Bridesmaids...

Well, it has been a while since I last posted something, but we are just now starting to get some things set in stone!!!  I have had my bridesmaids picked out for sometime and was trying to think of a clever way to ask them, especially since 2 of them don't live here.  So, after a few days of searching I found the perfect cards to send to them from Greeting Card Universe.  The front was a black and white picture of a pair of shoes and the inside read:

I have to find the perfect shoes,

I already found the perfect groom!

I have to find the perfect dress,

the perfect flowers...what a mess!

One thing I know is true,

my day wouldn't be the same without you!

I would be so blessed if you would be my bridesmaid!

So, I got them in the mail and then sent out three of them and hand delivered the other three.  My six bridesmaids are Megan Harp the MOH (my cousin that I love to death, we have pretty much been inseperable since she was born and I was 6 months old), Kristin Harp (my younger sister who is awesome eventhough she thinks I am going to be a bridezilla...so not true), Meggie White (one of my best friends/ADPi sisters/old roomate who lives in Dallas now), Barbie Rawson (one of my dear friends/ADPi sisters/old roomate who lives in Houston now), Meredith Brown (one of my good friends/ADPi sisters/old roomate...she is the first person I really met in Fayetteville on our bid day), and Kelly Parker (a great friend to both Michael and I/ADPi sisters...she acts as our photographer when we hang out).  I will post pictures and more info about all of them later.  Now, you might be wondering about the groomsmen...well Michael has the 6 of them picked out, but he hasn't asked them yet.  He says he is going to take them to dinner or just ask them one day while hanging out...but we will see!!

My Ring & HandyWomen

So...Friday I finally got my ring back.  It is so nice to have it on my finger and to know everything that it symbolizes and means.  I have caught myself several times just sitting and staring at it...I love knowing that it is mine!!! Well this weekend was a very productive weekend for me, except not productive wedding planning.  Since Michael was a Rho Chi this year for boys recruitment, he was busy doing that Friday and Saturday.  So Megan and I had a homework/project party on Friday night.  She worked on her MAT papers and lesson plans which by the way her little kindergartners are going to know a lot about apples, while I worked on a project for my Childrens Literacy class.  We listened to music on Pandora Radio and talked about lots of fun wedding ideas and plans that we have for her wedding and mine!!!  It is so fun living with her because we are pretty much the same and always have fun together...it has been like that since birth!!  Saturday, we woke up and began working on our projects again, but soon decided to take a break to do somethings around the house that we have been needing to do.  First, we spray painted an old mirror that my mom was going to give to Goodwill, but I snatched it up and we bought some spray paint and it looks awesome hanging in our laundry room/entrance to our garage.  I think it will look great in mine and Michael's home one day (weird to think about).  Next, we had to go to Walmart to buy an air filter and then to Home Depot.  So on our back patio we have a pipe thing that drips water when our air conditioner is on and well it has kind of created a mold infestation...gross yes I know!!  So our dad's told us that we just needed to buy some PVC pipe and make a long pipe so it will flow into the grass. Sounds easy right...well I guess when we walked into Home Depot they spotted us as a couple of girls that had no idea what they were doing, which was pretty much correct.  So we had a guy help us figure out what we needed to buy and he cut our PVC for us..which is super cheap!!  We decided that we should grab lunch before heading home.  When we got home, we started our project and well the first pipe that we connected  didn't get put in straight and we still had a drip issue...so after calling both our dads that pretty much told us that we had no idea what we were doing...we were determined to make it work.  So we finished making our pipe contraption and then had to head to Lowes to get some kind of sealent and well of course they again could tell we had no idea what we were doing.  So we got some epoxy and figured out that we should have turned the air conditioner off before even beginning our project...so we put the epoxy on and it was still dripping. We now were very frustrated because it seemed like everything we did wasn't working so we finished the epoxy, cleaned up our mess and decided to leave it to see what would happen.  So that took from about 12:30 to 5:30 and we were worn out!!!  We cleaned ourselves up and worked on our homework again. We still aren't sure if it is going to work or not because it has been raining on and off since last night.  Our dad's said they could fix it for us if it didn't work...we aren't sure why they didn't offer to do it for us in the beginning but we both decided that it was a fun adventure and we know what we did wrong so next time (hopefully there is never a next time) but we will know what to do.  This has been a somewhat lazy weekend, which was really nice because school was really starting to get to me.  Hopefully next weekend I will be able to get some wedding planning done.  My goal is to have a reception site and a photographer by the first couple of weeks in October.  OH and I almost completely forgot...my little brother bear, Trevor participated in rush this year and today he got his bid to PHI GAMMA DELTA!!!!  He's a FIJI just like my dad and uncle (Megan's dad)!!!  He is so excited and I am excited for him, I know he is going to have an awesome time. AHH my brother bear is growing up...brings a tear to the eye :) 

Love at the County Fair

So last Thursday I was sitting in class and I recieved a text message from Michael saying "Call Jordan Nutt ASAP about taking pictures!!"  I was like what?? I had no idea what he was talking about, but then Jordan sent me a text saying her friend works with a local photographer and they are looking for engaged couples to take pictures of and she had given them mine and Michael's name, she said the photo shoot would be that night and they would pick the couple around 1:30 that day. I was like ummmm heck yes please sign us up!!!  So around 1:40 Jordan sent me a message saying we were in!!!  I was so excited because I didn't know what to expect.  She told me to wear something fun and flirty and for Michael to wear a button down and jeans....so for the rest of the day I was freaking out about what to wear, not to mention that I didn't even have my ring (it is being sized).  After eating dinner with my Nana and Pops, which is a weekly deal we ran home to get ready.  I ended up trying on several things and borrowed a fun skirt from my roomie Jamie. Michael picked me up and we drove to the meeting spot.  The shoot wasn't untill 8:30, it was dark, and we had no idea where we would be going.  Then Dale and Lauren pulled up and we found out that we would be going to the Washington County Fair..I was so excited because I knew the pictures would be awesome!!  We walked around the fair taking pictures, played games, walked through the mirror house, ate cotton candy, and rode the ferris wheel.  It was like we were on a date, but better because we had people taking our picture!!! Dale and Lauren were awesome and we had the best time ever!!!!  You can check out Dale's Blog...Benfield Photography Here are a few of our favorite pictures from the night!!!

Guest List....

Who knew that we know so many people!!!  We have begun putting a preliminary guest list together just to get an idea of numbers so that we can pick out reception sites.  Well, so far the first and only place I have found that I really loved is too small, GHETTO!!!!  I guess the search is still on, I know we have plenty of time but I would just feel better about things if we could get the major things booked and out of the way....especially since I am taking 18 hours this semester.  Who would have ever guessed that looking at wedding stuff is way more fun than doing homework and projects.  Just kidding, I am getting my stuff done, but wow there is soooooo much to look at and think about and take into consideration when planning a wedding. Can't wait till Friday when I finally get my ring back!!! Oh and there should be some fun pictures posted soon....story to follow when they are put up yay!!!

THE DATE.....

Well, since I have always imagined having a fall wedding we have been doing lots of research this week to see if we could get our hands on a copy of the RAZORBACK football schedule for next year.  I knew that by having a fall wedding I would run into this issue, becuase I do believe if there was a home game that I would most likely be walking down the aisle by myself and there would have to be a stand in groom or we would be having a ceremony while tailgating.  Well the University of Arkansas athletic department has sealed lips and "no one knows" haha I find that funny considering contracts are made for every 5 years.  Anyways, Michael looked at the schedules from the past 10 years and he has concluded that NOVEMBER 6, 2010 will be the South Carolina game...in Columbia.  Therefore, it looks like we will become Mr. and Mrs. on NOVEMBER 6, 2010!!!  It is so nice knowing that I now have a deadline and can begin to book a reception site, photographer, and so on!!!!  Here is a picture of Michael and I from a game last season....

The Video

Here is the video of the proposal!!!

THE PROPOSAL

So here's the story.....Michael and I have been dating for almost 2 years and have talked about marriage, especially since my cousin and MOH got engaged last February.  However, I never expected to get engaged this soon!!!  He will be done with school in December and I will be done in May, so I honestly thought it would be sometime this coming summer...but oh did he surprise me!!!  On Sunday, August 30 he told me that we were going to be going to dinner with some of our friends, Bryan Speed and Heather Gray.  He dropped me off at my house so I could get ready, he told me he had to go to the library to print some things off for his Monday class.  I went ahead and got ready and around 6:40ish Michael and Dickson (our 9month West Highland Terrier) came back to pick me up.  Michael took a corner a little fast so I went to reach for Dickson's collar and he didn't have it on, Michael said that he took it off to loosen it up a bit.  We got to Michael's house and Dickson and I began to watch tv and Michael was on his computer.  About 6:50ish Michael went to the bathroom and recieved a "phone call" from Speed.  He said he was going to be later than expected so they wouldn't be there to pick us up till 7:30.  Well I was like uggghh I am so hungry, Michael then asked me to go on a walk, I said no!!  He then told me we need to take Dickson since he is going to be put in his room while we go to dinner, I then said yes.  We usually turn left from his apt to walk down a a trial, but Michael said we were going right...I was confused.  As we were walking I noticed Dickson's collar was hanging lower to the ground than it normally does and Michael said he just made it a little looser than normal.  Soon Michael said his foot was hurting (he has had foot surgery) and I said well lets just turn around and head back to your apt.  he said no, that they always rest on some rocks up ahead...I told him that was weird!!  So we get to the rocks and Michael asked me if I wanted to sit down, I said no...I don't need to rest.  Then Michael told me he had gotten Dickson a new tag and said I should read it, it took me a bit to get Dickson to cooperate and I bent over to read his tag and I saw 8/30/09 I was so confused, but I looked through my legs and Michael was down on one knee...I turned around letting go of Dickson and said WHAT!?! and starting hugging Michael.  The other side of the tag said Will You Marry Me Natalie?  Needless to say I was surprised, and then he proceeded to tell me that he had filmed the whole thing!!!  I then asked if we were still going to dinner because I was hungry he said yes and we walked back to his apt.  When we got there he unlocked the door and when we walked in both of our families and some of our closest friends were there waiting on us!!!  I screamed, let go of Dickson and ran out the door, when I walked back in I was crying.  I proceeded to tell the story, we ate, got PRESENTS, and had a delicious cake from Ricks Bakery.  It was one of the best nights of my life!!!  I am such a lucky girl to have found the man that I am going to spend the rest of my life with!!!