Taylor's Bachelor Party

Well, this site seems to be ALL ABOUT ME....so I thought I'd add some of the fun that Taylor has been having during the count down days of us being husband and wife.

This weekend was also his bachelor party and they first started out the day Golfing bright and early.....

Then they headed down to Wanamingo for a grill out and then a Keg as they waited for their bus to pick them up and take them all over the place.

They went out DANCING............

And Singing.............

And Taylor had an AWESOME PINK SHIRT that his Best Man Ben made for him.....here is him and Brian while he sports his sweet shirt..... The front says Mindi Who?? (hey now..) and the back says Tinkerbell 9-16-06..... maybe I shouldn't call Taylor funny nicknames when we are drinking around his friends....obviously that nickname stuck.....hehe

They all seemed to have a BLAST and felt it pretty good the next day...but I guess it was worth it to have a fun night out with all of your best buds!!

Renaissance Festival

I had a jam filled day of excitment for my bachlorette party....some of my girlfriends took me to the Renaissance Festival during the day to enjoy in some good food, good shows, and weird people watching!!

Here is me and Bekki in the backseat of our LONG drive to the festival....people sure don't know how to make good efficient maps on brochures....

We got lost like three times trying to get there.....here is Kelly pouting because its taking us FOREVER to get there....we even called the directions line and they told us three different ways of getting there each time.....it was confusing...BUT we made it and that's all that counts!!

Here is me and Crystal hanging out watching the parade go by......Don't I look cute, they really decked me out!!!

Me and Kelly hanging out by the pretty water wheel right after I got my Henna Tattoo from Crystal!!!

Me and the girls posing for a portrait!!

Here we are again...and little did we know that right behind us people were getting their wedding pictures taken....OPPS hope we didn't get in any of them!! HEHE

I had a WONDERFUL DAY thanks to all my friends that made it so special for me!!! LOVE YOU ALL!!!!

Pictures from Personal Shower

OK....so I couldn't get these pictures to fit in my personal shower blog so here are the two that couldn't fit.....

My AWESOME thong from Meghann.............WAY TOO FUNNY TO NOT SHARE WITH EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And here is me and all my girlfriends who made it to my party..........I love you girls! Thanks for a special evening!!!!

Personal Shower

Well, since I am on so many meds I wasn't allowed to drink any alcohol for my bachelorette party. So, instead of the drinking party my friends still threw me my personal shower.

They decked the whole basement with Pink and black everything.....that's my kind of party!! While the girls enjoyed their beer and Pink vodka slushies they had a different idea in mind for me.... They came up with this game that every time I said the words - Pink, Taylor, Wedding or Like I had to stick a piece of gum in my mouth and I had to keep all the gum in my mouth until after I had opened all my gifts.....This is me fairly early on in the game.....I think I had like 6 pieces in my mouth at this point.....My favorite word to say is LIKE.....they really got me with that one!

So as the party continued I just couldn't catch myself from saying LIKE....I got good at not saying Pink...I called it purple, Taylor I said Tinkerbell or Twinkie...his buddies nicknames for him....and I instead of wedding I said MY DAY..... Here is me and Megan as this fun game was her clever idea........I really had a mouth full!!!

Finally it was time for me to start opening up my gifts.....it was probably the most quite I have ever been when opening up gifts........My mouth hurt!!!

As I was opening up all kinds of fun little gifts I get to one from Meghann and let me tell you I was pretty shocked with what I saw..........

Taylor's face on a THONG!!!!!!!!!!!!! It is just TOO FUNNY!!!!!- See picture above....

Well, even though I couldn't go out and have a wild and crazy time with my girlfriends I was still happy that they could share this fun special day with me. You gotta love your girlfriends!!!

Crohn's Disease

Well, as some of you may or may not know I have been pretty sick lately. Everyone was thinking it was stress or anxiety from the wedding planning but I knew by the way I was feeling that stress wasn't the reason. I had been seeing my doctor for 2 weeks trying to reveal something that was the matter with me, doing a scope down my throat and first thinking the pain was just from a sore in my esophagus but that turned out not to be the case because after 4 days of that diagnosis the pain came back. I ended up in the ER due to the increasing pain and a fever. While in the ER I had a CT scan done of my stomach area and it turned out that my small intestine was so inflamed you couldn't even see the other organs in that area. So they sent me home on some pain pills and had me prepare for my colonoscopy the following day. The pain of that exam was very intense due to how inflamed my intestine was but I made it through and the doctor was amazed with what he found. I had several little ulcers in the lining of my small intestine where it connects to my colon and by seeing that my doctor knew it was Crohn's disease.

Now, a week later, I am still taking a lot of medication to help bring down the inflamation but I am feeling better and better with each passing day. Once we get it under control I will take a controller medication for the rest of my life to help prevent any more flare ups, along with eating a diet more suitable for people with Crohn's- meaning no lettuce, corn, seeds, nuts, onions, celery and popcorn. I guess those foods are harder for the small intestine to pass. Crohn's disease is normally a genetic disease but I seem to be the first in the family to have it.

I am feeling much better knowing what is wrong with me and knowing that it is something that I can take care of and treat.....its not curable but its treatable, so that's enough for me. Now, its on to the wedding...I can't believe that its already only 17 days away!!!

If you are interested in learning about Crohn's disease check out this website, it's full of helpful and interesting information. http://www.crohnsandme.com/Default1.asp

Shower #3

This weekend Taylor's aunts all threw me my last bridal shower. We had it in the basement of St. Ansger's Church. They had a delicious breakfast...giant muffins and lots of fresh fruit. The shower, of course, was done all in pink. It was a lot of fun!

Here is some of Taylor's family enjoying their breakfast at the shower.

Me and Taylor's Aunt Jodi next to all the PINK gifts!!! Gotta love all the fun pink stuff! :)

Taylor's family who helped throw the party! THANK YOU!!! I had a WONDERFUL Time!!

Also this past week Taylor had a Tool Shower thrown by his uncles. They had a grill out, beer, and a bonfire and lots of TOOLS! Taylor had a GREAT time and can't wait to play with all his new stuff!

Full Force Planning.....

This past weekend was my friend Holly's wedding. I've been a very good friend and have devoted all of my attention to her and her wedding since I was a bridesmaid and this was HER special day. And because her, her twin sister Megan, and Kelsey are all in my wedding, I would want them to have their attention on my wedding when the time came so that is what I did for her. The wedding was beautiful and we all had a really good time.


Now, being at the wedding, it just made me and Taylor even more excited for OUR wedding. We are just over 1 month until the big day and now all the planning is happening. We need to get our marriage license at the courthouse, we need to follow up with all of our vendors, I have one more shower, we both have our bachelor and bachelorette parties to attend.....and then all that last minutes stuff.........I can't wait!


So now we watch the countdown clock tick closer and closer to September 16th............it will be here before we know it. :)

Shower #2

I had my second shower this past weekend given by my aunties, Janna, Lisa and Heidi. It was a wonderful time!

I got a TON of pink stuff at this shower......and when I mean a TON, I mean pretty much every gift given to me was in pink!!! But I LOVE IT!!!! Just to name a few..............

I got a PINK cozy robe.............

I got a PINK Williams and Sonoma apron.........

And even my PINK and white dishes set..........and the list goes on and on........

One very special gift was this sign that my Grandpa Pete hand made for me and Taylor, and he even drew a picture of Tigger!!!! I LOVE IT!!!!!!!

I had a wonderful time at my shower, I love all the new and creative shower games people come up with! And especially all the delicious food!!!!

The SONG

Well, finally a decision has been made! Picking out mine and Taylor's first dance song was basically chosen before we were even engaged, picking out the wedding party song, piece of cake....but picking out the perfect father daughter dance song......that was a tough decision.

But, finally today Dad called me at work and said he found the PERFECT song! The lyrics are so perfect and really explain the relationship between a father, a daughter, and the new son-in-law. Its brand new to radio and the groups CD isn't even out yet, so I'm not sure if any of you have heard it yet, but if you do ever hear it either on the radio or even at the wedding dance really pay close attention to the words, its a definate tear jerker!

The perfect song is "I Loved Her First" by Heartland

I can't wait for me and my daddy to dance to that wonderful song on my wedding day, its going to be perfect!

2 months away!!!

Well, I thought its been awhile since I've updated this thing so I thought I'd just fill you in on what's been going on two months away from the big day.

We are just about done with the invitations and are right on schedule, we are hoping to get them out in the mail within the next two weeks. That will be a big project off all of our shoulders. I think making the guest list is by far the most difficult part of planning a wedding. I hope we didn't forget anyone! So, once I can check off that task it will just be the details and small stuff that we will have left to take care of. So its all coming together nicely. One problem we ran into that I learned a HUGE lesson from was that I thought I was just being the most organized bride ever and I had my programs done and printed and ribboned about a two months ago, thinking it would be fine to just get that out of the way.....WRONG!!! My harpist had to cancle, she just found out that her teacher scheduled an orchestra performance on the same night as the wedding, and being a harpist....she is THE harp in the orchestra and kind of has to be there. Which, on the music side of things, it wasn't a big deal, I have a pianist and organist anyway, so I wasn't too bummed about not having my harp, BUT....the programs were already made with her name in it...........So now we have to re-do them all.........which I forgot something on them anyway....but it was just kind of a bummer to have to re-do something you thought was all done. Luckily, the paper doesn't cost much at all and it will be easy to do, but still, I learned a huge lesson......so one word of advice I can share to soon-to-be brides......WAIT to do your program until a few weeks before the wedding. I would advise getting them ready to be printed and checked over by your pastor ahead of time, but don't print them off until a few weeks before.....OH WELL.....Live and Learn! :)

Other then that, I am getting my bustle put on my dress tonight and we are planning out our nail and hair appointments for the days before the wedding!! Its all coming together nicely. We are kind of taking a little bit of time off of doing too much as my friend Holly is getting married in 3 weeks so I have been busy helping plan her bachelorette party and getting my schedule booked for things she wants us to do with her. So its wedding central over in my corner..... I'm even helping my friend Jackie get things booked for her wedding next summer as I am a bridesmaid for her wedding too. The Wedding Bells are ringing for the class of 2003 in CF!!!!!

Engagement Pictures

So, I told you I would post some of my favorite pictures....so here they are. I'm very happy with them and I can't wait to make my autograph frame and then hang them in my house!!! FUN FUN!!!!

Bridezilla!!!

OK, So I don't know why I do this to myself, I watch that silly show on the WE network, Bridezillas, I'm sure you all have heard about it. Well, every time I watch it I get so nervous and anxious for my wedding and then I start to freak out thinking that I won't get everything done, or its going to be a disaster!! And when I am watching it I get on the phone with mom and tell her that we need to get all of our lists together and I need to get this done and that done, and she is quick to remind me that I am VERY organized and I have a lot done. I am right on track, heck probably early on getting most everything done and I just need to calm down and relax.

This weekend, on Friday to be exact, it was exactly 3 months until the wedding, that means its almost time to send out the invitations and almost time to do my final fitting on my wedding dress (lucky me- only needs it hemmed up a little bit) and almost time to get our marriage license!!! Its coming all so fast but at the same time not fast enough. So, if any of you already been brides out there have suggestions on things that you left until the last minute and wished you wouldn't have, or can think of anything that you almost forgot let me know......I could use the thoughts. :)

1st Shower!!!

My Aunties threw me my first bridal shower on Sunday, June 11. What a great family I have to do such a nice thing for me.

We had some baby play time before the party got started. We had Landon- 5 months, Rowan- 8 months, Kalee- 11 months, and Grace- 11 months (the girls are three days apart from each other). They all seemed to really enjoy seeing other babies and playing with each other.

Here is me and my Mom and Mom-in-law opening the wonderful gifts that I received.

And more gifts. One thing I noticed is that I got some really neat cards, either home-made or really neat bridal ones, and of course almost all in pink too!

And this is my AWESOME Pink Kitchen Aid Blender that my mom got me to match the Pink stand mixer that she gave to me after Taylor and I got engaged. I LOVE all of my cool Pink kitchen things!

I had a wonderful time and I want to Thank everyone for being able to be there. It really means a lot to me. And now I just have to find room for all of the new fun things I received. I need to get a house so I have a bigger kitchen! But for right now my living room looks like and extension of my kitchen with everything sitting out for me to look at and admire until I can fit it all in my cabinets.

Engagement Photos

If you want to take a look at mine and Taylor's engagement photos go to this web address...

www.flairstudios.com

Then click on My Albums and you'll see our name as a link on the right side.

I will be getting my hard copies sometime this week so I'll post my favorites once I get those. I am really happy with the pictures, I just wish the baseball ones were more zoomed in on us, but I will be getting a CD with my pictures so maybe I will be able to edit them a bit. And we did learn one thing, Taylor and I can't smile without showing our teeth.....its just not natural for either of us. So just disregard those funny looking pictures. And the funny stances were are in by the river..... not a natural pose for us either. But I do really like at least 10 of them and I really only need 6 to put in two signing frames for the wedding. So at least I got enough that I liked to do that.

Besides that everything is coming together, we have a great start on the invitations and we have all of the small stuff done and bought....or so we hope. Now its just the count down till the big day: 3 months and 10 days!!!!! Exciting!

Wedding Day Makeover

Well, Heidi, Angie, Rowan, and Michelle invited me and mom to get a makeover at Nordstoms to create a wedding day look at the Laura Mercier counter. I had a BLAST!!!! Our makeup artist, Patrick, did such a great job I hired him to come do my look for the wedding, and he's going to do mom's too, isn't she beautiful! I'm so excited!!!!

I shouldn't really tell you my secret, but I will....I'm wearing fake eyelashes just to make my eyes look a little bit more dramatic and they will look AWESOME in pictures. This is Patrick trimming my lashes so they are the perfect length. This was a little scary, he told me to stare towards the ground and not to move an inch!

Here is Patrick putting on the finishing touches to my gorgeous wedding day look! Didn't he do a great job!

Here is me and mom admiring our beautiful looks for my big day! What a fun mother daughter moment!

AHH aren't we beautiful, all pretty now! Wasn't it fun mom??

This is Patrick, my WONDERFUL makeup artist!! Can I hire him to do my makeup everyday?

Here is my finished product! I LOVE IT!!! My wedding is still over 3 months away....come on, I can't WAIT until I can look this good again!! HEHE! Did I mention how AWESOME Patrick is! Mom, PPPLLLEEAASSSEEE can I hire him for good, he can come over every morning and make me beautiful! .....in my dreams! :) LOL

OK, here is the funny thing about mom, she doesn't normally wear any makeup because it made her eyes itch....so as Patrick was doing her eyeliner she blinked and made him mess up.....on each eye, she did it twice...it was pretty fun!!!

Mom getting her lips done....so pretty!

Mom's final product!!!! Love your makeup mom! :)

Now the question is, to wear glasses or contacts....HUMMMM both look pretty....guess we'll just have to wait and see......

What a pretty mom I have! Gotta love her! We were really excited about this wondeful makeup line by Laura Mercier, it doesn't itch or irratate mom's face or eyes at all! She finally found a mascara that she can wear!! YEAH!

So we had a BLAST that day! I would totally recommend all brides to be to do that with their mom's its a great bonding experience! And a lot of fun!

OH and as far as other wedding stuff goes, I got all my invitations all printed and cut up, we just need to get the actual invite scored so its easier to fold them, then we will do our artsy magic to them and get them all stuffed and ready to go. I'm hoping to have them all done and sitting in a box way before its time to send them off, so then all I'll have to do is drop them in the mail. And we have our engagement photos on Thursday, so that will be fun to do those. We are going down on the baseball field to get some shots, of course, and then since we are from town and we love being in town we thought why not take pictures in the prettiest place, the falls and the new bridge, it will be so pretty with the river and all the green trees and flowers. I can't wait!!