Wedding Updates

Hey gang! A lot has transpired over the last month since I last blogged... since we announced that we were engaged on Sept 5, 2010 we have made a lot of plans for the wedding!!!

Engagement ring/wedding set: selected, stone paid in full...

Date set: July 10, 2011 - my grandmother's birthday in her honor

Location: Evergreen Lake House, Evergreen, CO

Colors: Serene (slate blue), silver with pewter accents

Bridal Party selected: Maid of honor- childhood friend Sasha Trantham

Bridesmaids: Kelly Titchner and Syrina Barnes, Ian's sister and my niece

Jr. Bridesmaid: McKenzie Barnes, my niece

I can't post the Groom's party yet as they have not been asked personally... their names will be posted soon...

We have set up consultations with a florist/decorator and have ideas for our flowers already... Have some awesome ideas for our cake, just need to schedule a consult with the company we like... And have narrowed the caterers down to two already... the hard choice is going to be the photographer, which we have narrowed down to 4... We have found that there are several hotels in the Evergreen/Golden area all of which we need to check into for room rates and etc...

Now we have to find a place to have a reception in Tulsa for the family members that are unable to attend and the friends that we are regretfully unable to invite to the wedding due to financial restraints and occupancy at the location.

I am thrilled that we were able to order our dresses for the girls before the color (serene) was discontinued by David's Bridal... found out the hard way that the color that Ian and I fell in love with was going to be discontinued on Nov.1... I am SO glad that everyone was able to get their dresses ordered in time so we didn't have to change colors!!!!!

Thanks for all the loving support and continue to keep up to date with our wedding plans and adventures here on this blog and also on www.theknot.com couple search either of our names and you will find our webpage on theknot and also our other webpage!!!

One month later

Just one month ago Ian proposed... oh what a month we have had! We have already set our date, assuming that we can get a location for the time that we are looking at, picked our colors (Serene and silver) and know pretty much who we are going to ask to stand up with us during our ceremony! We have bought our invitations/response cards and started looking at wording for those... I've found a dress to wear for the reception and Tulsa party, not to mention on our honeymoon... oh and we have my formal wedding dress and veil already in place... we have had a productive month! At the rate we are moving, we should have just about everything in place before Christmas...

Below are pictures that we had taken in August in Breckenridge, Co... we decided to go with the black & white because the color pictures need to be touched up too much... We hope you enjoy the pictures, these are some of our favorite shots.

A nice family photo... too bad Ian isn't smiling in this one...

Walk along with me... down the long and windy road...

Love this shot!!!

Yet another update on my To-Do list

Back in Feb I had a post 101 Things to do in 1001 Days.

I have a few more updates for this blog... Since I posted I have started several things on my list...

For starters... I'm engaged and planning a wedding... the married part will be completed this upcoming summer... We have closed my storage unit in Oklahoma, as well as painted Kenzie's bedroom and decorated it for her... I even started organizing the room too!!! I opened (and closed) my bank account in Colorado, and am even getting ready to close my other account in Oklahoma that I can't access from out here!

I'm not sure what else I have met on the list... but those are a few of the accomplishments from my list!!!

I said YES!!!

For all my readers that have heart problems, you might want to sit down before you read this post...

You sitting down yet???

Ok good... I'm ENGAGED!!! Saturday night (Sept 4) Ian and I were talking over dinner and he proposed! Well that is the abridged version... the full version goes something like this...

We have been talking about marriage for the past few weeks, not just talking, but like REALLY talking about getting married. From sharing links of rings and discussing where we want to get married and who we will be inviting to colors and dates! So Saturday night, while eating dinner we were talking about our wedding ideas and I (being the emotional one) became all sorts of teary-eyed while talking about things I'd like to have happen and it became a realization that I will be planning my wedding without the assistance (or pressure whichever might have been) of my grandma! One date that we had been considering was my grandma's birthday and after telling Ian why I was teary-eyed he decided that my grandma's birthday was the day we would ultimately tie-the-knot.

So... me being me... I announced that he could propose to me without having a ring, a concept he had apparently never thought of before... then quietly I said, "Just ask me..." to that, Ian turned and...

...took my hands and started saying all the right things then to my amazement, he stopped!!! Just stopped mid-sentence, making me wonder if he was merely joking or not, then he got down on one knee and continued saying all the right things... when he finally asked me if I would marry him my head was buried in his shoulder and I was crying.

So... after talking to my dad the next day, we finally started telling people the good news! It will be "official" once he gives me my ring... until then it is "unofficially official".

More details to follow soon!!!

Picture Update Summer 2010

Many of my friends do Wordless Wednesday blogs... however, it has been so long since I have posted pictures that words are needed... These are pictures from Mother's Day 2010 in Tulsa with my mom and the puppies through my summer trip home June-July...

Mother's Day Puppy Playtime... Kodi figured out that she could stand on Zoe's leash (something she has done since she was very little) but she added the concept of grabbing the middle of the leash with her mouth and pulling Zoe to her!!! One way of making another dog stay and play with you! (Kodi is my black dog and Zoe is mom's silkie)

June 2010 - Me and the girls at the Missouri state capitol in Jefferson City. Kenzie wasn't too thrilled to be going here so she was pouting with the best of them!

Annual pictures on the diving board at Ana's house. I could go through my pictures and find the three girls on the diving board since Ana and Kenzie were about 2 years old! My how they have grown and become such beautiful young ladies.

Me with Ana and Kenzie, yet another picture that I could go back through the archives and find dozens of previous years!!

Kenzie and Ana. These two remind me so much of Ana's cousin Jami and me growing up! See each other once a month or so but always the closest of friends!!! (Even today Jami is one of my closest friends!!!!)

Friends Forever... something we declared in 1989/90... who would have thought that we would still be friends 21 years after we met in elementary school at Bell...

Me and my precious nephew Dewayne. He is a very special young boy that is overcoming so many obstacles in his life!!! I love him so much and wish that I could spend more time with him and his mommy!!

Fourth of July with my "Soul Sister" and nephew! Another of my best friends... we met at Booker T in the band... and the rest is history as they say!!!

Me with Syrina and Kenzie after the tour at Blue Bell...

And speaking of Ana's cousin Jami... here she is with her daughter Rylee, son Jace and Ana after our tour!!!

Darby 1996-2010

(Pictures to be posted sooner than later)

What a month this has been for me... My dad and I loaded up all my stuff from storage in OK, said goodbye to my nieces, mom and all our dogs... little did we know we were saying goodbye to our dog Darby for the last time...

We got Darby when we went to Montana in 1996 as a playmate for our dog Luke, who was getting old (he passed away 2 years later). We drove all the way from Kalispell, Mt to Darby, Mt to look at this puppy that we "might get..." Yea... mom was DETERMINED to get a dog "from the mountains" while on this vacation!! So needless to say, Dad and I had already named the unseen dog, Damned Dog from Darby, or just Darby for short. We bought the puppy, who proceeded to be carsick from the moment we put her in the car until we got home 2 weeks later.

She turned out to be the sweetest, docile dog ever! She played with Syrina when she was merely 2 years old and never once knocked her over! She played with Kenzie when she was a toddler... she was a great dog!

Well after 14 years of life with my family, darby went on to be with Luke on Thursday, July 22. Kenzie was crushed as you would imagine... our neighbor took care of the burial for us as dad was in CO with me and mom had left for work... he made it look like a real grave and even added a "headstone" from our field. The girls wanted to get a marker for Darby so that they can visit her grave, so mom being a good grammy took the girls to Michael's/Hobby Lobby and bought a cement steppin stone kit to make a stone in her honor.

Kenzie is dealing with the loss of Darby very slowly. Mom said that she went out to the grave to put flowers out there on Thursday and went twice on Friday... made the memorial stone on Friday as well... now to make a memory frame...

Thank You Note

Some of my friends post pictures without words on Wednesdays... I couldn't wait until Wednesday as I will be unloading my stuff into my new home in Westminster, CO... so...

Rest in Peace Sweet Angel

Today we celebrate the short life of Zoe, a student that I had the honor to work with this past year. Zoe's mom had been told that Zoe probably wouldn't live a month after she was born, and yet this January we celebrated her 8th birthday... She passed away in her sleep sometime in the night of July 10 and morning of July 11.

When I first read her background, my initial thought was honestly, what can I do to help her?? But she helped me more than I could have ever helped her. Her and her mom... Her mom is a wonderful lady, full of ideas that can help any student, regardless of their abilities. I had loads of ideas of how we could address the needs of Zoe, but no ideas as to how to implement the ideas. Our amazing OT came in and created a program for Zoe and implemented a lot of the ideas that I had!

Zoe couldn't talk using full words, but she could vocalize... you knew when she was happy by her squeals and her smile... when she was in pain by her facial expressions and when she was comfortable. We worked on using various vowel sounds and using a switch to control a toy...

I will never forget the lessons that I learned from this little girl... how every student in her class was touched by her presence... those students in her class learned how to love and respect a person with disabilities.

I have always been told that I will have the misfortune of seeing my students/patients/clients pass away, but I never thought it would be 6 years into my career. Although I am sadden beyond words, I am comforted knowing that Zoe will not suffer any more and that she is in a better place... it is also comforting to know that her precious mom will be able to continue to show her love for children with disabilities and keep Zoe's memory alive.

I can only hope that right now, Zoe is in heaven chatting some angels ear off and running and playing like she couldn't do here on Earth. She will definitely be missed by everyone that knew her!

New starts...

As some of you know, I have had a really rough year this year with my job and politics. From my viewpoint, all the teachers that I have worked with have liked working with me and if they have had concerns, have come to me... however... from my supervisors viewpoint (in her office away from the district) I am a very different creature than what I think of myself and others think of me... This year I have been told that I am unprofessional, I don't work well with others, I am difficult to work with on a team, I don't understand my role as a SLP in the school setting or my job in general, I don't communicate well with others or follow outside advice when working with students to name a few.

After shedding more tears than I care to count and drinking more bottles of rum than I should have, I am ending my career with Mtn BOCES and am moving on... on Friday, May 28 I was offered a SLP position in Westminster at a school that is 2 years old. This school has a very strong special education TEAM (yes I said TEAM) with programs for children with autism (programs being language, social skills, and pragmatics to name some), a mild-moderate program and a severe needs program. I am extremely excited about being part of a team that functions as just that, a TEAM. A TEAM that works TOGETHER to diagnose a child rather than as individual pieces and one person makes the final decision... a TEAM that writes collaborative goals and teaches together!!!

My new principal sounds very nice and she is excited to have me on her team next year. Now the search is on to find a place to live and to figure out when Ian and my babygirl Kodi will be joining me!!!

Thank you for your thoughts, prayers and continued support this past year. I don't regret moving to Colorado for a minute and honestly I wouldn't change a thing that I did this year either. I did my best to work with the team at all my buildings and to collaborate and co-plan with other professionals. From what I have been told, and what I have read in the letters of recommendation that I have received from teachers, I collaborated, supported and communicated with the team more than some of my other counter-parts.

I'm moving on...

Update on 101 Things in 1001 Days...

First let me start by saying, I did the math wrong when I first tried to figure out my end date for this project... somehow I managed to do 1101 days NOT 1001... so...

Start date: Feb 10, 2010

End date: Nov 5, 2012

Progress on my goals... 93 days later...

Life:

3) Train Kodi to stay, heel and COME when commanded -- waits and comes most of the time

4) Do laundry weekly, fold and put away after finished --started bi-weekly, but putting all away...

5) Keep house cleaner- vacuum, dust, clean rooms weekly -- started and improving

8) Have ONE night during the week for a DATE night -- improving

Organization:

11) File statements and receipts monthly -- March & April...

13) Paint bedroom in OK for Kenz -- walls painted, design left

15) Decorate room in OK for Kenz -- plan in mind... need to paint

Technology:

22) Update blog at least once a month... -- so far so good...

23) Read Nikon camera user's guide -- started half way finished

Relationships:

No progress made in this area :(

Health

34) Drink only one soda/day -- almost there...

37) Compete in a 5K run -- Full Moon 2010 43:23!!!!

40) Try 15 new recipes -- lasagna, cheesy noodle bake, chicken fried steak, fried chicken, fried chicken fingers/tenders

Career:

42) Organize Autism info into one file --started Feb 2010

44) Organize Personal Library Index of books --started March 2010

Education:

No progress towards goals... BUT... 2.5 grad hours completed through Adams State University

Adventures

No progress but will start working on it this month!!!

Travel

62) Organize information (type up) for travel notebook -- started Feb 2010

67) Go on 5 roadtrips with Ian (Ok does NOT count) --1/5 Estes Park

Hobbies

68) Read 100 books --10/100

69) Learn to knit --started 02/10 knit, purl, some basic combo stitches

70) Knit something functional --"coin purse" 02/10, pot holder 03/10

Photography/Scrap Projects

No progress towards projects...

Other

98) Open savings account in Co -- opened 02/10

Full Moon Follow Up...

After going for ONE "training" walk/jog while in Colorado before heading home for a week and the Full Moon 5K I set off to try to accomplish a very amazing feat, at least for me... 5K in 45 minutes or less... Jason (stupidly) agreed to do the 5K with me and Val on the pretense that I didn't leave him behind... well... I left him behind... but not too far behind... I managed to jog about 75% of the first kilometer... walked most of the second, jogged part of the third... most of the fourth and the last quarter mile of the 5th... my official time was...

DRUM ROLL please... 43:23...

I will post other pictures after I send them from my phone to my computer...

Oh and Jason wasn't too bad of sport about me leaving him behind... he finished 48:50 or something like that... Val finished 38:24 or something like that... not bad for our first times!!! After the run, we (Jace and I) went to Zio's for dinner and Sangria's and back to my parents house to pass out!!!

What a day! What a run!!! My next 5K I hope to run more and be faster than 40 minutes...

Full Moon 5K...

I should preface this blog with a note saying, that although I had said that I wanted to complete a 5K iin the next 1001 days, I didn't necessarily mean in the next 90 days... my goal is to be able to RUN the entire 5K...

Last night, Ian and I get a text from Val asking us what we were doing on May 8... we both were dumbfounded and told her we didn't know... so... she follows up with a text asking us if we wanted to run (yes she said RUN) the Full Moon 5K with her on May 8... Ian immediately replied with "HA!" in a text (and outloud) as I started to laugh and said, "You gotta be kidding right?" (You see, the last time I did any long distance walk/jogging was probably over a year ago...) And no, she wasn't kidding... and after talking to her on the phone I decided I do walk/jog the Full Moon 5K while I am home next week.

So... since dinner was setting up (I made homemade lasagna) and I had some time to kill I went for a little walk/jog... I went 2.4 miles (about .5 of that was jogging) in just about 37 minutes... not too bad considering that a 5K is only 3.2 miles... so... my goal is going to be completing the 5K in 45 minutes...

Yea... we shall see... my legs aren't as sore as I thought they would be... yet... but... my knee is throbbing!!!! Hmmm....

Wish me luck!

He loves me! He really does!

So the past few weeks have not been the easiest for me, professionally... I am not going to go into details on here, at least not yet. But needless to say, things have been rough for me. Throughout this entire process, Ian has been amazing and incredibly supportive of me and my career, regardless of where it might take me! I know that he loves me and that he doesn't like what is going on or the idea of me moving somewhere away from him, even briefly. In some ways, this unfortunate situation is actually bringing us closer together.

Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers as I continue this path in my life. Things are uncertain, but I am certain that I will overcome this situation and will be a better professional because of it!

I will keep you updated on this topic as things transpire...

On a different note, I have taken up a new hobby... knitting... I have officially finished a 8x8 potholder for my grandmother in what I think is the "seed" stitch, but I could be wrong... it is an interesting pattern... I still have so much to learn, I hope that when I go home in 2 weeks that Ian's mom will give me some lessons!!!!

Oh, you didn't know I am coming home?? Yea... Kelly (Ian's sister) is graduating from OSU with her Masters degree in Geography. She is amazing! She is graduating with the highest honors possible!!! (I can't remember if that is cuma sum laude or magna cum laude.) So I am flying home to spend the weekend and first half of the week with my family and Ian is going to be joining me via roadtrip with the puppy to celebrate with Kelly in her success!!!

Since time is short, more than likely we won't be able to catch up with many people... however, I will be back in June to spend most of the month at home and possibly July... kinda gotta wait to see how things play out!!!

But all in all... HE LOVES ME!!!

Denver Aquarium

During Spring Break, Ian and I decided to skip town and head to Denver for the night. We made arrangements for Kodi to go to a local boarding/training facility and off we went!

We made it to Denver with very little to report, other than stopping to get gas in Edwards and finding out in Denver that the gas cap was dangling out the side of the door... just 100 miles later... Our hotel was pretty cool and in a great location! We were literally next door to Invesco Field and across the highway from Elitch Gardens and the Downtown Aquarium. We had an amazing view of downtown and the roller coasters from our room!!! The hotel, by any means, was not a 5 star, but it was cute and had character. For starters, it was circular, with a restaurant/bar on the top floor!!!

Wednesday afternoon we decided to visit the Denver Downtown Aquarium. Here are some of the pictures that I was able to take before my battery died in my camera! I will post more once Ian uploads his pictures...

Outside the aquarium... the underwater adventure begins!

I couldn't help myself when I realized that Ian was going to have too much fun taking pictures in the aquarium! At least he was able to play with his camera, something he hasn't been able to do for a while!!!

I was able to hold my camera just above the glass to get this little guy sticking his head out of the water to say hello!

My seahorse. I thought it looked so pretty in the red stuff!!!

Ian standing under the "dinosaur" remains...

The usual hold the camera out and take our own picture routine...

Ok so I started to (as Ian would say) "dork out" on the starfish! There were so many colors and sizes and some looked like they were bumpy while others looked fluffy and others still another texture! This one was a medium sized one in the massive tank.

These guys were sooo pretty! I don't think that the camera did them justice!!! The red was almost crimson and the blue, oh my goodness... it was a deep blue!!!

Ian under the bubble in one of the tanks... he's a goof!!! But I love him!!!

My 30th Birthday... in pictures...

For my birthday... I went to a 3 day conference in Denver... yes, I chose to go to a conference Thursday - Saturday, the weekend of my birthday... Ian rescued me from the conference in a snow storm on Saturday and swept me off to Boulder for Saturday night. We went to Olive Garden, one of my (former) favorite Italian restaurants for dinner. Then we went back to our hotel to hang out and relax for the rest of the evening...

Valentine's day found us leaving Boulder and driving to Estes Park for a romantic day/night in a neat condo/suite. Estes Park was really cool, I want to go back soon!!! Ian took the time to stop in Breckenridge on his way to meet me in Denver to get my Valentine's Day gifts... I got the most awesome sock monkey hat and glove set!!! (Pictures to follow soon).

Before leaving Estes Park on my birthday, we stopped and had old time pictures taken!!! I will scan them and post them once we have my scanner/printer set up in our new and improved office!

Jeri, me and Traci at Bella Mia's for dinner! I love my teacher friends!!!

Tracey 2 and Traci 1... the BEST preschool teacher/therapist team EVER!!!

Jeri and Traci! So cute!!! Gotta love my 3rd grade and pk teacher friends!

Traci toasting the group. She looks so pretty in her dress!!!!

Berkeley and Russell. I love my new cousins! They are great!!!

Me and Ian... Too cute!!!! I love him!!!

Christmas 2009 in photos...

So... finally... I am uploading pictures from Christmas... I didn't take as many pictures at Christmas as I would normally, but with two sick kids and being drug in at least 5 directions at one time... not to mention a freak blizzard on Christmas Eve to top off the holiday week at home!

Ian playing with my new camera on our drive home from Colorado. He (and I) thought the sunset looked pretty neat in the mirror.

McKenzie on her way to the doctor... Kodi though that her lap looked like a good pillow to rest her head!!!

Ian and I were able to go see Ana in "A Christmas Carol" at the PAC. This was her first theatrical production!!! She had to choose between "A Nutcracker" and "A Christmas Carol." I was so proud of her! When she came out on stage and saw me I had tears in my eyes! I couldn't believe my little Ana was so grown up!!!

This school year, McKenzie decided to take up playing the violin! I still need to upload the videos of her playing! She is so intent on being perfect and playing the songs the best she can!!!

Christmas Eve at my parents house! Of course I am wearing the Santa's helper hat...

While Kenz wears the reindeer antlers! She has always liked the antlers!!!

Since 2000, we have taken pictures on the stairs, in front of the tree and in front of the fireplace... this year, since both Syrina and Kenzie were sick, we didn't get our complete photo session, but I did manage to get these few shots before we all left the house!

Me and Kenzie... We have had this particular pose taken since she was 1 year old!

Me and the sickly Syrina! Teenagers... what can I say?

A better picture of me and Syrina. We didn't get to have the hugging picture we have liked the past few years... or wear the shirts that we picked out... grrr on being sick!

Me and my precious girls!!!! They are stinkers!!! But I wouldn't trade them for a minute!!!

Kenzie Ann being a stinker! We thought the picture was kinda funny with her trying to escape my hug!

So mature... 15 and going on 30...

I had to get ONE picture of us on Christmas!!! Blizzard or not... I gotta have my pictures!!

Kenzie's birthday! She likes her bear hat I bought her in Breckenridge!!! She prefers to wear the hat over all of her other hats and hoods!!!

HOME sweet HOME!!! After a two day drive, we finally made it back to our apartment! Kodi wasn't quite as cooperative when we tried to take a family photo... go figure right?