Now introducing.....MARRIED LIFE :)

Well the time has finally come! I am now a married woman and love it! Can I just start off by staying, after a long distance relationship for 2 and a half years, getting to see my best friend EVERYDAY is wonderful!!! Distance is hard but I do admit, it makes the heart grow fonder :)

Where to begin? So much has happened over the last 4 weeks! The wedding was absolutely wonderful! God's blessing was definitely over that day and I consider it to be one of the best days of my life! Everything turned out great, without any major problems! :) If you want to check out the blog from our wedding photographer go to preciousposesphotography.com/weddings and look for the "Jon + Noel Wedding".
Here's one picture as a preview :)



After the wedding, Jon and I spent that weekend in a bed and breakfast in the mountains to relax after the craziness of the wedding and before the honeymoon. I would suggest to every couple to take a few days after the wedding to relax before jetting out on the honeymoon. :)
That following Monday, Jon and I headed to Cozumel, Mexico for our honeymoon. This was my first time out of the country and now I am officially hooked to traveling! I love experiencing a new country and getting immersed in the culture. We ended up staying in a hotel that was within the city and not near the touristy area. I also got to brush up on the 4 years of spanish I took in high school. Surprisingly I actually remembered more than I thought I would! :)

*Note: People in Cozumel like when you try to speak their language. So, if you ever venture that way, at least try to speak any spanish you know :)

We ended up spending 10 days in Cozumel and it was wonderful. Most days we spent either snorkeling or playing in the waves. Either way, we went to the ocean everyday and loved every minute of it! I will admit though, 10 days was the perfect amount cause I was definitely ready to come back to the good ole USA after 10 days. :)

Since we've been back, Jon and I have been in and out of different houses. Since we are not moving to Kansas until mid August, we needed a place (or in our case places) to stay for the summer while still in Colorado. Our first 2 weeks back, we stayed in a cute little cabin in the mountains. We've been extremely blessed to have the opportunity to be staying in these houses for free! Currently, we are in our second house for the summer. It's another beautiful home in the mountains. We'll be in this house until the end of July and after that we'll make our way into another home. Even though I'm not estatic about moving to Kansas, I am excited to eventually have our own place where I can unpack all of my things instead of living out of suitcases :)
Until then however, I'm going to take in every bit of the mountain air! ;)

As far as the rest of this summer, Jon's continuing to work while I study to retake my board exam in August.
I'll try to update another blog soon, hopefully one with more pictures :)

Until then...

Times a flyin'

JUNE is here!!!! The month of the wedding has finally arrived! We are now officially 16 days out from the weddding! So exciting! I can remember when my countdown said 233 days and it felt like the wedding was an eternity away! Now, it's only a short few days away! As excited as I am (and believe me I am SUPER excited)), I'm surprised how much there still needs to be done. Don't get me wrong, I feel confident that all the big things are squared away, it's now just all the little things that add up to create a lot of things to check off the list before the big day! :) However, I absolutely love all things wedding so thankfully it's not really a stress in my life, just more fun!

I also just had my bridal shower last Saturday. It was a lot of fun! My maid of honor Amy and her mom through it for me and it was absolutely perfect! Very laid back and at a beautiful setting (the venue had a cabin feel to it and you could see Pikes Peak and the mountains right out the windows). Here are a few pictures from the night.








Over the next couple of weeks, things really won't settle down until after the wedding. There are birthday parties, a lingerie party for a friend, a bachelorette party, meeting with wedding help, Jon's 8 hour competition through Denver, as well as lots of last minute shopping for the wedding! Whew! Can't wait though! You only live once, gotta live it up while you can! ;)

Until next time!

Oh my goodness! This poor blog has been denied too much since this semester has started! I knew last semester of senior year was going to be crazy busy however no one told me that it would be this crazy! School has been plugging along. I finished most of the big assignments for my athletic training classes and now just trying to focus on finishing up the little things until the big day in May...GRADUATION!!!! Yes, graduation is just a short 3 1/2 weeks away! Oh I can't wait! Until then, however, I will continue to be just as busy with softball trips to Utah for the next two weekends and home games the last weekend before graduation. As the year is wrapping up, I can't help but feel more and more excited about JUNE! I'm trying to stay on top of school and take things one step at a time but it's really hard to stay focussed when the biggest day of my life is coming up in just 65 days!
Hmm isn't patience a virtue? :) God must be wanting me to practice on that one a bit.

As far as wedding plans go, a lot has been planned since the last time I wrote. Jon and I have officially booked our honeymoon! So exciting! It will be my first time out of the country and I can't wait! (Quick info: You can get your passport changed to your new last name if you do it within the first year of the issue date).
The wedding dress has also been altered and fitted for the big day! Woo! :)
Other news, invitations have been sent out, vases have been bought for the center pieces, cakes have been decided on, DJ has been contracted, food for the reception is squared away, and wedding night hotel has been booked. Whew, who knew so much could go in to one day!

As far as other updates, I'll leave that up to pictures:


Us Athletic Training kids in Albuquerque, New Mexico for the Rocky Mountain Athletic Training Association Conference (RMATA)


In Mesa, AZ traveling with the UNC Softball (ASU Softball Stadium)


Allysse's birthday party (one of my nieces come June)


Kaitlyn's birthday party (my other niece come June)


Hiking in Boulder

Not a lot of pictures, but I can hear my little bed saying "Noel, I'm lonely" so I should probably go give it some comfort. ;)

Until next time...

Brrrrr

Well February is now here and it came with a full force of freezing cold weather!! The high today was only 2 degrees!! With wind chill however it was -15 degrees! That is just too cold! Meanless to say I've been trying to spend all day inside (besides having to brave the cold for my two classes and work). Can I just say I am SO thankful for a warm cozy house!
This weather also helps me be pretty productive with things I need to get done as far as school and wedding plans. I have been able to complete all of my homework assignments by Tuesday (whew!) and have been motivated to research all about wedding cakes and dessert options for the wedding! :) I'm getting more and more excited everyday! :)

Here are the other wedding updates :)

-Jon's wedding ring has been ordered! Woo!
-We have figured out catering for the reception
-The woman and her husband who are doing our flowers are amazing and we're going in May to pick them all out
-Invitation list finalized
-Save-the-dates have been sent out

Woohoo! 136 days to go! ;)

And so it begins!

Well Christmas break is officially winding down and the craziness of my last and final semester of college is about to begin!! Jon and I had a wonderful Christmas spent with both families (his on Christmas eve, mine on Christmas day). It's kind of crazy to think that was our last Christmas as "single" people. Every Christmas from now on will be spent with each other as husband and wife. I can live with that! ;)

Over Christmas break, Jon and I spent a lot of time in marriage counseling and being healed of past wounds and roots before we begin our marriage together. What a blessing it has been! It's amazing how much closer prayer and healing can bring a couple together! Tomorrow, we are continuing with our pre-marriatal happenings with a seminar called "God's plan for a joy-filled marriage". It will be a full day (9am-5pm!) but I'm excited to spend a day with my soon-to-be husband and continue to grow closer as we prepare for JUNE 17th!!! (Just a quick update, it is only 161 days, not that I'm counting or anything haha)

Sunday, I'll be heading back up to school and getting ready to finish out the semester as strong as I can. I can definitely feel the senioritis however, especially since every semester before this I have always been excited to head back up to school. This semester, not so much. I have to admit, my mind is more focussed on wedding plans than it is with school and classes. One last semester, one last semester, one last semester...I'll just keep repeating that to myself. ;)

Until next time,
Noel


And Happy New Year!!! 2011 is here!