Good Times and Great Oldies

Today was (surprisingly) very emotional for me.  It was the day that I said goodbye to the Sebring and hello to a brand new Hyundai Sonata.

I was very surprised at how emotional I became throughout the process of trading in my car.  I cried. At the dealership.  I am really embarrassed about it, but at least they threw in a free protective coat because I cried.  That's right, my crying is worth $500+.  I really was unaware of how emotionally attached I was to this car.  We have had some very great times together.  So many trips to Moorhead and back.  Stuffing my back seat full of football players (a very interesting sight).  Plenty of parades.  These cars have so much meaning to my relationship with Josh.  It is very sad to see them go. 

It is even more exciting (as Josh continuously reminded me throughout the day) to think about all the new memories we will be making in the new car.  We will be taking home a puppy in this car.  We will be home searching.  We will probably even take home a kid of two.  It is awe inspiring to think about how blessed I have been in my life.  I really could not ask for any better family, friends, or person to marry.  I am fortunate enough to be marrying into a great family.  I really couldn't ask for more.  THANK YOU SO MUCH to each and every person who contributes to my life.  I sincerely love you all more than words can truly express.

Here are some pictures from the day.


The Cougar and the Sebring, together for the last time.




Josh and his first car.  There were SO many memories found in this car when we were cleaning it out last night.  After all the problems and drama, I never thought I would be sad to see it go.  I was.




My first car.  So much love.  Thank you SO MUCH Mom and Dad for the best graduation gift ever.  Thank you Grandpa for finding this and saving it for me.  An 18 year old girl could not ask for anything more.  We made a pretty cute couple :)




Josh is imagining the Cougar in car heaven.  It makes me feel so much better to know that some 16 year old girl is going to be driving this soon and she will love it as much as I have.



Tim and Nancy's CR-V with a Cameo.  Josh and I took one last joy ride with the top down, even though storms were headed our way.



Vintage Hello Kitty floor mats.  I tried to convince Josh these would be great in the Sonata.  No luck.




New Sonata.  Parked in THE VERY BACK of the Southdale Mall parking lot.  No door dings for this baby.  We are starting our family already.




I'm driving our car for the first time!




In our own "personal" parking garage at St. Thomas after a rough day on my makeup.  No one else parks here in the summer!


So if you're wondering, we did trade in both of our cars to get one.  We struggled making the decision, but after realizing how little we actually drive, it only made sense.  Josh will be taking the bus every day to his new job and I walk to work (the whole half a block!).  Once I get a job and start making some money, we will get another car.  For now, one (pretty darn awesome) car it is!

p.s.  We went down to "the farm" this weekend for some of Josh's cousins' grad parties.  It was fun to celebrate Quinn and Adam and think about the great things that are to come for them.  It is making me excited to celebrate Josie and Chase coming up in the next few weeks.  I need to get it together before then so I stop crying in public (Josh asked me this afternoon if he needed to prepare for a lifetime of me crying in public... yikes!).  I am REALLY hoping I go back to normal after the wedding.

Next weekend is Bridal Shower and Bachelorette party.  I am SUPER EXCITED to see everyone and have a great time!  I probably will not post until then.  We will see if inspiration strikes me ;)

Love you all! 33 Days!

What do you think?

Now that I am blogging while not in school, I had an idea.  I think I may continue to blog after the wedding to keep everyone updated on our lives.  I may even be able to convince Josh to write a post or two ;)

I'm thinking of changing the name to Jans Journeys... any other ideas?  I have a feeling that some very exciting things are in our near-ish future!

p.s. as soon as I clean up my apartment, I will be posting some pictures so I can do before and afters when Josh moves in!

For no other reason than to toot my own horn...

I ran 7 minute intervals tonight! I think I might be up to 10 minutes next week!

SO EXCITING! I might actually be able to run the 5k :)

More Bridal Shower Pictures

Better late than never, right?  Here are the pictures I promised from the bridal shower on the 28th.  There aren't as many as I thought there were, but at least you all can see the sweet cake pops, cookies, and decorations in these!

Cake pops, made by Amber-- Also Josh's grandparent's cake topper... it was black, white, and blue. So cool!

Cookies made by Amber

Opening some gifts

More gifts

Moms

Special chair

I am officially done with school until summer class starts.  I am going to really live up the break.  We are currently working on getting my apartment ready for Josh to move in, collecting all of his things from his parent's house as they get ready to move, and finishing up some wedding projects (I will post some pictures of the bubbles we are working on soon).

I picked my dress up from St. Cloud and brought it in for fitting on Saturday.  That was an event, but hopefully it will all work out.  I knew alterations would be expensive, but didn't think it would cost almost as much as my dress itself.

I am also headed into hard core training mode so I can complete my first 5k.  As I'm sure you all know, I absolutely loathe running, so any support I can get would be great.  Words of encouragement and monetary donations are welcome :)

Oh yeah, Josh got a new job.  We are both so excited!  It will be a much better company culture for him to be a part of and he is working for a marketing firm in the research area he wanted to be a part of.  He starts in 2 weeks.  LOTS OF CHANGES around these parts.  It's been a challenge to cope with everything, but we are making it through with minimal breakdowns.

Dad is still job searching.  He has received an offer, just not sure if he will be taking it yet.

Upcoming events:
June 2nd: Bridal Shower and Bachelorette Party
June 16th: First 5k to support ALS Foundation
June 23rd: Josh's Bachelor Party
June 29th: Rehearsal
June 30th: The BIG day

Bridal Shower

Sorry this has taken so long to post.  I was trying to figure out how to upload the pictures off my camera so I could post pictures.  Instead I am going to use other people's pictures and as soon as I figure out my own camera, I will post more.

On Thursday night, my dad came to pick me up to bring me to my facial appointment (hooray for not having a car).  That was really nice and I REALLY needed to relax with all the stress lately.

On Friday morning, we met with Samantha form the Legends.  I thought it was going to be a quick meeting, but she wanted to plan every single detail of the event.  So 3.5 hours later, my mom and I were finally headed home to pack for our trip to visit Britta in Sioux Falls.  We didn't arrive in Sioux Falls when we expected to, but we went to a really nice restaurant there (with some exciting power loss and very heavy rain along the way).  Oh, did I mention that on our way down we had to coordinate Chase picking my dad up from the hospital because he had a massive kidney stone and was due for surgery to finally remove it on Saturday.

In the morning, we took off for Dundee, Minnesota.  It was a great shower and fun to get to know some of Josh's family better.  Here are some pictures.

Me with the moms.  My mom got Mother of the Bride and Groom buttons for her and Nancy.

Thanks for coming Britta!

Mom forgetting to show off her button

Since then I have been celebrating Medical school graduations, trying to keep my head above water in school, and celebrating Bachelorette parties.

Only two more weeks of school and I am feeling the pressure.  Just keep swimming!  More to come after I (fingers crossed) turn in my finals on Friday!