Engagement Pictures [Real]

I got them!! The real ones!! And I am more in love with them than any pictures I have ever seen before. They capture our personality, our love for each other, our love for our dog, and will be a timeless image of a very special time during our lives. 

 

I might have cried when I got them... this wedding stuff is making me a weepy person. 

Recap Time!

This weekend was fun! Or as much fun as it could be without Duck Dude... he's missing some great festivities, so I am going to try and not brag too much. 
Friday night I did absolutely nothing, but watch The Fault in Our Stars and then I cried myself to sleep. I mean, not really, but I did cry during the movie and that's saying something. I do have a heart!! Just kidding, my mom tells me I have a heart all the time...
Then, Koal and I had a lazy Saturday morning. I did some fall shopping and was overall disappointed by the lack of things I bought. But I was able to buy dish towels and replace the Christmas ones that have been hanging on the oven since..... well, Christmas. Duck Dude says he likes them, so now he will only have to miss them for like a month and a half... because I like to decorate for Christmas around November 15th. Then, I tried my hand at floral arrangements... and it's good, but I think I will still have a professional do it for my wedding. 

Then I got to go celebrate a friend's birthday! She loves elephants and has one of my favorite tattoos ever of an elephant. So, I got her a pretty elephant. Then while I was fall shopping, I found this elephant bag, and I was realllly excited about it. So, I told her there was a theme. Of elephants.

Sunday, I got to celebrate a friends engagement. It's the first time a friend has gotten engaged since I got engaged... and it was a totally different feeling. I was SO excited for them, because I now know exactly what she is feeling! It was so fun to celebrate them and I am SO excited we get to do the whole wedding planning thing together!!! 

Now it's Monday, and I'm ready to tackle this week. The sooner this week is over, the sooner Duck Dude is back in the United States of America!! 

Melvin

Melvin is our crossing guard and he is really great, he blows his whistle, stops the cars, and keeps all our kids safe. He smiles and waves to me every morning I drive by, And now that he is moving on, it makes me want to cry.  He's out there in the blistering heat, torrential rain, and random Texas snow, He helps the kids, he helps the busses, and the overall traffic flow. Sometimes he lets me turn left, even when the sign says "do not", I appreciate the work he does, a lot, a lot, a lot.  Today is his last day, and I am sad to say goodbye, He's truly been a rockstar, and now you all know why!

My classes made cards for Melvin and some of my athletes gave them to him yesterday afternoon. He said, "You guys are trying to get me all mushy!" Then he told my girls, "Education always comes first, stay away from those boys."  Excellent advice, Melvin. We will definitely miss you!

Content

On May 19th I wrote a post over being content. I was just in one of those moods... a happy with everywhere I am in life mood. I threw some quotes out there that were resonating with me and called it a post.
Little did I know, I would be getting engaged that Friday, just five days after that post. So, then the fury of being engaged started. I filled my summer with wedding planning. I asked my bridesmaids to be bridesmaids. I bought a wedding dress. I thought I found a place and I hated the place.... then we found our real venue. I talked centerpieces, bridesmaids dresses, and caterers. Those first few months flew by and I was in full swing wedding planning. 
Then school started and I switched gears. I went back into teacher mode and coaching mode, back into learning my students and wanting what is best for them. Meetings and meetings and meetings, oh my. School was back in session.

And now I’m here. In a place where the first 6 weeks of school are wrapping up, and I’m moving back into wedding planning mode. It’s a fine balance of trying to keep everything afloat. I’m not stressed out, but I’m definitely still in “catch up” mode at school. I’m not worried about wedding details, because I know they will all get sorted out. I’m not concerned that we haven’t sent save the dates out, even though all the “wedding websites” say we should have already done that.

Why? Well, I think it’s because of that one word I mentioned at the beginning. I am content. In the post on May 19^th, I was vague and didn’t say much other than it was a happy content. Now, I think I can expand on that a little bit.

I am content because I know I have found the person I am going to spend the rest of my life with. I knew that on May 19^th, I just didn’t have the ring to prove it! I am happy knowing that we are beginning our lives together. I am happy that his dog is “officially” our dog. I am content living in his house for two weeks, knowing it will be our house in 164 days. I am happy to find all the little quirks about him I do not already know. I am content in discussing everything with him, including things that haven’t always been easy for me to talk about. I am happy to make decisions with him, even if we won’t agree every time.

I am content in knowing this is my life and I am very happy with it. That’s where I am right now. 

When the Duck is Away...

My Duck Dude is leaving for Canada for two weeks. Cue the awwws. 

So, you know what they say, when the duck is away, the dog will play. Or something like that. For the next 12 days, I will be staying at Duck Dude's house with our Koal baby. As much as Duck Dude would love to take her... she has a felony on her record and cannot leave the country. just kidding. So, I obviously made a list of things I am going to do in his/our house while he is gone! 

I am going to decorate for fall. He already knows this and is fine with me doing it... As long as he doesn't have to! Hellllo Kirklands! 

I will feed the black dog... Because that's really my only responsibility. 

I will probably sing "Oh Canada" at least once, maybe five times because I know it... And I'm still bitter that I didn't get to sing it at the Toronto Blue Jays game because of the SARS outbreak in 2003.

I will not mow the yard... Because that is not my responsibility.

I will probably check the mail.... Because I finally signed up at nordstroms and I gave them Duck Dude's address. I'm in that awkward stage of I don't really want to give my address bc I'm moving out in 3 months but then only to live with my mom for 6 weeks, so, yeah. I gave them duck dudes address.... I hope they send really awesome coupons.

I will take Koal girl on walks and possibly even invite my momma over for dinner and a walk with her black little dachshund. It will be splendid.

I will probably document every single thing... Because even though he's only in Canada and still in the same time zone, he only has 250 texts... So it's taking me back to my high school days when I was the onlyyyyyy person who didn't have unlimited texts. 

And if I'm documenting, there's got to be a hashtag. So I will use a hashtag. #adventuresofkollie ..... it's not taken, don't worry I checked. 

And if you missed that awesome Canadian flag on Duck Dude's shirt, go back and look at it. I laughed out loud when I put it there. 

Engagement Pictures

Engagement pictures. There's so many things that can go wrong. 
I could have that awkward crooked smile that appears randomly. It's like half of my smile just droops. I don't get it. 

My outfit could be really awesome atrocious.

I might look insanely awkward.

I might think I'm funny all by myself.

Or, we might act like idiots.

OR..............
Everything could go right. The 80% chance of rain cleared way for a beautiful, slightly warm evening. Duck Dude was magnificent, looked extrememly handsome, and our dog was the best little black dog in the world. We smiled and posed and talked about how we had to pay someone in order to take a kissing picture in the two years we have been together. We laughed and had a fun time being us!!! I cannot wait to see what pictures we end up with!!

Game Day Attire

I meant to do this post when college football was starting, but since that was 4 weeks ago, I figured today would be perfect! This Saturday we plan on watching football all. day. long. For some of you, that might not sound too fun...... for me, it is heaven. 
We have also purchased our tickets for an Aggie game and a Baylor game!! So we are going to talk a little game day apparel. I'm not really a fan of dresses for the games... Let's face it, I'm just not ladylike enough to wear a dress at a football game. But, I'll admit... there are times when I dress up a bit. It's Baylor, the girls used to be required to wear skirts to games.... and now that A&M is in the SEC.. they're getting used to this you dress up for games too! 
Here are some of my favorite looks for an Aggie game day and a Baylor game day!!

 

 

 

Happy Friday to all, and to all a goooood weekend!!!!