...and the dreams begin!

Last night I had my first wedding nightmare. We have now hit the 3 month mark, so the stress must be getting to me!

In my dream, it was our wedding day, and my mom was helping me get ready. All of a sudden, I remembered that I never mailed out the invitations! I started hyperventilating and crying hysterically! My mom tried to reassure me by saying that at least our close family and our bridal party would be there...

I woke up in a panic, and have decided to address the invitations now! Then, I can mail them out as soon as we hit the 8 week mark!

This morning Tony and I took the morning and went to the REC Center. We took a Discover Scuba class. Tony absolutely loved it! He was a little fish. I believed the instructor referred to him as a "big kid" out there playing around. I was a little more freaked out by the idea. The first few times I tried to breath underwater, I would forget and breath through my nose. Not a good idea! After a while, I got the hang of it. It was quite an experience. Tony is now looking into getting his open water certification...me, I'll think about it!

Cheese curds...

Kaylee bug was texting me from her mother's phone the other night. She was trying to con me into taking her to the Olmsted County Fair. So, this afternoon, Kaylee and I ventured to the fair grounds. We did a walk through of all the 4H buildings and animal barns; then, we went to the best part of the fair: the walk of fried food. It was delicious. Here's are some shots of what we tried out:

Kaylee went for the onion rings.

 I needed cheese curds.

 And we both enjoyed mini donuts!

We did a walk through of the rides and games, but it was just so expensive to even ride 1 ride! So, Kaylee did one game, and we called it a day. She wasn't too excited about her prize....

The Dress is Hemmed!

Today I went to pick up my dress from Renee Wilson! She did such a beautiful job hemming my dress and putting in a bustle. She even sewed a beautiful patch to the inside of my dress. Here it is:

Now to find someone to steam my dress.....I was told that steaming was included in the purchase of my dress, but now David's Bridal has informed me that since I had someone else alter it, they will not steam it. WONDERFUL! I'm not the happiest with them right now...So, if you know a steamer, let me know!

Luna wants in...

Last Sunday I spent all day (minus the hour I went to church) working on wedding things. Luna was helping throughout the day. She loved it when I would use the printer! She sat there just staring for hours....Here's a picture to prove it! The problems started when she wanted to eat the paper coming out of the printer. I think Laur's right, she needs a job for our wedding too!

One registry down.....One to go!

Yesterday, Tony and I went to Bed Bath and Beyond to start our bridal registry. We picked out our dishes and cookware, but we did not have enough time to do the rest. Tonight, we finished it. 3 hours later....we were done. Next we move on to Target! It was really fun, but hard since we'll be living in a house and have so many things to consider! Here are a few shots from the evening. (We're dressed up a bit since we did engagement photos right before hand. Pics of that to come at a later date....)

Finished Guest Book

Here's the finished guest book! I ran out of paper 1/2 way through, so a small trip to Rochester was necessary! But, it's all done! While I was in Rochester, I stopped by David's Bridal and bought my veil. I decided a DYI veil was just too much of an undertaking for me....I would post it, but I don't know proper wedding etiquette with the groom seeing the veil..??

Memorial Candles finished!

Awhile ago, I posted an idea I found about memorial candles for our reception. Today after church, I finished them! Here they are!

Jewelery!

I couldn't wait any longer to show off the bridesmaid's necklaces! I've been so excited about them, so it's really not a secret for the girls, but here it is! My soon-to-be sister in law has a wonderfully talented sister who owns a jewlery business (Oak Hill Designs, look it up on Facebook). I love everything she does, so I'm so excited she's making the necklaces for the girls!

The Guest Book

I was browsing around at VIP and Scrapbook in Rochester a few weeks ago, and I ran across an interesting unique idea for a guestbook. So here it is. Sorry the picture isn't the best, but Luna had to be in every photo I took!

A little more on the wedding front: We met with Pastor Anjanette Rist yesterday afternoon to start to get to know her and start getting things ironed out for the ceremony. It was really fun to just sit and casually visit with her. I really didn't talk too much, since she bonded with Tony over musicals for quite a while!

Meeting with her has made the wedding seem so much more real! I'm in full wedding mode now! Watch out, the posts will be more frequent now!

Our little helper...

Last night I was making the bed and noticed there was a large bump in the middle of the bed. Then, it started attacking us!

This morning, she was helping me with the laundry...

Maddison and Paul Bezdicek

It was the middle of 2nd grade. I was just given the news that my best friend in the entire world, Andrea, would be moving to the cities. I cried and I cried.....until.....this new girl moved into Andrea's house, into Andrea's bedroom, into Andrea's classroom, and into Andrea's desk and locker. I figured it was fate that this little red head came into my life, so I decided that she was my new best friend. She even started going to my church! We spent so much time together gushing about boys, talking about God, watching Julia Robert's movies, and planning our dream weddings.....

Yesterday, Maddie married the man of her dreams, Paul. It was a beautiful wedding in LaCrosse, WI. I was so honored to be a part of their special day by reading the Scripture reading from 1 John 4:7-12. Everything about the day was perfect (except the humidity)! Here are a few shots from the day....

They were just announced husband and wife!

Cutting the cake

Having fun at the Photo Booth

Note to self: Never give Tony the camera. My flash was not on....so this is the shot of the SHS 2005 grads at the wedding.

My mom and dad also made it down to the wedding. My mom was Maddie's Sunday School and Bible School teacher for many many years, and my dad was there to give her a hard time about being a little air headed sometimes :) 

Go Saints!

Tonight, Kaylee bug and I ventured down to St. Ansgar, IA to watch our cousin, Michelle, play softball. It was the game to claim district champions. The Saints were up 5-0 until the 5th inning when Riceville came back and tied it up 5-5. It was quite a nerve wracking game!! Kayla Hemann (Michelle's cousin on the Hemann side) came up to bat at the bottom of the 6th inning and brought 2 runners in. Michelle threw the winning out in the top of the 7th inning to give the Saints a win 7-5. They'll be moving on to Mason City tomorrow night to take on Newman! Go Saints!

Here's the girl and her proud parents. I believe Mary Beth yelled "That's my daughter!" after Chelle threw the last out!

We're so proud of our cousin/sister! Laura joined in to make it a Smidt cousin shot!

We couldn't forget Kayla! She was quite relieved to win the game since this is her last season. She just graduated and is heading on to Wartburg to play for them!

This was the only game that I made it to this year, but it was an exciting one! Good luck Saints in your game tomorrow night!

No photographic evidence....

After I took 307 pictures of Country Fest, I neglected to take my camera out of its case while on vacation....I can however, give a little wordy narration as to what we did on vacation (and show 2 pictures stolen from the other family members also in attendance).

Tony and I arrived at the resort in Remer, MN around 11pm last Wednesday night. We were greeted by almost all of the clan sitting around the campfire. It wasn't long before we all headed to bed. The next morning we woke up to an excellent breakfast prepared by Kate. Then, Brian and Kate took us on a little boat tour around the lake. We saw loons, eagles, pink lady slippers, beaver dams, and many other birds. We joined the family back on shore for some floating around on the beach. It was perfect floaty weather! Tony went out on the sail board for a while. He didn't seem to fall off too many times! There was no campfire that night since it was stifling hot. We survived by using the fans that Brian and Kate lent us! The next day Brian and Kate headed back to St. Peter. Mindy, Cher, Laur, Tony, Natalie, Grandma Jayne and I all headed into Remer to eat some ice cream! We came back and floated the rest of the day away. There were some big storms that flew through so we all were spending some time in our cabins. Tony and I went over to bug the Kasson Knutsons. After a while, Jon went outside to look at the beautiful sunset and discovered the most beautiful rainbow! It was such a wonderful treat! Overall, we had a fantastic time! Next year, we hope to join the family for the entire vacation week!