Invitations are Out :)

YES, it is done!!!

I got invitations out this past weekend, people have already text me saying they have already receiving them.

I think they turned out nice, I loved having the return address already printed on the envelope, much less to have to type out. 

Josh & I wanted to have more than one picture for our invites and I've always loved the collages from our trips so I took a few that I really enjoyed and made our invite collage. 

This isn't the best picture but you can see the invite front and ceremony invitation okay, I liked the polka dots a fair bit.  Turned out nice, and I really liked the contrast of the deep purple on the other side.  

Now just have to get flowers ordered, and pray the wedding dress fits.  But other than that we should be in the clear to be done :)

Bridal Shower

Erin's Bridal Shower

November 16, 2013

I had my bridal shower at Sister Debbie Purdie's home, So so SO beautiful, her home is lovely. 

And she was so gracious, we used her serving ware, and table cloths, she was so accommodating and lovely and seemed happy to be helpful.  

My Aunt Mary Jo made her AMAZING chicken salad, seriously the hit of the party, so delicious :) Mom brought rolls, fruit, lemon bars, individual cheese cakes, snack peanuts and holiday candy.  

Sister Purdie had he best idea to bring picture of Josh & I because so many people have never met him, they do not even know what he looks like.  

The serving table was perfect, I thought it looked so nice.  Mom had bought flowers, and Aunt Jolene and I arranged them, I think they look pretty and purple :)

Kayla was slightly delayed because she was rear-ended, she is seriously my best friend.  Even get rear-ended she came as soon as she could with pretty purple balloons.  And a yummy drink, And she took care of writing down all the gifts.  The BEST :)

You can see my awesome family making sure the beverage is just right, my Aunt Mary Jo, Kayla, my mom and the little cousins on the counter with chairs. 

Some really wonderful women, the invites were a bit late so all these women were gracious to come and support with a little less than a week notice. 

My High School Friends :) Whitney Miller and her little girl Charlie, Rachel Perkins & Maren Gardiner.  SO Lucky to have girls stay in touch for over 10 years!!!  And come and spend their Saturday afternoon with me!

Lovely Church Leaders and friends.  They were all so happy to hear Josh & I FINALLY were getting married, they all love him and are very happy for us. 

The Bowmans :) My sister-in-law Sarah, her little girl Maya, and my mother-in-law Dodie Bowman :) So sweet to come and meet my friends and my Mom for the FIRST time!!!

Me & Maren Gardener, my two FAVORITE people in the same shot, Kayla is trying to hide but seriously the two peers in my life who mean the world to me.  Honestly the two people I hope to become a fraction of, they are Mary Poppins - practically perfect in every way.  

SO awesome, my mother-in-law got me the sweetest gift, the comfiest & softest pajamas and then these beauties, I didn't know if I should be embarrassed but it was just sweet.  

Everyone was so generous, it was fun, normally I don't enjoy receiving gifts.  Don't know why but I have never been one to say what I want, but it was sweet because I know everyone wants to help Josh & I.  

Josh is excited we got a toaster oven (me too)!

Aww this gift touched my heart.  No words. . . 

Brooke (she is sitting on a chair behind me) saw that I had "liked" this on Pinterest and made it for me!  Can you believe that!!  Truly touched my heart, I have it sitting on my chair and I just smile every time I see it, no joke.  

This was Maren Gardiner's gift, my mom was Sure to get a gift of this :)

I kept this picture because you kind of see how hard I worked to make my hair today.  It look OVER 1/2 an hour.  Holy Smokes.  And hopefully you can see around my neck in some of the pictures the beautiful necklace Sister Purdie made me, the color it so lovely and purple I LOVE it!!!  

It was nice, the only game we did was a raffle and I got almost 15 gifts so a lot of the guests were able to take something home.  I got a lot of positive feedback that everyone had a good time. 

But WOW was I tired after. First good night sleep I've had in months.  

Thank-you EVERYONE :)

Rest of the Trip

Just some random parts of my vacation.  Josh & I always try to make a dessert similar to "Dirt" and every-time we end up doing it differently.  This time we had WAY too much pudding and forgot the gummies on top so Josh did this sweet little design. 

One thing I always do on my trips to visit Josh is . . . cook. 

But I like it, he is always so appreciative.  This is his FAVORITE and most requested food, Jalapenos filled with cream cheese wrapped in bacon.  These are the peppers pre-oven.  Josh was very excited!

I think this picture is after we went and looked at the last home Monday Night and I could feel the bites just burning in the car on the way back.  Finally we get to his apt and I put nail polish on them (for some reason it helps, suffocates them or something) and Josh saw them, and about died.  He felt SO bad.    

My Whole Body is like this.  I even got bit on my face - TWICE!  Some are not that bad but I took Benadryl that night and was out by 8:00 p.m. which was awesome bc I needed to leave for my flight by 4:45 a.m. the next morning.  

Now we are at 45 days till we got married :)

Evening at the Beach

Josh & I did lots of productive things on this visit.  We Thankfully got to spend Sunday evening at the Beach!

This portion of the beach is about 10 minutes from Josh's apartment, he said we could have driven a little farther for a more secluded part but in the evening most people were already gone.

BIG for fisherman and kite fliers.  

It was very pretty though :) and windy . . . .

Our feet in the sand, I refused to take off my sandals. 

Us on the shore!!!  So fun to have this time together, relax and enjoy the breeze and fresh air.  

This was Josh's favorite picture of us, he always takes random of us.  These are always his favorite pictures.  I'll even admit this one is sweet.  

Josh was so mad that the building was there, another picture he took a car drove right as he clicked.  The one below is the one we both agreed was amazing with the sunset.  

I don't love water, but Josh got me to my feet up in the water, but Dang it was cold water.  And with the sun setting it kept getting colder.  We left pretty shorty after this.  

P.s. I HATE MOSQUITOES!!!!  

I got BIT!  EVERYWHERE!

But it was fun, a romantic walk on the beach :)

Halloween with Josh - VERY FIRST ONE

YAH, Halloween with my fiance!!!

I flew into Corpus Christi, TX Wednesday night, Oct. 30th & got to spend time with Josh.  He had to work Thursday but he brought me back to campus after his lunch and we got to climb the rock wall briefly.  Josh carved this pumpkin at work, and he thankfully understands that this is the last year he'll get away with such a lackluster costume. 

He actually did an amazing job on the pumpkin, I am not a fan of scary pumpkins but if I can put his talent toward fun and not scary designs we will have very Happy Halloweens in the future :)

Packing has begun

I leave for my last visit to Texas before the BIG move.  And I am packing for my trip.  On my last trip I packed 2 duffle bags full of things from my desk, things I will not be using so it will be less to haul in December.  So I am packing the 2 duffle bags again so we will be 4 bags lighter :)

This time clothes, which is awesome because it will be so much lighter to carry, holy smokes those papers, desk supplies, and sewing materials were a little heavy.

I leave Wednesday afternoon and with the time differential I will land Wednesday night.  

So far Josh & I don't really have plans, which is crazy for us, I usually have the whole visit planned, and with activities to spare.  

This time I have nothing, Josh actually was the one to suggest an art walk they have First Fridays in CC, TX.  Similar to the one we have in PHX, we went to one once & I really enjoyed it, and he also suggested we go to northern TX and see the Fall Foliage.  

I am also excited bc this visit will be a little longer than my last visit, only Saturday afternoon to Tuesday 4 a.m., I arrive Wednesday afternoon, and leave Tuesday 4 a.m. (not many flights into & out of CC, TX).  

BUT I'll get 3 extra days :) and Josh is taking Friday off so we'll have a 3-day weekend.  

Right now I am just so anxious to leave, don't want to work tomorrow, just want to clean my apartment and sleep. This is exciting because it is the LAST time I'll have to say Good-bye bc next time I see him will be December and I'll get to go home with him BC we're MARRIED :) !!!!

Five Months Engaged

Today Josh & I hit our 5 month engagement mark!

So crazy to think about, already 5 months have flown by and in 71 days I'll be married :)

I have really accomplished a bit lately, got a good bit of the addresses for the invitations, met with Pam and set the times for the ceremony and reception . . . Josh is getting 5 - 7 p.m. I hope it isn't too cold!

I made an appointment to meet with the cake decorator this Saturday after work, and the caterer next Wednesday after work.  I still need to confirm the chairs, the guy & I are playing phone tag right now. . . 

Josh in his sweetest moment told me he thought it through & he thought we should just skip the reception and just have a ceremony and a little bigger luncheon.  

I completely FREAKED out at work, I love that man, I KNOW he meant well, but oh my gosh we can't just not have a reception now.  I've already asked for addresses, already made all these appointments.  He is just so sweet, doesn't want me to be stressed.  

But I told him, it will be awesome, once I reserve the food and chairs, the big things are done and it will be better :) 

And when it is all said & done I am confident that I will be glad we went to all this time and headache to plan this.  So Reception is back on! Yah??

Anyway, I applied for a teller job, not super excited about it, but I need to start applying so it was a good start.  

My Bridal Shower is tentatively set for Dec 14th, a little closer to the wedding than I would have preferred but it will work well with all the schedules.  My girlfriend Kayla is AMAZING and is hosting it.  She is also helping me with the wedding music playlist, and a meal for Josh & I to take after the reception.  Josh keeps scaring me with a camping honeymoon - I told him N.O. 

Still LOTS & LOTS more but the big things will be taken care of.  

I am going to visit Josh October 30th, which is in 20 days.  I am so excited to see him :) 

Engagement Ring

My engagement ring!!!

I love it!!!

It was such a fun visit to see Josh, very sad to leave but happy I'll get to see him again end of October and then again when we get MARRIED!!!

Next visit we'll have to do more practical things like look for an apartment, a job, etc. . . This trip was just for fun, I got the tickets for this trip almost 100% free because of my voucher and a credit I had with Southwest. 

Our wedding plans are progressing, I started my invitation address hunting last night, got a good chunk of it done so that was good.  

Anyway, can't wait for my next trip, I am a very lucky young lady :)

My Trip to San Antonio

I finally get to see my fiance after 4 months of being engaged!!!!  I flew out Saturday Sept. 14th in the morning, and arrived that afternoon in San Antonio, TX!

Josh said for my first trip to TX a weekend in San Antonio will probably be more fun than Corpus Christi.  We had wanted to do the River Walk that night but I was beat after dinner at California Pizza Kitchen and a fun excursion to REI.  We didn't leave REI till closing so it was kind of late, so I figured we'd get some sleep and have Sunday to do more site seeing.  

Sunday morning we went and drove to the San Antonio Temple, SO pretty, but unfortunately SO closed.  Completely gated off, we couldn't even get pictures without the tall metal gate in the way.  Josh was bummed bc we got my engagement ring the night before I left & Josh wanted to "present" it to me there.  

We then head to the River Walk, holy smokes parking here is worse than ASU event parking.  We took this picture to remind us the main crossroad of where we parked.  I have the other cross road pic too but it isn't as clear.  

It was very scenic and pretty.  But I got BIT by TONS of MOSQUITOS!!!  It had been very rainy here and the River Walk to me reeked of urine so I wasn't keen to walk the whole thing.  I imagine I got the gist of it.  Very pretty :)

Even Pretty flowers!

Map we took a picture of so we could go to the Alamo. 

Found Alamo St. 

A lot of people who were suggesting places to visit in San Antonio said not to bother with The Alamo but I am glad we stopped bc Josh & I spent the rest of the afternoon here.  We both really enjoyed it.  

It is surprising how small it is, I imagined something larger but the history behind it is amazing.  Josh and I watched a 10 minute History Channel spot on it in Visitor Center.  We then just toured the grounds and had a nice visit.  Josh LOVES trees, and I'll admit this one was quite grand.  It was HUGE and all twisty and cool looking. We have like 10 pictures of this tree courtesy of Josh. 

The plaque for who the tree was dedicated to. 

More Pretty Flowers.  By this time I was getting tired of walking around, I only had flip flops on and those were not the best choice for sight seeing.  My feet were feeling all the walking so Josh was trying to buoy my spirits with pretty flowers. 

After the Alamo we walked back to the car and headed to Corpus Christi, TX.  Wonderful visit in San Antonio :) 

On our way to Josh's we had some fun rain storms on the way, TX needs the rain, Josh was telling me how they were in a drought so this rain is very welcome.  

Monday Josh had to cover a Life Guard Shift bc now that school is in session his guards availability is a little bit of a joke so like noon to 1:15 he had to be there.  It was fun though going to his work, I met a few of his employees and one of his guards.  This board was in his office and I was so proud, these are the first 3 outdoor clinics he put together and I tried to zoom in on the contact: Josh Bowman part!

So exciting!!!

It was very sad Monday morning though to have to check in already for my flight on Tuesday morning, first thing at 6:15 a.m. 

For Monday after the pool we just headed back and cooked the rest of the day.  It was quite rainy, no lightning though so Josh couldn't close the pool.  But we made Jalepenos with Bacon, and Adobo Chicken which are some of Josh's favorites.  By Monday I still hadn't been "presented" my ring so Josh asks pretty randomly when I wanted my ring.  I thought well heck, whenever you give it to me.  So Josh told me about the ideas he had, but we just didn't have the time and weather didn't quite work with us, but man oh man is my ENGAGEMENT RING GORGEOUS!!!!

LOVE IT, LOVE HIM!!  

I am so exited! 

My Fun Weekend

I had a really fun weekend :) It started out with no work which was awesome!!! And I had a baby shower that was super fun, an old co-worker was also there and I had a blast catching up with her.
I bought new pillows and super excited to try those out.

My Mom & I went to the movie theatres and we saw the new Percy Jackson Movie which was super fun, not totally like the book but it was a fun movie!
After the movies we got yummy pizza and watched the Diamond Backs game.  Holy smokes the game was 18 full innings!!!  DBacks crushed it in the top of the 18th, winning 12-7!!!

I woke up this morning a little late, and made myself this AMAZING brunch :)  Sausage & Egg Breakfast Burrito with fresh cut fruit and yummy apple juice!  So happy right now.

I went to church and then to my friend Kayla's church - she was the Relief Society Instructor and I went to support her.  It was nice, My ward has been great but I was happy to support my friend.  

Josh is on a trip for a facilitator ropes challenge course, he has been gone since Wednesday and I miss him.  BUT I think he is having fun, we were able to talk on Thursday briefly (2 mins) and he said they have a cafeteria that serves Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner so I know he is being taken care of - at least his stomach. 

I have jury duty Tuesday, I hope I don't have to show up, and my group gets canceled. Think good thoughts for me!!

Wedding Reception Picture Frames

I have been looking for picture frames to have for mine & Josh's Wedding Reception.  Because we have been dating long distance I have liked having pictures of our of time together up at my apartment.  The ones displayed on the bed are the ones I've accumulated over the last 2 years, replacing old pictures for more current ones. . . And the frames on the dresser I just bought at Walmart super cheap, they are all silver, which is one my wedding colors and I'd love to have more, but I think it will have to be enough.  Plus I have another picture frame at work with us in it that is a two picture that folds on hinges.  

I don't know how it will work out, but so far this is what I have decided I'd like at the non-food tables, by the sign in table, gift table, etc. . .  

My other wedding plans are going GREAT!!! Finally asked my bishop to officiate the wedding, he said he'd save the date.  I had my wedding invitations meeting this past Wednesday and once I have more precise times to put on the invitations, and how many I would like printed I can get those bad boys out :) I am really excited to see how they look!  

The biggees left are food :( and chair rentals.  And some other smaller things. But I still have FOUR MONTHS TO GO!!!!!  Seems like forever, but Josh said the time will go by,plus I will see him in a little bit in September and again end of October :) But it is so nice to have a fair bit of it figured out.

Other than that life is good, we had a beautiful rain storm last night and might get another one tonight, I love the rain when it comes.