Meinders Wedding, HyVee Triathlon, Father's Day, New Tractor, and a Fiesta!!

Ok ok...I promise I'll get better about this!!

Meinders Wedding - June 12, 2010

I took off on Friday for Jared and Sandy's wedding in Kansas City with the family. Tyson couldn't make it, after we realized at the last minute that the date we THOUGHT the HyVee Triathlon was on....was actually wrong. We had planned on it being June 5. Oops! The race was actually on June 13. :) Anyway, the weekend was great nonetheless. I got to see my family and couldn't have been happier to help the new Mr. and Mrs. Meinders celebrate on their special day!!

Ava looks totally out of it...but she was just mid-blink :)

Siblings

Sisters

HyVee Triathlon - June 13, 2010
Tyson competed in the HyVee Triathlon in Des Moines this weekend as well. The race was originally supposed to be an Olympic Distance race, but with storms rolling in, the race was cut in half to a Sprint Distance the morning of the race. Although this was a little disappointing because he was definitely prepared for the longer race, he still PR'd his Sprint time by 4 min!! What a stud! :) Tyson also got to see and spend time with a friend from grad school, Kyle and his wife Kim. They live in Arizona now so it's been several years since they've been able to spend time together! Kyle is originally from Iowa and when they were in grad school Tyson used to make fun of Kyle for being from here and how there was nothing to do in Iowa, etc. Well....looks like someone has changed his perspective. :)

Father's Day - June 20, 2010
After working in the morning, Darren, Wendy, Ava, and Sophie picked us up and we headed to Dumont to spend Father's Day with my parents, brother, and grandpa. Although my parents have a gas grill, my mom had mentioned that my dad really wanted a charcoal grill again like they used to have. We decided this would be a perfect Father's Day gift for my dad. Tyson and I picked it up on Friday in between storms and brought it along on Sunday. When we got to my parents, Tyson and Josh made it their mission to get it put together so my dad could use it to grill supper!

Focused!!

It's starting to look more like a grill!!

Sophie and I

New Lawn Tractor - June 23, 2010
So, after it rained for a week straight, our lawn was in serious need of a cut! However, Tyson and I both knew our push mower was going to struggle through it. Anyway, I set out to mow and it was just ridiculous. The grass was way too long and it took me about twice as long to get through it all. The best part....when I was done, it still looked bad because of all the chopped up grass! This must have been the last straw for Tyson because two days later he was shopping for a lawn "tractor". He found one, purchased it, and it was supposed to arrive on Tuesday. He was all ready to see his new baby!! Sadly, it didn't actually arrive until Wednesday. BUT...Wednesday night, there he was, mowing the lawn. And then he mowed again Thursday (I think), and Sunday as well!! Hahaha!! I must admit, this is going to make mowing so much easier! I haven't used it yet, but hopefully I will soon.

Couple's Shower....Mexican Style - June 26, 2010
Wendy planned a couple's shower for Tyson and I on Saturday night! With the help of my bridesmaids and mom, she threw a GREAT fiesta!! We had a blast!! Nothing beats margaritas (beer for Tyson), tacos, chips & salsa, gifts, and friends/family!!!
When all the guests arrived, Wendy began with the games. The first one we played was to have Tyson blindfolded and feel some of the women's (and Adam's) legs to figure out which pair of legs were mine. However, he didn't get it right!
Then we played The Newlywed Game. The 3 couples were us, Carl & Alissa Ericson, and Adam & Robin Foster. We were each asked 7 questions. Sadly, Tyson and I were the losing couple. The Ericson's won with a whopping 11 pts, followed by the Foster's 10 pts. We came in last with 6 lousy pts! However, I will proudly say that I got Tyson's first vehicle right, as well as his least favorite bill....TAXES!! After the games, we enjoyed some mexican food and drinks, then opened gifts from our wonderful guests, and enjoyed our time with everyone!

I cannot wait to marry this guy! <3

Me with 3 of my 4 bridesmaids! I love these girls!

Wendy and Darren showing how authentic they are!


Tyson and Alissa

Memorial Day weekend

I'm a little behind on my blogging! I told Tyson that he was more than welcome to update this....but he hasn't taken me up on that yet! :)

Over Memorial Day weekend, Tyson decided to take a much needed few days off work. Usually he works on Saturdays and holidays, but he took off Saturday through Monday! Too bad I had to work all weekend, so we didn't really get to enjoy the extended weekend together. However, Tyson kept busy with some projects! Even though we're a family of two, we have 5 bikes (only 1 is mine). We needed some storage in the garage and Tyson decided to prove me wrong and use the "man tools" he bought a few months ago! He said that I told him he didn't know how to use them....but I don't recall this conversation. Either way, after a morning trip to Ace Hardware to get supplies, Tyson spent the afternoon creating 4 bike racks and 2 golf bag racks.

You might be wondering why he only make 4 bike racks when I mentioned that we have 5 bikes. "Spinderella", which is Tyson's triathlon bike, has a spot where she sits in the office inside the house. :)

Never again will I say that Tyson isn't handy :) Anyone need some projects done? I'm sure he's itching to use those man tools again!

Two of the four bikes!

I tried to get all of them in here.

Golf bag racks.

Invitations

Well, we got all of the invitations mailed out on Tuesday morning! Some of you might already have yours by now. It was such a relief to get those off our hands. Now Tyson thinks he's done with everything until July 22....why do I feel like there are still a million things to get done?! :)

My dress has been in since April, but I'll start dress fittings probably sometime next week or the week after. My bridesmaids' dresses should be arriving soon as well! It looks like everything is coming together and starting to be a little more real. I just can't wait to get that first RSVP in the mail!!!

Goodbye invitations!!

**Check out my previous post! I posted some pictures of the tv! **

50" of Visual Stimulation

We finally ordered a wall mount for our tv! We bought it on amazon.com...highly recommended if you want to save some money. Our neighbor/friend Josh came over (with his 5 year old son and one of his 3 year old daughters) so help Tyson hang the mount and tv on Tuesday night. It only took about an hour for everything to get up and be hanging straight. The bonus part: it's still hanging and it's now Friday night!!! Tyson and I also moved our couch against the wall so now the living room looks about twice as big as it did before!! I'll post some pictures later of how the "new" living room looks. We're definitely loving this set up SO much better than before.

Food Tasting, Vole Killing, and Strep Throat

After following numerous blogs, we decided that we would create our own. We thought this would be a great way to keep our families up to date on our wedding plans and the days leading up to the BIG DAY.

On Friday, we went to Centennial Oaks and taste tested three different entrees and two different starch items. We also took a tour of where the ceremony will be held outside and what the reception area will look like. Tyson was unable to go when we chose Centennial Oaks as our venue, but trusted my opinion enough that he agreed to it way back in October. I'm pretty sure he's happy with our choice! After answering question after question about the reception and ceremony, we headed back home to do a little golfing. Tyson got his 2nd birdie of the year (and only his 2nd time golfing this year as well)! :) After golfing, we got ice cream and headed home.

On Saturday morning, we were supposed to be going to our third pre-marital counseling session, but I woke up with a fever of 101 and spent the rest of the day in bed. Luckily we were dog sitting for Sophie, my sister and brother in-laws dog, and she kept me company all day. Sunday was spent the same way. Tyson was busy on Sunday though! He mowed the lawn, helped my dad with my car, and even killed 4 voles that have been digging up our lawn all winter long. What a man! ;)

Finally today I went to the doctor and tested positive for strep throat. This is precisely why I needed to start this blog. I needed something to do today without infecting anyone and to keep myself busy!

As far as wedding planning goes, we received our invitations in the mail last week and I had them all addressed the same night! Now we just need to print our invitations inserts and they'll be off in the mail! Look for them soon!