the beginning of the end...

Last night was the first of many showers before the wedding, and I must say that it was pretty entertaining. I'm not a shower person but it was good, so a big THANK YOU to Stacey, Jan, Bri, and Steph. We started out by eating, (chicken salad sandwiches, my favorite!) and then we played this lovely game. There were three teams, and they had to make bridal gowns out of toilet paper and tape.

These were the three different brides...
Jenny, Steph, and Kate

Because I was the final vote on the gown, I was the officially baby holder. Something I didn't object to.

Cute Cali. Just had to throw a picture of her in here.

This was the winning bride with her bridesmaids.
Kate, Rebekah, Morgan, and Amy

Stacey decided that I look like a Who from Whoville when I put my face like this, so she had to take a picture. Thank you Jenny for the lovely headpiece/vail.

Movie essentials from Bri. Perfect gift for us, because I swear that's all we do.

And this is the must-have for a 2009 grocery shower, a re-usable grocery bag. Both of my sissies had this lovely idea. :)

We made a haul. Seriously, we got so much food, and we have nowhere to put it at this point. It is now sitting in a corner in my bedroom until John finishes the kitchen in the apartment...which hopefully is early next week. Eeek. I don't know if I'm ready for packing. It is my biggest enemy.

I have an itch..

No, not a baby itch.

An itch to get away. To have it FINALLY be time for the wedding, and to have all the stress of planning just melt away.

Also, to see all my family. I really miss you Albertsen clan. I stalk you regularly and it doesn't make it any easier. I'm going to soak up the two days I have with you.

I'm definitely ready for vacation; ready to quit being a bridezilla (which I should probably apologize publicly for...sorry family. And John)

Everything has definitely caught up to me.

I've been sick for about 2 weeks now, and I've never been so nauseated in my life. Finally went to the doctor and they perscribed pills and the whole deal and then I get a voicemail yesterday...I call back the clinic and what do they tell me? My test results came back and they found E-Coli in my system. No wonder I've wanted to vomit for so long now. They say it's nothing to worry about but I'm on day 3 of 5 of my pills and still feel like poop.

Like I said...I have an itch to get away.

babies, baptism, and an eagle scout

We have had quite the week. Exciting, and eventful.

First off, Rachel had her baby. Sydney was born last Friday, and seeing pictures of her makes me miss them even more, and I can't wait for them to come to Utah.

I know this picture doesn't really show the baby very well but it's become my new favorite. Rach and Noelle look so excited, and I just love it. Can't wait for the 25th!

Next event of the week was our friend Chris was baptized this last Saturday. I've known Chris since we were probably, five years old, and John's younger brother is really good friends with Chris so the whole family ending up attending the baptism.

Jenny, Me, John, Chris, David and Patty after the service.

And finally, tonight was Riley's Court of Honor. It took him four years to plan, and he did his eagle project on his 18th birthday, but hey, he got it done, and he got his eagle, so we all went up to support him. So proud of you Broozer. :)

The siblings. Minus 2.

The family. That was there, at least.

And no, that is not my child.

Love Cassi, but I'm not ready for a babe quite yet. ;)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KATI!
Even if you're a brat sometimes, I still love ya.

Happy 23rd.

new additions

I love new babies.

I love them even more when I can enjoy them all I want, but I don't have to take them home with me.

We have two new additions to the family, baby Roos and baby Albertsen.

Saturday, at about 5:30 in the AM, Ben and Amy's little girl was delivered, and she is so beautiful. If you know Ben, it's crazy to even picture him as a Father, but he is so cute with her, and definitely appreciates her. It's so fun to watch.

Also, today, Rachel is being induced so we will have a new baby Albertsen here soon! I'm sad that I don't get to see her right off the bat, with them living in AZ. But I'm so excited to meet her when they come up for the wedding! (33 DAYS! ...But whose counting?) And who knows, maybe John and I will have to take a spontaneous trip down there this weekend ;)

Kati and I went and visited Amy and Baby Cassidy in the hospital on sunday, and luckily Ben had Dad's camera so we were able to be the "camera whores" (As Ben puts it) that we like to be. Here are some pictures!

One excited Auntie Em.

ALSO. Today is Mom's birthday.

So...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM.

Love you more than you will ever understand. :)

Why...

Has today moved so slowly? One o'clock seemed like ages ago. You'd think that with a large work load, time would fly.

But nope, not today.

I blame it on the fact that I have so many other things I need/could be doing instead of working.

counting down...

The countdown has begun. Well...I've been counting down for a while now. I'm ready for the wedding to be here, and be over. Anyway, we had our engagement pictures taken this weekend. We had a little technical difficulties on Friday when the camera died, but we are grateful for Kati nonetheless. She is a fantastic photographer I have learned, and she was very patient with John and me. We don't take very many things seriously, and most of our pictures prove this. These are some of my favorites though and I wanted to post them for the rest of you to see. :)

I loved this when I saw it, and no one else noticed it but the four letters in the background are E.V.L.O. ...mix it around... L.O.V.E.

Not planned. Just fabulous.

He's just better than me. That's all there is to it.

This pretty much describes our lives to a tee.

Kati asked us to get serious, and told John to cooperate. This is what she got.

These two are just fun shots. We didn't know Kate was taking the first one, and as for the second one, it was a picture that John really wanted to do, and really wants to frame.

Both are fantastic. :)

He found a rose down by the river and decided he'd give it to me. This is probably my favorite picture of him.

This one is my favorite of any shot that we took. Little does everyone know that John was telling me how Kati was implying that I have a big head when this picture was taken, but I still am just in love with it.

These two are the two we chose to send out. One from each day, and I love them both so much. John's sister-in-law didn't agree. She told us that she hated the first one. Oh well I guess! Can't please everyone!

These aren't all of the pictures, seeing as we ended up with a good 250, these are just some of the favorites. Overall, it was fun. John can't take anything seriously, but that's okay, because that's how we like him. Luckily, we had a photographer willing to work with us. ;)