99 days

As of today, we will be getting married in 99 days! I have been awaiting seeing numbers under 100 on our wedding countdown and here we are. As Nick already said, time is flying!

This coming weekend is our first wedding shower and will be mostly my mom and dad's families along with the bridesmaids and of course our mothers. I am very excited for the shower! It will be great to see everyone. There will be others in the upcoming months and we're excited for them all.

Unfortunately I was sick one way or another for most of April. I've been seeing doctors and trying different medications trying to crack the case. Last weekend, a medication that was supposed to help ended up making things much worse and had pretty bad side effects that kept me in bed for a few days. I'll try other methods and hope to find one that helps.

Another very exciting thing coming up in the next few weeks will be our trip to MN to find our apartment! It will be fun to see the town we'll be living in and to find the place we'll start our married lives together. We are looking forward to this trip! It will also be great to spend the weekend with Nick. We haven't seen each other for a little while now, which always makes me anxious to see him and be together again. The telephone and even webcams just don't beat being together in person.

I hope you all had a great April as we move on to May. May seems to be a busy month for many and my schedule is pretty packed too. It will be a fun month though, we have to enjoy it as we know it will go quickly. Talk to you soon!

Time is Flying

It's been awhile since I last wrote. The time is just flying. This month I did some traveling to Washington for business. It was a nice time and I got a lot of work done. I can't believe April is almost already over! It will be a couple months now before I move up to Minnesota. It doesn't even feel like I've completely settled in down here yet and I'm already relocating! But that's the life that I live and I enjoy it (for the most part). Marissa and I are planning a trip to San Antonio for next month and are really excited to check out the Alamo. It will be nice to finally see her again too, it feels like it has been longer than it has been. May is the rainy month down here in DFW, I just hope it's not too dreary. Don't get me wrong, I love the rain and storms, but sometimes it's nice to have a sunny day in the mix. This week is set to be another busy one. I hope to write again soon.

Wedding Party Updated on Website

Check out our updated wedding website! More members of the wedding party have been added in.

Mavs vs. Suns

I went to my first NBA game today at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. The Mavericks took on Shaq, Steve Nash, and the Phoenix Suns. The first half had enough excitement to last the entire game. All the Mavs were on- Kidd, Nowitzki, Howard, Barea, Terry, the whole gang. You just couldn't stop 'em. Kidd had an amazing game, getting a season high 20 assists in regulation, and passing Magic Johnson for No. 3 on the career assists list. At the end of the first half, the game was over. With the score 78-59, Josh Howard hit an incredible 71 foot buzzer beater to end the first half at 81-59; the icing on the cake. Even with Shaq playing like a man among boys, Phoenix couldn't seem to get anything going the second half either. The second half was much less entertaining. I mainly spent it determining how much of a lead the Mavs would have at the end (20 pts...30 pts...40 pts). With the second and third strings in, the game finally ended at 140-116, the Mavs virtually taking away the Suns' shot in the playoffs. Overall a great time, a great win, and a great day.

Life in Texas

Life in Texas is great. The weather is amazing (although I did find myself missing the snow this winter), the people are laid back, and the culture is similar to the Midwest. Don't get me wrong, there are definitely differences between Texans and Midwesterners, but they don't need to be pointed out here.

These past 9 months have taught me a lot about life. Living away from home and all that was comfortable while at Iowa State prepared me for this giant step in my life. When I moved down here, I knew nobody or anything. Heck, I hadn't even driven through Texas but maybe once or twice before. But oftentimes the lessons we learn are on the journey, not the destination. I've learned a lot about myself and others while having more time to reflect on the things I was too busy to back at school. I've learned just how valuable friends and family are and that you shouldn't take them for granted. More importantly, I learned how much I really love Marissa and that I couldn't stand living away from her any longer. You see, the journey has defined my future. I am now engaged to the most amazing girl I've ever known, and I can't wait until the moment we say those vows and commit ourselves together forever. I have no idea what that will be like, but I anxiously await the moment. There is such a great light at the end of the tunnel for those that don't compromise their standards and values in their journey of finding the one. I've found my true love and I couldn't be happier. Life in Texas is great, but life with Marissa will be the best.