Engagment Party

Al and I were incredibly blessed to have an amazing engagement party thrown by my grandparents, Don & Michelle.

 There was delicious food and drinks, but the best part of this party was getting to introduce our family members and closest friends to one another for the first time. Al's family drove all the way from Champaign and my Aunt Linda came down from Michigan to attend. We felt so loved!

The other best part of the party: there was an ice sculpture! And then, because Al and I are not classy, we did this pose...

...after which, I loudly proclaimed how cold it made my tongue. A few glasses of wine were involved in the festivities...can you tell?

Two of our awesome families!

The most exciting part of our party was getting the chance to reveal our big plan to everyone. Al and I announced to everyone that we are getting married in Riviera Maya, Mexico on June 25, 2011! We are so excited to start planning everything and cannot believe how supportive our families have been of our dream wedding plans. We are over the moon and ready to make this official!

I was lucky enough to have some of my very best friends at our party, so I took the opportunity after our announcement to ask them to be my bridesmaids. My sister, Katy, is my Maid of Honor of course. My bridesmaids will be Becky Cabezas, my best friend since the beginning of college, Kim Ludwig, who has been an amazing friend and always keeps me laughing, and Abbie Carter, who was actually in Mexico for her own wedding during the party but said yes last week! :)

This was an amazing night with amazing people. If our wedding is even half as fun as this party, I think we are good to go!

Me and my momma

Grandma Michelle and Grandpa Don

Jean and John

Al, me, and Val

Me with my Maid of Honor :)

Arts & Crafts

The night before our engagement party, I went up to my mom's and spent the evening hanging with my family. We went to Qdoba for dinner, since they were running a special offer and every time you used your Qdoba card that day, you were entered into a contest to win $1,000 toward a trip to Mexico. Hmmm...

Afterward, we headed to Joann Fabrics to get materials so we could craft our destination wedding announcements. This turned into an hour-long search to find the perfect colors, tape, etc. As you can imagine, my brother, Tyler really enjoyed the trip. We were all quite exhausted afterwards.

All that shopping for just a handful of stuff!

Annoyed with my indecision...

Then, there was the fun part...actually making the announcements! Sheesh, this most certainly helped me to decide not to make my own wedding invitations. As you can see from the picture below, it was exhausting!

Poor Katy was so tired that she made a very funny mistake! :)

All in all, it was a super fun night with some of my very favorite people! :)

Registration

For me, this term usually means several unpaid hours of work checking students in for the new school year; however, today's registration was much more fun! :)

We started the day with a delicious breakfast at Le Peep. We both got the "Eighteen Wheeler"-breakfast of champions.

Then, we headed off to Bed, Bath & Beyond to get registered! We had a blast registering for all sorts of kitchen gadgets and home appliances. Al got very excited about the knife set...kind of like one of his favorite tv show characters...hmmmm...

 Watch out! I've got a gun!

Al testing out towels and knocking over tall towers of dog beds. 

Kids? Who Needs 'Em?

Of course, I want to have beautiful babies with Alejandro one day. But for now, Mila is our beautiful, hairy child. :)

Decisions, decisions...

FYI: Al and I do have a decision made about the location of our wedding but are waiting to reveal the big surprise until our engagement party in two weeks. However, I am bursting at the seams to tell everyone and am a horrible secret-keeper when I am excited about something, so wish me luck keeping this hush-hush until the big partAY! :)

Congrats Katy!

My favorite little sister (and Maid of Honor) graduated from high school in May. I can't believe my baby sis is already heading off to college in less than a month! I'm so incredibly proud of her.

P.S.: Look at those amazing decorations in the background, courtesy of Katy's wonderful siblings! :) 

The 21 and up crowd had a blast drinking (many) margaritas and a Wine Cube upstairs, while the kiddos played Wii downstairs. Above is the first picture taken of my mom, a family friend Tracy, me, and my Aunt Jean before we had a ridiculous photo shoot. At one point, I tried my hand (literally) at Wario's Smooth Moves, but did not fare too well. I will have to leave the activities that involve motor skills to those more capable. :/

Anyway, I was just so happy to celebrate my sister's accomplishments with my very favorite people in the whole entire world. What a great weekend!

Happy Birthday Melbys!

On Tuesday night, Al and I headed out to Radio Maria to celebrate Jeff's birthday. However, Holly's birthday was less than a week before, so it was kind of like a double birthday celebration. Since we had perfect weather, we sat outside on this awesome evening. This was a wonderful night out with amazing friends/(almost) family. We had a blast!

Above, Albert with his spicy seafood dish. I think we both regretted not ordering the amazing coffee-crusted steak. Next time Gadget, next time...

Bling bling!

I got my fitted bauble back today! Hooray!

Bonus!

My second issue of Bridal Guide Magazine arrived today...

...and I got a special bonus...

a freebie magazine on destination weddings and great honeymoon locations! Woot woot!

Adventurous Diner

We recently ordered Netflix (great decision...seriously!), and Al has been catching up on one of his favorite shows, No Reservations starring Anthony Bourdain. I blame this show for Al's decision to order a lengua (tongue) taco last night...

Ick.

Fourth of July!

Al and I spent the entire day relaxing in the air conditioning and watching our new favorite show, Dexter. Though I'm fairly certain that I have been getting nightmares from the copious amounts of violence we have been watching, I have been having a great time bonding with Al over another awesome tv show!

In the evening, Al and I stuffed our American faces with a celebratory Fourth of July meal at The Olive Garden. ;) I got my favorite dish, Steak Gorgonzola Alfredo. However, as usual, Al and I were both stuffed from our breadsticks and soup by the time our meal arrived. 

 We wrapped up our evening with a good ol' Fourth of July fireworks celebration, during which Al reminded me that, at this time next year, we will be newlyweds! Hooray!

Ringless...

...until July 8th, while my ring gets sized. I feel so sad every time I look down and my ring is missing! : (