Sneak peak!!

Here is a link to a sneak peak of our engagement pictures!!! I love how they turned out and can't wait to see the rest of them! Happy Halloween!!

meysenburgphotographyblog.com/sarah-derek-engagement-nelson-gallery-kc/

...Day 16: Dream house!!

So I have been slacking on this 30 day blog challenge but noticed yesterdays was dream house and I haven't been able to stop dreaming of the house I would love to someday have. Derek and I are going to start the house hunt next year and I know we can't afford the house I would love to have but a girl can dream :) Here are a few pictures of houses I like and some things I would like to have:

4-5 bedrooms (remember, I want a lot of kids)
2.5+baths

Updated Kitchen

Kitchen that opens up to family room

Middle island in kitchen

Wood floors in kitchen

Big backyard (preferably fenced)

Pool

Big deck or patio

His and her sinks in master bath

I love kids rooms that connect with jack and jill bathroom

Again, this is just my dream home. I highly doubt we ever have a house that has ALL of these things. Derek has already told me that we better start house hunting a year early because he knows how picky I am going to be :) Now on to pictures

LLOVVEEE

I like the little decks upstairs

Disregard the treadmill in the bathroom. Heck no!

Safety 1st :)

A little something for Derek

Things I'm Lovin: Wedding Edition

I have been doing lots of wedding researching today so I have a few Things I'm Lovin: Wedding Edition!

Pocket Invitations

These aren't the invitations I want but I love the pocket invitations. I like how simple and organized they are. Now if I could just find a design I love.

Monogrammed Stamps

Derek already told me no because their too expensive. Fun hater :)

Monogrammed wedding cake

I may not get my monogrammed stamps but we are going to have our initials monogrammed on our cake!


theknot.com

This website is my lifesaver! I get emails telling me what I should get done each month for the wedding, it has TONS of pictures of centerpieces, dresses, etc and it will calculate how you should spend your money after you put in your budget. LOVE!

A peacock shower and more!

Well I survived my crazy busy weekend! It took all I had not to take off work yesterday and catch up on some sleep but I forced myself out of bed Monday morning. We started the fun Friday evening when we all went to dinner for my cousins 21st birthday. It was hard to find a place that could fit 15 of us and 3 kids so we had to sit at 2 different tables but still had a good time at Texas Roadhouse.

Table 1

Table 2

Birthday boy!

Saturday I was up bright and early to shower and go to Amber's so her and Amy could do my hair and make up for our engagement pictures. I am so lucky that my sisters are so good at hair and make up. I want to add that I got a spray tan on Thursday night so that's why I am so dark. Engagement pictures went really well. I am hoping we will be able to see them this week or next.

Amy working on my hair

After our pictures, I met my sisters and Harper to do some last minute shopping for my cousins bridal shower we were hosting on Sunday. We ran around for a couple hours and then I headed home to watch our nieces and nephew so Dereks sister and brother in law could go to the Carrie Underwood concert. We were hoping to go back to my sisters house so all the kids could play together and I could hang out more with my sister Amy who was in town but our nephew Peyton got the flu on their way here so we thought we better just stay home. The kids were so good for us and 2 of the 3 were asleep at 8!

Derek and HazelHalle and Hazel

All of us passed out (Hazel was upstairs sleeping)

I got up early Sunday to shower and say goodbye to Dereks sister and her family before I went to Ambers for the shower. My cousin is getting married Nov 27 and she is doing a peacock theme. She is doing more of the browns for her wedding so we did a peacock theme shower but did it more bright and fun. We had a good time chatting with everyone, drinking mimosa's, and eating quiche and cinnamon rolls. I headed home after the shower and didn't move from the couch the rest of the day. Derek and I were in bed at 8:30 that night! It was a very fun and busy weekend!

The future bride
Having a toast before the guests arrive
Her wedding invitation
The hostesses with the future bride

All of us with grandma (Aiden wasn't in the pic cause he was naked after eating a cupcake)

Handsome boys ready for the shower

Harper


And most importantly, I got a phone call yesterday saying my wedding dress is in!!!! It wasn't supposed to be in until the end of Decemeber so I am super excited! I need to call and set up an appt to try it on and then I just have to wait for the other piece of it and my veil!!!!

Days 6-8

I had a very busy weekend so I am playing catch up today.

Day 6: Something that makes you happy

I can't name just one so I am going to do the easy thing and just list them!

• My nieces and nephews
• Derek
• My dogs
• My family

Day 7: Favorite Movies

• The Holiday
• 27 Dresses
• The Hangover
• Stepmom
• Toy Story 1 and 2

Day 8: A place you've traveled

My favorite place I have traveled to is Puerta Vallarta, Mexico. I have been twice and LOVE it! All my mexico pictures are on a different computer so here is a pic of the resort we always stay at. We always spend the majority of our time there because it has 3 pools, it's on the beach, and they have daily activities at the resort pools that are sssoooo much fun.

Velas Vallarta. Puerta Vallarta, MX

Day 5: Your siblings

I am so grateful to have 3 AMAZING siblings. I love the relationship we have and want 4 (maybe 5) kids of my own one day. I hope they have as great as a relationship as I do with my siblings.

My brother Tony...

...is the oldest and is 6 years older then me. Poor guy was always being begged to play house, play with barbies, etc. I luckily don't remember this but he told us girls that he used to let us play hide and seek with him and his friends and he would go have us hide and then never come find us. haha! I think he always wished one of us girls was a boy and now he has finally gotten his "little brother" by volunteering for Big Brothers and Big Sisters. His "little brother" is just as lucky as us girls are. He would do anything in the world for his sisters and he spoils us (and our niece and nephew) like crazy. He is hilarious and super nice. I love my big brother to death!

My sister Amy...

...is the oldest of us girls and is 4 years older then me. She has two of the best kids EVER and is an amazing mom. She is the bookworm of the family. Growing up, we would all be playing outside and Amy would be in her room reading a book. I used to hate sleeping in my room because it faced the cemetary (it was like a mile away AND was hidden behind trees but I was still scared to death) so she let me sleep with her every single night for probably 2 years! I admire her because she is basically a single parent. Her husband works a lot so she works, takes care of the kids, cleans, makes dinner, etc and I don't know anyone that could do it better. I know when I have kids, I will be calling her daily for advice because I have seen what great kids she has raised. Love you Amy!

My siser Amber...

...is the middle girl and is 2 years older then me. I call her my personal hair stylist, make up artist, wedding planner and shopper. She is awesome at all of them! Not only is she the most talkative and social one of us kids but she too is an amazing mom. Everyone always says I am so quiet because I have her as an older sister and she is always talking! I wish I had that trait of hers beccause she can carry on a conversation with anyone. She became a mom a little earlier then she has planned but she has taken on the mom role and has rocked at it. I used to fight with her the most but that has completely changed. I talk to her daily and now that we live a couple miles apart, I am always hanging out with her and my nephew and I love it! Love you Amber!

Day 4: Your Parents

I always tell people how great of a childhood I had and I owe it to her. She was always helping out at our school planning our school carnivals and other things, she helped out in our neighborhood, we always had the BEST toys, she always made sure we looked nice when we left the house, she always made it a point that we eat dinner as a family every night, I could go on and on. I am lucky enough to only live about 5 blocks from her so we get to have dinner together almost weekly, go on walks together, go shopping, and just hang out when we are bored. We have had some ups and downs but it has made our family that much closer and there has never been a day that I stopped loving my mom.

I wish I got a dollar everytime someone told me I looked like my dad. I may look like him but I can only hope to be as good of a person as he is. He is the most loving, caring, hardworking man there is. He has built almost every single home we have lived in (I think that's 5 houses), worked a part time job for awhile just so us kids could have a nice home, working cars, new clothes, etc. Growing up and even after us kids left home for college, we would always get together for Sunday dinners. Nobodys cooking compares to my dads. It's seriously the best food ever! It was tough moving away from my dad last year but we are only 2 hours apart and I still seem him almost every weekend. He calls me his mom because I am always calling him to check up on him. I love my dad and will always be daddys girl.