Bridal Shower

23 July 2011: Tahna and Sarah together after the shower.

Yesterday we reached another milestone when we attended Sarah's bridal shower. It was given by and held at the home of Sarah's good friend, Tahna.  That's quite a feat, since Tahna herself just got married three weeks earlier and then moved into her new house a few days before the shower.

We enjoyed an array of delicious finger foods (they brought out more after I snapped this picture) and visited for awhile as the guests began to arrive.  We had about 25 people there.

Then, after we played a few bridal shower games, we had the traditional "make-a-wedding-gown-out-of-toilet-paper" event.  That was fun to watch!  Here are the finished "gowns" on their models:

My 4-year-old niece Callie (Sarah's cousin) makes a beautiful bride!
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Callie's sister, my 13-year-old niece Emma, is the second blushing bride!
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Brandy, Sarah's best friend since kindergarten, is bride number three!
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After the games were done, Sarah began opening her gifts.  There were so many great ideas, both creative and practical.
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When we headed home at the end of the party, the back of the car was filled with lots of fun things for Sarah and Chris and the home they will soon make together.  In just six days, my only daughter will no longer live under my roof.  That makes me a little bit sad for me, but I am so excited for her.  It is truly a mixed blessing to see our children grow up and move on to their own lives.

Love Is in the Air!

Chris and Sarah's wedding invitation.  They are finally in the mail!

My brain is on overload.  Is it really possible that my little girl is going to be a bride in just 8 days?  Wasn't it only a few months ago that she was a toddler with her little arms around my neck?

There is still so much to do!  Yesterday we spent the whole day in the Valley shopping for supplies to make Sarah's veil and bouquet, a throw-away bouquet, three bridesmaids' bouquets, four corsages, and nine boutonnieres.  We bought a lavender garter, some beads and lace for the bouquet, and purple ribbons for the bridesmaids' sashes.  We stopped by Deseret Bookstore so Sarah could purchase a wedding album to keep her memories in.  We also picked up a white picket fence to be used as a decoration at the reception.

Sarah's wedding gown was delivered yesterday, too.  It is gorgeous!  Thankfully, it's a perfect fit, although she'll need the sleeves and hem shortened a bit.  She looks absolutely beautiful in it!  Several wonderful friends are working on sewing three lavender skirts for Sarah's bridesmaids: her cousin Celesta (Maid of Honor) and two of her best friends, Emmi and Tahna.  If you haven't guessed, Sarah's wedding colors are lavender and white.

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Sarah's reception will also have a theme revolving around dogs, cats, and bunnies. It seemed the obvious choice, since Sarah has been a huge animal lover since before she learned to walk. She still plans to become a veterinarian technician when she finishes college.

Puppies on the front of the invitations to Sarah's bridal shower.

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Sarah's bridal shower will be held tomorrow afternoon.  Her buddy Tahna is throwing it for her and, as you can see from the invitation, Tahna is going along with the whole pet theme.  I can't wait to see how the shower turns out!

A look inside the invitation.

Sarah has four best friends: Emmi, Tahna, Brandy, and Kristen.  They have been close friends literally since childhood.  They share everything and are there for each other through the best of times and the worst of times.

So it seems fitting that Emmi and Tahna became engaged right around the same time Sarah did.  There has been a lot of wedding planning going on in this neck of the woods!  Here's a peek at the other wedding invitations circulating in our world (remember, you can enlarge any picture by clicking on it):

Emmi and her fiance Hal will be married one week after Sarah and Chris's wedding.  (Emmi actually set up Chris and Sarah on their first date, so she's taking full credit!)  They chose to do a two-sided invitation, with photo on the front and information on the back: 

Tahna and her fiance Spencer took the plunge first.  They were married on July 1st and then went on a honeymoon cruise to Mexico before returning for their reception on July 9th.  I'll post pictures from both Emmi's and Tahna's receptions after we get through Sarah's Big Day.  (Tahna is also family: she is my sister-in-law Dana's younger, adopted sister.)

Another friend of Sarah's is Courtney, a young lady in our ward at church who is marrying her high school sweetheart, Frank.  We only found out two weeks ago that Courtney and Sarah had planned their weddings and receptions for the very same day at the very same time!

Love is indeed in the air here in the White Mountains!

Belated

I've been a very bad blogger lately. Part of the reason is that my husband (who was fairly computer illiterate when I met him) has gotten very involved in an online game that appeals to his military background. He also enjoys strategizing with his "allies," communicating from computers all over the world.

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Unfortunately, we only have one computer (since our laptop just doesn't meet either of our needs), and it's getting harder and harder to for me to get computer time. I never dreamed the day would come when Ed would demand more computer time than I do!

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The other part of the reason for my blogging deficiency is that I spend most of my computer time on wedding planning and preparation. Nonetheless, I am going to try to get caught up on what's going on in my world.

6 July 2011: Dylan and his new comforter, 5 days after his 14th birthday

My most glaring omission was missing Dylan's 14th birthday.  Not only did I neglect to write about it, but I also failed to capture his special day on camera.  Thus I will be reduced to mostly describing it in words. 

His birthday was on Friday, July 1st, but we waited until Saturday to do most of our celebrating when others would be available to join us.  However, he did get to open his gifts on his birthday.  He had informed me a month earlier that he was too "mature" for his ratty old Batman comforter, so we gave him a new comforter set with matching sheets, with his favorite color red in it.  He also received several new X-Box games for the "gently used" X-Box gaming system he'd bought himself a few weeks before.

That evening I took Dylan to his first rodeo, and that was a lot of fun, even when the lights around the arena went out and we sat in darkness in the stands for 30 minutes while they tried to figure out what the problem was!  I meant to take lots of pictures at the rodeo, but my camera battery died almost as soon as we arrived.  So much for my good intentions!

On Saturday night we enjoyed ice cream and cake with family and friends.  A few days later his older sister Sarah took him to the theater to see Kung Fu Panda 2, which Dylan thought was awesome. 

In the end, Dylan expressed that it had turned out to be a pretty good birthday.  He reminded me that his "worst birthday ever" was last year's, when he turned 13 while Ed and I were on our honeymoon in Alaska.  He'd felt terribly neglected.

So I'm glad that we redeemed ourselves this year.

A happy belated birthday to my baby boy!  I am so proud of you, my son!  Much love, with plenty of rib-cracking bear hugs and wet sloppy smooches!