Weekend Ten: Road trip to Iowa!

Earlier this summer, we decided to take a trip up to Iowa before the wedding to see Adam's family, ride in his brother's new boat, and I wanted to meet Adam's college pastor who's marrying us.  We also decided to drive.  Honestly, I was dreading this part, because 12 hours in a car (or truck) has never been my strong-suit.  In fact, we've never taken family road trips longer than 6 hours.  (I know, right?)  I always got carsick growing up, so car rides were never my favorite.

Much to my surprise, I actually enjoyed the drive!  We drove through the night (in true Paulson style), beginning at 8 p.m. on Friday night and arriving at Adam's parent's house at 8 a.m.  Exactly 12 hours.

Perhaps I'm young and in love and I would dye my hair purple or get a tattoo or do something else (like learn to run or go camping) if it meant hanging out with AMP.  (Sappy alert.  Sorry.)  But I did actually enjoy it!  The first 3 hours we had some really good conversations, I napped from 11-1 and 2-4, and drove from Kansas City to Des Moines from about 4-6:30 while Adam slept.  It was all broken up nicely, and we stopped for food and drinks and bathroom breaks in every state.

Adam was very sweet and made several suggestions so that I'd be prepared and ready for the car ride.  I think he might've been a bit nervous, because if we had a bad road trip now, the ones in the future could be miserable!

This was after a nap and a shower on my part on Saturday.  I was pretty worthless and totally out of it most of the day.  I slept from 9-12, then 6-7 (before dinner), and back to bed at 9 (after dinner), when Adam literally took me by the arms, walked me upstairs, waited while I got ready and tucked me into my bed.  I was kind of a mess.

{Adam loves his Shelby-dog.  Look how green everything is!!}

{With the bunny.}

{Four wheeling and gun shooting.  It's a boy's paradise!}

I did learn a few things for the next road trip, though, as I'm sure this was the first of many:

1.  No matter the time of year (Winter or Summer), pack layers.  Layers, layers, layers...because 80 degrees in Iowa is a lot cooler than 80 degrees in Texas.  Much to my surprise, it actually cooled down at night, and wasn't nearly as hot during the day.  (Then again, when I'm any where that's 30 degrees cooler than home, it's likely that I'll get cold.)

2.  Next time we get there in the morning, have a delicious breakfast and want to head straight up to bed for a nap, I'm going to shower first.  I woke up and felt so disgusting!  Next time I'll be ready for whatever's next on our agenda.  :-)

3.  Stay longer.  I wish that I didn't have to go back on Monday night.  I was planning on staying until Tuesday, until I realized that I was running a meeting for volunteers Tuesday morning, and I could not miss it.  So I had to fly back.  (I know you're thinking this was part of my grand plan not to drive back, but I promise it was an honest mistake!)  Not only did it take me a long time to recover from the weird sleep schedule, we were so busy this weekend that we had to cram everything in to a very small amount of time.  By Monday morning, I was just bummed to be leaving his family and sad to miss the road trip back with AMP.  Guess it didn't take long to make me a road-trip girl!  (However, I will admit that flying sure is a time saver.  Sometimes you just can't beat that.)

Sunday afternoon, we drove about 45 minutes to a nearby lake and put David's boat in the water.  He'd just gotten it earlier this summer, and looooves to go fast.  We got up to 50 and 60 mph.  It was fast.  I even got to drive, though!

I like to refer to this as the Big-A boat.  It's 25 feet long. 

{Aunt Kyle (also visiting this weekend) and David}

{The most spoiled dogs!  Mike grills delicious pork loin.  If I was a dog, I'd be beggin' too!}

 Sunday night, Adam's parents had several neighbors over, as well as family to celebrate our upcoming marriage and so that we could all meet.  It was so great to finally put names with faces, and I really enjoyed hearing stories about their families growing up.

{This is one of Aunt Kyle's three dogs that came to visit (for a total of 5 in the house!)  She was such a sweet, sweet pup!}

{This is the only pic I have from the party.  Bummer.  But it was fun, and we laughed a lot!}

{Sweet love.}

Then it was time to leave...just as I was getting caught up on my sleep!

Life Lately From my iPhone

Today marks one month until our wedding!  People in my office think it's so funny that I can rattle of excatly how many days until the wedding.  :-)  It's a combnation of sheer excitement, knowing what all needs to be finished between now an then, and then taking a vacation that has me counting down the days.

Friday I took  half day off so we could go to our last tasting for the reception food.  Then Adam and I went to get his wedding band.  We decided he looks quite grown up with a ring on his finger!

{Getting a caffeiene fix and showing off our latest purchase}

Next we looked at a tux to rent.  They want you to pick a vest color from a two-inch square of fabric.  Ha.  Thankfully they offered to order a few options for AMP to try on, which meant another trip to Al's on Tuesday.  We finally got it figured out, and he will look quite handsome on our wedding day!

We also looked at a rental house on Friday and spent less than five minutes in there.  Yikes.  We need to be moved in somewhere by November 1, so we're kind of in that time of 30 to 60 day notices being up.  It would make me feel a lot better if I was able to picture where we're going to be next, but that's just part of the process.  I know it will work out.  Patience just has never been my strongsuit in these types of situations!

{Bachelor Pad--before}

I am really glad to know that we will live in Adam's apartment for the month of October.  To make it more "ours," he's really working hard to clean stuff out and make room for me.  He's always had a clean place, which I appreciate, so it's nothing gross or anything.  We took down the framed posters that I helped him hang last August. 

We spent a good chunk of Friday night trying to find studs in the wall and hanging these shelves up.  I watched a lot and helped when needed.  :-)  I've had them since college, and they've lived under my bed for two years.  I was really excited to have a place to hang them again! 

{After}

Saturday we met the Wharton boys up at church to ask them to be in our wedding and practice walking down the aisle.  They will be so great on the wedding day in front of a big group of people, but they were just all over the place on Saturday!  It didn't bother me at all, because I know it won't be perfect, but that'll be what's so cute!

We had our Couple's Shower on Saturday night, which was loads of fun. Adam and I felt so honored and loved.  I'll have to do a separate post on that because it was just so fabulous!

Yesterday, I lost my wallet.  {Turns out it had fallen out at home.}

I wear my hair in a pony tail to work about half the time these days {A sign that I'm too tired to fix it}

My room looks like clothes exploded,

and until yesterday when Adam cleaned it out, my car looked similar.  {Thanks, AMP!}

Thankfully I have a lot of help with wedding planning and with life in general, becuase I need it!  :-)



Weekend Nine: Adam comes to BSB

Baylor Summer Bunch weekend is jam-packed full of family, friends and fun.  It is always fun to catch up with these friends.  This year was a big deal for me, because I got to bring Adam.  I was super excited for him to be a part of the weekend...I pulled photos of all nine families from Facebook so he could see that he'd already met half of them.  (Clearly, very excited.) 

I was so excited that I didn't really put myself in his shoes until we walked in the door to my parent's lakehouse and all the moms turned and gave a high-pitched, "Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!"  I thought he might just turn around and leave--ha!  Everyone was excited to meet him, and Adam hung in there and met all 40-some-odd people. 

After the initial shock of meeting all these new faces, Adam settled in and learned all about the BSB from his buddy, Gerald.  We have three scrapbooks ('80s, '90s and '00s) with birth announcements, wedding photos, Baylor Homecomings, Christmas Cards and BSB trips.  (I know...we might be slightly over the top.)

Because of this crazy heat wave and lack of water in the lake, we spent a lot of time indoors.  Not everyone stays at our lakehouse (we rented a few more nearby), but it was the hub of all the activities, so it got quite loud sometimes.  At some point througout the weekend, most everyone had to go outside and collect their thoughts, I think.  It was just SO LOUD! 

We played games Friday and Saturday night.

We hung out and played with the new babies.

We boated.

We tubed.

We played more games...this was the "Minute to Win it" night.

This was everyone hanging out Saturday night in the den.  That's a lot of people.

More "Minute to win it" games.

We ate a lot of yummy food and all hung out and chatted.  Adam stayed until after dinner Saturday night before heading back home to go to work the next morning.  He was such a great sport!

Sunday mornings, we have a little singing and devotional time.  Troy played the guitar this year while the three Deily sisters sang.  They did great.  :-)

We also celebrate the high school and college graduates and pray for them as they "launch" a new chapter in their lives.  Scott was the youngest in the group, and he's starting at Baylor today!  The photo above is the first "launchees"--Lauren, Laura and Allison, and the last, Scott. 

Our parents have said once Scott was launched, the kids aren't invited, and they'll all go on a cruise instead.  We'll see how that plays out next summer!  :-) 

Then we pose for group photos.

The Dads.

The Moms.

The girls.

The boys.

And Laura and Allison with their newest additions, Emma and Madeleine!

Loving the bows.

Emma and Madeleiene.

Whew.  Just looking throuh these photos makes me tired again!  The fun part is that normally we see these friends again at Baylor Homecoming in November, but it was fun to say, "See you at the wedding!"  :-)

Weekend Eight: Take a deep breath

Friday, I got home from almost a week in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.  Unfortunately, it was for work, and the view of the beach is pretty much all I saw of it until the last night we were there.  Fortunately, though, I did get to hang out a lot with Amanda, since we get to work together.

I think it's been since college that we've been able to spend that much time together at once.  It was really a treat!  {I have a few pics of us out at the beach, but they're trapped on my camera--I can't find the charger.  Boo.}

Claire was in Jamaica all week on a mission trip, and I didn't feel like going home to an empty apartment, so I came home and spent the night with my Aunt Laura.  We addressed wedding invitations (the first time) Friday night and Saturday morning.  She and I did get to catch up when she got home, though.  We spend a lot of time in these spots on the couch, talking and watching Gilmore Girls.  It was so nice to catch up, and hear all about her experiences in Jamaica with other teachers.  They gave a teacher conference all week to better equip Jamaican teachers with resources they're typically unable to receive.  

Saturday afternoon,  Adam and I finally got to hang out! He took me out for a steak dinner at the Yellow Rose Steak and Chop house, and we got to catch up in person.  He'd been in Colorado for his Bachelor Weekend with a buddy from home.  They hiked and camped and explored the mountains. Colorado was, of course, nice and cool, so I know he hated to come home to Texas in a massive heat wave.  

I don't have any photos of this weekend, and I honestly can't remember what I did, other than that.  I remember telling Adam that this was pretty much the last free weekend we had before the wedding, which was now exactly two months away! 

I know this wasn't a terribly exciting weekend post, but since I'm documenting the rest of them, I didn't feel like I could just skip it.  :-)  So stay tuned for the next weekend, which was the opposite of this: loud, busy and crazy!  But fun!

Weekend Seven: First Bridal Shower

Friday after work, I met Adam and his parents at Maggiano's for a rehearsal dinner tasting.  They'd driven all night from Iowa and arrived earlier that day.  It was a fun way to catch up and eat great food! 

We got to try a ton of food, and my "eating like a bird" habits really paid off.  :-)  {I usually only eat a very small amount of most things, but snack several times a day.}  By the time we got to dessert, I had just enough room left, and it was delicious!

Saturday, July 16 I had my first wedding shower!  Adam's parents drove down pretty much just for the tasting and my bridal shower.  It meant a lot to have Norene there, and I'm so glad she got to meet so many friends in my wedding party and other people that are so dear to me.

{Norene, Me and Mom}

{The decorations were over the top!}

{Beautiful flowers and peacock feathers...totally a "Shay" thing!}

Fabulously delcious desserts made by Chef Sarah.  She even added pansies...just a subtle touch of the official Tri Delta flower.  :-)  It sounds sooo cheesy to type, but it was a sweet gesture that I didn't want to forget!

{Chef Sarah, beautiful inside and out}

{Mattie is off to college at OSU this year!}

{Hostesses: Donna, Elaine, Amy, Teresa, Susan, Tammy,

Kathy, Mom, me and Sarah} 

They made me feel incredibly special, loved and honored. 

It's a bit strange to walk in to a house and have it be "all about Shay!"  (Not that I minded, haha!)  

{Delicious food}

{Cousin and Bridesmaid, Anna}

{Gentry and her mom, Terri!}

{Lauren and Kristin were so sweet to come.  Kristin's getting married the weekend after us!}

{Baylor Girls}

{Maid of Honor dutifully takes notes of all the gifts...on her iPad!  Everyone thought she was just so hip, and then she just emailed me the list the next day.  Amazing.}

{Mom cooing over this sweet baby, Emma.}

{Opening gifts!  It took me an hour and a half to open everything.  Fifteen minutes into the shower, Ms. Teresa came and found me and informed me that I needed to sit down and start opening gifts.  I literally sat there unwrapping for the next hour and a half!}

{My wedding party rated all the bows and were always thrilled when we had a big bow to include in my dress rehearsal bouquet!}

Adam's parents gave us an entire set of new pots and pans because they know we enjoy cooking together!

Wedding Party Love!

{Lyndsy, Gentry, Me, Sarah, Anna, SMoo and Katelyn}

{All of our many, many gifts}

I seriously felt so loved.  Not so much because of the gifts, but the notes people wrote and their genuine excitement and well wishes for us.  I cannot wait to see them all again on our wedding day.  What fun that will be! 

Saturday afternoon, Norene and I went to the Wedding Suite at Nordstroms and found a Mother of the Groom dress.  She looks beautiful!  And I think she had a lot of fun trying on dresses they brought to her, along with shoes and jewelry to accessorize.  If only we could do that every time we shopped!!