WOO-HOO!!!

we got a bagpiper!!!

*i'm so excited, and i just can't hide it*

this is so cool...we got a bagpiper to play at our wedding...he is right around the area of monterey so we don't have to pay any travel costs...SUPER!!! he was very excited to know that i did not want him to play the 'here comes the bride' song...apparently he's not a big fan...

well, anyways...we got a bagpiper!!!

kids say funny things...

right now, i sadly, can only tell you one funny thing that each child has said, but i will always list more...

in the parking lot of disneyland camille said... "Even the parking lot is magical!"

picking up solomon from school one day, he said..."Dad, I wish I was lactose intolerant...then I could drink milk, and get sick and I wouldn't have to go to school."

we burst his pretty little bubble on that one, saying that if he was lactose intolerant and drank milk so he wouldn't have to go to school, we'd be making sure he went to school...

is it just me, or...

does anyone else notice that tv is all the same...it seems they have run out of ideas for shows...to be honest, i could not even begin to mention the names of all the crime scene shows, reality shows, end of the world shows...other than sitcoms, these are practically the only shows on tv...oops, maybe i should even add in lawyer shows...
it's amazing really...and it seems that the more that are coming out, the dumber they get...mainly because it's the exact same as another one, just different cast members...the same exact kind of story line...
i wish i could remember all the names of all these shows so i could list them all and say this one is just like this one, and that one is just like that one...i had a list in my mind a couple of days ago, and i should have written it down, so, maybe i will watch some tv tonight and actually do some listing, but i think you get what i am trying to say, anyways...you could probably think up your own list and it would be accurate...
oh my, i completely forgot about the judge shows...we have judge judy, judge hatchett, judge alex, people's court (which i happen to be a fan of), and there is another one, i just can't remember the guy's name...that's a lot of judge shows, too...

ynotchell said it so well...

we have all been slackers at blogging...let me see what i can write today...
will wants me to look at everything we need to spend money on for the wedding and come up with costs so we know how much we have to have...i have sent out emails to probably 10 bagpipers for quotes...i have looked at average costs of flowers online, i have been looking at cake toppers, airfares...all kinds of wedding stuff...i even called my sister, ynotchell, to help me figure out what i needed to budget for and what she paid for her stuff...
it's been so crazy here lately...we went to a jeweler to get a quote on sizing a ring for camille, we have our flower consultation next thursday, camille wants to be a bridesmaid, and i think that is a brilliant idea...what better wany than to really make her feel like she is a part of this wedding...so, i will need to start looking at dresses for a 13 (by then, 14) and 16 (2 days later she'll be 17), and possibly a 23 yr old...
i did 6 loads of laundry yesterday (approximately) and i am sure there are another 3 loads to go...i have been doing really well at cleaning out the garage...it looks so much better...i still have a ways to go, but the difference can difinitely be seen...will is so proud of me...
will cleaned out the truck yesterday, too...it looks so good...he washed it, inside and out, and vacuumed it out...solomon won his soccer game today...and last week...
all in all, life is pretty darn alright...no complaints...
will and i have been looking at real estate in other parts of the usa...mostly in idaho and other parts of ca...we want to get a bit of a feel for places that we may want to live...it sucks, though, cause i have found some awesome houses that i would love to live in, but i know they won't still be for sale in 2 years when we are actually looking to buy...
i have also decided that the car i want to drive is the honda element...but i won't get that for a couple years probably once we have kids and have more money for that :)
well, that is enough for now...i guess i will write some more later...

well, woo-freakin'-hoo!!! the tiara and veil are there, but the dress is still in transit...no biggie, like i said...i'm not too concerned...but i guess i was wrong...they said it's not actually due there until oct. 1...so, what is that??? another 10- days away...i can handle that. :)

soooooo.....................................
my dress is due in today...i am hesitant to believe that it will actually be there, though...i got the call about the tiara a couple weeks ago and have yet to hear about the veil...which should've been there b4 the dress, at least so i thought...so, maybe it will be there and maybe it won't...but it's not too big of a rush since we did move the wedding back almost a full month of the original date of nov. 5, so, it'll be okay if it is not in today...although, i would be very happy if it did come in today :)

or maybe i want this dog...rhodesian ridgeback...just look at his little face and teeth...he is so adorable...the little wrinkly nose...

maybe i should get both a boxer and an rhodesian ridgeback...i'm sure will wouldn't mind... :)

i want a puppy...

look at this puppy...it is a boxer...isn't he so cute??? i want one just like him so much...
i will show will when he gets home the picture and emphasize how badly i want this dog, but i know it cannot happen until shawnessy dies...sad, but true...she would eat this dog for breakfast...shawny loves her people but she hates other dogs...so, it may be a few years til i get one, but we will be getting 2 dogs together...
another bull terrier and whichever dog i choose...and right now i say, that will be a boxer.

happy day!!!

oh my gosh...what a day this is...i am so happy...
yesterday i was talking to my cousin up in calgary and she told me that my one cousin in toronto, adrian, is engaged to be married this january...and another cousin in calgary, cam, is engaged to be married next june...this is so exciting...weddings all around...
then, i was just talking to my auntie in toronto, sherry, and apparently, another cousin in calgary, amy, is expecting a baby in early december...
this is just thrilling...
well, congratulations to all of you :)

what a day...

every so often i get into a cleaning mood...now i don't mean i will just clean the kitchen...i mean i want to clean everything...i tackle jobs that i could only tackle in this mood...
i decided today was the day i was gonna tackle the garage...now taking into consideration not one thing in that garage is mine, i knew this was gonna be a challenge...but i was in the mood to clean...
i started one box at a time...that lasted for about 2 boxes...big boxes, i might add...
then i noticed that if i wanted to continue on that pattern, i would have to move a lot of stuff around in order to get to boxes...so, for probably the past hour i have moved boxes and furniture so i could at least get stuff organized in there...
i've got, for the most part, all the furniture (bunk beds, dressers, desk, night stands) tucked into the corner and along the wall farthest from the garage door...
some boxes are just too heavy for me to lift so i am bringing contents inside in groups...
i've found all kinds of goodies out there...lots of stuff that we were going to buy i found, so we don't have to buy them...we can even return the x-box cords that we just bought cause i found the cords...woo-hoo!!! i have found dishes, cutlery, bed sheets, bathroom stuff, rice cooker, crock pot...like i said, all kinds of goodies...
i am getting to the point now, though, that i can actually start boxes again...
but before i do that, i am going to organize the stuff that i have brought in here individually...i am going to wash all the sheets and clothes that i found in there...they have, after all, been sitting in the garage for a couple months...i may leave that for monday, though...i am too focused on the cleaning to be worrying about washing my hands to move clean laundry to the dryer and then wash my hands again to fold them...it's just too much for one day...one thing at a time...
well, only about 3 more hours til will gets home, so i think i am gonna grab something to eat and relax for a bit, then i am gonna head back out to the garage and keep going...but, even if all i get done is the organizing today, i will feel i have accomplished something...
i shoulda done a before and after picture...too bad i don't have a camera.

my first time...

i must admit, it wasn't as scary as i had originally thought...maybe cause we didn't actually do what we had set out to do...

we had gone out, me, will, his best friend, Garrisson, his wife, Millie, and their 3 kids to go hunting...

we'd had to go buy me shoes that i could actually go hunting in, had to buy shells, or whatever it is he needs for his gun, we missed the turn to meet Garrisson, so by the time we got out there...it was getting dark...still not used to how early it gets dark here...well, i guess it wasn't too dark, really, it was just too dark to hunt...

we did go out, but we couldn't stay out for long cause it was getting dark quickly, so, unfortunately we did have to turn around...so, we all stood around talking and just hanging out...

Millie and i talked alot about the wedding...we talked about how will guessed his wedding present, so, what i have decided to do, is play it like he is still getting that, but i have changed the gift... :) but he doesn't know that, obviously...it sure is fun, though, pretending he is still getting the originally planned gift...

Millie is coming into town on monday, so we may be able to go get paper for the invitations, but to do that i have to make a list of people to invite...who wants to come???

he took me out last night to go buy a bunch of scrapbooking supplies...it gets kinda crazy boring here during the days sometimes, and since i hate being bored and he doesn't want me to be bored, we bought stuff...i have already done 2 pages today...i am trying to be much more creative, like kari-lynn and nikki, so, i am not accomplishing as much as usual...usually i can pound out 12 pages for every 1 kari-lynn does...so, to say the least, i am very proud of myself...it is fun...

well, gotta go...write more tomorrow.

MONTEREY, CA

so, will and i spent the day in monterey yesterday...our main goal was to go and look at hotels, restaurants, and potential wedding spots...this is what we accomplished...

we got to fisherman's wharf sometime around 11am...we had brought along our bikes so we could cover area faster and avoid the hassle of parking...first, we took our bikes down to the wharf and hung out there for a bit looking at restaurants, but not inquiring about anything, and had some lunch...among the best calm chowder in the world can be found down here...this is am convinced of...after lunch we went on our bikes to cannery row...for those who don't know what cannery row is, it is an old sardine cannery that has been turned into shops, restaurants and hotels...Steinbeck apparently has a book called Cannery Row that is all about this place...it is really neat...

so, while there we took off on foot into restaurant after restaurant, inquiring and getting info on having a reception at their restaurant...we got lots of menu's to take home and look at...we then, after a couple hours, headed back to fisherman's wharf...we drove around pacific grove looking at and getting brochures for restaurants in the area and wedding sites...

we went down by asilomar, a large conference area, and talked to a hotel office there about renting rooms for family and stuff and she was a wealth of information...she was so helpful...

we then headed out to Carmel-by-the-sea...just a few miles south and went to carmel city beach...absolutely beautiful..we walked along the beach and just stood there as waves came crashing to shore and watching...the ocean is so beautiful and i love asking will questions about it...how waves are built and why they crash when they do and why some are bigger than others...he knows something about everything...

i then wanted to go look at spots to take pictures at, but by then it was starting to get dark and we did not know where any of the places were, so we are going to do that in a couple weeks...

we then went back to fisherman's wharf to have dinner...we chose a place called Gilbert's...we had looked at it the first time we were there in the morning, but had figured all restaurants here would be too busy to even consider receptions...as we got in there, though, we figured, "what the heck, let's ask." so, we did...long story short...they do reception there...so, after dinner, which is the best food i have EVER had...we had a look at the banquet room as well as the semi-private room...and we booked our reception there...we are going to go back in a couple weeks to talk over all stuff and decide on menu's and stuff, but it was by far, the favorite place by both of us...

so, we got a wedding location decided upon and a place for the reception.

this is so exciting :)

holy-FREAKING-dang!!!

so...i decided it is time to go to the grocery store and get some more detergent...so, i talk to will, he tells me it should only cost about $6.00 for a small box of detergent...well, a big box is about $13, but he says not to worry about carrying a big box, just get small...so, i head out with a $10 bill and $1.00 worth of change...that way, i can give exact change...good thinker, huh???

so, on my journey i go...jeans, t-shirt and flip-flops...sections of sidewalk are flooded here as per usual from

apartment complexes watering the grass at night, so, i decide to walk in the grass in those areas...yeah, i may as well have walked through the water, it woulda been cleaner that way!!! i don't know how...but i managed to get mud all up my back...good thing i am going to buy detergent...too bad i had already washed whites and darks.

so, i get there...the small box is $10.99...well, it doesn't take a math major to realize that once you add tax, that is more than $11.00...AAARRGHHHHHH!!!!

so, i say to myself, well, i guess it is going on a visa card.

so, up to the register i go...and she rings it in...comes to a total of $10.99, so little miss honest me questions about no tax...well, she doesn't know how to ring in tax, so i am getting it for $10.99 today...NO TAX!!!

well, that is stellar, i tell ya...i got $1.00 in change, after all, so i can give her exact change...so, out comes the change...and all i count is $0.95...so, i apologize and recount...nope, still only $0.95...$0.04-freaking-cents short!!! you gotta be kidding me!!! apparently it takes a math major to count out $1.00 in change, of which i am not.

so yeah, you guessd it...VISA!!!

plus...

i have to unpack all the groceries and go to the store and buy laundry detergent cause i forgot that when shopping...and pack clothes for tomorrow...let's groove, baby!!!

long, but good day...

well, i am anticipating a long, but good day...i've been up since 5...outta bed since 6-something...
i got started on laundry right away...i am expecting 5 loads today...
while all that is happening, i am going to start experimenting with the wedding invites...will took me to michael's and we bought the paper that we like and a glue stick and pop dots and a paper cutter...all kinds of stuff to have fun with, to say the least...
tonight, when he gets home from work, which i hope will be on time, we are gonna head out to monterey and carmel-by-the-sea and look at the beach and some restaurants and parks where we can do pictures and stuff...
has anybody heard of that new show on tv, Prison Break??? well, i love it and i missed it last week and was so sad cause i was doing something and i just realized i am going to miss it again today...i am weeping, wailing and gnashing my teeth now!!! thankfully, i do believe though that they do re-runs on tues, so i should be able to hopefully catch it tomorrow night...
well, i think that is all i will write for now...got stuff to do, but i will see if i can write again before the day is done...toodles!

i never cease to amaze myself...

so, here we go AGAIN!!! changing the wedding date...you know what's funny...i was amazed at how many times my sister changed her date, and i think we are about tied now for the amount of times the date has changed...at least we have a valid reason...
somehow, i don't know how, i am baffled and bewildered, myself...we chose a day that is at the end of his days off, with 5 days on after it...so, to honeymoon, he would have to take the time off work...just before thanksgiving...that is so not happening...
if we were gonna do that, we may as well go back to nov. 5...but you see, the problem is taht we are planning on helping a few people pay for their airline tickets to come, so any money we have is much needed...therefore, taking 5 days off is insanity...so, we have done the unimaginable...we have pushed the date back another two weeks...
it's not all bad, really...it allows me 2 more weeks to plan and keep sane...as well as 1 more paycheque for everybody...
you know what, whenever we get married will be great...as long as we don't start pushing it into next year...
plus, we are gonna head out to monterey and carmel-by-the-sea and look at spots and restaurants and stuff tomorrow after work...it'll be great to start all that going...i need to go see the beach that i have picked to be married at...well, it should be fun...
i gotta go now, but i will see if i have anything mroe exciting to write when i get back...if not, til next time :)

my lucky day...

well, today was my lucky day...i woke up at 4:30 this morning...at about 5, i gave up the thought of being able to fall asleep, so i lay there pretending that if i stopped thinking about falling asleep, that i would fall back asleep...nope, that did not work...so, probably around 5:30 i got up...and wandered around...just before 6 i made a bed on the couch, grabbed a can of pineapples and sat to watch tv...let me tell you, even with cable, there is not much on tv saturday morning...

i settled on amazing police chases...it was pretty cool...my favorite was probably the guy who drove backwards at 70 mph from the police...can you believe it? 70 mph backwards...that's crazy!!! it was pretty darn cool, though...i saw some pretty crazy car chases...

after that i watched amazing animal videos...those were things like the monkey that protected a boy who had fallen into their habitat at the zoo until rescuers could get to him, an elephant that attacked an elephant trainer, a mother cat who took care of a baby squirrel, a male seahorse giving birth to the babies, and a bombadier beetle shooting water from it's behind as a protection instinct thing that is 212 degrees...don't wanna go near that thing, to say the least...

i was hoping to work on some wedding invitation templates today, but i was foolish enough to have dinner ready when will got home last night...if i had really wanted to go to michael's last night, i should have not fed will when he got home...apparently he gets REALLY relaxed after a hot meal and it knocks him out...so, after falling asleep in the couch, and me begging him to take me to michael's, i gave up and realized i would not be going to michael's...so, i may just play around with regular paper...

we got invited out to a picninc, bbq,hang-out kinda thing 2nite by somebody in the ward...should be fun...i think we will take some ketchup chips...get these americans knowing what they are missing by not having them...so far, pretty much everybody who tries them, likes them...

well, i think i am gonna experiment with wedding invitation ideas...

i REALLY love him...

i was laying in bed last night and i got this feeling inside me...i don't know how to describe it other than a mix of absolute love, disbelief, and luck...

i am head of heels in love with will...it's hard to believe i actually found him...and so lucky to have found the perfect man for me...

i just can't even describe how i feel right now...

it seems unreal sometimes that i am lucky enough to marry him and have his love...there are times i just feel like i can't really make him know how much i love him...no words could say it enough, no amounts of balloons or amounts of time i make dinner (or break my toe getting ready)...

does anyone else feel this way or is it just me?

the wedding store called yesterday or the day before, maybe, to let me know my tiara is in...that means my veil and dress will soon follow...i got so excited...i was all happy and excited and grinning and hugging will...i'm just so excited to marry him...

so excited to start my life with him as his wife and step-mother to his children and to always be there...i couldn't imagine my life with a better man...he is perfect for me...and i am so happy.

i couldn't even tell you how many times i have looked at him and said, "marry me, will"...i am so excited and happy...

i want everybody in my family and all of my friends and everybody to see how happy i am...i want everybody at our wedding and everybody at dinner afterwords...i want the whole world to know and see how happy i am...i want the world to know how much i love him...i am somewhere that i never though i would be...

i have found that man who i am going to spend eternity with...we am going to go to the san diego temple in one year to be sealed for all eternity...what could be more exciting???

i am the luckiest girl alive!!!

oops...i forgot...

i forgot to mention that we also had to buy a sash for me on the wedding day...he will be putting his family tartan sash on me just after the ring exchange, kinda as a making me a part of the family...it is gonna be so cool!

what to blog about???

well, will and i went to the highland games this weekend in pleasanton, ca...i have never been before...it was very neat.

we bought lots of stuff...mostly it was for him and his wedding gear...you see, to be married in the traditional scottish apparel, there is A LOT more than just a kilt that needs to be worn...we had to buy shoes (almost $100), a sporran ($120), socks ($25), knife...i can't remember the real name...we got a cheap one, but they get expensive too ($12), belt and buckle ($90)...prince charlie jacket was $400, so we decided to rent that instead ($50)...then you add the kilt he bought last summer ($800)...his wedding attire has now cost more than my wedding dress...or pretty darn close to equivelant, considering we still need a tuxedo shirt and tie.

we got matching t-shirts again...they say "Haggis Hunter" and has a scary scottish man trying to spear a haggis that looks like a creature with hooves, trying to run away...it is hilarious...i also got a t-shirt with the clan maclaren crest on it...

we got to watch a weight throwing competition...highest throw was 17ft high with a 56 lb weight...

we saw a bit of the caber toss, but did not get any pictures unfortunately...i guess there is always next year...

we didn't see any dancing except during the closing ceremonies, some dancers were out...

they had a drum major competition...apparently it wasn't as good as last year...but it was still real cool to watch...

the mass bands at the end were the best...imagine 30 pipe bands all playing at the same time as they walk right in front of you...it was incredible...

it was wonderful to hear amazing grace played, as well, and hear the crowd singing along...it brought me to tears as that is the song that was piped at my grandmother's funeral this past december...it reminds me of her...

all in all, it was a very fun weekend...

after the games, we went to visit will's sister...it was nice to finally meet her...she is so nice...i think we're gonna be good friends...we both have dirt on will, after all..ha ha ha...

sadly, we did not have much time to visit, though...will had to be back for a midnight shift and it was a 2-2.5 hr drive home, so, we did not get to stay longer than an hour, but she will be down in the next couple weekends and we will hang out then...

so, that was my labour day weekend so far...we were thinking of going back up today to his sister's, but we will see...

so, until something else fascinating enough to write about happens,

ADIOS!!!