Silver Lake, Michigan

This past Friday, very early in the morning, we packed up and headed to Silver Lake, Michigan with our friends Kate and Josh. It took us about 7.5 hours to drive there. The boys had a great time tearing around the dunes on their toys, and Kate and I had fun shopping.

I found a GREAT bottle of wine at a local winery. Literally, the BEST wine I've ever tasted. And no, I don't think it was the best due to the "ambiance," as my aunt seems to think! It REALLY IS the best. ;-) YUM!

This was the first trip Chris and I have taken together. We definately want to go back!
Early in the morning on Sunday, the day we left, just the two of us went and grabbed some coffees down by the lake + dunes. (I set the timer for the pic). Such a nice, relaxing way to spend the morning. I'm glad we got to spend a little time alone on our trip.

On Saturday (yes, I realize I'm back tracking and not doing this in order like a normal person would), the boys took their toys to the dunes and rode there all day. Kate and I climbed up the dunes (OMG - sore legs the next day) so we could sit at the top and watch the boys ride around for awhile. Glad we were able to get them to see us so we would take a few pics of them.

Here's Chris in his gear:

I love this photo of Chris with the dunes + Lake Michigan. So pretty!

Chris on the last day right before we left. Can't wait to have a photo kind of like this in just 21 days when we are in Mexico!

Another pretty view of the lake:

The photo below is of Little Sabel Lighthouse.

Ummm... if you are employed by Michigan's DNR, please stop reading. :-)

So, for our centerpieces for the wedding ... we're having glass hurricane vases with a tall, fat orange candle inside and then sand around the bottom. After coming to the Lake/Dunes, I realized I didn't like the 250+ pounds sand I'd already bought for the centerpieces. I decided I liked the sand here better. Because, you know, we planned to get our Sand Ceremony sand from the Dunes. So, I wanted it all to match. (I think it's spelled like this: b-r-i-d-e-z-i-l-l-a!?)

So, I dragged Chris to the lighthouse with me and we packed up 15 gallon sized Ziplock bags full of the "prettier" sand. My trunk wasn't so pretty after we got all that sand back to WI, but hey, my centerpieces will be prettier, right!? And my fiance wasn't so happy with me during the bagging process .... BUT, when all was said and done, we walked by the beach and the memories of the lighthouse turned happy again. LOL. I hope it's all worth it in the end!

So the question is ... is stealing sand from a State Park really stealing? With all the dunes, I'm *pretty sure* nobody will notice ;-)

Chicago as we drove by on the way home:

So ... with our Michigan Trip behind us ... the next event we have on our agenda is a Kenny Chesney concert at Summerfest on Friday! Woo hooo! My 4th Kenny concert and our 1st Kenny concert together!

In other news ...

Which seems CRAZY to me ...

There are only {18 days} until our wedding!

18 til July 18!

We applied for our marriage license today ... It felt so great to sign our names on that piece of paper together. This is it. We really ARE getting married! It's not that it hasn't ever really set in, but now, its REALLY SINKING IN DEEP!

After the courthouse, we went to the coffee shop (thats our "thing" ... mochas, to be exact). He got an iced mocha and I got a hot turtle mocha. There I was, sipping on one of the most delicious coffees ever, with my guy right next to me, and I was feeling the happiest I've ever been able to recall. Totally high on life. Blissfully happy. Total cloud 9.

Life.

Is.

Good!

Blue Crew Layouts ... July AND August

My focus company was American Crafts.
I used a lot of papers from the Teen and Craft Fair lines.
Thickers (letters) and the Flair Badges (circle embellishments) are so fun to use!


This are both for July and August -- with the wedding + honeymoon and then 4 client weddings in two weeks RIGHT AFTER we get back from Mexico, I will have no time to upload layouts!

Today...

Outside my window... Is a very hot day, 94 degrees. Poor Chris doesn't get AC at work! I am enjoying the indoors today. Yesterday I spent most of the day outside picking strawberries and swimming in our pool. I got burned a little on my body. And, I'm assuming my left eye got sun burned ... if its possible to get sun burned eyes. I could barely open my eye this morning and it was burning and watering like crazy. Ouch.

I am thinking... That Jon Gosselin is a POS and should listen to the opening line of his own show ... "We're a family and we're in this together." Not, "I'm Jon and I think I should do whatever I think I want and give up on my family because things are a little tough at the moment." Of course, I don't know the whole story, but, it's really been bothering me since Monday how easy people give up on marriage. Obviously, Kate didn't want to give up on it, but was left with no other choice. So sad. It really gets to me when they said on the other episode, "We have swiftly grown apart." Well, again, I probably have no feet to stand on with my opinions since I've never been married or on a reality TV show or had 8 kids, but my thoughts: if you moved apart SO FAST, why not take some more time and work together and see if you can come back TOGETHER again?

I am thankful for... a great husband to be who can be a little annoying at times (OK, a lot of times, lol). BUT, and the end of the day, I love him all the same and I wouldn't have my life any other way.

From the kitchen... I am thinking grilled chicken breasts for dinner tonight. And then a broccoli/stuffing/cheesy side dish bake. Usually I cook the chicken, cut it up, and put it in with the other stuff and make one big casserole... but I'm really hungry for Chris' yummy chicken on the grill. He's a good griller. :-) YUM.

I am wearing... a cute coral tank and putty colored capris. Summer clothes are fun :-)

I am creating... I actually scrapped today. It was for the Blue Crew ... I got to work with some really fun American Crafts goods for the upcoming three months.

I am going... camping this weekend in Michigan! Friday, Saturday, and Sunday! We are going to the Silver Lake Sand Dunes. The boys are going to ride their toys on the dunes, and my friend Kate and I are going to relax at the campsite and make our way to the beach! Here is a pic of what the Dunes look like:

I am reading... I started the third Twilight book the other day - Monday. I read it during a car ride, and what I read of it was good ... I am not sure if I will continue reading it. As a 23 year old (as in: not a teenager) ... the whole "Ohmygosh Edward is such a perfect guy I love him I love him I love him." stuff makes me gag. Seriously. Honestly. Gag. Not sure if I can handle it. I mean, COME ON! Bella would rather lie to her family and run off and turn into a vampire and risk killing humans just because "OH EDWARD I LOVE YOU!" Kinda annoys me. Maybe she did make it all work in the end (4th book) and everyone including her family is happy ... but I don't like the siutation enough in the 3rd book enough to read on. Oh well, right? Hmm .... anyway, I did hit up the local library today and picked up some fun magazines and chick lit for the 7 hour, one-way, car ride to Michigan .... I got some Meg Cabot books .... she rocks, she's the lady below .... can't wait to read them!

I am hoping... that we have tons of fun this weekend! And that everything will work out once we get to Michigan and the boys will get to ride on the Dunes! Ohhh...and I am very much hoping we remember to get the sand from the beach/Dunes for our sand ceremony for the wedding!

I am hearing... TLC's "Wedding Tips" commercial ... only thing I retained from it was, "Consider having your wedding in the off season to save some money." Would it really matter what season it's in? Now I'm hearing Jon & Kate + 8 re-run playing -- kind of ironic that they are talking about their family's goals ("mission statement") they planned. It breaks my heart! They said they will never let anything break their family. JON!? What happened to that? Even if there was no "other woman" (which I firmly believe there was) ... he still decided that himself and what he wanted to do was more important than his family.... anyway .... family is important to me. Keeping a family together is very important to me, if you haven't noticed. And obviously, I have NO CLUE what having my own family is like, or even a marriage for that matter. BUT, this whole thing between Jon & Kate makes us want to make it work all that much more.

Around the house... Around my house is messy. I swear, every time I get it cleaned up, it gets messy again. Well, the kitchen is clean. The bathroom is clean. The other mess is clutter and I've finally realized the constant clutter is called LIVING.

One of my favorite things... is traveling. Going to new places not only gives great memories and experiences, but also extends to photo ops which leads to great scrapbooking ops!

A few plans for the rest of the week... try to clean up the clutter, finish editing 2 mini photo sessions, and ENJOYING OURSELVES camping!

Ah, The Details

Yesterday was great ... After 10:00 am, I did absolutely nothing having to do with the wedding. I'm at the point in which, yes, all this stuff is still fun, but if you try to cram day in filled with NOTHING but wedding stuff (i.e., Friday) - it will get quite tiring!

Recap of Saturday's wedding related events:

Finished printing the programs

Folded all the programs

Trimmed 100 programs (three of 4 sides needed trimming .... yuck)

Punched rounded corners on the programs (yuck x2)

Had very sore fingers by 10:00 am

Recap of Friday's wedding related events:

Watched Mom finish the flower girl dress

Went to the florist and worked out last minute details

Contemplated the centerpieces ... I *think* I like them. Right???

Worked on the candy buffet set-up

Wrapped what seemed like a million Hershey's Miniatures in blue and orange scrapbook papers, to match the wedding theme colors, of course

Back and forth "discussions" with mom and dad about the bar situation

As for today's wedding planning events:

None. I plan to enjoy a nice lunch with my dad for Father's Day and then finish a client's wedding day photos.

We are at:

{27} days to go ...

So Excited To Announce...

My BRAND NEW photography website just launched:

www.KaylaRichards.com

We Are at {30} Days To Go

I was up to this today...

Finishing touches on the programs...

1. Finished designing them

2. Contemplated paper choice for literally a half hour at the store

3. Begun the long job of printing them

4. Decided if I wanted a ribbon on them or not

5. Decided I did not want ribbon

6. Instead decided I wanted rounded corners

Such descisions ;-)

The final size is 6.5" tall by 5" wide.

This is the back side.

Yes, that is indeed how "remembrance" is spelled! I printed about 50 of them off and then started freaking out about the spelling. "Oh my GOSH, is it remembrance or rememberance?!"

Thank you, to dictionary.com to stopping my freak out session.

And don't worry ... I will use an actual corner rounder on the "real" programs! ;-)

Tomorrow, my friends, we'll be under 30 days...

How did that happen so fast!?

Some Great Wedding Advice...

Before I get started, here's little detail, because posts are way better with pictures.

I worked on our cake topper way back in January.

I individually glued on hundreds of Swarovski crystals.

It was so pretty once it was all finished :-)

Here is some advice/stuff I found today about weddings & marriage. Some if it is common sense, but always good to read:

"The best advice I ever got was durring the wedding and the ceremony to tell myself I am going to remember this moment. And now 5 years later. The moments I remeber the mostly clearly are those moments went I stopped and told myself I will remember this moment."

"I think the most important thing is remembering to stick with what you like and want and not letting family members, friends or the planner talk you into something."

"Someone gave me a piece of advice that I still cherish as one of the best memories from our wedding day. That was taking time out for my groom before anything...because really that's what my whole day is about anyways! With all of the hustle and bustle of the day it is soooo easy to miss spending any real time with your groom."

"make sure you dance the heck out of your dress! The best photos are of a crazy bride on the dance floor, just laughing and having a good time. You'll be so caught up talking to your guests and being pulled in all directions that you'll forget to dance the night away :) "

"I think in retrospect alot of brides probably wish they would have spent more energy on Preparing for a marriage rather than preparing for a wedding."

"Remember that a wedding isn't about the fancy flowers, a gorgeous dress, or the centerpieces at the reception. A wedding is about the joining of two lives forever. Focus on that, and everything else will fall into place. "

"Remember that every final decision is yours. Family and friends will give you lots of advice but the ultimate decision is yours. Plan the wedding the way you always dreamt it to be. It is yours!"

"Be selfish for one day."

"Don't worry about the things you can't control."

"Work as hard on your marriage as you are on your wedding."

"Take a moment, maybe while eating your delicious meal with your new husband, and look around. Take. it. all. in."

"Simply, let it be fun. If it's not fun, it's not worth it."

"Don't lose sight of your overall prize at hand. Brides tend to get all caught up with planning the perfect day and, of course, for good reason. As women, we dreamed of this time since we were young. Have fun with it, but know that no matter what, rain or shine, through thick and thin, between choosing placemats and fine silverware, YOU ARE ABOUT TO START THE REST OF FOREVER WITH THE LOVE OF YOUR LIFE. No matter what happens, enjoy it."

{31 days to go}
I love you, Chris.

Attn Future Brides: DO NOT PLAN TOO EARLY

Really! Really!


Take your time and understand (unlike me) that it is OKAY TO WAIT last minute for some/a lot of things! You'll save a lot of money and frustration! ;-)

Disclaimer: I know, I know ... it's just ONE day, so why get so nit-picky and stressed about it ... but it's OUR ONE day ... I came into this whole wedding thing with the idea that yeah, it is just another day, so why spend thousands and thousands on it?

Through the process, though, I have really thought about how we only get to do this once, so it really SHOULD be everything I've wanted -- and that it is okay to put more into this than I actually thought.


Let's see ...
Back in October when we were planning all this, SO many things I thought I wanted/planned have changed! Some of these were NOT by my choice, however, but what can you do?

We are now on the 2nd (or 3+ in some cases!):

-1st dance song
-Tiny Mexico beach wedding turned into a hometown-ish traditional/big wedding
-hair salon
-flower shop
-ring bearer
-church + minister
-bridal gown (so sorry, Mom!)
-veil (I now have three...)
-shoes
-jewelry (sorry, again, Mom!)
-tux colors
-and I'm sure there are many, many, more....

At this point am I happy with how everything turned out? YES! I am beyond excited and completely happy with how everything has turned out. And so completely thankful and appreciative to my parents for funding the whole day.

NOW ---

for all you guests who were invited but have yet to return your response card --

SEND IT!

IT HAS FREAKING STAMP ON IT READY TO GO!

Send it, please!?

I know I said July 6th, but I'm starting to get nervous. ;-)

{32} days to go!

Party Time!

Miss J turned 2! We went to her birthday party today at the park.
Some memorable/cute/funny things she said:

• "I'll be right back!"
• "Hannah 'Tanna!"
• As she was opening a gift...."Ohhhh ...Ohhh... Ohhhhh my gosh!"

Here's the birthday girl in full attire: ;-)

Little sis Joelee looking as cute as ever:

So glad I was able to have such a great day with some of my loves:

{34 days to go!}

{Almost} Ready To Launch...

I've been working really hard on my new business website!

I hope to launch it in the next day or so!

Stay tuned for the ALL NEW upcoming:

www.KaylaRichards.com

Here is a sneak:

Now What?

Today was my last day of student teaching.
Now where will life take me?

It's kind of an uneasy feeling not having any idea what the next few months will bring - will we have to move for a job for me? Will I be subbing in the town we live in? Lots of questions. It's a kind of scary but still an exciting time!

I had a great last couple of days. The kids' last day was yesterday and today was a teacher in service. Here is a cute basket full of teacher goodies I received that all the teachers in the building contributed to:


It's full of books, reward certificates, stamps, bulletin board stuff, and more! Such a cute idea! I love it! It was such a surprise to receive!

My teacher I've been working with also got me a some cute gifts. Our first graders loved the Magic Tree House series, so she got me the first 15 books and had each of the kids write a message to me in one of the books. SUCH a cute idea! She also got me a 2009 graduation picture frame and put a picture of the kids and I in it. The frame had a photo mat in it, so the kids signed all around the mat. I loved it!

I was so lucky to work with such giving and nice people! I do not have ONE complaint about my student teaching experience! I learned so much about teaching and got many great ideas. I was SO SO lucky! Now I just need a classroom of my own ... I'm trying to stay optimistic about the job market!

Here is the little gift I made for each student for the end of the year. Inside the baggie was a picture of me with the kids, a pencil, some candy, and stickers:


Wedding News....
Yesterday at Day 39, I didn't do anything related to the wedding. I guess if you count emailing Christy about photography it counts! But, I didn't do anything too productive!

Today is Day 38. Here are some things I am going to accomplish this evening:

• Get the DJ sheet out
• Get the church stuff out
• Begin designing and printing the note paper for our "Wishes" station
  

At {40} Days To Go...

It was a candy buffet day.

I've been getting nervous that our blue + orange candy buffet won't look "good" once it's all set up. Will the colors look too clashy? Do we have a big enough variety of candies? Etc, Etc, Etc...

I went shopping with Katelyn today after school/work and tried finding better candies for the table. Not very much luck. I turned Bridezilla and started freaking out too much about the candy! How can a bunch of sugar really be this big of a deal? It's amazing how something that can seem so small can turn into such a big deal while wedding planning!

I ended up just ordering some cute taffy (see above) and various flavors of old fashioned orange sticks. I think I am officially DONE with buying the candy! Yay! (Except for the cotton candy, if we decide to do that, which we will purchase the week of the wedding)

Then I went over to my mom's house and put the candy we had (the wrapped stuff anyway) into their designated glass containers. I was surprised how nice everything actually looked.

Some candies that will be on our candy buffet:

• Saltwater Taffy
• Old Fashioned Candy Sticks
• Aqua + White Rock Candy
• Pillow Dinner Mints, in both aqua and orange
• Sangria White Chocolates (white + orange drizzle)
• Almond + Chocolate + Coconut candies (which we'll wrap in aqua foils)
• Various lollipops (aqua + orange, of course!)
• Vanilla Tootsie Rolls in the aqua wrappers
• Assorted Hershey's Miniatures, wrapped in various aqua + orange scrapbook papers
• Cookies 'n' Cream Kisses (because they are in the aqua wrapper)
• and more!

Oh - today I also poked holes thru the adornments and stuck the twistie thru so they are ready to go when guests want to close their baggies!

What will day {39} bring tomorrow!?

150 Adornments Designed, Printed, & Cut ... CHECK!

Today I designed the adornments that will be attached to the clear bags for our candy buffet. Now I have to punch a mini hole thru the flower centers and put a twistie tie in them ... our guests will fill their baggies with their favorite blue and orange candies from our buffet, and then use their cute "twistie tie with tag" to secure their loot!

FUN!

Other wedding items that got done today:

--->Final bridesmaid dress was picked up from David's

--->5 more centerpiece hurricane vases were purchased

--->Bought a plain white tank for the morning of the wedding day ... which I will embellish with "BRIDE" in sparkley rhinestones

I had quite the week with wedding stuff. First, we had issues with our tux place. Then, the salon called and cancelled our hair appointments. Which .... leaves a bride, who only has about a month to go, to think .... OH. MY. GOD. WHAT. ARE. WE. GOING. TO. DO. NOW!? Luckily, my sister in law Shannon is amazing, and she found us a new salon. The new salon is way better. I'm actually kind of happy it turned out this way in the end. GO SHANNON! Wooo!

Other wedding to-do's I am going to tackle next:

---> Buy more sand for centerpieces

---> Print programs

---> Print Table Numbers (actually, they are table names)

---> Begin seating chart

---> Begin printing place cards

---> Cardbox

---> and more!

41 days to go!

Spent the Morning Scrapping...

I wish I had more time to scrap!

I had forgotten how fun it can be.

Maybe after all the madness is over this summer!

:-)

Journaling:

"Dec 31, 2008 - A night full of non-sense and drama ... but it led us into 2009 - which will be a great year!"

Journaling:

"Burgs is my photo friend. We do lots of photo shoots of her, and she has even helped me with a wedding. It's always a great time! 4/2009"

Journaling:

"One of the prettiest little babies I've ever seen! Miss Joelee is way too cute for her own good! March '09"

Journaling:

"Dad celebrating his birthday at his work. February 2009"

Journaling:

"April 2009 For Chris's 26th birthday, I got him the boots he wanted for his dirtbike. We also went to the Blew Inn for sesame chicken and I got him a rhubarb pie."

What's New?

Long time, no blogging!

Things have pretty much been the same around here:

Had a great Memorial Day with a group of friends - including my friend's daugher's Jaelynn and Joelee, who are getting SO big:

Chris with Joelee. I can't wait til I have a photo like this someday, but with our OWN baby:

I think I mentioned it before, but I graduated from college on May 15th. We went for dinner for my mom's birthday, and my sister in law and my brother surprised me with this freakin' awesome Coach clutch for a graduation gift - I was NOT expecting anything at all! Isn't it just the cutest? I LOVE it!! Thanks if you're reading!

Shot my first wedding for the season two weekends ago. I had a lot of fun and it inspired me to purchase a different wedding gown! I felt mine was too plain and I didn't feel "gorgeous" in it - my new one - watch out! I feel pretty darn sexy in it! No sneak peeks! I'll post some photos for you on July 19th! ;-)

Here are some photos from the wedding I shot:

Our own wedding plans are going smoothly. We are kind of in that "waiting" period ... just waiting for response cards and for the day to get here!

There are preceisely 46 more days to go!

And 49 days until we hit the beach in Mexico!

Finally .... I finish my 5 1/2 month long first grade student teaching placement in 6 more days. It went so fast. I've been applying for jobs, but no bites so far. Wish me luck in the hunt!