Pictures!

Well, apparently I am not very bright because I can't figure out how to put a slideshow on this blog. So, I am just adding some random picture here so y'all can see what we have been up to lately! :)

Matt and I really wanted a nice little area in front of the house. We have been talking about building some sort of deck or patio since last summer and we finally started!

We had to dig down in order to put paver base in. Unfortunately, we dug too deep and had to spend an entire morning filling in the whole that we dug.

Matt smoothing out paver base! He is so cute!

Matt put the paver down and Dad moved it if it needed to be moved. Mostly, Matt put them down right where they were supposed to be!

This is how far we have finished! We still have three more rows on the right side to complete but it has been raining all week and is supposed to rain through the weekend. So we shall see. Once it is done, we are going to put boxwoods in front of the patio and rock in the back. Then we'll put some nice patio chairs and maybe a table down. I can't wait!

Matt and Dad relaxing while I cleaned up. Slackers!

Matt and his dad building the fire in Iowa!

The backyard at Matt's parents' house!

The snacks and goodies at the wedding shower that Matt's Aunts threw for us!

All of our cool presents!

Me opening presents!

My ring up close and personal!

So pretty!

Centerpieces

I would like for the decorations to be very simple and elegant. We are getting tablecloths from the civic center and I think they will be an off white/cream color. My hope was to get some sort of sheer, purple, square cloth to lay in the middle of the table. I was thinking that it would stretch from one side to the next. Can you visualize what I am talking about yet? Anyway, then I wanted something very simple for the centerpiece. Matt and I walked around Hobby Lobby a few days ago and I snapped some pictures of things that I liked but they were way too expensive. In my mind, I want just one or two things in the center of the tables as decoration. Most people say to go with flowers, but they are so expensive. We could always do a candle but it would have to be a big candle and then those get super expensive too. I like the thought of some big glass container and then float purple and orange things in it. (ha ha ha) Matt and I both like getting some sort of vase and putting purple rocks in the bottom and then buying bright orange gold fish to decorate...but I don't know about that either.

Also, I am still not sure how to work the food. If we have a buffet line, people have to stand in it. If we serve it family style, I need people to serve it and we have unattractive metal pans on the tables.

So, I am sending out my brainstorming, help me, I need ideas signal in hopes that y'all have some fancy ideas that could help!

Here is one picture of the vase thingy that I like.

Iowa

Matt and I got a chance to visit his family in Iowa this past weekend. We left after work on Thursday and drove through the night. Thankfully, he drove the entire way. It wasn't until about 4:30 in the morning that we had to start jammin' to some Michael Jackson, The Cranberries and Garth! We were exhausted by the time we drove into his parents' driveway at 6:20. We got a few hours of sleep before heading out to begin our visit!

Friday we hung out with his sister, Jenn, and her family as well as his parents and brother, Andy.

Saturday we got up and got our engagement pictures taken. I am very impressed with the way they turned out! After pictures we all (His Mom, Dad, Andy, Jenn, Paige and Aunt Kristi) went to Hu Hot....the best place EVER! The boys and girls split after lunch and Deb, his mom, Jenn, Paige and I went to do some wedding planning. Later that night we went out to eat and met more family at the local bar. We had such a great time!

Sunday we went to church and then his aunts threw me a wedding shower. I will add that his Aunt Kristi quizzed Matt about himself and me before the shower and then I had to answer questions during the shower. We kicked some serious butt! There were a few things that we didn't get right about each other but we had a loooooong drive home to discuss it.

Monday we left his parent's house in the late morning and drove to Omaha. We stopped at Hu Hot for one last fix and had a chance to visit with his old friend Todd. We arrived home around 2:00 am!

We had such a good time! I wish we all lived closer so we could see each other more often!

I think this is our favorite and it was the very last shot.

We did not pick this one. It was a close up of the ring with us fuzzy in the background. It is unfortunate about my arm flab. ha ha ha

I liked this one so we got it.

We did not get this one even though the lady did crop it for Matt's Alfalfa hair!

This is another one that we bought even though my hair is out of control! It was a very awkward pose but it came out well.

We had a lot of fun with both of the 'dipping' poses. We ended up getting this one.

I love that we are both laughing is this one!

So, I was sitting on some little munchkin couch and Matt was kneeling beside me. The photographer said "embrace her face"....because Matt always embraces my face while gazing into my eyes. ha ha ha So natural!

This was okay but we didn't get it.