Somehow, the past few weeks have been going slow and fast all at the same time. It's crazy to think that we are down to the single-digit countdown now! There are a flood of emotions, but mostly we are both so excited to see so many of our family and friends all in one place. It will be a celebration for sure! We feel truly blessed that people are making the trip to Montana. We hope you love it as much as we do.
Parker made it out of Canada and back to his house in MN, which he as been diligently working on all week. I'm done work for a while too, and have been working on gifts, decorating my wedding shoes, making tags for the welcome bags and candy station, finalizing the menu, making the video slideshow, and all of the other last minute details that just seem to pop up in the final weeks despite how organized we've attempted to be.
We are so grateful for the friends and family who have helped out in so many ways, from the neighbors who have helped my parents with the landscaping and house projects, to everything my sister and mom have taken care of (parking/reception signs, wrapping silverware, stuffing the welcome bags, and communicating locally with all of the necessary people), to my sweet sister-in-law Kate who is doing the ceremony programs for us. We wouldn't be staying sane without you!
Here is a sneak preview of some of the wedding details:
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| friends Karen & Lisa |
This past weekend my dear friend Lisa hosted a shower for me with some close friends and women from church. It was such a special time! We had delicious food, good conversation, and even some shower games, which were really fun. There was a quiz about Parker and I. I have to admit that some of the questions were a bit tricky though. Once she reassured me that my answers would be the correct ones, we were good to go. For instance, when asked how long Parker and I had been together, I had to get out my fingers and toes...and I still got 2 different answers! Yikes! Who keeps track of that when there is a wedding in just a few weeks!? We've been counting down the days for the last several months, not counting up how long we've been together. Seriously though, it was fun to go back and remember some of our firsts and favorite things. Thank you Lisa and friends for an amazing bridal brunch!
It's hard to believe that 1) this is our last rotation before we are married and 2) that in less than a month, we'll be able to hang out like normal people on a weekend instead of having 89 things to accomplish. I can't wait to have a real "lazy Saturday" instead of just "slightly less productive Saturdays" as Parker loving jokes that that's how our weekends together have been when I try to make them relaxing.
Our time together couldn't have gotten off to a better start. Parker surprised me by taking me to a darling new jewelry store called Charmin Charlie. I had heard about it a week ago from some teacher friends and mentioned it to Parker. He was so sweet to remember. It was worth all the frustration of driving an extra 45 minutes through rush hour to make it there. Of course he didn't tell me where we were going a head of time because if he did, he knew I'm to practical to agree to traveling through Denver rush hour traffic in the opposite direction of our dinner plans. So, when we pulled up to the store, I was thrilled! The whole place is laid out by color. It was really quite overwhelming at first. Parker was very patient, and he helped me look for things. We even grabbed the same necklace at the same time saying, "This would go perfect with your (my) green dress." It was pretty crazy. I guess we are starting to think alike... Here's what he treated me to:
Then we met our friends Kenzie and Josh in their cute neighborhood for dinner. We walked to Snarfs for the Denver's best toasted sandwiches. We loved seeing them and catching up, and can't wait to adventure together this next year.
In addition to the usual trip to the dentist for Parker and our premarriage counseling, we shopped for furniture, had quality time and coffee, walked around the neighborhood, enjoyed my back patio (before it got too hot), cooked lots of meals together, ate ice cream with gummy army men, mostly replaced Parker's cell phone (he has a 3 week loaner one and spent many hours on the phone with tech support), picked out perfume together, opened a few cards and gifts, and of course did some more wedding planning.
We're both trying to enjoy these last few weeks, but I'm pretty sure that we agree that we can't WAIT to finally be together for perma!
I can't even remember exactly how the tradition got started, but I'm pretty sure that it was with my friend Amy and her husband, our first Memorial Day in Colorado back in 2006. We signed up to run the Bolder Boulder 10K. After my first experience of 6.2 miles with 53,000 other people I was hooked! I mean, who can pass up a singing Elvis on every other corner, other live bands, belly dancers, slip n slides, and people passing out free Doritos, popsicles, popcorn, and two new stations this year, the 2.2 marshmallow mile and the guy who was grilling bacon and sausage? Not me. It's pretty crazy and something that you just have to experience for yourself. I highly recommend it, as you feel like an Olympian when you finish last 0.2 miles on the track inside of the University of Colorado stadium and your picture appears on the Jumbotron. If you wait around long enough, there are parachuters who drop into the stadium and a whole Memorial Day ceremony. Plus, there is the free goodie bag that every finisher receives in addition to all the free handouts at the booths like more popsicles, Chick-fil-A sandwiches, LOVE burritos, chocolate milk, granola bars, sports beans and coffee. Yes please! Although I've run with a different person almost every year (Amy, Angie, Lisa, & Bari), the past two times I've run with my cousin Matt. Boys definitely make me run faster; this year I finished in 63 minutes. Last year was the only year I skipped the event, since my sister was graduating high school. A pretty valid excuse in my book. Anyway, here are the pictures from the Bolder Boulder. Who knows, maybe I can convince Parker to be my running partner next year :)
Past Bolder Boulder races...
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| 2010 |
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| 2009 |
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| 2009 |
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| 2009 |
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| 2007 |
