Holy cats it's been busy! As a single girl, I hated when people complained about wedding planning, so I've really tried to channel that eager single girl who had no idea that when she planned a wedding, she'd also be moving back to Small Town, USA and starting a new job...all in the span of five weeks. It's added a fun twist to the wedding planning plot! To put it simply, I haven't slept through the night in a solid month, and I don't see that improving before July 22nd! However, I'm really trying not to be the girl who complains, because I'll only do this once, and when we get down to it, I couldn't be any more excited to be doing all this.

My goal between now and the wedding is to keep you posted at least twice a week on something fun with wedding planning, or with something unrelated because writing is cathartic. (It's less cathartic when it's done on a bedside note-pad at 3 AM, but we'll just leave that alone.)

While I've been wedding planning like a crazy person, and deciding on details I really didn't think needed to be discussed, I've also had basic life going on, and I thought I'd fill you in.

• School ended, and I cried. My sweet class pulled together a basket of items off our registry, I proceeded to cry, and they group-hugged me and knocked me down. But it was adorable. Kyle Skyped our class, and they each introduced themselves, and they were the cutest little things you've ever seen. I was so proud of them, and I simply love the age I teach because they're really coming into their own. Most people don't want to teach 5th and 6th grade, but I couldn't love them more. 
• With every new school year comes sleepless nights and dreams of classroom decor, and that has TRIPLED with a new town, school, and assignment. When my interviewers heard my profession of excitement about 5th and 6th graders, all consideration of me teaching 4th grade went out the window, and I found myself in a whirlwind of Middle School interviews over the course of two days. MIDDLE SCHOOL. In my world, 6th grade has remained elementary, but I'll find myself in a Middle School Language Arts classroom come August. EEK!
• Middle School gives me anxiety: can I theme my classroom? Do I take a lunch count? Does anyone go to recess? HELP. I think I know a few of these answers, but the answer about a themed classroom better be yes. I can't resist a cute bulletin board and the world centered around it.
•  I'm going to check out my new classroom this week when I head Kyle's direction to get our marriage license, and I'm hoping then I can start theming and scheming to put my mind at ease a tad :)
  
• This has really become more about school than I anticipated, so I'm going to leave you with a cute smiling toddler, and I'll fill you in on bachelorette parties and birthday shenanigans another day. I watched Mr. Tommy the week after school got out, and there's no decision in the world that can't be lightened by the giggle of an ornery toddler. Here's the proof:

My mom is often heard saying "we're lucky we get to celebrate the good things," and this is usually following someone grumbling about a full calendar or a late-night drive home from a weekend of fun.

While my sparse blog is proof that we've been off-the-charts busy, we have truly been lucky to have so many reasons to celebrate lately! Wedding planning is in full-swing, but with that has come a lot of chances to see all our favorite people, and not much is better than that.

My aunts (and all the ladies in my life who are truly like aunts) threw me a very fun shower in my hometown. Kyle's spare bedroom is filling up with all the fun until we (hopefully) move into a slightly bigger home this summer, and I keep promising him China is worth having, so please back me up :)

Kyle's good friends (and groomsman) generously offered to have a boy-approved party for us so everyone in and at the wedding knew each other. Our friends showered us with more whiskey than we know what to do with, but something tells me we'll find a use!

My grandma and I share the birthday-month of April, but 91 is way more of an accomplishment to reach than 28! This promises to be a good year, but I'm way closer to 30 than I thought...I just turned 21 after all...right? My dad's family got together to celebrate my grandma at one of our favorite steakhouses, and I got a chance to celebrate with all my favorite people, too. A week later, we were celebrating Easter with a farm egg-hunt and more candy than anyone looking to wear a wedding dress ever needed.
​Sidenote, I clearly found a shirt I like, so be prepared to see it until my next clothing fling comes along.

Big news! Kyle & I are engaged, as of this weekend, and we simply couldn't be more excited. 
As I sat down to bring this to the blogosphere, I had one of those out-of-body experiences, because suddenly I remembered that I started this blog for a few reasons. As a new grad navigating the professional world, I felt very confused, and having a solid life plan and someone to share it with seemed very far off. As a girl who loves to bake, write, and tell all about it, I started my blog as a place to chronicle my navigation through my new phase of life, and frankly, I needed something to fill my time. I don't know if I imagined it would still be going this long, but I've come to love it, even if my time is filled more these days.

I truly miss posting as frequently, but I also have something else that's filling that extra time these days, but I don't like to complain about him :)
Kyle got the help of my sister and my cousin to surprise me in my hometown this weekend, and while I never imagined I'd get engaged under Albert, it was so fitting for us, and I loved it. I love that my family was near, and I loved that he knew that was important to me. He's the best.

Okay, before this gets any cheesier, let me just say we're thrilled, and I now have a whole new venue to blog about!