Ready for the Celebration

My baby brother is getting married in July.  It's hard to think that the baby of the family is going to have a wife and they will start a life together and eventually, have a family of their own.  My brother is eight years younger than me so he truly is a baby brother.  He is 26 years old and has been with Amanda for 5-6 years.  I was pregnant with Lincoln when they started dating!

Anyway, things are starting to get close and we are having the bridal shower this Saturday so we are busy getting things ready for that and I am so excited. I love parties, gatherings, showers, well any excuse to get together really.  I'm sure it is going to be beautiful and fun.  Her matron of honor has been working so hard on this shower for months and I know she has some great things in store for Amanda, which warms my heart. 

I am in charge of the games so of course I hit up Pinterest for ideas and I hope everyone enjoys them.  I picked some fun ones! I've been cutting out man heads from magazines for one game, cutting out construction paper crowns and mustaches for another and have to price household items for another game!  I'm having fun just getting them ready! 

The wedding invitations have gone out and even those are so cute and fun.  I love the fact that a line on the RSVP card says, "Here's your chance, which songs make you dance?" There are two lines for song choices that you want to hear...so great so that they know what songs to play so everyone can have their favorite songs played!

I am going to bridal shower shopping tomorrow (I know, I am waiting until the last minute!) I plan to buy from their registry but when it comes time for a wedding gift, I'm going with something not on the registry.  I am going for something fun, personal for them and special.  No, I don't know what it is exactly yet but I will figure it out! Only 85 more days. 

They are getting married and having the reception at a local park and so they are inviting people to feel free to play a pickup game of basketball or volleyball, allow the kids to play on the playground or roam the grounds of the park. They are keeping it casual to really stress the fact that it is truly a celebration, not a show. 

I cannot wait to call this girl my sister!

I do still have work to do to look good on the wedding day for my duty as a bridesmaid but I will get there....it's crunch time!

And, for you.....here's a picture of the couple getting married:

My brother, Jesse and my future sister-in-law, Amanda!

MAMAVATION MONDAY: Running past my goal, The Skirt and Stepping it up

As I have talked about a few times, I am running (I know, I realize that it seems to be the only thing I am talking about these days) and I made it a goal to run 20 miles during the month of January.  I really thought this would be a pretty lofty goal but as of this morning, I am at 36 miles for the month!  I am now hoping to get in four more miles by Thursday so that I can say I doubled my goal! I am so excited about this because I have been one of those people who sets a goal and starts off strong and then forgets about it a few weeks later. I have to say that I enjoy running so I think I will be able to continue on this running trend for quite some time. 

A month ago, I tried on a skirt that I will be wearing in my brother's wedding in July.That is when I knew that I really needed to get in shape and slim down my waistline.  I ordered a size medium thinking that it wouldn't be too hard to fit nicely into it.  That was the size I tried on.  I now have the skirt in my closet to look at to make sure I stay on track and fit into it come July.  It does fit a little bit better than it did a few weeks ago but not good enough.  I clearly have more work to do to look good in the skirt! It is a good thing to have it in the closet where I can see it everyday though.  It's motivation. 

Along with running and trying to eat healthier, I am going to try to up my workouts and make sure I am working my abs and arms.  I need to tighten up those areas and get some definition.  A few years ago, I did just that and I was so happy with the results so I am striving for that again.  I received a prize pack from a giveaway and it is a DVD series of dance instruction from the Jabbawockeez.  They were a group from MTV's America's Best Dance Crew.  I saw them on the show and they were amazing.  I love to dance so this series is good for me and I might even be able to show off some of my new dance skills at the wedding in July. ;)

Making Some Plans...Maybe....Sort of

When Chuck and I got married 13 years ago, I was pregnant.  It wasn't a secret and it wasn't the only reason we got married.  I am willing to be that most people believe that is the case.  Yes, we did not plan the pregnancy, yes we wanted to be married before our baby was born....would we have gotten married that soon had I not been pregnant, probably not.  However, we knew that we would be together forever.  We had been together for five years at that point. We were living together and we were both working full time so it's not like we had a shotgun to our heads. I don't even know if it was something that was important to our parents, for us to get married before the baby came, but it was what was important to us.  We are old fashioned in some ways. 

We always said that we would renew our vows someday and we always tend to say we would do it for our 15 year anniversary.  We want to do the whole shebang.  We went to the local justice of the peace when we got married and had a big reception with our family and friends.  I wore a clearance rack prom dress that was perfect for me.  I loved it and I don't regret what we did but don't most girls want that big, special day with everyone they care about there to help celebrate?  Chuck wants that for me.  He wants me to be that princess for my day.  He feels it is important for us to go through the nice ceremony.

We would really love to go to Hawaii as a honeymoon after a vow renewal ceremony.  He has an uncle that lives in Hawaii so we would have an excellent tour guide or at least someone to tell us the best places to go and see. 

Since our financial woes and our situation, I'm not sure we can swing the trip to Hawaii.  I still want to go and I will do what I can to try to save up for it and we even said we'd love to have some friends or family go too! Once we are financially stable, that is where our extra money will be going...to the trip to Hawaii.  Even if we have to wait until awhile after the vow renewal ceremony, we will go...one day.

So, aside from the honeymoon trip to Hawaii, there are other things that I think about and sort of plan for our ceremony.  Like the location, who we would invite, the color scheme, the decorations, etc.  All those fun and exciting details that every bride gets to plan.  I'm sort of embarassed to say that I have been looking online at wedding gowns.  It seems sort of silly to look at them if I don't know for sure if we are going to actually do it, but I love looking at them. There are so many choices, how in the world do you know if you are getting the right one?!  Is there really that whoa moment? I think I have asked this on Twitter before. 

Here is one that I really like, it is pretty and simple but not too plain. It's not too form-fitting that I wouldn't be able to walk.

Another one that I think I like, it is different, I haven't ever seen anyone, in person, with this style dress. Again, it's not too fancy and overboard.

This one is a bit different and I am not sure if this is something that would even look good on me.  For years, I thought I would want the ball gown style but I'm not so sure anymore.  I am older and this is a vow renewal so I somehow feel like I should have a more, simple style but then again, this is my first real wedding ceremony.

How did you decide what style you wanted?  Did you change your mind once you started trying on dresses?