Update + a picture overload!!

Well, one week from now, the wedding day will be over and done with and Josh and I will be starting our lives together as husband and wife! It is so surreal! I can't believe I am getting married in just one short week! Throughout most of the wedding planning, I haven't gotten very stressed and have enjoyed almost everything about planning my wedding but for some reason I feel like I have lost my mind this week!! Maybe it's all just stress, maybe it's the birth control, I don't know but I am not feeling like my usual self. Don't get me wrong, I am SO excited to get married and to spend eternity with Josh, but I think everything is just hitting me this week. Only a few nights left of living in my parents house, leaving my amazing ward that I love, realizing I won't see my cute little dog everyday anymore, hoping the wedding comes together like I hope, worrying about how long it will take Josh and I to find good jobs with benefits, etc etc. But on the other hand, I have so many new and exciting things to look forward to. Tomorrow we start moving our stuff into our apartment, I am going through the temple on Saturday, getting married in my favorite temple, leaving for our honeymoon one week from tomorrow, living with Josh, waking up next to Josh, getting a new last name-a shorter one! I really am so grateful for where I am at in my life right now. It hasn't been an easy road getting here, but it has been SO worth it!!

On to the fun stuff!! Here are a few pictures from my ward shower that I talked about in my previous post! I have been in the best ward!!

Me and some of the YW that helped with my shower. LOVE these girls! Cute Hannah Cope(the one in yellow) sat by my side the whole night and wrote down the gifts I received. What a sweetheart!

Me, Alyse, Cassandra and her darling baby, Lily. I have known these girls since birth!

They lined the entrance and the backyard with these cute bags that had sand and candles in them and pink and green "A's" and "J's" on them. Our very own luminaries!

This past Monday, I had the day off and went to the Zoo with my brother Tyson and my niece Ava. They have a zoo pass and have invited me several times, but I haven't been able to go with them. I finally had a day off that we could all go! It was so much fun to spend time with them. Tyson is the one responsible for me and Josh getting married and has always been such a good brother to me! And Ava is so much fun! She LOVES the zoo! But I know she wanted Josh to go with her instead of me. Boy does she have it bad for him!

This is Ava in front of her favorite animal, the Fossa! It is part of the Madagascar exhibit they have and for some reason, she loves this animal and talks about it a lot! She even knows what they eat. (they eat lemurs!)

She also loves the Rinos

It seems like every time you go to the zoo, most of the animals are sleeping but that day we got so lucky! The tiger was putting on a show and looked right at me for this picture! Then he got out of the water and jumped and paced his area. It was awesome.

There is a baby snow leopard at the zoo right now and he just happened to let us get a good glimpse of his face! SO cute!

Tyson always ends their visit to the zoo with a ride on the carousel. Ava LOVES it! I love that baby!

Also on Monday, some of my friends threw me a bachelorette type shower! It was so fun to spend the evening catching up with all my closest friends(minus Natalie who is in Vegas-love you, girl!) I have been blessed with great friends and I love them all dearly. They have been so supportive and amazing through my life and engagement. I love you all!

Liz and me. I've known this girl since 7th grade and we have lots of fun memories! And she is married to a Brighton Bengal! We have great taste!

Haylie, Alyse, Me and Cassandra! I LOVE these girls! I've known them for years and years and I always have a great time when I'm around them. I don't think I have ever laughed harder than when I've been around them!

Karen aka Chochie and Me!! Karen and I have been friends since she joined XI. I love Chochie and we have so much fun, especially when music is involved!

Me and most of my friends I've been close with since high school! I feel bad we didn't get a picture with everyone at the shower! I am so glad we have all stayed friends after all these years and they have all been such great friends to me!

And last but not least....here is a little sneak peak of our bridals. I figured since this got posted on Facebook, I might as well post it on here! See you all next week for our big day!!

Time is FLYING!!

Wow! 3 weeks from right now, Josh and I will be on a plane to Kauai, Hawaii for our Honeymoon! It's so weird to think that in 3 weeks, our wedding day will have come and gone and that we will be married for time and all eternity! I can't wait for August 6th and can't wait to be Josh's wife. I fall more and more in love with him everyday, even when I think it's not possible to love him more than I already do. He is the love of my life!

This past Tuesday, I had my ward shower(I will post pics soon! My camera is dead!) Words cannot even express the love and support I have received from the women in my ward. My dear friend Chrissie Walker and the YW put it all together and it was amazing! I can't wait to post the pictures so you can see all the work they put into it. I am so blessed to have grown up with such amazing ward members. On Sunday I spoke in church and when I was asked to speak, the 2nd counselor asked me to speak on the assigned topic, but to also take the opportunity to talk about my experience of growing up in the ward and about this new stage of my life I'm about to enter. Luckily my topic was on "strengthening home and family" so it was easy to realte my experiences with the topic. This ward is the only ward I've ever been in, and it is also the ward that I met Josh over 15 years ago, so I have a lot of great memories and attachments to the ward and the people in it. I basically bawled all the way through my talk, but I knew when I was asked to speak that that would happen. It's never fun to cry in front of people, but I liked that Josh was able to see that side of me and see me cry for a reason other than frustration. haha.

I feel so blessed and so grateful to be entering this new stage of life with such a great man. It's crazy to think how much things can change in one year. A little over a year ago, I was heartbroken and in the saddest and worst place of my life and now I am in the happiest and best place of my life! I'm sure there will be other hardships along the way, but I am grateful that Josh and I will have each other to help us through it. 3 weeks until we can officially be "The Meadows Family!

p.s. This is WAY off the topic of my post, but I need to find some really great waterproof mascara and eye liner, as well as some longwearing lipcolor for the big day. Does anyone have any suggestions??

Our Engagements!

Here are some of our engagements! Enjoy!