Happy July 4th/Flash Flood

Today was a pretty good day for a holiday even though I spent pretty much the entire time studying. But nevertheless I did go outside to enjoy the beautiful weather and play with the twins in the pool. We were all just hanging out in the nice weather and then all of a sudden, out of nowhere came these huge dark clouds. We gathered everything up and went inside. As soon as we went in, the clouds just broke and it started POURING rain and hail. It was so insane and fast- the water rose at least six inches within the first two minutes. The rain didn't stop and the water kept getting higher and higher. It made me nervous because I didn't really know what to do in a flood. We are pretty lucky our house is built on a hill pretty high up, or else there would have been flooding in the basement for sure. But here are some pictures I took with my phone as I was watching the storm. After that was over, of course I went back to my study dungeon, but after it got dark, Kendall, Cindy, and I climbed on our roof and watched the fireworks. We had a pretty good view and we were close to home. Tomorrow I head to Sheridan for the weekend- my friend Shebli is getting married and I'm going to help them prepare. Yay!!!

New Wedding Info...

I had mentioned in an earlier blog that I had to change my wedding date due to UW graduation changed to that same day. Well I went to the Ivinson Mansion and talked to the woman in charge and thankfully the next weekend was open so I booked it. May 17, 2008 is now officially our new wedding day- I was bummed but overall it doesn't matter when I get to marry Gary just that I do! Mary ( the woman in charge) also told me she was willing to rent the reception center for half price the day before the wedding so we can start decorating and getting stuff ready. I think it's a great idea so we can get everything done the day before and not have to be so stressed the day of the wedding- I want to be able to relax a little! But that's it so far- hopefully after Gary gets home we'll be able to start buying stuff we need. I get to look for dresses and order my ring!!! Those are two of my favorite things!!!! Woohoo!

And they're off!

Well it's official- the twins have started crawling. I was so lucky to be there both times they each started. Layla started crawling May 27th- Cindy and I were sitting on the floor playing with the kids and she just started crawling! And Mr. Aidan started crawling June 1st again when we were playing with the kids. I'm so proud of them- it's so cute. But we are having to watch everything they do now they move so darn quick! The other day I was taking Aidan to change his diaper and Layla just followed right behind me all the way to the changing table. It's great!

School is still going on. I won't be done until August and all my classes will overlap here next week for a while which will be extremely hectic. But oh well- I will be that much closer to graduating!

Gary gets to come home this coming weekend! I cannot wait to see him. It's been a month already but seems much longer. It's crazy how attached you get to someone after being together for so long (almost 7 years!!!!) I really miss hanging out with him. But that's all the news for now!!!!

Updates...

So... here is an update on everything. I am going to summer school and so far it's been pretty hectic. The sessions aren't very long so there is a lot of material to cram into a short period of time. 16 weeks worth of the material into 6 weeks to be more precise. I am overwhelmed but I really think it will be okay in the end. My wisdom teeth are bugging me and the right side of my face is pretty swollen and sore- but I am making an appointment to get them out. I found out today that UW changed spring graduation from May 3rd to May 10th so Gary and I have to change our wedding date- which is a bummer but in the long run not that big of a deal.

Gary is currently in Missouri for his job. He works for Atlas moving company and his boss is pretty cool. They get to travel all over and do some pretty cool stuff in the summers. I get to see him next week!!!!

Layla and Aidan are growing so fast. I can't believe how big they are getting. And so mobile! Layla can pull herself across the floor to get to her toys and Aidan is trying his hardest to crawl. Any day now! They are 9 months and have started to eat meats (which they don't like very much) and enjoy cheerios and other cereals. They love to be outside and play in their swimming pool. They can now say the syllables of everyone in the house but me. "Mama, Dada, Bob-bob (gary). But not Nikki- I'm sure it's hard and they will learn someday. Hmm... I think that's it. Here are some pictures so enjoy.

Wedding stuff!

I decided to use my blog to keep my bridesmaids updated on wedding details because it's easier for me to write it once then have to send out five emails to women. So for my first real wedding blog/decision for the bridesmaids. I did have a pair of black dressy sandals picked out for you all to wear with the black halter dresses, which will have a ribbon of color around the waist. But then Erin and I were looking and found some that are almost exactly like the original black ones, but they have them in the pink and orange that are my wedding colors. We thought it might be cool for the women to wear the colored shoes to add some contrast to the outfits. I'm posting pics of both shoes, so let me know which ones you want to wear. I think the colored ones would really add a lot but if anyone is too strongly opposed we can just go with the black ones. I have 5 bridesmaids and the maid of honor of course so it might be cool to have 3 wear pink and 3 wear orange. Again, let me know what you think of this idea and what color you wouldn't mind wearing. ( The shoes on the top are the new ones I found and the pink would be the farthest right pink- or fuschia if you will, and the ones on the bottom are the original that would have to be in black.)

Easter

I just realized I forgot to post about Easter like I said I would. Gary, Kendall, Cindy, Aidan, Layla, and I all went to Gary's sister's house for Easter dinner which was delicious. It was nice to relax and hang out with his family. The babies had a great time as our friends Chris and Emily joined us. We even convinced Em to dress up in a bunny costume to take pics with the kids. It was so much fun. Here are pics of the babies on their first Easter!!!

The End is in sight!!!

The semester is quickly drawing to an end with lots of exciting things happening. Of course the most exciting is the end of the semester. But I am also busy with TriDelta events that are taking up a lot of my time. This week is Greek Week here at UW and it's been great so far. We have an enthusiastic house which makes it fun to participate in activities. Last weekend I had the honor of hosting my mom and younger sister for a day. We attended Mother/Daughter brunch at TriDelta and was happy because Gary's mom, Jeanne and his sister Sharon also joined us. This week I have the Senior trip with the women from my pledge class and then we officially become alumni on Sunday. I can't believe it's all almost over.

The top left corner is Layla, top right is my friend Erin (also my maid of honor) and tridelta sister, and bottom is Aidan.

The babies are doing great- trying to crawl still but getting soooo close. They have amazing personalities and it's so great to watch them grow and change. Layla has been throwing pretty big tantrums lately which I must say is NOT my favorite thing to put up with. She will clench her tiny fists, hold her breath, turn bright red, and let out the most piercing high pitched scream. It's very obnoxious and she usually only does it when we aren't giving her 100% of our attention. We are trying to break her of this habit since she has a brother that needs just as much love as she does. Aidan has gotten so goofy lately. He will sit in his exer-saucer and bounce up and down continuously which makes the whole thing bounce too. He just giggles and laughs. So cute.

Semester's End

We only have about three more weeks of classes left in the spring. Which I am very happy about as it's been a long semester. But I am taking summer classes to be able to graduate after fall semester. Yep- you heard me I AM GRADUATING!!!!! It's about time because I am getting a litle worn out of school. I will officially graduate in December but probably won't walk until May as it will be more convenient for my family to come down for graduation and the wedding all in one week. Speaking of the wedding- Gary's mom has agreed to make the bridesmaids dresses so they won't be so expensive which is good because I don't want to make my attendants pay a lot of money to be involved in my big day. I also found shoes and a cheap place to buy flowers for decorating so that's a start.
We also had an interesting day yesterday. We didn't have school because of Easter break so Gary, Kendall, and I went to the driving range (where I tried out my golf clubs) and when we came home I opened the door to the basement and smelled gas. We had been having problems with our water heater leaking water all over and apparently it had been leaking gas as well. So we called the Fire Department and they got a hold of Kinder Morgan. They came and disconnected the water heater and deemed it hazardous. They fixed a gas leak outside as well. Our landlords are out of town for the weekend so another guy had to come and install a brand new water heater. So this morning we got a new water heater and hot water again. That's all for now. I will update again tomorrow or Monday with Easter pics of the babies!

Spring Break Baby!!!

Gary and I had a wonderful time in Florida visiting my family. We of course went to the beach, went to Cypress Gardens, went to see the Tampa Bay Downs (horse racing) had a St. Patty's celebration complete with delicious corned beef and cabbage, and hung out with my family. It was such a great break being away from Laramie and the cold and not having to do any homework. Gary really wants to move to Florida someday after we graduate and are married, I am up for the adventure though it's scary for me to think of venturing away from Wyoming and our families here. But it would be a nice change of scenery and an adventure- who knows what will happen.

One of my favorite things about my spring break break trips besides spending time with my family and hearing stories of the past, was going to Anna Maria Island. It's a family favorite and definetly met my expectations. It was so beautiful and the water was a pretty turquoise color, I laid in the sun and got a nice tan. Gary and I went in the water for little while and I saw dolphins swimming not too far from us! It was the closest I've ever come to swimming with dolphins and I was pretty excited about it.

I also had the opportunity to look for wedding stuff with my aunt. Her son is getting married but she probably won't be able to do much with him so it was fun to look around. We bought some really amazing silk flowers to start my collection for the decorations, she also bought us a guest book, autograph board, and a cake knife set. It was a lot of fun looking at stuff and getting ideas. My wedding is almost 13 months away but I need to buy stuff when it's on sale to keep the cost down. All in all, it was pretty amazing and Gary and I didn't want to leave but had to come home to our schoolwork and roommates.

(The twins are doing amazing, they are sitting up on their own and can almost feed themselves really well. Mr. Aidan may be teething so we're keeping an eye on him) But here are some pics of break and the babies.