My Bridal Shower

So on April 12th, Heather and Kristi threw me a great bridal shower. It was a lot of fun -- especially for a bridal shower. Kristi and her husband Kenny made a video of Curt answering questions about me like: "What is Natalie's dream car?" "What is Natalie's favorite color?" For every answer I got right I got to pop a balloon with a gift card in it...for every wrong answer I had to chew two things of bubble gum. Unfortunately some of the questions were hard like, "How many cousins does Natalie have?" and I was chewing a lot of gum by the end... :) It was gross. I had a ton of fun, received some great stuff and really enjoyed myself while my dad and Curt were slaving outside in the backyard (see the previous post).

...receiving some racy gifts...

...opening more presents...
...the pretty layout of all the cupcakes Andy made...
...a close up...
...the table setting with me...

A huge thanks goes out to Kristi and Heather for the shower, Andy for the beautiful cupcakes, my mom for hosting the shower (three hours before the shower we were cleaning up the painter's tape from retexturizing the walls in the dinning room and painting the wall by the bar), Aimee for helping with the food and anyone else who did so, everyone for coming and for the gifts!

Storm Before the Wedding...

To continue on with the happenings before the wedding... :)

Our reception was in my parent's backyard, which during the summer months is beautiful and I absolutely love it back there. However, because we got married in April -- and in Texas, we took a huge risk. Normally tornado season is my favorite season, but we didn't even have a back up plan in case it rained on the day of the reception. Let's just say there were a lot of prayers offered in regards to the weather the whole engagement. We were extremely blessed and had beautiful weather, calm wind and it wasn't even too hot. There was, however, one hick up in the whole plan. The week prior to the wedding we had a major storm blow through that tore up the backyard. In some ways I was so sad to see all the broken trees, but in other ways I felt so blessed. The storm happened on Wednesday night and everyone was scheduled to come over and help clean the creek and yard that Saturday, so we were really grateful it hit before the major clean up and the wedding, but sad to see so much destruction.

Looking at these pictures, it totally amazes me how in a weeks time the yard totally transformed. I huge thanks to my wonderful dad and husband and the others who helped them!!

Engagement Pictures

Since Curt and I have been married almost 2 1/2 months now, I figured I should get on the ball and start blogging about the wedding and the happenings before and after... Plus, I realized I only ever posted one engagement picture... So here are some of my favorites.

Utah, here we come!!!

We're coming!! :) We get in at the unfortunate time of 4:07 on Friday, July 11th and we leave Monday, July 14th in the evening, but we will be there for the family reunion...a little late but oh well. I'm so excited!! I have the best husband ever!

Going to Utah?

Who thinks Curt should let us come to Utah for the family reunion? Everyone say, "I do!" :) I'm trying to talk him into it...

Things I Miss About Utah

So, because my sister -in-law, niece, my aunt's family, my sister Heidi and my parents are either in Utah, on their way to Utah or will be leaving in the next week...I'm kind of missing Utah. So I decided to make a list of the top 5 things I miss about Utah.

5. The night sky...especially the stars. In the DFW metroplex you don't even get a glimpse at how amazing the stars are. I love when the moon rises from behind the mountains and laying out in the middle of no where just gazing up into the heavens. It always has been one of my favorite things about Utah.

4. Autumn. In Texas it seems to be more of a name for a few months in the Fall and a Texas Fall will never compare with a Utah Autumn. The weather is perfectly chilly, the trees gorgeous hues of red and yellow. I love taking drives through the Alpine Loop standing up out of the sun roof. It is just beautiful. One thing with which Texas will never be able to compare.

3. Living close to extended family. I have great aunts, great uncles, great cousins, a great grandparent and a great great-grandparent...I've got it all. I really do miss being so close to them.

2. Cafe Rio! Seriously, the best salad EVER!! I love it. I crave it. I would eat it every day if I didn't have to pay the $7.75 for it. Unfortunately I don't have a picture of it to post, so you'll have to check out their commercial on their Web site if you haven't had the pleasure of eating there... http://www.caferio.com/flash/index.html

1. Kelsie -- she's my best friend and is down to her last week of pregnancy. She will have her first baby any day now, and I have to admit, I'm anxious to go see her in her cute outfits I sent her. Kelsie and I have gone through tons of highs and lows together and she always will be my closest girl friend.

So Blessed...

When Curt and I were engaged it almost seemed like we didn't have two nickles to rub together. I don't know where all our money would go, but I just attribute it to being engaged is super expensive. Since we've been married, though we've been so blessed. We have been able to pay our bills, get car insurance and health insurance, and even pay off part of our debt. Well, yesterday we were incredibly blessed. A lady in my mom's ward gave us a washer and a dryer! We've already hooked it up and used them and it is already so nice to have. However amazing getting a washer and dryer is, there is actually more. Yesterday I was pulled into one of my boss' office and I was offered a promotion which includes a significant pay raise and a full-time position. While I'm a little nervous, I'm super excited because I'll be using my degree (okay, not to the fullest -- but I'll still use it) and I think I'll really love it. It is really incredible when you look at your life and realize how much the Lord blesses us for no other reason than He loves us and He loves when we are doing the right things in our life... I'm so blessed and so grateful!

Two Months...

So, as of today, Curt and I have been married for two months now. I know, I know...it is no time at all, but it seriously seems so much longer. I'm not the only one who feels this way either. We are of course just as happy as we were two months ago -- maybe even more. I still feel like I'm on cloud nine... :) This topic brings me to another related subject: the wedding pictures. Our photographer said it would take her about two to three months for her to get them to us, so hopefully we will be getting them soon. We are so excited to see them.