Photo Update

I've been slacking on the pictures lately so here's a few to catch you all up!....

This one is old -- from last month... look how small Max is!

We bought our shoes for the wedding... currently being dyed.

A typical night ... sleepy boys!

Max has a friend over (Tuff) while the Collins' family was in town for Super Pee Wee State Wrestling!
The dogs loved to wrestle, too!

Drake-man ready to wrestle!

Uncle Kurt w/ Briggs -- cheerin for Drake!

Engaged for 1 year - 3 months to go! :)

All tuckered out after throwing fit for being left outside... *Sigh*

Look how BIG he is now!! He used to sleep under the couch... Ha!

Bring on SPRING!

Thank God winter is finally over!! We're loving this extra daylight (but still struggling with the dark mornings after daylight savings time, haha I guess we can't have it all). 

Last weekend we went back to WL to spend some time with our families.  I got to see Matt and his classmates pull off an uber-impressive musical --- I seriously can't get over how cool it was! And to think that they're only in Jr. High, WOW.  ...Kurt worked on the firebird and before we knew it it was already time to head back to Waterloo.  Weekends at home always go too fast and there never seems to be enough time to do everything we want to do and see everyone we want to see!

This past week we've been enjoying the warmer weather and truckin' away on wedding projects/plans... here's our updates in a nutshell:
- Finally took the dogs on a decent walk.  Yay for nice weather!
- Spent an evening setting up a wedding registry at Menards (Kurt was in his glory).
- Attempted to convert Max to an outside dog... not going well so far.
- Kurt surprised me by taking the awnings off our house - a project I've been dying to do since we moved in!
- Got all pumped up to grill up some burgers only to find our propane tank is empty (sigh...George Foreman saved the day).
- Sent our wedding invitations to the printer. (Wow, we're that close!)
- Researched Bachelor/Bachelorette party locations/plans...... sooooo fun. =D

We're enjoying this weekend by not doing too much.  I got to spend the day shopping in Cedar Rapids with two of my best friends yesterday -- it was fun to have some girl time and we found some good stuff shopping too! :)  Kurt squeezed in some fishing and we even got some time to hang out and play Wii with some friends in town. After this weekend we're completely booked until May ... let the craziness commence!

Time Flies ...

...when you're planning a wedding!  Seriously, today is the ONE YEAR anniversary of our engagement and I honestly cannot believe it's been 12 entire months.  I almost always feel like time is flying but this year in particular has been a crazy, hectic, emotional and exciting one!  It truly is a whirlwind and we're doing our best to take in all of these experiences and memories - afterall, we only get to do this once! :) 

As we think back to last year at this time I can't help but tear up... The proposal was such an awesome surprise and I love how genuine and straight-up nervous Kurt was.  It makes me giggle!  We had bought tickets to see Jason Aldean in concert in Ames so we took off work a little early to account for travel.  I was rushing around the apartment in an attempt to get ready on time (imagine that) and Kurt was being oddly quiet (seriously can you imagine that? ha!).  I had randomly found an unclaimed wedding magazine by the mailboxes that afternoon and was babbling about how it would be the perfect thing to flip through on the way to Ames (ironic, right?).  ...We were heading out the door (already behind schedule) when Kurt suddenly "forgets something inside".   I hesitantly followed him back into the apartment (slightly annoyed) and shut the door only to turn around and find him on his knee!  It took a few seconds to realize what was happening and to shake off the disbelief and acutally listen  to what he was saying but when I did, I flew at him for a huge hug and burst into tears!!  I remember trying to take in every detail of the moment... and I'm glad I did, so I can remember it so vividly at times like today.  =)  Of course, we went to the concert and had a blast just living it up on cloud nine!  It's an amazing memory.

I know I posted about the proposal last year when I began blogging but I couldn't resist re-living it yet again.  Tonight we're celebrating our year of happiness (and planning) with a little date night.  I even have a little surprise in store for my future hubby... (I know I can post it now b/c he never reads this unless I leave the page up for him lol)... I picked up his wedding band this week and am planning a little proposal of my own. And guess what... I'm kind of nervous!! Now I understand what he was feeling that day!  Wish me luck, hopefully he says YES.  <3 

Front of our Save-the-Dates

Back of our save-the-dates.

PS. If you haven't visited our wedding website, please do!  Don't forget to sign our guestbook...it always makes us smile! :)     www.theknot.com/ourwedding/kurtsimon&jessikelly

Hello March!

Holy smokes it's already March!  February was a really really busy month but the fact that it's such a short month made it FLY.  We're welcoming March with open arms and holding out all hope that the old saying is true.... "In like a lion out like a lamb".   It better be... I'm sick of this cold crappy weather!  The extra daylight is noticeable now so that's a good sign. :)

On another note - we had a great time here in the 'Loo last weekend (it's already almost the weekend again!!).  Kurt's friend (Seth) Anderson came to visit and we all went to the Miranda Lambert concert on Saturday... she was awesome!!  I know she's coming back this way this summer (to the Mississippi Valley Fair I believe) so if you're able to catch the show - do it!  Justin Moore was the opener and he was really good too -- it was a fun concert!  I always like going to concerts at the McLeod Center because it reminds me of the events/shows that I used to work there.  Plus, you can't beat it because the tickets are affordable and all the seats are great.  We got the cheap-o bleacher seats because I knew you'd have just as good of a view!  Ahhh it feels good to be right. =)

On Sunday, while the boys tinkered with crap in the garage I headed to Cedar Rapids to meet my mom and the bridesmaids!  We all picked out our shoes for the wedding (yay!) and grabbed a bite to eat.  It was great to have some girl time and the more time I spend with them the more excited I get for our wedding!  Everything is really coming together and that is a great feeling.  According to TheKnot's to-do list I am about 1 month ahead of schedule.... Rockin' it, right?

Oh and the biggest development in our plans...  we booked the honeymoon!  We debated long and hard about honeymooning right after the wedding or holding off until Iowa's weather was less desirable.  We opted for the latter -- it just made more sense to us to avoid hurricane season down in the tropics and enjoy what we can of Iowa's summer by planning the trip for November.  We decided to go big (it's big for us anyways!)-- so we're heading to Punta Cana for a 6 night trip the week after Thanksgiving.  Check out our amazing resort..... all-inclusive, adults-only, perfect. =)