Countdown!

Nick and I have started the countdown to puppy time (and a much more messy house)! Gus will be coming home with us on December 23rd, just in time for Christmas. We're very excited and I thought I'd share a couple of the photos Diana (his mommy/breeder) has sent us.

This is one of Gus at about 5 weeks. This was on one of the really cold nights we had about a week ago when they brought the puppies in and did individual photos for all the future owners.

And this one is Gus this weekend at 6 weeks. They had a very successful trip to the vet in which all the babies were healthy and growing at a great pace. The vet was apparently very impressed with their temperament and attitudes. They are very gentle and sweet as a whole litter. Now Gus weighed in at 8.6 pounds, which was right in the middle. Most of the babies were between 7 and 9.5 pounds, however, one little porker, a female named Paisley, came in at a whopping 11.6 pounds. She's a bit of a butterball, but also so cute!

We are really looking forward to adding to our little family. With Nick gone at night, it gets a little lonely around here sometimes and I know that Gus is going to keep me very busy. Nick and I were over at my parents a couple days ago and Mom produced a huge bag of puppy toys she's already bought for Gus. I know this is going to be one spoiled dog, and it makes me think about babies and how ridiculously spoiled they will be too! Gus is just practice.

For anyone who isn't an animal lover, my posts about our new "baby" Gus may seem over the top. However, in my family animals are family, so seeing him as a member of the Pritchetts isn't strange to us. My parents' first "child" was a springer spaniel named Tucker and he was a uniting force for them in hard times. I truly believe that receiving the undying and unconditional love of a pet makes it easier and more rewarding to love others in return. Nick and I love our Budda cat and are really excited for another being to love in this house. Babies to come soon too, but not too soon!

Furniture and poop

I think we've found it. We've only spent the last three days shopping for the perfect couch, loveseat, and bedroom set, so we better be ready to buy by tomorrow! There is one more sale we want to check out tomorrow morning, but if that doesn't pan out, we'll be heading to a store in Tacoma for our new furniture. I'll post photos when we are sure of what we're getting, but the sets we've picked out are gorgeous! I'm so excited to actually have a dresser so I can stop diving into the giant clothes boxes that have been housing my tees, undies, and socks. The other day I had Nick dump one of the boxes out on the floor so I could find one stupid brown tee. I was just going to leave the pile on the floor for easier access, but then Nick pointed out that the pile of clothes looked exactly like the nest of blankets that Budda is so fond of on the couch. I can just imagine coming home and finding orange and white cat hair all over an entire pile of clean clothes. I feel the temper tantrum coming on as I write this . . .

And speaking of Budda . . . So, many of our friends know that Budda has an issue with pooping outside his litter box. It's like he's unaware that his little butt is hanging out of the box because his front feet are in when he does this (usually), but he is pooping on the floor right in front of the box. It's not an every day thing, but he will also do this when he's mad. Like if I haven't fed him yet or if his box is too dirty. He has an attitude, what can I say? Well, the other day Nick and I kicked him out of the room so we could have some "alone time," and apparently Budda didn't appreciate that. He's used to having run of the house and considers our bedroom his, especially if we are in it. I knew he'd be mad, so after the stuff *ahem* I went downstairs to find him and bring him back in the room. I walked into the utility room and there he was pooping in the middle of the floor. He had food and I had just cleaned his box an hour or two before. He did it because he was pissed that we kicked him out of the room (apparently he's a bit of a voyeur). Nick was so mad! I thought it was pretty funny, especially after we rock, paper, scissored to figure out who had to clean it up and Nick lost. Hehe.

And to change the subject completely--some good news: We're hoping to go see Gus either tomorrow or Sunday. He's five weeks old now! I'm so excited for our new baby!

Why?

5 police officers senselessly shot down in the span of a month. Why? How am I supposed to send my husband off to work every day without a feeling of panic? How can I sleep knowing he's out there doing his job, which causes him to put his life on the line every shift? When do the feelings of helplessness and anger go away?

If you are not the wife or husband of a police officer, you can't possibly understand this feeling. We knowingly send our best friends, lovers, and other halves out to risk their lives because we support them. We know they love their jobs. It's an integral part of who they are and we're proud of them for that and proud to call them "husband" or "wife." But that does not make it any easier. I watch my husband drive away at the beginning of every shift. I bring his lunch out to his car and I tell him, "Be safe, drive safe, come home to me safe" every night. I wave as he leaves to go out to this unpredictable job, not knowing what could happen to him in the span of his eight hour shift. I pray to God every day that He will bring my husband home safely every night. And I do this five days a week. Then I try to find some way to occupy my time so that I don't dwell on Nick's job and his safety all night long. I watch Friends over and over again. I clean. I read. I call my mom and chat about mindless topics. All are coping mechanisms. All are things we spouses must learn and cultivate over the course of our officers' careers. There is no knowing, so teetering on the brink of panic on a daily basis is something we understand completely.

I hope that explanation gives some insight into this situation for those of us who wait at home, praying for the return of our loved ones. Asking us how we are doing will always elicit the same response: "I'm fine." It's a lie, but we don't want to talk about it. Part of the coping is keeping those scary thoughts at bay with the mundane routine of life. Give us a hug or chat about anything else, but don't ask us how we are doing. We're not fine, but you can't understand and trying to explain it only makes it worse for us. We pray, we love, we laugh, we cherish the small moments, and yet our hearts still break every time they go on duty.

Prayers for the families of the officers slain this past month. Love and support from those of us who understand.

Moving on up!

Well, we are all moved in to the new house (for the most part . . . ). We're still working on furnishing it, but fortunately I am on top of things. I know if I left it up to Nick, we'd never have a set of couches for the living room and I'd be living out of a box for months because that's how long it would take to get a new bed set. I love him, but he is the ultimate procrastinator!

The day we moved in we had help from Dave and Austin, which saved us. We decided to go look at a dining room set that night as we still had the moving truck. It turned out to be a great deal! It was purchased at an antique store for $5600. It's a rich dark wood table with two leaves, eight chairs, and a gorgeous china cabinet. We got the set for $1700. Besides our entertainment center, it is the first piece of furniture I am truly proud to own. And it was a steal!

The big problem lately is that Nick has had no time off, which has been really tough. I can't buy a couch or a bed set without his input because those pieces are so important. (And I can't make the decision by myself because I'm so indecisive about it.) We also have some little things that need to get done, like cleaning out the gutters, which Nick needs to do. Poor guy, he's already got a honey-do list! But he's decided to take Wednesday off, so we're going to work on getting as much done as possible on the four days he'll have off. I'm excited to finish our registry and get the 5 bookcases I've been dying for so I can set up the office and my books can have a home again. We also found out from Nick's mom that we can have his grandfather's cherry and leather antique desk and it is gorgeous, so that is one less thing we have to buy and another piece of furniture that will be special to us. We also have my mom's and grandma's rocking chairs, which will eventually go in the baby's rooms. The only bad thing about the desk is that it is buried in Nick's parent's garage. And when I say buried, I mean buried! It'll take a bit of elbow grease to get it out . . .

And finally, our super amazing and exciting news: we are getting a puppy! We put a down payment on a golden retriever puppy last weekend. They are four weeks old today and we will be able to bring the little guy home right before Christmas. We are still working on names . . . that's something we always have a hard time agreeing on, whether it's for pets or babies. We've gone from Luke to Ike to Charlie to Teddy. My top three right now are Noah, Toby, and Gus. I really like Gus, but that is just today's consensus. Indecisive? Yes.

Another thing to be excited for: A real Christmas tree! We're getting our first tree this week too! Life is not just good, it's amazing!

Appliances!

Our stainless steel appliances are in! They were delivered on Friday and installed yesterday and they have already completely changed the look of the kitchen. We got an over the range microwave, a dishwasher, a refrigerator, and a stove. The stove is my pride and joy at this point. It's beautiful! It has a ceramic top with a quick boil burner in two sizes, a warming burner, and the oven is a convection oven (which means quicker cooking times) and has a hidden element (meaning the red hot thing at the bottom of the oven, which usually gets covered with junk is covered by a panel and means easier clean-up).

On top of the appliances, my mom, dad, and brother bought us a washer and dryer. We purchased everything at Best Buy from the same girl and she found a 50% off coupon for a Samsung steam washer and dryer pair. In other words, we got my gorgeous washer and dryer, which would have been $1600 per piece, for only $1600. It was the best day! And my mom is jealous because my washer and dryer are nicer than hers.

So my next job in the kitchen is to replace the white knobs on the cabinet with metal pulls or knobs. I'd also like to price sinks and faucets and maybe do that too. The countertops and floors are going to wait for a while, maybe after we get our first-time home buyers tax credit. And today I'm going to go look at living room furniture. And I'm going to buy if I find the right pieces for the family room. The rest of the furniture will be in this week. The goal is to be completely moved into the house by Thursday. Now that our appliances are in, I am so excited to be IN the house!

On a side note: Funny story. Nick had swift water rescue training on Friday. Because of the Howard Hanson dam potentially failing and the fact that, if it does fail, much of King County will have massive flooding (up to 20 feet in Kent!), all King County guys (and other departments across the state I'm sure) will be on alert for the winter and early spring. If the dam fails, Nick will be working 12-hour days every day until the crisis is over. All that=not funny. But Nick's mishap at training was pretty funny. Part of the training was about throwing life ropes and donut things into the water at the Green River to "save" potential victims. It was very cold outside and Nick's hands were freezing. When your hands get cold, they tend to "shrink" a little . . . anyone know where I am going with this?

So Nick calls me to tell me this "funny story" about how midway through the training he looked down and his wedding ring was gone. Yep, gone. As he's standing on the banks of the Green River. He told the other guys and their first question was, "Is she an old wife or a new wife?" Nick's response: "We've been married for a month."

"Oh, shit, dude! She's going to kill you!"

Yep.

So, being the cops they are, they set out in a grid pattern, like you would do when searching for evidence. Can you just imagine them with locked arms walking along the banks of the river looking for a ring so their big, bad cop buddy doesn't get murdered by his new wife? It's freaking hilarious! And I can laugh because . . . they found it. Thank goodness! I told Nick that maybe for some things he doesn't need to wear his ring, like when dealing with water and ropes. He agreed, probably because he knows what's good for him.

I love my husband.

Keys!

Oh, and we got the keys to our house yesterday! Now we seriously need help moving. Remember how much we love you all and remember how much you love us . . . furniture movers anyone?

(Owning a home is AWESOME, by the way!)

Survival!

We did it! We survived the wedding and the aftermath. The only reason I can say this is because my aunts came and took over the final planning and the coordinating the day of and saved my life and the lives of my parents. They were wonderful and I can't thank them enough!

So, a recap of the day:

I went and got my nails done the day before, just French tips (in other words, just some paint). By the time I got out of the shower, it was all chipped so after doing my makeup, I ran out to Vivian and had her fix it. Then I was running a little late (shocking, I know) and made it home just in time for Laura to get there and do my hair. The photographers came at about 11:45 and took some pictures while my mom and the aunts were making the bouquet and loading the cars. Laura finished my hair around 12:15 and Nick and I left for Thornewood a few minutes after that.

Imagine our surprise when, 20 minutes later, we show up at Thornewood to find that no one else is there, even though the aunts left about 45 minutes before we did. My dad told them to go some ridiculous back way, which he also took, and I guess a road was closed or something. Anyway, Nick and I stood around and waited for about 15 minutes before anyone showed up. Can you say stressed? Everyone eventually came upstairs and my Aunt Kris and Mom started to lace me into my dress. And the breathing stopped there! We did photos in the room for a while and then decided to meet up with Nick and do some pictures outside. We hadn't really planned this well, as our wedding guests quickly found out.

We ended up walking through the ceremony area, where many of our guests were milling around. So much for the element of surprise, huh? After we were done with the outdoor photos (and I was sufficiently blinded, haha!) we walked back through the house, which was now filled with people. At this point, I was ready for the ceremony to be done. We were already married and only did the ceremony as a courtesy to the people who weren't at the Catholic one in September. I rushed my dad and mom upstairs, Dave was sent to the mantle and we got going right at 3. Not the original plan. We said 3, but intended to start at 3:15ish so that people wouldn't interrupt the ceremony by coming in through the creaky front doors. The doors ended up being a guest in and of themselves during our vows . . .

Poor Dave. We didn't give him a moment to prepare or rehearse, which we should have taken time to do and I forgot to tell everyone where I expected them to be before the ceremony, so Nick's parents were already seated when we got started. Once Nick and I were at the altar, Nick kept crowding Dave closer and closer to the fireplace, which caused him to sweat pretty profusely. We said our vows and skipped the prayer of the couple. Nick forgot to repeat after Dave and the door creaked open a few times for a few "late" (but not really) arrivals. If we weren't already married, I might have been frustrated, but as it was, I found it to be pretty funny. And it broke up any emotional moments we had, so it all worked out for the best.

The relief upon having the ceremony completed was amazing. Then we took a bunch more photos and rushed the caterer into having dinner completed by 4:15 since we started the ceremony early. I was concerned about down-time, but people seemed to be enjoying themselves. A few guests left after the ceremony was over, which was fine, and by the time dinner was started, we were down to 80 or so people.

(P.S. Having a Thanksgiving-style meal was genius on our part. Everyone loved it, as far as I know, and it was GOOD! Not like some dry, yucky food I've had at other weddings. Everyone likes turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, and sweet potatoes! And it's a good thing, because all the leftovers were sent home with us. We're going to be eating this stuff for DAYS!)

After dinner Nick and I gave our toasts. I started by thanking the aunts and my family and pointing out the missing guests, like my Nana, Grandpa Harvey, and Nick's grandma . . . Julianna. Unfortunately, her name wasn't in my head when I was talking and instead of Julianna, I said Gloria. As in Nick's mom. I won't be living that one down for years to come. After recovering my composure (a little bit-hard to recover completely when one of Nick's aunts kept teasing me and Gloria about it, haha), I thanked my wonderful husband, who then proceeded with his speech. He said some beautiful things about me, which made me cry and thanked the aunts, but forgot to thank his parents . . . poor Brad and Gloria! We also mistakenly gave Brad's boutonniere to Papa, so Brad didn't get one. I realize now the importance of a rehearsal. Thought I didn't need one and was SO wrong, haha! Oh well, it wouldn't be Nick's and my wedding without a few silly moments and a couple of hiccups.

We didn't have alcohol at the wedding (and we hope this didn't disappoint too many people, but my family doesn't really drink too much and it was very expensive to purchase, so we decided against it), but the sparkling cider was flowing and there were some beautiful toasts. Each of us had family say a few words: my dad, mom, brother, and aunt, and Nick's mom. Plus we had friends and loved ones give some wonderful toasts. Nick's friend Austin talked about their crazy adventures and then mentioned his late mother, which got Nick very misty. We really wish she could have been there. There were a lot of faces Nick and I would have given a lot to see . . .

After the emotional and funny toasts, we had pumpkin cheesecake (we also have a LOT of those leftover and 10 bottles of sparkling cider too-anyone want to have a cider and cheesecake party?), which I thought was a hit. Way better than wedding cake! Then it was mingling and thanking people for coming. Nick and I were at the end of our ability to function by this point and starting to say our good nights before we climbed the stairs with our photographers for a few last photos. All of my family, except my wedding coordinating aunts were already gone. We were all exhausted from the planning and running and stress of the last few days. This wedding was paid for and planned completely between me, my mom, and my aunts, so exhaustion was absolutely the word of the hour. I think the aunts corralled everyone out by 7ish and then we had Thornewood almost to ourselves.

The last wedding photo we took was of Nick cutting me out of the wedding dress. Yes, he cut my laces because I hadn't breathed or peed for over 7 hours at that point. Before that we took some fun photos of our tired selves. I am so, so excited to get those back in 4-6 weeks! We invited our photographer, Ryan, and his girlfriend, Robin, to come visit us in the new house when the photos are done, so we'll hopefully be able to have a nice salmon dinner with them in a month or so.

Overall, we had a great time. I hope that everyone else did too! We were trying for an intimate family-style wedding, so I hope that's how it came off. Big thanks to my family and my aunts for making it all possible and for helping it to run as smoothly as it did. They took care of all the little details so that I only had to worry about not tripping down the 500-year-old staircase with my dad as we walked in. They also helped clean up and loaded all the gifts and cards, leftover food, and favors into the cars. They mingled and kept the party going and saved my mom tons of stress, as this was way out of our comfort zone. They made it fun and I LOVE them for it!

Also, thanks to our guests. We love everyone that came to the wedding and each of you is meaningful to us in some way, so sharing this day with you was so special for Nick and me. Thank you cards will be in the mail as soon as I can find some time between moving and Nick having his final board of evaluators meeting (WOO-HOO!), which means he'll be off the job's probationary period very soon! Hopefully in the next two weeks I will have those in the mail.

Thanks again for being there for our special day. We love you all!

Stressful Tears

I am on the verge of crying or screaming . . . maybe both. Thornewood can only hold 100 people and we're now at 102 with a few people we still need to hear from. Our response cards stated that October 15th was the deadline for RSVPing. Here it is October 30th, 15 days later and we're still adding people to our guest list.

What happened to etiquette? What happened to caring about deadlines and the stress level of the bride and groom? Why are we chasing people down to find out if they can come to the party we're spending thousands on to throw for THEM? We're already married. We don't need to have this second wedding. We don't need to spend all this money, which quite frankly, I would have rather used to buy furniture and redo our new kitchen. This is all for family and friends, who are simply adding to my stress level at this point. I'm not trying to be hurtful, but how about caring about our feelings too? If the card says to respond by October 15th, you should have responded by October 15th and shame on you if you didn't. These tears are for you.

House News

We got a phone call tonight from our mortgage guy, Brian (who is amazing and so helpful!) and it looks like everything is completed, for the most part. All the approvals, appraisals, title information, and other miscellaneous "stuff" is all in order and we are officially ahead of schedule. There might be some other little things, but it looks like the next big thing is signing the papers, paying our lovely down payment, and getting the keys to our new home. Closing is still November 12th, 5 days after the wedding, which makes me happy along with stressing me out. A lot of the homes we looked at in the beginning have been pending for months now because of the short sale situation, so Nick and I are feeling really blessed to have found this beautiful house that wasn't a short sale and everything has really worked out. We'll be moving in on time!

And now I'm going to go make up another one of my lists for the "stuff" I have left to do for the wedding and those things that I need to delegate to my aunts and Loretta, who are all going to help me with those last-minute details. Nick, Mom, and I are going to Thornewood on Wednesday to get a last look at the place and figure out the sound system and then I have to pick up the aunts from the airport on Thursday and Friday will be the day of freaking out and a million things to do. I've got to say, I'm really looking forward to pigging out on Halloween candy this weekend . . . and a beer. I'm really looking forward to a beer.

Happy Anniversary!

Today is Nick's and my one month anniversary. It's crazy to me that it's already been a month since we got married and it's been over a year since we got engaged. I remember thinking that September day that November 7th was so far away and I had all the time in the world to plan. And now, here it is less than 2 weeks to the wedding and Nick and I are just so excited for it to be over. We're trying to keep in mind the happiness that should come in seeing our family members and friends and having almost everyone we love in one room to celebrate with us, but really we're just looking forward to it being done. Lesson learned: don't buy a house at the same time you're getting married unless you love stress, paperwork, and massive to do lists.

Also, tomorrow is my mom and dad's 31st wedding anniversary. Happy anniversary to them! Nick and I have good role models in that department, as his parents have been married for over 30 years too. I'm so proud of the places we both come from and I know our marriage will be successful because of our backgrounds, families, faith, and our love for one another. But again, excited for this wedding to be over!

16 Days . . .

Until the wedding is finally done! And both Nick and I can hardly wait. I work really hard to make sure that the stress of buying the house and planning the wedding doesn't fall on Nick too much. In fact, it feels like I just bought a house by myself with his money. I put forms in front of him and he signs them and I take care of everything else, which is fine. Nick makes the money and doesn't make me work so it's fair. But my stress level is brimming over at this point and Nick is taking the brunt of it. We keep saying that we just have to get through the next 3 weeks and then we can breathe. And until then, I will be spending a lot of time apologizing and Nick will be spending a lot of time teasing me for my freak-outs.

Because I'm such a fan of lists, here's one of all the "stuff" that is stressing us out:

House and work-

-Getting the appraisal back so we can get homeowner's insurance and finish our escrow form

-Figure out the furnace situation (we need a new heat exchange or a new furnace altogether)

-New gas hot water heater

-Appliances we need: a fridge, garage freezer, washer and dryer

-I want new bedroom and dining room furniture, but we have to wait until we're in the house before I can buy anything so I've been shopping for a long time . . .

-Money, money, money (buying a house at the top end of your budget is scary!)

-Getting my name changed (I'm going to wait until the first of the year) and all the crap that goes along with that--driver's license, teaching certificate, social security card, etc.

-Getting my fingerprints done so I can start subbing in Puyallup

-Nick's new job on the reservation-getting used to the new schedule (6pm-2am) and my apparently unfounded concern that he will be bored, plus making sure he has enough food in his lunch every day (he needs 2 meals and snacks in his lunchbox-means a lot of cooking)

Wedding:

-Getting a final head count to the caterer and photographer

-Thornewood can only fit 100 people inside and we're right there with a few more people we still need to hear from. This is actually the biggest thing stressing me out right now. Some people added guests to my list who weren't invited and I'm pretty upset about that, but don't want to open that can of worms.

-Cake: we're not doing it, but we are doing cheesecake from Costco, so I need to find a cake stand and pray that Costco has enough cheesecakes when we go to buy them!

-My flowers, the guys' boutonnieres, and moms/aunts corsages-we're making them

-Have my dress steamed

-I need to pick up my veil and go to Laura for a trial run on my hair (not really stressful, just something I need to do)

-Cleaning the downstairs and packing--2 of my aunts are coming in a little early to help out with the last details of the wedding and they are staying downstairs with Nick and I

-Finishing our vows and getting the script over to Dave, our officiant

One thing we took off our list:

Liquor. We aren't getting the liquor license, nor are we buying wine and champagne for the wedding. It's an added expense that we don't need, so people will have to be happy with coffee and sparkling cider. (I love that I got my way on this-I didn't want alcohol from the beginning!)

And finally: does anyone have any suggestions as to how to kick people out of a wedding without causing a scene? Haha, just kidding.

Wedding Hair

I need to make an appointment with my wonderful, amazing hairstylist Laura to do a trial run of the hairdo for the wedding with the veil, which I will be getting this weekend. So here are the photos of the styles I like:

Four weeks left . . . Thank God.

THE House!

On Thursday, Nick and I met with our realtor to look at yet another house in Bonney Lake. We were at our wits end with the house on 60th, having still heard nothing on the formal approval. We were ready to walk, but decided to wait until we'd seen this house or talked to the agents dealing with the new homes in a neighborhood called Panorama West. Both Nick and I liked the idea of a new home, in which we'd be able to get everything we wanted. However, there are some serious cons to new developments, mainly that you can never be sure when they will be completed and new construction can have hidden costs.

However, all the worry and stress was over when we walked into this house. First off, the curb appeal was amazing. The couple that lives there took meticulous care of this home. As we walked up to meet Mike, our realtor, the first thing he told us was that this was NOT a short sale. Hallelujah! Close to 75% of homes in this market are short sales and we didn't want to deal with another one of those. Big plus for this place. Then we walked in. We loved the floor plan and the bones of the house. There are some changes we will eventually make, such as new flooring and paint throughout the house, new countertops and appliances in the kitchen, and new light fixtures in a few of the rooms, but the home is in great condition and is move-in ready, unlike the other home.

So, some of the statistics: approximately 2200 square feet, 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, a den/office, formal dining and living rooms with vaulted ceilings, a big kitchen with lots of counter space, a 3-car garage, and large master bath with a walk-in closet all on .28 acres of landscaped bliss. The house was built in 1997 and is in an established and well-maintained neighborhood full of gorgeous homes (and not one of them was questionable) which is situated right behind Bonney Lake High School.

Here are the pictures:

The front of the home

The front porch

The back of the house with a deck

One side of the yard with concrete curbing and lots of trees for privacy

We are meeting with Mike tomorrow to drop off the earnest money check and the withdrawal notice for the house on 60th (yay for having that giant weight off our shoulders!) and setting up a time for the home inspection and appraisal. Once those two things are done, then we are in the clear. Closing for the house is November 12th and then I will post interior before and after photos as I start to decorate and furnish the place.

(Moment to be excited: YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY! We are new home owners!)

Wedding and Reality

I suppose I should write about the wedding on the 26th, but I don't really feel like it. Everything went well and the ceremony was short and simple. Paul stood in for Cheryl who was busy with my new niece (yay!) Isabelle who is going through a phase where only Mommy can hold her. She is the stinking cutest thing ever and everyone just fell in love with her and Cheryl too. I could not ask for a better sister-in-law! So since Cheryl was busy with the baby, Paul got to be my "man of honor," which meant he also got to hold my flowers, which was hilarious, especially with the look on his face! It cut the emotion of the day. Dad wore Grandpa Harvey's shirt and I wore Nana's ring, so it was like they were there. Everyone cried at some point on my side of the family and Nick teared up a little bit too. We had dinner at Mama Stortini's and my cousin Katie did our photos, which turned out great. We spent the night at the Salish Lodge and then drove down to Hood River for 5 days for a simple honeymoon. Now back to reality.

And the real thing I wanted to post about: the house. For those of you who don't know, it's been one giant headache for a long time now. We had verbal approval at the end of August and expected written approval soon after, but we have just started that conversation with the bank that owns the house. Not that big of a deal in a short sale situation, which can often take months to approve. A short sale is simply when a house is listed for less than is owned on it, which is why it is so hard to get approval. But the bank had already approved the price we offered when we offered it. So to make a long story short, I think we are going to walk away from this house. Here's the list of reasons why:

1. Horrible communication from the listing agent

2. A crazy seller who called me to tell me what assholes the bank people are AND he called me Wendy, the name of our crazy old neighbor who threatened my entire family, including Jake. Bad juju.

3. Wells Fargo (the bank who owns the loan on the house) is being awful. Changing our offer before approving it (it had us paying $14,000 out of pocket on top of the 3.5% we'd pay for the loan) and then trying to rush us into signing by threatening a fine of $100 a day we go past October 14th for the closing date.

4. The house is in an area where it's one of the highest priced homes, which means we aren't going to be seeing a lot of equity in terms of raising the value of the home. Plus, the neighbors behind us have made me a little nervous from day one: loud, barking dogs, and a yucky house.

5. Wells Fargo approved their "version" of our offer on Thursday, which our agent, Mike informed them was bull and they had to approve what we actually offered. He expected to hear back from them by Friday or yesterday, but we've heard nothing. More crappy communication.

Fortunately, we are able to back out of this mess at any time. If only a couple of these things were going on, I wouldn't be so hesitant, but when you add it all together, it's screaming at you to get out now! The nice thing is that we already have a neighborhood we've been looking at with new construction that we've fallen in love with. It's called Panorama Heights and it overlooks the valley. The house we want is 2400 square feet on a third of an acre and it starts at a lower price than the other house. We can add whatever we want to the place, like granite countertops, coffered ceilings, and upgraded fixtures and we can choose our floor plan. Another good thing about new construction is that it will take 5 months to build. This means more time to save money. Nick will be getting a raise in January and one again in May, which will also make things easier and I can sub a lot to earn that extra money we'd need for furniture. 5 months would also give Jacob more time to get used to the idea of us moving out. It also means not dealing with a house closing on or around our second wedding date. Therefore, I think we're done with house #1.

And speaking of the second wedding . . . the due date for the response cards is on the 15th of October. I have only half in and most of them are from Nick's family. Way to be on top of things Pritchetts! Now I have to light a fire under my family and our friends. I am going to use the cards to figure out the seating charts, so I really need them from everyone, even if I've gotten a verbal response. Phone calls start tomorrow . . .

Just Something I Want to Remember . . .

Stella Madeline and Caleb Samuel.

(*Honeymoon's going great! Pictures of the ceremony to come when Nick and I are home from Oregon on Thursday.)

Tomorrow . . .

We're getting married! I'm going to be Mrs. Nicholas Pritchett!

Wow!

Well, we are less than 5 days away from being husband and wife! We had our final meeting with Father Jim to tie up all the loose ends, and we asked Joel to be Nick's best man and Cheryl to be my matron of honor. We are meeting at the church at 12:30 and the wedding will start at one. Our total number of guests will be between 13-15, depending on whether or not Nick's cousin Riley and his wife Brooke can come. My cousin is doing the photography and we're all going to dinner at Mama Stortini's afterward. 

Nick and I are staying at the Salish Lodge that night and then we're going on some kind of honeymoon. It looks like we might go to the San Juan Islands or down to Hood River or the Oregon coast. However, I just spent the last two days researching a vacation to Hawaii or the Florida Keys. That is also a possibility, but it's going to be a last-minute thing. We won't know how many days Nick will have off until this weekend, which could mean anywhere from 6 to 10 days. If he has 10 days off, we're definitely flying somewhere. I'm just happy that the end is in sight (at least for this wedding . . . we will still have the big one to deal with).

Bottom line: I'm so happy and blessed to be Nick's wife!

Haha!

So, unlike my parents, Nick and I are not big on having animals in the room (or bed) with us when we sleep. We keep the French doors to the hallway and our bedroom door shut at night to keep the cat, Budda, out. However, Budda has taken to sleeping in our room during the day and the last few nights has refused to leave the room and has slept at the foot of the bed almost all night. Anyone who knows the situation with Budda knows that he is my baby and my shadow when I'm at home, so I'm fine with him sleeping in the room. Nick feels differently about this and, although he's given up now, tried very hard to kick Budda out the first night. 

Now, I know this story is not that funny (or interesting to some of you) but I have an accompanying hilarious photo that I have to share. This is Nick standing in our hallway wrapped in his Steelers blanket trying to get Budda out of the room. Budda, to his credit, did walk to the door and looked out (the moment I snapped the photo). However, he then turned back around, curled up on the floor, and fell asleep. Nick didn't give up and attacked him with a sock, but you could almost see Budda's smirk when I told Nick to leave him alone. All this is hilarious to me (2am and completely exhausted-I couldn't stop giggling). So here's the photo:

Guests! (And a soapbox rant)

We got 3 response cards today! It was very exciting, partly because I just love to open mail that isn't a bank statement, credit card bill, or other junk. So our number as of now is: 20! And that's including Nick's family and mine. We're 20% there! 

Other news: We went to the Pierce County Annex building today and got our marriage license. It took about 10 minutes including the time it took to fill out the paperwork, so it was much easier than we expected it to be! 

Our interesting story from the Pierce County Annex: The room we were in is also for vehicle stuff and it was packed. Only one woman was doing the marriage licenses, but it wasn't like there were a lot of people there for that, so as soon as we took a number, it was called. And thank goodness. There was a woman there with 3 children and one of them was screaming at the top of his lungs (not just yelling, but talking and laughing as loud as he could) and she was doing nothing about it. In the lull when he took a breath, we heard her loudly explaining to the woman next to her that no one liked it when she brought her son with her anywhere because he yells all the time. But, as she explained, there was nothing she could do about it. She'd tried putting her hand over his mouth, but that just made him scream louder. She felt like it wasn't fair that no one liked her son, as he really was a bright and sweet child. She said this as everyone in the small, echo-y room was having their eardrums shattered. I did take a good look at this little boy and watched his interactions with the other children when he wasn't screaming and saw him very clearly enjoying making a scene. He wasn't having a tantrum, he was just yelling because he could. Can you say spanking?

As someone who taught 15 and 16-year olds, I just have to say that that is where it starts. If you don't discipline your children at a young age, how are they going to be successful in life? And how are people like teachers and bosses supposed to deal with these kids as they grow up and become surly teens and lazy adults? If you don't discipline and follow through, you are setting your children up for failure. Making them happy and giving them what they want isn't good parenting, it's lazy parenting. Avoiding arguments and tantrums makes it easy on the parent, but it's selling the child short. In all fairness, I have no children and so shouldn't really be saying anything, but knowing the way Nick and I were raised, I have faith in us being good disciplinarians. We want our children to be successful, therefore, Nick and I will be imposing and enforcing boundaries. And everyone around us better hold us to that.

(Nick's addition: He calls these children "baby dirtbags and job security." People who had no discipline as children keep him in a job when they grow up. And he's knows he's being offensive, but that's Nick's conservative Republican ideals.)

And soapbox over. I hope we didn't actually offend anyone! We love you all!

Weddings Rings!

We went and picked up our wedding bands today and I'm so happy with how they turned out! Nick's ring is titanium with a Byzantine cross etched into it, something that was very important to him in signifying his faith. My wedding band sits flush with the engagement ring and has a matching double row of Pave set stones flanking three larger diamonds (the past, present, future concept). All in all, these rings are more beautiful and meaningful than I ever thought any object could be. We are so excited to be husband and wife in less than 2 weeks! 

We're going to get our marriage license tomorrow morning and then I'm sure it's going to feel even more real. I wrote my vows and part in the prayer of the couple for the ceremony two days ago, which made me realize that this is really happening. I'm so happy, but it's also a little anti-climatic. We've been together for 2 and a half years and we've lived together for over a year of that time, so it really feels like we've been married for a long time already. This is just the formal, legal, and religious aspect of it. We also asked our friend Dave (the guy who introduced us) to perform the marriage ceremony. He agreed and now the running joke is that a Lutheran and a Catholic are being married by a Mormon. Hardy-har. 

Other stuff: We finished our registry (I can't remember if I already talked about this). Target was fun, but Macy's was a pain in the butt. The registry lady was very helpful, but way too talkative. She's also repeatedly checked our online registry, which I've added to, and keeps sending me emails about it. I think she has too much time on her hands. Add that to the fact that Macy's was like a sauna and you have a not-as-fun-as-you-want situation.

One more thing: If I sent you an invitation, please RSVP so I don't have to hunt you down! I was (probably stupidly) hoping to have more responses by now. I think I was a little delusional. I mean, who gets an invitation and sends the RSVP out in the mail the next day? I know I don't. It would sit on our table until I remembered it, probably a day or two before the requested deadline. This is my payback. I won't know until October 15th what my number will actually be. However, on that day, I'm going to start calling everyone I haven't heard from and I'm going to force them to make a decision. (I probably won't actually do this, seeing as I'm relatively non-confrontational, but long ramble short: please send back the RSVP card!)

So, for anyone interested, here are the rings:

Finally!

The wedding invitations are in the mail and I am so glad to be rid of them! We invited over 100 people, but we know a few won't be able to come, so hopefully our number stays at about 100. If not, we'll find room. These are the people we love!

In other wedding news, I dropped off my shoes with a vendor to be dyed. That was an experience. For a while this afternoon I was under the impression that we would have to drive them to Ballard or Canyon Park or send them to Michigan to the company to get them dyed. Ha! I called a shoe repair place here on the hill and he is going to dye them for me. He's also going to re-sole Nick's Danners (his crazy expensive work boots) and two pairs of my heeled boots. 

We didn't get much done on this 2-day Nick had, but we did go kayaking on Clear Lake this afternoon, which was really beautiful. I'm so glad we bought the kayaks!

Our House!

Nick and I went to Pike Place Market yesterday for our engagement photos. It was really fun, we love our wedding photographer. Ryan just made us feel at ease and since he does a lot of commercial shoots, he has an amazing eye. I can't wait to get the proofs back! 

Toward the end of our shoot we decided to get a beer at a little Irish pub down one of the alleys at the market. As we were sitting there I decided to check my phone and found out I had a missed call from our realtor. I listened to the message and heard Mike say that they accepted the offer and we got the house! Ryan happened to have the camera on the table and he got the moment we found out on film, which I think is just amazing! There are a few legal details to work out, Mike will be working on that today. There is a lien on the house that we'll have to pay out of pocket, but that will actually bring down the overall price of the house and so our monthly payments a little bit. 

Now the house: It's a 2100 square foot 2-story house on .28 acres. The lot is fenced in the back on a level lot with a greenbelt on the left side of the house. It's also a block away from Lake Tapps, which we can see from the house. We have a country front porch, formal living and dining room, open kitchen and family room, gas fireplace, 4 bedrooms, 3 baths, and a 3-car garage. We already have big plans for some of our extra space. The formal living room downstairs we are going to turn into a library (yay!) and one of the extra rooms upstairs will be Nick's war room where he can have his man posters and war game table. This house is everything we wanted and we're both so excited! So here's a photo:

Thanks to everyone for the congrats too! We love you all and will be inviting people over as soon as the house closes, we move in and get settled. Haha, so it will be a while! Maybe December sometime . . . 

CHECK!

I picked up the invitations today and they are beautiful! Now I get to put them together, tie on the pretty brown ribbon, address them, and send them to the people we love. It's really happening. I'm marrying Nick! Yay!

In career news: I stopped by Eatonville High School today and dropped off a reference letter with the principal to be sent to the Puyallup School District as the final component of my application to sub in the district. Nick and I figure that 3-5 days of subbing a month will cover some of our minor expenses so we can continue to save money when we move into the new house. I'm actually really excited to sub, and getting back into the Puyallup district will be a nice and welcome change. So good news all around today.

(We haven't heard back on the house yet, but we sent in all the signed paperwork this morning, so it might be a few days before we get an answer on our offer.)

*Engagement photos are on Monday in Seattle!

**Mom and I did our registry at Target yesterday. Nick and I will finish it up on Sunday at Macy's. It's so much fun walking around with that little gun shooting stuff I want!

Another one . . .

We put in another offer on a new house in Bonney Lake. 2100 square feet and almost a third of an acre with a big country-style front porch. All the paperwork is going in tomorrow. I feel optimistic about this offer, but I'm not getting my hopes up this time. When we found out about losing the last house, I was a little devastated, so with this house I'm more neutral about it all. 

The good news: Nick and I are becoming experts on this home search thing. I helped my parents when they bought this house two years ago and now I'm doing a lot in our home search. Our agent, Mike, has been amazing and so helpful, especially with short sales and bank owned properties. Between him and our financial guy, Brian, we were blessed with a wonderful team who've been there for us every step of the way. And now tomorrow I get to fax a million pages to them and we will hopefully hear back from the listing agent by tomorrow evening. This whole process is just crazy!

One other thing: Our invitations are in! I'm going to pick them up tomorrow and put them together to mail out in a day or two. So invitations are officially soon-to-be on the way!

The House That Wasn't

So the house we put an offer on was in Buckley in a great location and a beautiful neighborhood. There were three other houses in the development that were for sale, one at $330,000 and two at $350,000. This house was being offered at $259,000 because it was a bank-owned, which meant instant equity if our offer was accepted, so we offered $10,000 over the asking price, hoping that would set us apart from the other people. There were 5 other offers on the house, 4 were under ours, but the other was for $259,000 CASH. The bank accepted that offer, of course and we lost a beautiful home. 

So, yesterday was a very bad day. To add to the pain of losing this house, I tried to slice off my finger in the shower when I attempted to readjust the shower head. A piece broke off as I was trying to tighten it, which was very sharp, and it cut open my index finger at the knuckle and that bled quite a bit. Nothing feels better than a cut on your knuckle, let me tell you. Well, this pain, along with hearing the news about losing the house only minutes before caused me to let lose a long stream of tears, which went on for an hour or so and continued periodically throughout the day. Nick was disappointed too, but was distracted by his need to comfort me. We're just telling ourselves that this house wasn't meant to be, for whatever reason. The problem is that the market is heating up while the number of homes in Bonney Lake and Buckley is cooling down. There isn't as much to choose from and there is more competition than there was a few months ago. I guess it's a good thing we aren't in a hurry because this is likely going to take longer than we originally planned. All in all though, losing this house was a huge disappointment and I'm grieving a little bit. But there's something better out there . . . right?

Accomplishments

Well, proof that I have the best fiance: he went with me to a big shoe sale at All About Weddings in Southcenter. I got a very cute and comfortable pair of shoes, which still need to be dyed, for the wedding. I think I'm going to have them dyed burgundy instead of chocolate, but I'm not sure yet. Anyway, Nick sat patiently while I tried on 20+ shoes and didn't act bored unless I wasn't looking. He's amazing, really.

Another accomplishment: the invitations. I ordered them at Costco and they are very pretty, although I didn't go with either of the two that we originally liked. The best part: 35% off the list price, so we didn't spend as much as I thought we would. I just approved the proof, so we should be getting the invitations next week sometime. I really need to start compiling addresses AND Nick and I need to go actually register, so it isn't a lie when I put it in the invitations that we are registered at Target and Macy's.

And two more: the favors and the compatibility test. We got our bookmarks and they are great! I unwrapped all 120 of them and packed them in a box to be transported to Thornewood on November 7th. Yay! And the test. Nick and I scored remarkably well, higher than most couples, in fact. We were actually the first to score 100% on a section (financial) in Monica and Jim's time doing this with couples. We really love the people who administered the test. Monica and Jim are so nice and very warm, so we invited them to the wedding in November. Overall, the test contained nothing surprising. We are different in our feelings about religion (Nick's analytical and I'm emotional) and how many children we want (Nick wants 3, I want 2). The question that raised some eyebrows: A good way to resolve an argument with my future husband/wife is to have sex. I said disagree, Nick said agree, so we had to talk about it with Monica and Jim. He swears he answered agree as a joke and he turned bright red when she read the question; I was laughing to cover the embarrassment, but Monica and Jim thought it was pretty entertaining. Ah, my lovely fiance.

Other stuff: I got my ring back from Nick Kwan who took it to his caster so they could make sure my wedding band would lay flush against it. He had it all week and I really, really missed it. I felt a little naked without it. We also went to lunch with Nick and his girlfriend, Nicole, and thereby found another couple we really enjoy hanging out with. They are really fun and Kwan is hilarious, which we already knew. We decided that we are going to do the fair and the corn maze in Buckley together this year. It was a couple's weekend as we had Austin and his girlfriend Brittany over last night to stay. I made beer roast, mashed potatoes, gravy (with Mom's help), and salad for dinner and we played Wii and watched Stardust before going to bed.  Then this morning we went to the Original Pancake House for breakfast. It was a lot of fun and we laughed most of the night. So Austin and Brittany are joining our party to the fair and the corn maze. All in all, it was a good weekend.

One other thing: we put an offer on a house. I don't want to say too much about it so I don't jinx anything, but we are asking for prayers that God's will be done. We love this house and we're hoping it's meant to be, so we're being very aggressive in our offer, but we are leaving it in God's hands and hoping that the adage God helps those that help themselves will ring true in this case. I will post again when we hear back on our offer, which we expect to sometime next week. In the meantime, I'm praying like crazy!

I want to point something out . . .

I love and support my friends completely. And I believe in karma and being honest in life. And that's all I want to say.

Oh, and I love Nick. He is the solid constant in my life and I'm thankful every day for him and the life we have.

Proud of my accomplishments!

We had our meeting with Nick Kwan (which, humorously enough, ended up being about him and my Nick discussing the state of the economy and how much they hate hippies. Seriously, they hate hippies). Our rings are going to be amazing! Mine are a little over the top maybe, but I'm excited. Nick is getting a Byzantine cross etched on his simple ring AND I am getting a strand of chocolate pearls and matching earrings (Kwan deals primarily in pearls, so we are getting an AMAZING deal). I like to think that I am not materialistic, but I'm not going to lie to anyone, including myself: I love jewelry and it's exciting when I get new pieces!

Other than jewelry, Nick and I are one phone call away from solidifying all our plans for the ceremony. If the priest can't do the ceremony at Thornewood, we are going to keep our church date for September 26th. It isn't the perfect scenario for me, but the important thing is that I am marrying Nick and we are happy. It doesn't matter that we are already married when we have our big ceremony because it's all in how I view it. November 7th is the special and important day. September 26th is for us and only us.

In that vein, we also got our compatibility test results (a requirement of the Catholic church) back. More on that when we meet with the couple from the church to discuss those results. I'm sure I'll have something interesting to say after the 2 (yes, 2) two-hour meetings we'll have to have to discuss whether or not the test shows we are compatible.

I also ordered my favors today. The votes were in, everyone chose the metal cut-out leaf with the burgundy tassel. I also ordered some wedding day makeup from Sephora to try out. Here's what we have on the agenda for the next two weekends:

This weekend:

-Possibly register for gifts

-Look at houses in Bonney Lake

-Get in touch with Mom and Dad's financial guy and finally get that all figured out (Yes, PLEASE!)

-Send the checks to St. John the Baptist's to hold our date

-Get Nick's passport paperwork completed and set up an appointment to get that done

*Oh yeah, pick up Mom and Dad from the airport! Haha, that'd be bad if I forgot that one.

**Mom and I are going to go get my veil and shoes next week too (she just doesn't know it yet . . . )

Next weekend:

-The big antiques yard sale at Meeker Mansion is on Saturday

-Meet with the church couple about the compatibility test (round 1)

-Register for gifts (let's face it, we might not get this done this coming weekend)

-SUNDAY: GO GET KAYAKS 

-On Monday we have our second meeting about the compatibility test

-Passport stuff if we don't do it this weekend

Other stuff to do:

-INVITATIONS (Oh wait, I just remembered that I told my future sister-in-law, Cheryl, that we would be coming up to Duvall to visit and design the invitations next weekend. How am I going to fit that in is the question . . . )

-Honeymoon stuff (Are we buying a house? If so, no Europe. Mexico maybe? Caribbean cruise?)

-Flowers (What kind and where from?)

-Cake (Hmm, yep, still need to do that . . . )

This week has been crazy, what with Mom and Dad being on vacation (a Mexican cruise and they are LOVING it) and me stuck at home with Jacob and the dogs. Beyond that, Nick's working on getting a job with a contract area in King County and has an new MPO, which means he is very busy and I miss him! Tomorrow is his birthday and he didn't even know it. I had to remind him this morning (I think this also has to do with his desire to stay a child forever. And he's doing a good job so far . . . )

We need a vacation. I think we should forget tradition and do the honeymoon now. Then we can come home and get married.

Rings

We finally set up an appointment with our ring guy, Nick Kwan, to get our wedding bands designed. Kwan works for DeBeers and will be able to get our wedding bands done at a wholesale price, which means we can go for a higher quality metal and a better clarity and larger diamonds, as we did in my engagement ring. I also trust Kwan implicitly with the decision as to the design of my rings. I can't decide if I want a simple ring with a band of micro-Pave set diamonds to match my engagement ring or if I want to insert a few larger diamonds into the middle of the band, a la past, present, future rings. He'll be able to give me a good idea as to whether or not that would work. Nick really wants a tungsten ring, so that will be an easy choice.

Another thing we're working on is the actual dates of the wedding . . . yeah, November 7th is the BIG day, but we're working on making that the ONLY day as well. As of right now, we're getting married on September 26th in the Catholic church, but we're hoping that Father Jim will be willing and able to marry us at Thornewood on November 7th instead. I'm not optimistic because priests are usually only able to perform marriages in churches, and we won't know anything for sure until he's back from a vacation on August 5th. A few other things are suspended until we know the answer to our church question, such as the invitations. Yeah, I still haven't ordered those. Starting to stress . . . 

Oh, and I'm not making the favors. Too much going on to add that to my list, so we'll be ordering one of two bookmark favors that look like this (potentially):

We both love the idea of incorporating something we love into the wedding. Besides family and friends, I don't think either one of us could be happy without being able to read frequently. If the bookmarks don't work, maybe we'll do the personalized bags of coffee, which was our other favor idea. Ah, one more decision to make! 

Bend, Oregon

Day 1: Thursday

We got a late start in the morning and didn't get out of the house until around 10. We drove over the pass at Snoqualmie and dropped down through Biggs Junction into Oregon. Nick had 4 McDonald's cheeseburgers (you know, the grey patties you get with American cheese) and didn't feel so good. Neither did I after I had one and a peanut butter sandwich. Needless to say, we had to make a pit stop in this tiny town called Wasco and were scared out of our minds by the people there! Tiny towns . . . 

After that fiasco, we did a tour of a few ghost towns along 97, including Moro, Grass Valley, and Shaniko. Shaniko was our big destination for that day, which is why we took the long way to get to Bend. The beautiful, dilapidated old school had been repainted. The town's storefronts were re-done. Shaniko, while still a ghost town (population: 26) has become something of a tourist trap. One great thing was that at the town's antique store I found a necklace and earrings that might be THE ONES I will wear at the wedding. I'm still undecided, but the jewelry is gorgeous.

8 hours of driving and sight-seeing later and we were pulling into Bend. Our hotel is located right off the freeway, which was very convenient and, although a little expensive, the jacuzzi tub was worth every penny. We also had a king size bed and have decided that we can't live without one of those in our bedroom at home. Dinner that night was at the Pine Tavern (HELLO seafood lasagna and buttery rolls that taste like Krispy Kreme donuts!) and then we made our plans for the next day while soaking in the tub in our room.

Day 2: Friday:

We got an early start after our continental breakfast and headed to Lava Butte to take some pictures. Scary drive up there, let me tell you! Once we got to the top, Nick explained that all the hills in and surrounding Bend are actually cinder cones that erupt periodically. The last eruption was a long time ago and there are lava flows all over the area. The dirt in the area is also red and black from these eruptions. Anyway, it was all very interesting and the view from the top of the cone was amazing, but I fell in love with something else: the chipmunks and ground squirrels. Although there are signs everywhere asking people not to feed the animals, no one pays much attention and neither did we. They were eating bread out of our hands and I got tons of pictures (all of which I'll post later). We want a pet squirrel so bad now! (Not really, but they are so darn cute!)

After the butte, we did the lava river cave. This cave is over a mile long and was created by the lava flows in the area. It's actually a lava tube. When you drop down into the cave itself, the temperature drops to around 40 degrees, which was a nice change from the 90 or so degrees it was outside. Nick and I hiked to the end of it with a propane lantern and then hiked back out. It was unlike anything I've ever done before and was very interesting and fun. Pictures of that later too.

Finally, the end of our day was spent at the High Desert Museum, which had lots of exhibits and animals relating to the *shock* high desert. It would have been a lot more fun for both of us if we weren't already exhausted from the two hikes we'd already taken, and, as much of the museum was outdoors in the heat, all of our energy was sapped. We went back to the room and passed out. It was a great day, but I'm not going to lie, our dinner ordering experience didn't go so well and put a damper on the evening.

When I lived in Pullman, there was this great Chinese place, the Emerald Dragon or Garden or something. This place had the most delicious almond chicken and I've been craving it for a while. So Nick and I decided to try the Chinese place in Bend. I ordered almond chicken. It was not good. Almond chicken should be breaded pieces of large bite-size chicken breast smothered in a country gravy flavored like almonds. This mess contained large pieces of stringy chicken and some kind of gelatinous gravy substance that didn't taste like almonds at all. We were both sick the next day from that crap and hardly ate any of it (even Nick's egg foo yung wasn't good, so it wasn't just me).

Day 3: Saturday:

It took us a long time to get going on this day. Blame the MSG in the Chinese "food." This was shopping day. I won't go into particulars here because most people would find it boring, but Nick and I found some great deals and spent quite a bit of money. We started at the Columbia Outlet and got 3 coats and a shirt and saved around $300. We were really excited and this carried us for a while, but the heat and sore muscles from the day before meant not a lot of energy for shopping. Therefore, by the time we got to the Old Mill District, we were shopped out. We decided to watch the lucky bastards who were floating the Deschutes River and complain about our jealousy as we stood in the 90 degree heat. Sounds silly, but it was romantic standing on the bridge over the river holding hands and mourning our lack of inner tubes.

On the way back to the car, we decided to stop at REI to look at kayaks and racks. We walked out of the store with a rack and accessories to attach to the top of the Colorado this week. It was not cheap; in fact, the rack cost more than one of the boats we're going to buy (we landed on the Dagger Zydecos) this coming weekend. Nick always said that he would turn me into an outdoorsy person and now I'm a hiking, spelunking (ie cave exploring), and kayaking fool. His next goal: teach Stephanie how to ski no matter how much she protests.

The last part of this day was spent at Smith Rocks where we hiked around and watched the sun go down while marveling at the beauty God created in nature. All this while Nick got bitten by fire ants. It really was beautiful, despite Nick's swollen foot; I'll post pictures tomorrow . . . hopefully . . . 

Day 4: Sunday:

Driving and more driving and traffic as far as the eye can see. And detours through podunk towns. And more traffic. It's a good thing Nick can make me laugh because I was going nuts today! But being with him in some of these stressful situations life throws at us always reminds me how much I love him. We always have fun, regardless of the circumstances and spent most of the car ride laughing and joking.

Overall, our vacation was fun and restful. We'll definitely be going back to Bend to do more of this outdoorsy stuff. Another thing I'm excited about: Nick's working days this week, which means I'll get to cook dinner for him and spend the evenings with him, all things I don't get to do when he's working swing shift. Next weekend we're probably going to buy our kayaks and maybe go to Northwest Trek or the game farm in Sequim with Austin and his girlfriend. Lots to look forward to and pictures tomorrow!

Vacation!

Nick and I are finally going on a short vacation to Bend. Nick's been talking about going there for a long time now; it's one of his favorite places to visit. He used to ski all the time and so spent a lot of time in the little resort town. He's already created a list of things he wants to do and see while we are there, while I'm trying to convince him that vacation means VACATION, not rush around trying to do a million things. As long as I get to go outlet shopping and antiquing, I'll be happy.

This trip is going to be a crazy one. We are taking the route through Shaniko, which means we'll be going east over the pass instead of immediately south. Shaniko is a ghost town that we've been planning to visit for a long time now and I'm so excited to finally get to see it! Then Bend for 3 nights and a drive up the coast on the way home. Again, crazy. This is going to be a lot of driving! 

When we found out that Nick was going to have 4 days off, we made a list of places to go see. The Bend trip was the only one that didn't include flying. We talked Vegas, New York, historical east coast sites, California, etc. but I just didn't feel like dealing with the hassle of flying. This is strange for me, since I LOVE to fly, but we've got a honeymoon to Europe coming up in a few months and I think that will be enough flying to last me a little while. And realistically, Vegas was the real destination spot, the only one to which I typically fly, but I've done Vegas. I went every year for three years in a row. It gets old. And Nick and I don't gamble, so we would have had to plan to get a rental car to get off the strip and see some of the other sights, like Red Rock Canyon and some of the surrounding ghost towns. So, to make a long ramble short, Vegas was out and the other places just didn't sound like that much fun.

And finally: a wedding update. I still haven't ordered the invitations yet. Don't worry, I'm already punishing myself. This whole situation (including my to-do list) reminds me of being in college. I always left stuff to the last minute, due to the procrastinator in me, and spent countless all-nighters completing my 10 to 15-page essays. I was always successful, which doesn't discourage the procrastination, so now I've been conditioned to wait until the that very last second. (Like my long-winded explanation for being lazy? One of the reasons I did so well on those essays--I can B.S. my way through anything.) I can't do that with this wedding. Mom and I are hopefully going to look at some invitations next week, but with all the upcoming "stuff" (the Bend trip, Mom and Dad's cruise to Mexico-yes, they are finally taking a cruise!), I don't know if it will happen this week or next. Doesn't it take a few weeks for printing and mailing and all that too? Oh boy, I'm in trouble.

Invitations

For the record: I have not ordered my invitations yet. Emma Etiquette says that I don't have to mail them until 2 months before the wedding. As of yesterday, it is 4 months to the date of our wedding. So, if  you haven't received an invitation (and that is everyone), it doesn't mean that I am not inviting you, it means that choosing a freaking invitation design is not easy and is often frustrating. Plus, I have time. I don't need to rush. Now if I could just convince myself that that is true . . . 

Also, our Catholic ceremony is on September 26th at 1pm. No one will be receiving an invitation for this, as it is family only and they're not getting invitations either. Hey family, come to the ceremony at St. John's church in Covington on September 26th at 1pm. There's your invitation. Not family? Please respect our wishes and don't show up. 

I just wrote out my to-do list for the wedding. It's 3 pages long. Albeit, the "pages" I used are 3x5 notecards, but still. Holy crap! There is so much to do and so many things that I will need to delegate. I'm not good at the delegating. 

Here are two examples of invitations. Please vote on your favorite:

Jewelry

I did some shopping around for wedding invitations today. That's going to be one giant hassle, I can see. And expensive. Between the invitations, save the date magnets, RSVP cards, announcements (for those who aren't invited to the wedding-relatives from far away), and envelopes, we're looking at $300. Not fun, but essential considering the fact that Mom has now had a few people ask her where Nick and I are registered. We aren't. So during Nick's three-day this week we'll be going to Macy's and Target to register. I've heard this is fun, so it's something to which I am secretly looking forward. Don't tell Nick though; he just thinks it's going to be a hassle (my word of the day).

Anyway, beyond the invitations, I did some jewelry shopping today too. I've found that I love the estate, vintage, and antique jewelry, so enjoy the photos of a few of the pieces with which I'm enamored. 

Check out this gorgeous cameo ring, circa 1890. I've always wanted one of these. I find them to be incredibly romantic and the style fits my personality and fascination with a bygone era.

Here is some of the estate jewelry I've fallen in love with for the wedding:

Victorian, circa 1880

Georgian, circa 1800

And this last one is perfect with the color scheme of the wedding: garnet, circa 1880

And there's more!

Let me just add programs and favors to the list of things to do. Apparently I have to have programs because people will expect it. Really? Nick and I don't have any attendants or a flower girl or ring bearer. So here's the program:

Nicholas Pritchett and Stephanie Welsh are getting married. Food to follow.

There, I did it. Check one off my list. Facetious? Yes.

And, since I told every one I wanted to MAKE my favors (what the heck was I thinking?), now I feel like I have to do that too. I still want to do velvet bookmarks, and I'll have the summer to finish them, but it's just another thing I have to do. 

I watched Bridezillas last week and the bride and groom had a murder mystery-themed reception. How about we just add to the massive amount of stress a wedding already heaps on us by adding some ridiculous game into the mix? No. This week the bride insisted on a choreographed "funny" dance. Stupid. Just get married. Say thank you to the people who came and love you, and eat some food. Why do we have to make everything so convoluted? Is that part of the American culture? No wonder we can't slow down and enjoy life. We're too busy making it as difficult as possible! Go us!

(Sorry for the sarcastic nature of this post. It's a mood, what can I say?)

Stress . . .

We are less than 5 months away from the wedding and I'm starting to realize just how much I have left to do. I've put off all of the smaller "stuff" (and some of the bigger "stuff" too) while I was still working and now that school's over in 4 days, I'm thinking that maybe I shouldn't have waited so long to complete some of my to-do list.

2 weeks ago Nick and I went to see the priest, who will be marrying us in front of our families at the beginning of September. He was very nice and I apparently made a good impression too, according to Nick's mom (this is her priest and church in which we are getting married). In order to complete this process, we need to bring in copies of our baptismal certificates, our moms have to go in and sign that we are free to marry, and we have to take a 150-question compatibility quiz and discuss the results with a successfully married couple in the church. We also have to choose all the readings and various other pieces of the ceremony the priest will be performing. All in all, it's not too overwhelming and I'm doing this to make Nick and his mom happy, so it is very important that we complete this item on our list. That also means we will be married in September, which is not too far away.

Some of the other things we need to get done:

1. Invitations! Yes, I still need to get my invitations, address them, and mail them off.

2. Veil and wedding jewelry

3. Dress cleaning and altering, if necessary

4. Join the gym and lose 15 pounds this summer 

5. Tuxes

6. Flowers

7. Script and readings for Weston

8. Finish paying the caterer

9. Figure out the seating chart (or decide if we're going to have one)

10. Order the wedding cake

11. Get our engagement photography session done

12. Reserve a room for the night before and the night of the wedding at Thornewood

13. Something new, old, borrowed, and blue

14. Music

15. Figure out all the times (start of ceremony and reception) before I can print the invitations . . . (no wonder I haven't ordered them yet!)

Isn't it lovely when you sit down and write out your list in an attempt at organization and freak yourself out completely? Nice.

Other than that, Nick and I have decided that we are going to try to buy a house this summer. We were planning on waiting until after the wedding, but the market is right to buy now and waiting seems ridiculous at this point. We are looking in Bonney Lake and are preparing to talk to my parents' financial guy and a realtor as soon as school is over and I can focus solely on this project. Let me tell you, it is the scariest thing I've ever taken on in my life. It's also frustrating and nerve-racking (a slightly different adjective than scary, as it causes heart palpitations). So many things are changing and I'm excited, but truly scared. This time next year, I'll be married, a homeowner, and possibly pregnant. Wow! I'm growing up!

26 Years

Today is my 26th birthday. I remember when birthdays were exciting and fun, but now that I am on the downhill slide toward 30, it isn't so great anymore. I used to demand that my birthday celebration last at least a week (I know, I am a spoiled brat), but today was almost just like any other day. A few of the kids brought me gifts, which was so sweet, but at home it was simply a Friday. It's interesting how much life changes as you get older.

Nick's working tonight too, which added to the calm nature of the day. We (as in Nick and I) aren't celebrating until Monday, which is his first day off. We'll probably spend it doing some furniture shopping and going to dinner. He better get me a card too . . . 

Wedding stuff, which I find to be very funny: I decided that I am going to invite a few students to the wedding, as long as we have the room. The other day, I told two of them about it and they about came out of their skin. These two are supposed troublemakers at the school, but I just love both of them. They are constantly cracking me up. One actually choked on his sandwich and threw up in his lap in front of our principal while he was observing me. He will be forever known as Vomit Boy. In addition to a small group of other students, these are two that I hope to stay in touch with over the years. Although I know that leaving this job is the absolute right choice for me, I am thankful that I have had the chance to be in these kids' lives for a short time. Everything happens for a reason. If I didn't truly believe that, I would have gone crazy long ago.

6 Months!

We are only 6 months away from the wedding date! It's so exciting and crazy! When we first got engaged we decided to plan the wedding for over a year out, September to the following November. I remember thinking that it was so far away and feeling that the date would never come. And now, it's only 6 months away! I can't believe how quickly time passes and how much I want to be Mrs. Pritchett. I'm so lucky!

P.S. I've been thinking that it's probably a good thing that I'm not going to be teaching anymore. Can you imagine the nicknames Pritchett would incur if I continued in this profession? Funny, but not appropriate. Now, the question on everyone's mind is . . . what is Stephanie going to do for a job after June? Sub? Maybe. Look into continuing education courses at the local community college for fun? Definitely. Maybe one day get a real estate license? Could be. Write a book? Hopefully. Have lots of mini-Nicks? Yes! (So much to look forward to!)