Merry Christmas...almost..

We've never been very good at waiting until Christmas to open gifts.  This morning we thought we'd wait until midnight tonight to open gifts -- when it would officially be Christmas.  Well, as we were eating dinner, Troy said "What difference does it make if we open gifts now or if we wait 5.5 hours until midnight?"  So, by 7pm, we were opening gifts!  I'd have to say we must have been pretty good this year to get what we did!!

One funny story is about one of my gifts that I got.  One thing I wanted for Christmas was a North Face sweatshirt/hoodie.  Well, Troy ordered the hoodie and when he got it in the mail he realized the bag looked quite big.  Feeling the bag, he knew it wasn't the hoodie...it was way too heavy.  So, he opened the bag it was mailed in and saw fur.  Definitely not what he ordered.  When he took it out of the bag, he saw a brown, down North Face jacket.  He didn't know what to do because it obviously wasn't what I asked for, but it was my size, and it was a nice jacket.  He checked the packaging slip -- they only charged him for the hoodie...not the $200 jacket they shipped.  He checked his bank account -- they only took the amount of the hoodie out of his account.  So, he told me the story, asked if I liked the jacket (and I did), so it definitely worked in our favor...heck, I got an item 3 times the price that Troy was charged.  Go me!

New Roomie

Good bye craft room, hello Shaun!  Due to the lovely automotive industry and the uncertainty of its future, Shaun is being very intelligent by being careful with his spending since he works for a major automotive supplier which is of course being affected right now.  So, he will be moving in to our spare bedroom (formerly my craft room/spare bedroom) for a while until the automotive industry can figure itself out.  With a bit of rearranging (of course to make room for my stamps somewhere else), he'll have a new home here.  

 

So, when he isn't working, there will be a lot of Rock Band playing (FUN!),  a lot of automotive discussion (not so fun), and some extra company around the house...

Visitors from Vegas

Last week, we were lucky to be able to meet up with our friends Kelly and Ian who came home from Las Vegas for Thanksgiving.  It was good to see them since it had been a while, and what is even more exciting is to know that they'll be attending our wedding in July!  YEAH!  Although their visit seemed too short, we hope to be able to visit them in Vegas in the spring sometime, maybe hit up some of the bars while we are there as a pre-wedding celebration.  It was good seeing you guys and can't wait to see you again.

GO BLUE!!

Most of us know that U of M football hasn't exactly been fun to watch this year since they are rebuilding their team, but all of our friends make it a point to get together for the annual rival game between U of M and Ohio State.  Well, that game is today.  We don't have much room to rub anything in Shaun's face about how much Ohio State sucks, but we can still hope and pray that Michigan will upset Ohio.  Soon again, Michigan will return to #1!

Good Luck Uncle Troy!

Most of us know that November 15th is always a day that Troy looks forward to. This year, he'll be up in Cadillac for opening day of hunting season. On a recent shopping trip, he found the cutest camouflage hoodie for Morgan and a few little "hunting" animals (for her to put in her mouth of course!). So, although she is a little young to go hunting with Uncle Troy this year, she'll proudly wear her hoodie as good luck -- and who knows, maybe when she gets older she'll want to escape the hustle and bustle of the city to join him!

My Apologies

Well, after a discussion with my mom last night, I realized I made a mistake when I said Nicole only got 5 questions right. We were talking about the trips we had been on and when we were talking about dates that we went on all those trips, I came to realize that Nicole was right about the first trip we'd be on and the order of our trips. So, I added to some of the answers, and now need to correct myself and say that Nicole got "7" correct!

I guess teachers make mistakes too when they make their quizzes. I always tell my students that if they find a mistake and correct me, they get extra credit...so here is some extra credit to you mom!

Some results are in...

Okay, so maybe some of the questions were too hard. I am going to post the ones that people suggested which were correct answers and leave the others up a bit longer to see if some of you want to re-guess or if others want to try their luck with it. Good job Nicole for getting 5 of them right!

Oh, and by the way..."So Fresh and So Clean" was actually before we "burned CD's"...thats a whole new story! =)

This is for you Shaun...

I gotta love it...Shaun just had to bring up a joke from our Central days that some of you might know about. One that of course, I didn't know anyone knew about until a year after it actually happened. Since this is a family-oriented blog, I want to see who can explain this one the best, without using vulgar language (hint, hint Shaun...our parents look at this blog too!). Don't worry parents, its nothing too bad, but you know that when Shaun brings it up, he could make it juicy! Okay, here goes -- what is the story behind "burning CD's"?

Our past...

Football Saturday -- GO BLUE!

Climbing through Red Rock Canyon in Las Vegas

The Badlands of South Dakota

The first Chapel of the "New World"

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

I've realized how boring this blog has been because as I mentioned before, we don't have a ton of planning to do. So, in addition to adding some pictures from our past, we thought we'd put some questions up here about us and our relationship to see who could answer them correctly...to see who knows us best. Feel free to put your answers in the comments (answer all or just some of them) and then I'll update the blog with correct answers once I see them.

1) What month and year did we first meet? January 2001 (Val was correct)

2) Where was our first date? Applebee's, Bennigan's, Italian Oven, The Brass Lantern

3) What type of car did each of us have when we were in college? Kristin had a Sonoma (close enough to a S-10) and Troy had an Eclipse. (Nicole and Shaun were correct)

4) What was the destination of our first vacation together? Virginia Beach (Nicole and Kristin's mom was correct)

5) When did we move in together? April 2007 (Nicole, Shaun, and Kristin's mom were correct)

6) Using the following list of vacations we've been on, put them in chronological order: Key West, Mt. Snow Vermont, Las Vegas, Dominican Republic, Virginia Beach, Yellowstone National Park, Pictured Rocks Virginia Beach, Mt. Snow Vermont, Pictured Rocks, Dominican Republic, Las Vegas, Key West, Yellowstone National Park (Nicole was correct)

7) How many Detroit Tiger games did we go to this year?

8) What are the nicknames we have for each other? Cute Boy and Cute Girl (Nicole and Kristin's mom were correct)

9) What is Kristin's most "prized possession" from Troy? BLANKIE! (Nicole and Kristin's mom were correct)

10) What side of the bed does each of us sleep on? Troy on the left and Kristin on the right (Nicole was correct)

Booking your room

Some people have asked me how soon they should book their vacation, in order to ensure that they will have a room. The wedding coordinator we have at the resort said everyone should book sooner than later, which of course we know, but since she doesn't do the booking, I decided to call the resort booking department directly. The woman that answer the phone said I can't quote her exactly because there is no definite cut off time, but they notice that rooms are generally filled roughly 6-8 months ahead of time. It also depends on the type of room, because most people get the general "Junior Suite", so those rooms may go quicker than other rooms. So, I would say that you will want to book within the next month or two -- hopefully before New Years, if you want to make sure you get a room.

Questions/Comments?

I'm hoping that those of you planning on joining us have found it relatively easy to look for vacation packages that suit your needs.  Is there anyone who would like more assistance with booking anything, or do you have questions on what options are available?  Also, please let me know if there is anything you'd like me to include on the blog regarding questions you have, things you'd like more information on, etc. by clicking on "comment" right below the blog entry and typing it in.  Hope this helps!  

  

Party time..

Since I know that some of you may not be able to attend the wedding for various reasons, we thought that perhaps we could have a little reception after we return from Cabo to celebrate with those people who could not travel with us (and of course those that do go to Cabo are more than welcome to come too!).  Thanks to Dan and Rosa Bush, we will be having the reception at their place in Cadillac, either the first or second weekend in August.  More details will follow, but please feel free to leave a comment (right below this blog entry, click "comment" and you can type it in there) and let us know if you think this would work out for you, especially if you can't make it to Mexico with us.  

Wedding Rings? Check -- Dress? Check

It's very different to have a destination wedding because we really only have to talk to one person (the wedding coordinator at the resort) to plan everything for our big day.  Since we don't have much in the way of planning to do at this point, we thought we'd go out and do some ring shopping.  We weren't really planning on buying them right away, but with the deals we got (the same lady that sold Troy my engagement ring was there and remembered him), we figured we might as well get them now and just check that off the relatively small list of things we have to do on our own.  

I also found the perfect dress when shopping with my mom, sister, and Val about a month ago.  Of course, it was the first day I ventured to the shops to try them on, but I fell in love with it right away.  I was afraid of waiting too long to make my decision since different seasons mean different dresses and I didn't want to risk making it more difficult to find the dress if I waited longer.  Plus, I couldn't stop thinking about it for about 2 weeks, so my mom, sister and I went back just to make sure.  The decision?  Yup, it was the one.  It's definitely not the dress I was seeking out when I went shopping, but once I put this one on, all the other dresses looked boring!  Of course I can't put a picture of that on here...sorry, you'll have to wait!  Thanks to my mom, sister, and Val for coming with me.  Although I loved it the minute I put it on, it was good to know that you guys liked it just as much!  

10 months from today

Just to update the last post, I wanted to add that the airport code for Los Cabos is SJD. Also, I don't expect that everyone will stay the same length of time as us, but in case you wondered, Troy and I are personally leaving on July 14, 2009 (Tuesday) and returning July 21, 2009 (the following Tuesday).

For those that are committed to going, don't forget that you'll need a passport. Although it only takes a few months to get it, we don't want anyone to forget and be in a jam at the last minute because they don't have theirs.

Destination: Los Cabos, Mexico

As most of you know, we'll be heading down to Los Cabos, Mexico to get married.  The date is officially set for July 16, 2009 and we will be getting married at Dreams Los Cabos Suites, Golf Resort, and Spa.  This is an all-inclusive resort, so all food and drinks are included..YEAH!!!  This also means that if you chose to stay at a different resort, you will have to pay a fee of about $90/person to enter the resort for the day because once you enter, you'll have access to the all-inclusive ammenities.  

Unfortunately, the two travel agents I was talking with provided packages that were actually $400-$500 more than what I found on the internet myself.  I have been doing some research to find the best deals for flights and room rates that I wanted to share with everyone.  Thanks to my dad, we found a website www.loscabos.bookit.com, with the cheapest rates for the basic room (Junior Suite) so far.  You can play around with dates and times of flights, depending on how long you want to be there and the day and time you want to leave, etc.  One benefit to this website is that it will allow you to book the package and still pay in installments.  Half of the money is due on the day of booking, a quarter of the money is due at the beginning of next year, and then the last quarter is due closer to the actual trip.  Also, we chose the option to get a round trip transfer from the airport to the resort so we don't have to worry about finding a cab after we land.  

According to the wedding consultant I've been working with, she recommends booking your room fairly quickly, because they tend to book up early.  I don't know exactly how soon they will book for next summer, but if you do think you will be joining us in Mexico, you might want to start looking around for packages and pricing before it's too late.  Hope to see you there!    

It all started on our road trip...

It was June 25, 2008 to be exact.  We woke up in our tent at Yellowstone National Park with a temperature of 34 degrees.  We were freezing!  After we took our 30 minute scalding hot shower, we decided to check out Artist Point - the Upper Falls of Yellowstone River.  We took our pictures and stood in awe, looking at the falls for a bit before Troy started reminiscing about our past.  I kind of wondered why he was bringing all of this up, but it all made sense when he pulled a ring out of his pocket and got down on his knee, asking me to marry him.  I couldn't believe it, but of course I said "yes".  I was shaking and beyond excited as he put the ring on my finger. The rest of the day was a blur...it was all too surreal that Troy proposed and that he was now my fiance.