts. I love all of the things that we got them and I can't wait to see them open them all. It's been a relaxing few days here with his family, but I'm excited to go home to our apartment and enjoy the last day before Christmas! We have a full Christmas Eve and Christmas day, so I am excited for the festivities to begin!

Linking up with Meghan! 

Christmas Card Reveal 2015

Last year I saw so many awesome Christmas cards and I made the decision that this year I would make sure we got really good ones. I had been planning to go with MINTED and even though I told myself that I could splurge on them, when the time came to buy them I just couldn't justify it.

We ended up ordering them from Snapfish after a free trial where we got to order 5 cards.

 I liked the quality so I ended up ordered all of ours from there. I got a white back so that I could write a personal message on the ones that I wanted to, and I paid to get our address printed on the envelope. We changed the design and this was our final product. 

It was so much fun sending these out and hearing from friends and family as they received them. I love Christmas and I look forward to making sending Christmas cards a tradition. This is our first year, but you can bet that next year we will be doing it again! :)

Linking up with Mary and Macy! 

Weekending: On the go.

This weekend flew by, typical! It was a little too packed for my liking, but I made it through and managed to take a nap on Sunday afternoon.

Friday night we went to my Aunt's house to celebrate my Grandad's birthday. He's 82, I love him so much. This was him being goofy. 

On Saturday, C and I slept in until 10:30! I couldn't believe it. I don't even remember the last time I slept that late. It was glorious. I had a lazy morning cleaning our apartment, shopping, and wrapping Christmas presents. 

Saturday night was our staff christmas party. I have an awesome staff and we had a blast relaxing, chatting, and doing things outside of school. It's so nice to get away and not be surrounded by students and stress. It was a lot of fun. 

Sunday after church we had a work day at the student farm. I had some quality time with my lambs and pigs. :) 

We went to lunch with my college roommates at the Cheesecake Factory. YUM! It's always good catching up with these girls who I spent every day with for two years. I am blessed to have friends as good as them. 

I took a nap Sunday afternoon && just relaxed to get ready for this week. I only have one night meeting so that means it will be a lot easier than last week.  Two weeks until break! 

Linking up with Meghan!

Thanksgiving Week.

It doesn't seem like Thanksgiving week to me. I'm not sure if it is just because I have been so busy, but the time has seriously flown by. I feel like it was just summer time. Anyways, whether I believe it or not, it's already Thanksgiving. I wanted to take a minute to talk about things that I am thankful for, because there are so many.

Jesus. He gave me life, gives me everything I could ever need, and truly loves me.

My husband. My other half. The one who hold me when I cry, tickles me when I need a laugh, supports me in everything, and loves me unconditionally.

My best friend. The one I can count on for anything and everything.

My job. Teaching is so much more than a job, its a passion. My kids fill my heart every day and without a doubt they have changed my life and continue to  each day. My job also provides me with an income that allows me to have enough money for anything that I need and most things that I want. I also have the best coworkers, so blessed.

My family. I have two parents who love me, siblings who I have great relationships with, and extended family who all care about me. We may not all get along, but we come together when we need to and all love each other.

My apartment. As much as I am eager to get into a house, I love our little home together. It's clean, warm, and comfortable.

My friends. I have such a strong group of friends who I know will always have my back and are only a phone call away. We might not see each other often, but there is a depth to our friendships that will always remain.

My church. My husband and I have both been getting more involved in our church and it really is starting to feel like home. I am leading a group of high school girls now and he serves in the worship band. We are meeting more people and I am loving it even more.

I hope all of you are feeling as blessed and thankful as I am this week. Sometimes even when it's hard, it helps to focus on the good, because there is so much good in our lives even through the difficulties. 

Weekending: Homecoming

This weekend we went back to my my college, Washington State University, for homecoming. I love WSU, a lot. The spirit there is something special and we truly are a Cougar Family. It was an absolutely perfect weekend. We left right after school on Friday and made the trip there (about 5 hours) with one of my college roommates and her boyfriend. I haven't seen her since my wedding so it was great to catch up.

When we got there we went to my brother's apartment (he's getting his phD right now) and dropped off our stuff and then headed to the bar. It was crazy crowded, but wonderful. There was a pretty big group of us, we were dancing, singing, and having a great time. 

Me && my brother 

Saturday was GAMEDAY! :) We went to the store to get some things for breakfast and then started getting ready for the game. We headed to campus about 3 hours before kickoff and watched the band for a little bit and walked around to enjoy the festivities. It was the most beautiful day, sunny and 70 degress. Absolutely perfect. 

 We found our mascot, Butch! 

The game was a blast! We had a group of about 15 of us all in one section so we had a great time. Our team did amazing (which doesn't happen often) and we ended up winning! 

After the game we had dinner, took a nap, and then headed back to the bar. We were there until it closed at 2am. I would call that a success. :) 

When they turn the lights back on...you know it's time to go.

My roommate wanted to leave early so we were on the road at 7am. I wasn't feeling very good and slept most of the way back. I was so glad I wasn't driving. It was such a blast, the perfect weekend reliving our college days. I'm so thankful that even three years later I still have such a solid core of friends from college to go and have fun with. I think next year we are going to rent an RV and tailgate, regardless as long as we are back and can enjoy a game together, that's all I care about. 

Two down...one to go! Maybe by next year she'll have a ring too. :) Love my roommates. 

Linking up with Meghan!

Wedding Wednesday: Rehearsal Dinner

Happy Wednesday!  Today we are taking a look at our rehearsal dinner. Since my fiance's family doesn't live anywhere near where we were getting married, my mom graciously hosted our rehearsal dinner. It was quite the large affair because I wanted to invite all of my family who traveled from the west coast. We also invited all of his family who traveled for the wedding. Add to that the bridal party and we had about 50 people at our rehearsal dinner, good thing my mom has a big backyard! 

I made this big sign to make sure everyone knew where they were going. 

Me && my beautiful bridesmaids. <3

We had italian food since that is easy for a large group. My mom and I prepped it all the day before so all we had to do on the day of the rehearsal was put it in the oven. Our menu included lasagna, chicken alfredo, meatballs, bowties, caesar salad, and rolls. There was so much food and it was all delicious. 

Some of my friends, plus yard games in the back. We played ladder ball and bocce ball. 

My cousins from New Jersey! There is one missing, hence the space, but it meant the world to me that almost my entire family flew across the country to be at my wedding. 

This is a re-creation of a picture that we took 16 years ago. 

It was such a special evening and the perfect start to my wedding weekend. Next week, we'll start getting to wedding pictures! :) 

Linking up! 

Wedding Wednesday: Hotel Bags

Happy Wednesday! One thing that I knew I wanted to do for my wedding was make hotel bags. When I went to my cousin's wedding in NJ we were welcomed with one when we checked in and I thought it was the cutest thing! I bought these navy bags on sale on black friday for like .25 each, score! I bought a roll of silver tulle at JoAnns to make bows and tie each bag closed. 

Buying personalized bags is expensive, so instead I got these labels. Online there are a bunch of templates and I picked one out and made my own labels. I think this package of 60 labels was like $4 at walmart. 

Now it was time for to stuff them! I priced things out at Winco and Costco, turns out that Winco was cheaper and I didn't end up with as much excess. My shopping list included: Oreos, peanut butter crackers, granola bars, fruit snacks, gum, starbursts, and water. 

I wrote a cute little note and that was that! 

Of course I forgot to take a picture of them completed, but they were pretty cute if I may say so myself! It also didn't cost nearly as much as I thought. I bet it was under $100 for all 30 of the bags that I made. 

Linking up! 

Weekending: See ya, September!

Can anyone believe it was the last weekend of September? Holy moly, this year is flying!

Friday night I took some FFA students to a leadership camp. I was in charge of the group who was running it so it was a little stressful but it went really well. All of the students (about 60) seemed to have a great time and I had some quality time with the advisors. Sleeping in a cold cabin isn't my favorite, but we woke up to a beautiful sunny day so that was lovely.

That afternoon I went to a marching band competition with C. His group did awesome and he was super happy. I love music and marching band, so it was a lot of fun being at the competition. The first of many this year, you'll be seeing a common theme for my Saturdays until November. 

Sunday we went to the horse races with my mom and her boyfriend. It was a lot of fun and we all won! I left with like $30 more than I went with and my brothers girlfriend won $50 on a 10 cent bet, it was super exciting. We usually go a few times each year but this summer with the wedding we were so busy that we only went once. It was nice to go one more time before the season ends.

This week isn't too busy so I am looking forward to it. I need to start running because I'm supposed to be doing a 5k at the end of October. Let's see if I can find the motivation. 

Linking up with Meghan! 

Wedding Wednesday: Bridal Shower!

Sunday was my Bridal Shower! It was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. There was no detail that was missing, it was absolutely amazing. I am so excited to share. :) 

My wedding colors are aqua and silver. The lady who hosted the shower (family friend) had us eating off china and drinking out of crystal! It was so classy and elegant! I also loved my personalized, '48 days until she's Mrs. O..." napkins! 

 One of my bridesmaids made this sign, I'm making her create a "Mr. & Mrs." one for the sweetheart table. 

This is where all of the food went once it was ready. 

There were about 6 of these bouquets throughout where we were both inside and outside. I am obsessed with them! Peonies and lilies, gorgeous! 

It's not brunch without mimosas! 

Me && my bridesmaids showing off our rings! You couldn't say 'Bride' or 'Wedding' without losing your ring. I lost mine in about 2 minutes. 

There were almost 30 people there and it was seriously the best day. I felt so loved. I am so blessed to have such amazing friends and family. 

Linking up! 

Weekending: Family and Friends

What a weekend! The main event was my bridal shower which will get it's own post on Wednesday, but here's how it went! 

Friday afternoon I had a second hair trial. The lady originally scheduled to do my hair called and said that she had a family emergency (in two months?!...) and can't do my hair. Another stylist was taking it all over, same price, same everything, but I need to come do a trial with her. So I do, and I hated my hair. It was the same-ish look, but so wrong. Now I have to go AGAIN and hope that she figures it out...less than two months before my wedding. It's a little stressful.

Friday evening C and I went running. We've been doing a good job going out to at least walk or run a few miles each night. It feels so good and I really feel my body changing. I'm going to force him to keep going, he always likes it when he does and he really motivates me because he can run farther and faster than me.

Saturday we went to the horse races with some of our bridal party. I wanted it to be more of a thing to get everyone together but we have people who work full time and their jobs are on weekends, people hours away, and my MOH getting everything ready for the shower, so having everyone didn't happen but we still had a great day with who we had. 

Sunday was my shower! I am saving all of the details for my post on Wednesday, but it was absolutely amazing. Seriously a dream. I am one happy, spoiled, loved, girl. :) 

It's my last week of school until summer vacation! Woot Woot! We finish on Wednesday and I CANNOT wait. I love my job, but I need a break! :)

Linking up!