July - My Bridal Shower

My sister Allison and her husband Kent are some of the best hosts I've ever known. They have earned through hard work, and have been blessed with, a large home. They do not take it for granted. They share it with anyone and everyone because they know they are fortunate and it would be selfish of them to keep it for themselves. 

MY siblings are all my best friends, but i've always felt a particular closeness to Allison. We've always been alike in many ways. similar personality, similar interests. I love talking with her and hearing her opinion. I value it. my dear, dear Allison. 

she is married to a man named Kent. They are different, but their personalities compliment each other, and i have loved seeing them figure out how to express their love for each other in a ton of different ways over the past decade that they've been married. they were married when i was 10, so Kent has always been more of a brother than a brother-in-law. 

He and i are legit homies. our senses of humor are similar, and i don't know, we just have fun together. We're also both very detail-oriented, ahahhaha. maybe to an obsessive point, but oh well. te stuff we do looks great. 

Allison, Kent, and i spent the afternoon before my bridal shower setting up for it. I know Allison felt a little weird about me setting up my own shower, but i LOVED it. They had all these fancy decorations and materials for me to use. I ate it up. 

popcorn, cookies, and candy. aka my life. 

during the shower, the boys had a "bachelor party" for Karl, including bowling, games, and ice cream. He loved feeling celebrated and he loves my brothers/brothers in law, so he had a blast. it was adorable. He totally wants to be just like Kent when he grows up, hahahaha. 

I was grateful that some of my closest family and friends at the time were able to come because we all live in Utah right now. 

I've never really wanted to live here long term, but i AM super happy that i get to see my family so often, and that i'm around many good LDS friends from home and BYU sports camps. 

my Fellow DCs and my boss/the head counselor rachel came. I genuinely teared up when i saw them walking toward the house. I didn't think any of my friends would come, ad i felt loved. 

The whole group!

3 sisters, 5 friends, some nieces, a bunch of cousins, and one aunt :)

I truly felt "showered" with affection, and i know that sounds cheesy, but it's real. 

The whole process of wedding planning was humbling. Every single person i know seemed to reach out and help me in some way. I was floored by how NICE everyone was being, and how hard they were working to make sure i had "everything i wanted" All i really wanted was to marry Karl in the temple, have my family there with me, and eat cookies. but everyone worked very very, VERY hard to make everything look very nice while we did all that. 

I got a lot of thoughtful and fun presents. This bread maker from Derek and Raycelan made me smile.

1) because they know that i would even make bread. even if i wasn't poor, i probably still would. My roommates used to say i was a 1950s housewife, "all you need is a ring". (They definitely told Karl the weekend he vistited me in Rexburg. haha. It's one thing to think about marrying your boyfriend while in your own imagination. It's a completely separate thign for OTHER people to imply that you will marry your boyfriend. and it's nerve-wracking.)

and 2) because they had already made a loaf with it :) which was yummy. 

ps i miss my long hair. 

When my sister Katrina had her bridal shower, my oldest sister Rebecca interviewed Katrina's then-fiance, now-husband, Phillip. They asked him questions about Katrina, the relationship, etc. Then they showed the video at the bridal shower, but before each of his answers, they'd pause the video and ask Katrina what SHE thought he would say. 

 thought the whole thing was very romantic, and ever since then, I've been very excited to have my own bridal shower video :)

It did not disappoint. 

first of all, Karl is so cute i could just stare at him all day long and be perfectly content. 

secondly, hearing HIM tell his side of everything in our relationship was endearing. It was nice to know that i was guessing right when wondering how he felt about certain little things. 

I especially liked that he called my eyes big and brown an adorable. 

my heart. 

you can tell how much i loved the game by my face here:

soaking. it. up. 

After the party, i tok a picture with my sisters who were there. As per usual, i could not take a normal picture. sorry, guys, hahaha. 

I am fortunate to have these strong, virtuous, covenant keeping women in my life. 

As soon as Karl came back from the bachelor party i gave him a giant kiss on the mouth. He was excited to see all the presents and i was excited to hear about his "bachelor party"

my flowers from the event:

my spoils:

Thank you, all those who came! And thank you to several who couldn't come but still wished me happiness and love. I needed that encouragement, too. 

At the end of the day, i laid my head to my pillow perfectly content with life, and overwhelmed with love for my dear Karl, and for my dear Allison. 

she and i have been through much together, and i can't wait to keep going through the rest of our lives. She's a hero.