How We Met

This was the Mad Lib inspired story they told at the shower! The letters in pink were the presents we had to open to finish the story!

Just a few short months ago there seemed to be two SINGLES (little single bags of Cheetos), Craig and Hayley who wondered if they would ever find their soul mate. Hayley finished her education at Mississippi State University and set out to explore the world. She found a job "out west" and soon became HAYLEY FROM MONTANA (a deck of Hannah Montana cards that had my name over the Hannah). Her job in marketing with agriculture related products found her and her friends attending various cattle shows. They called it networking, we call it "men looking."

Craig, a firmly founded farm raised boy finished his education in Brookings at South Dakota State. Part of his new and improved skills included being an ALL STAR (little basketball that said All Star) cattle judge. He frequently jumped into his HOT WHEELS (hot wheels car) and headed to many judging opportunities in the Mid-West.

POOF (a poof ball) his travels landed him at a livestock show where "Hayley from Montana" was. Craig's hot wheels traveled west more and more as Hayley became the HIGHLIGHT (a highlighter) of his week. It also became quite TRANSPARENT (transparent tape) that Hayley was falling for this guy. You could see STARS (star shaped post its) in her eyes. Each trip resulted in more JOY (Joy dish soap) for both of them. First they would SNUGGLE (Snuggle fabric softener) It became more serious as Craig started to GET FRESH (Get Fresh car air freshener) Finally Craig RESOLVED (Resolve carpet cleaner) the fact that he was falling fast and furious for this woman of his dreams. He proposed to his soul-mate-to-be above the Iowa State Fair of 2008. We greatly anticipate the wedding in August and look to the future when they become the 3MUSKETEERS (3 Musketeer candy bar) and have a BABY RUTH (Baby Ruth candy bar)

We love you and wish you the best!

April Showers...

Bring loads of presents! Wow, what a weekend! The family finally arrived at around 8:30 on Friday night. We grabbed a bite to eat and headed straight to bed! Bright and Early we made our way up to the Farmer's for the first of two showers on Saturday. His Dad's side of the family was the first shower on the agenda. It was just how I imagined...Cake, punch (with fun little green cups), yummy food, beautifully wrapped gifts, and all the families together! The day couldn't have been more gorgeous! I wore one of the many polka dot dresses I have accumulated over the past couple of months, along with a bright fuchsia cardigan and matching shoes!! We ate and socialized for a bit, then came the main event!! But before we opened the presents, The Farmer's Aunt and cousin had a little story to tell! It was all about how we met and fell in love...but with each sentence there was a present that had to be opened to figure out what the word was. Kind of like Mad Libs! It was the cutest thing! I will post it later!! Then we commenced to cutting ribbon (which incidentally, we were told that however many ribbons we cut, that is how many kids we were destined to have -after about 3 I tried to pull them without cutting!! but I believe the final count was 9...yikes!!) and tearing paper! We got soo many lovely things! My cheeks were hurting soo bad from all the smiling. I will have to figure out a cheek work out program before the wedding! I have to admit, I was a little worried that I would open something and have no idea what it was..but so far so good!!! :) Next we had the cake (raspberry filled) and ice cream and coffee (Daddy was so excited that there was coffee at everything...and lots of it!) After all the hugs and thank you's, we loaded up the car and took everything back to the house. We had planned to some sort of sight seeing but after sitting on the couch, none of us wanted to get up! So we rested for awhile before the next event!!

us!

Me, Cade, and Adub!

The super cute, super yummy cake!

Yes! A Feista Bowl!! Now I can make Snicker Salad every night!!

The fact that I can't cook is obviously not a secret!! :) Asher (The Farmer's nephew) says he will come to have Macaroni anytime!

At first glance this looks like baby clothes (notice my expression) but it is just two dish towels!! whew!! :)

After a quick wardrobe change, we headed off to the next shower! This was given by the Farmer's Moms side of the family. Everything was soo cute!! It looked like a mini version of my wedding! After a delicious meal, introductions, and a really great devotional by the Farmer's uncle, we were instructed to sit in the front two seats so that everyone could see. Nothing like being the center of attention!! :) Again, we got soo many lovely things! This shower had a kitchen/recipe theme, so we got plenty of cookware and great recipes! I am actually pretty excited to start my next cooking project! I just need to figure out what it's going to be!!

us!

super cute punch!!

yummy!

he was pretty excited!

Grandma "V" hand embroidered these dish towels!! They have little Dutch girls on them! p.s. both sides of the family are Dutch :) I have soo much to learn!

I could barely fit everything on the table! I am soo blessed to have a wonderful family and be marrying into a wonderful family! And to have them all together on Easter weekend just made it that much better! Having everyone together and finally having everyone meet was so fabulous! Thank you EVERYONE for making me and the Farmer feel so special!! :) Love yall!

Pouting Princess

I called the Fam this morning at 6:30 am to make sure they had at least pulled out of the driveway. The estimated departure time was 5:30 am. They were in Canton, about an hour from home, so they are right on track!! August Ann was asleep, but Cade was bouncing off the truck wondering where we were going to eat when they arrive tonight and would they have ribs?? Later I recieved a pic text from my sister...

the caption was "We are not happy!" It appears the princess has awoken from her slumber and is pouting!! Lets hope the mood gets a bit better as the day progresses.

The next contact was about 15 minutes ago...it was JayKay (sister-MOH), she said hang on Daddy wants to talk to you! Daddy gets on the phone...."We are lost! We just passed a Welcome to Arkansas sign" I assured him, that he was on the right track! Momma has a printed MapQuest map and I don't think he will ever truly trust those things! (He has been to every state at least three times...showing Cutting Horses back when he was a young buck and actually won the World in 69, but back then I'm sure he just relied on his keen since of direction and an old worn out atlas, certainly never a computer generated step by step process of how to get somewhere!) He then proceeds to tell me that they have already stopped twice! Once for McDonald's, then ten minutes later Momma had to stop again and use the little girls room. He just couldn't believe that she wouldn't have gone before they left McDonald's! haha!! Ohh to be in that vehicle with all of them for 12 plus hours!! Some of our best (and worst) memories are traveling together! I'm sure I will get my fill in the morning on the four hour trip to the Farmer's house!

Lemongrass!!!

I'm sooo excited...like pee your pants excited, like winning the lottery excited, like getting a baby pig excited!!! Fiesta is coming out with a new color!! Lemongrass!! I can't believe I am just now finding out!! (This wedding has distracted me from everything!) It is set to debut this Summer!! For those of you who don't know, I am a Fiesta Fanatic!! I have been collecting it since my senior year of high school. My first piece was the amazing Turquoise colander for my 18th birthday from my Momma and Daddy! I was hooked from that point on! Over the years I have received some sort of Fiesta at every holiday/celebration! I suppose my fam and friends thought I would never get married and be able to register for it!! ha!! My favorite is the Shamrock, but I have almost all the colors...Scarlet, Tangerine, Peacock, Sunflower, Evergreen, Cobalt Blue, Plum, Turquoise, along with Yellow, Persimmon, and Rose which are now retired colors! Fiesta also makes a few other colors that I don't really care for, such as black, white, and gray...gross! I prefer the more bright vibrant options. And now they are adding Lemongrass...it seems to look very similar to the original retired Chartreuse...(my BM-Mariah, actually has some of the original pieces, I have contemplated putting some in my suitcase every time I am at her house!) I was always in love with it, but whenever I found any of it at flea markets or an antique store, it was always way too pricey! I am severely clumsy, so expensive, breakable things and me just don't mix!!! Now I can have my Fiesta and afford it too!!! I can't wait to get my hands on that covered casserole dish!! Woohoo, what a grand day!! :)