Rehearsal Dinner

As promised, the first of a few updates to let everyone know how our Wedding Week went!  It was an amazing week, and everything went so well!  We had our rehearsal on Tuesday at the Town center, it didn't take that long and we were able to get a basic idea of what was going on for the ceremony.

After the rehearsal, we headed out to Penguin Ed's Barbeque in Fayetteville, AR.  This has always been my favorite place for some southern BBQ, and it was so much fun to get all of our friends and family together there!  We had some great food, gave gifts out to our families and wedding party, and got to spend some time with out favorite people! We even gave my dad his birthday cake too!

Two Days to Go!

Well, the decorations are separated out, and everything seems ready to go!  This morning we went out to breakfast with my parents at a local coffee shop called Common Grounds.  It is my favorite place to go for breakfast in Fayetteville.  They have a delicious coffee bar, and the food is always yummy!  It was nice getting to spend some more time with Dad and Susan, and my cousin Charles came as well so we got to talk over some ceremony logistics as well.

After breakfast, I went to Revive Day Spa for a Salt Glow Scrub and massage and it was amazing!  They were so friendly and they helped be get relaxed and ready for the days to come.  Jeremiah went to the mall and picked up some things for the family Christmas.

We spent the afternoon exchanging gifts with the Fountain family, and took a nap as well.  Then I headed over to Tori's house to get the last bit of wedding organization out of the way so that for the next two days I think I might be able to sit back, relax, and enjoy everything!

Road Trip!

We made it to Arkansas!!

After over 48 hours in the car.. and 2,300+ miles of driving, we finally arrived! The roads were clear the whole way, and we made great time! Now that we are here there is plenty to do. Thank goodness for having the new car though, we had a lot more room and we were a lot more comfortable than we would have been in my tiny little Saturn!

Last night, we went to my grandparents house and Jeremiah finally met my Grandpa, Grandma and my step-mom. We got to have a little desert and everyone got along great!

Counting Down the Days!

Whoah!  Where did all the time go?  Is the wedding really only a week and a half away?!  I feel like I should be a lot more stressed than I am.  I have either really been organized enough that everything is falling into place, or I am successfully blocking out all of the planning shortcomings from my mind.  Either way, I am enjoying the time right now.  

I have the final dress fitting tomorrow and I'm picking up the dress.  This will be followed by some whirl-wind beauty appointments this week such as power tanning, pedicure and manicure.  Should be interesting.  but fun to get all dolled up!  

Also excited about getting a new stereo installed into the new car courtesy of Aunt Ann & Uncle Don as well as Jeremiah!  Fantastic Christmas present!  And just in time for our cross country trip!  We can use bluetooth for phone calls and play music from my iPhone on it too!

I did manage to send out a schedule for the wedding this week.  I certainly do seem like like a bridezilla when I send out a three page schedule of events.  But that is really me, so oh well.  I am a bit of a planner so to speak.  Luckily that is what I do for a job too lol.

Anyways, I will try to post on here during the coming week about the thoughts and things that lead up to the wedding! Ciao!

Happy Thanksgiving!

What a great day!  This week has been all around fantastic!  It snowed starting on Monday, and because the roads were bad I had the rest of Monday off, Tuesday and Wednesday!  So I spent the days getting the house ready for the holiday. I got almost everything ready before Thursday, or at least prepped and ready to go.

My favorite things to make for Thanksgiving are my Apple Pie and my Great-Granny Kennedy's Stuffing. Both of which turned out amazing this year.  Jeremiah woke up extra early and started smoking the fresh turkey that we got from Tacoma Boys.  We had some friends over and filled our bellies of smoked turkey and all the fixins!

I hope all of you had a great holiday filled with family, 

friends and great food!

Gobble Gobble!

It's just around the corner, and the plans are starting to take shape... 

 Thanksgiving!

It is one of my favorite holidays, as it involves large quantities of delicious comfort foods and the gathering of friends and family.  And this year, Jeremiah and I are hosting some of the single soldiers at our house since they may not have anywhere to go for the holiday.  I definitely think that it is a better alternative than eating at the chow hall on a holiday that is meant to celebrate friendship and coming together.

We ordered our turkey today from a local grocery store, and I am really excited to get to have a fresh turkey instead of a frozen one.  It tastes so much better!  Other items on the menu include:

Cranberry Orange Relish

Sweet Beets

Green Bean Casserole

Corn Bread

Sweet Potato Casserole

Acorn Squash with Brown Sugar and Walnuts

Granny Kennedy's Turkey Stuffing

Jeremiah has also requested a selection of five kinds of pie.. although he hasn't narrowed down what kinds he would like.  He is very excited about the pies :)  I will probably make an apple pie and one other here at the house and then order the other three from a local bakery.

Chocolate and Satin

My sister has been in town this weekend and it's been nice to get some girl time in and work on some wedding things.  Abbie comes down from Alaska every few months, and we get to hang out for a few days.

Today we went to a bridal gown fitting at Elizabeth's Alterations.  My dress looks absolutely fabulous!  I am so excited about how it's turned out and can hardly wait for Jeremiah to see me in it.  I also got to take my veil home with me so that next week, when I get my hair done as a test run, we can make sure it works.

Tonight we also tested out my tattoo cover-up and it works really well.  I just need to get a tan so that it will blend better with my skin! I am also thinking about going back and getting the lighter color of the makeup.  It's definitely too dark right now!  But I am happy that I will get to cover up my back tattoo and it wont be a distraction from my beautiful dress.

Also exciting is that I was able to find a perfect fit for my favors!  I had ordered some really cute stickers a couple of months ago, and I was hoping that they would fit on the bottom of some large Hershey Kisses.  And they do!  So excited for sharing these with everyone!

46 Days to Go

As the count down to the big day continues, I feel like I can't seem to get anything done!

The dress is picked out and at alterations, I've got the shoes, the garter, and the accessories.  A hair appointment, a nail appointment and all of that.  The menu is in place, and the dj is on call, and the cake is all picked out.  And yet, the to-do list is ever expanding!  We still have to figure out the actual wedding program, and what the heck the men will wear (last minute i know!), along with about a million tiny (but big!) things.  

All the while I have amazing friends and family here to help with almost everything.  I know that as long as we can all get together and celebrate that day, anything else in the world could go wrong, and it'll still be okay.  The Dj could blow a fuse, and the food be terrible, and my dress rip up the side, and fall flat on my face up the aisle.. and after freaking out for a minute (come one it is me.. u know i'd cry for a bit) but then I would be able to look around at my amazing friends and family and my perfect-for-me husband and know that all is right in the world.

I am going to Fayetteville for one more wedding planning marathon weekend this month.  Tori and I will be meeting with the venue, caterer, photographer, baker, DJ, hairdresser, mens wearhouse, and about a million other things.  Oh, and the Bachelorette/Bridal party!  I am super excited to get together with my favorite ladies and have a fantastic evening at the dueling piano bar! 

Bowl-a-rama!

This weekend was both relaxing and fun!  I was supposed to leave for California today to support my unit during their training rotation, but I was delayed due to some.. technical difficulties with the travel office.  Jeremiah and I made the most of the weekend though.  Friday night we went out to Red Lobster with the gang and then went out to Emerald Queen to play roulette.  We won a lot!  And then lost it all again lol.  It was fun getting to play though.

Saturday was spent sleeping in and relaxing around the house.  Got a lot of laundry done and caught up on some projects around the house too.

Today we went bowling on Ft Lewis.  It was fun getting out our bowling balls and shaking the rust out of our bowling skills.  We played four games, and Jeremiah won three of them.  It was close though.  I hope we get to join a league in the spring, but I think Jeremiah's training schedule will probably get in the way.

Defiance is Beautiful

Had a wonderful day exploring Tacoma today with Jeremiah and Dad.  We still woke up pretty early for a weekend and got the day started.  The first thing on the list was to explore Point Defiance Park in Tacoma.

We walked a total 2.91 miles around the park including along the beach and through the woods.  We even got to show Dad some of the jellyfish that inhabit the Puget Sound.  Jeremiah and Lucy even played fetch along the beach for a little while.

After our walk we headed out to lunch at Johnny's Dock right on the pier.  It was delish!  I definitely recommend it for anyone looking for fresh seafood with some great atmosphere.  Then we headed home for a little break.

The rest of the afternoon was spent at the Tacoma Sportsman Club showing Dad some of our weapons and getting some shooting time in.  Dad was a really great shot, and it was fun getting to be at the range for the afternoon.

A Little Touristy Fun

 Phew!  This has been a very long, but very good day.  Most weekends, I feel like we don't quite get enough out of each day that we have together.  But today was not one of those days!  We woke up early, went for a run together, made breakfast, watched some football.. all before noon!

Having my Dad visiting has been really great.  This afternoon we went to visit the Museum of Glass in downtown Tacoma.  Neither Jeremiah nor I had been there before, so it was good to see something nearby.  It was smaller than I expected, but there was a really cute gallery where the glass artists had made figurines and whatnot from the drawings of little kids.  We couldn't take our own pictures, but here is one from the website.

There was also a visiting artist from Finland making glass birds inside of the largest hot shop amphitheater in North America (like how I fit the blurb from the brochure in there? hehe).  It only took him a few minutes to make each one, and they sell them for hundreds of dollars in the gift shop.  

Then of course we had to take the geeky tourist pictures in front of the museum with the cone in the background.  Dad and Jeremiah even took one together :)

We even got to make dinner at home tonight together.  Some yummy kababs and danish squash from our own recipes.  Followed by a movie on the big comfy couch.  

Such a blessed day!

Mmm.. Chowdaaa

First day of Dad's visit flew by!  A classic steady rain welcomed him to Washington, the kind that is just hard enough to soak you but not hard enough to use an umbrella for.  It didn't even seem like they were meeting each other for the first time.  Dad and Jeremiah fell into conversation with each other as if they had known each other for years.

We went out to dinner on the recommendation of Jamie and Greg to Duke's Chowder House.  It is right on the edge of the sound in Tacoma, and the fog that was rolling over the water made it seem like a spooky locale.  The food was absolutely delicious, and the conversation kept a steady pace as we shared a healthy serving of local steamers and seafood.

Looking forward to the rest of the weekend together!

Papa is coming to town!

Only one more day until my dad is in town!  Today we have been a hive of activity getting the house ready and getting groceries.  I am so excited to get to see him, and this will be the first time that Jeremiah and my dad are meeting face to face. Such an exciting time!

Jeremiah made some delicious honey mustard chicken on the grill for dinner while I got a big salad together. I love getting to make dinner together and have some good R&R on the weekends!  So thank you Christopher Columbus for giving us a four day weekend :)

Oh, and the stamps that I ordered for the wedding invitations came in today!  I am super excited about getting to finish up the invites and send them out to everyone.  I am still trying to track down the last few addresses but hopefully my address book will be complete soon, because these have got to get out soon!

Apple Pickin'

I'm in Wisconsin right now for a Unit Mobilization Planner Course and being away from Jeremiah has been rough.  But, last weekend I got to go to Rochester, MN and visit my future brother-in-law Josh.  I also got to meet his wife, Stephanie, and his beautiful daughter, Sofie, along with his handsome baby boy, Bryce.  They are so adorable!  It was great getting to meet them and to get some home-cooked meals while I was out of town.  On Sunday we went to church and then spent the afternoon at a local apple orchard.  Sofie loved it!  We got some apples and Josh made Caramel Apples later that night- Delish!