2009 In Review

I am so excited for 2010.... it is going to be a fun and eventful year! But I can't forget how exciting 2009 has been too!

The year started off with a wonderful family vacation to Keystone, Colorado. It was such a beautiful place to be. I had a good time relaxing and spending time with my family. Skiing was not exactly my thing but I improved and would even consider another ski trip.

I was fortunate enough to take a trip to Arizona over spring break. My cousins and sister live there not and it is a fantastic place to visit. There is great shopping, awesome weather, and a beautiful landscape. We decided to go on a hike in Sabino Canyon in Tucson one day. It started off as a long hike on a big sidewalk. Mom got adventurous, took us off the sidewalk, and we trekked down the long and winding way. It was a great trip..... we definitely earned our lunch that day!

Luckily when I was in Arizona, Brandon was shopping for a gorgeous diamond ring. He found one and propsed on April 11. We have spent a great deal of time in 2009 planning our wedding for July 24, 2010!

The summer months were BUSY months... as I tried to tackle three graduate courses, move (TWICE), and work on wedding plans. It was very stressful at times but I learned a very important lesson. For a teacher... the summer should be the best time of year! It was not for me and I made it my goal to make sure to take time out to enjoy life. I went into the school year with a new motto and goal of just getting through the work so that I could take time to play. This has been an important life lesson for me and I feel that it has allowed me to get back to my normal self.

We finished out the year with a busy Christmas season... trying to make visits to both sides of our families. We had such a good time and are thankful for a very supportive families. 2009 was such a great year and I can't wait until next year! It will be a memorable year.

Wedding Wednesday: Flowers and Topiaries

Hardest part of the wedding yet...... FLOWERS!!! I met with a great florist last week and she did a wonderful job helping me decide on the different things and types of flowers that I liked. It was not an easy job because this was one avenue where I was the most indecisive. I was also struggling because I was not able to visualize exactly what it was she was talking about. She as very patient, informative, and she was gracious enough to give me a small bouquet of the different types of flowers we discussed. I really like hydrageas-- green and white, roses, and other greenery. Here are the flowers that she gave me to play around with a little. Here is what my bouquet could look like (except more full). I also made a sample boutineer. I think that looks really nice.

I have begun to think about centerpiece ideas and what I might like. I really like the idea of using a topiary. See below in case you are like me and did not know what one was. This picture looks incredibly fake.... but I like the shape of the flowers and the types and color of the flowers. I could go for a different base though.

Two more days of school until a two week break. I sat down to write a list of everything I would like to accomplish for the wedding so hopefully by this time next week there will be quite a few things to update you on.

DONE!!!

I am so glad to have just finished up my BSU course for this semester. 8 down and only 2 to go until I graduate!! It has been a really busy semester so I am glad to have almost a full month before I begin my next class. What will I be up to???

• Wedding-- lots to do including register for gifts, shop for wedding bands, gather ideas for centerpieces, figure out flowers, work on planning our honeymoon, finalize detials for bridesmaid dresses
• Christmas shopping-- LOTS of this to do still!
• Read a good book-- I just started Shopahalic Ties the Knot and am looking for a second book to read over break
• Catch up on any Reality TV marathons that might be on
• Anything else that includes relaxation

4 schools days left until break!! OBVIOUSLY I am excited! :)

Wedding Wednesday!

We have had spent a lot of time and energy working on wedding stuff lately. Here are just a few details. First.... the most exciting part was getting our engagement photos back!!!!! As you can tell in the picture we had so much fun getting them done.
The above picture was taken about two seconds after the photographer asked for a serious face..... not gonna happen with this girl!!! Below is one of my favorite pictures from the session.

All of them turned out really well. I included a link to a slideshow in Saturday's post. Feel free to check them out if you have not already seen them.

We have also spent a great deal of time getting a save the date put together so hopefully we can send those out soon. There are so many great websites out there to help customize save the dateswith our own gorgeous pictures.

The honeymoon planning is also in its preliminary stage. We have narrowed down to a few locations that we like. I think my the time July 24th comes around we will both be ready for a relaxing vacation.

We also had our first pre-marital counseling meeting. We enjoyed getting to know our pastor and talking with her about her philosophies on marriage and life. We also are getting married in a church that we had never been to before so we got to see the sanctuary for the first time. It is a beautiful church and I think it will be perfect!

It is all starting to come together. There are still lots of decisions to be made but I feel really good about the progress.

Partini

I have never been much of a Black Friday shopper but last Friday I made it out for a little shopping. Here is the best purchase I made.........
Walmart had some great deals on games that I wanted to buy for my classroom. While in the game aisle I saw that Partini was on sale for only $10!!!! I have had my eye on the game for a long time and it was such a great deal that I had to get it!

We got together with some friends last night to play and it was so fun! It is a mix of catch phrase, cranium, and loaded questions. This would be a great gift idea of those game lovers out there!

Engagement Photos Slideshow

We received our engagement photo slideshow today!!! Follow the link to see the slideshow. We are very happy with how the photos turned out! :)

http://kmpss.com/slideshows/shannon&brandoneng/

Details Details Details!!!

We are beginning to get to the finer details in wedding planning. We have been looking at flowers, centerpieces, and cake designs. This weekend we will be going to Heavenly Sweets in Noblesville to design our cake. We visited once before and loved all of the cake and filling options. The cake flavor is one thing that Brandon and I will absolutely not compromise on. Luckily we don't have to!! I get to have my piece of chocolate cake (which if you know me well..... is VERY important) and Brandon gets to have white cake. Earlier in the week I spent some time on theknot.com. It is a great site but can be overwhelming. After hours of research and narrowing down, we found a cake that is similar to what we want for our own.