Wedding Shower

On June 25th, our good friends, the Page family, hosted a "couples" bridal shower for Dave and I. When we had been engaged, Jody immediately expressed that she wanted to host a party for Dave and I. She wanted it to be a couples' shower so that everyone could come and be together. It was mildly stressful for me, because both my parents were coming, plus extended family, plus Dave's family. I began to think of it as a "run-thru" before the actual wedding. Jackie and my mom came up on Thursday before the shower and stayed with Dave and the boys and I. Then we all headed up on Saturday morning for the party!

The first family photo in a VERY long time... I made sure that we got one though.

Dave and I with my Mom and Dad.

Me and my beautiful rehearsal bouquet. I had no idea that this was a thing... but Jody and Aunt Molly brought Jackie a paper plate and with the ribbons from the presents we received that day, her and my friend Ali put this together for me. I LOVE all the colors and can't wait to use it for the rehearsal! (And it's hanging on the wall in our room right now with all the cards we got... including the one from my Dad that made me cry in front of everyone :))

Opening presents. We got the BEST ones! Dave has already made bread with our bread maker (and it was delish!) and we have made waffles every morning this weekend (thanks Dad!) And we have used all the BBQ gadgets that we got too!

Love this photo!

It was so fun! The girls took me out to the bars in downtown Portland after the party... and when we got home around 1am, all the boys were up making waffles and nachos! We had a REALLY good time. I felt so lucky to have so many amazing friends and family that came out. We have the best family and friends EVER... and we are even more excited (if at all possible) for the wedding and having that whole group plus some together again! <3

It was a great break from the stress that has been building up in my system... and after having a nice long chat with my boss about how things were going, I felt reassured and refocused on my duties as a manager. I know it doesn't seem like a big deal... but sometimes it's hard to keep track of everything. Especially after the shower, I can focus back on work and doing my best everyday, instead of worrying about what I need to get done when I get home from work.

Speaking of which... since Jackie has been here, I've put her to work, helping me with the wedding invitations. I won't give anything away but they turned out AMAZING and I can't wait to send them out to everyone (Abby... you're lucky you get to see it before ANYONE else!;))

Happy Independence Day everyone! Jackie and I are headed to the beach! It's supposed to be really nice! Dave and the boys went on a mountain bike ride on the Mckenzie river... so we will see them tonight!