Wedding Laughs

I regretfully inform those of you who thought you may be getting an invite to our wedding....

My 6th period class has asked to attend (all 30 of them), and I said YES.

I just informed Josh that he must uninvite his family and friends, too, so you're not the only one who can't come.

They all cheered and clapped, and they are already picking out my wedding colors and menu!

(I'm only kidding, of course. No students will be attending my wedding, but it was fun to "plan" with them for a few moments. And then school stuff got in the way.)

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As I introduced myself to my 3rd hour class, I said, "Hi, welcome to English 11! My name is Ms. Nichols. I am excited to tell you that I will be getting married next June."

A kid raised his hand. "Yes, Jake?"

"Shouldn't we call you Mrs. Nichols? We should call you Mrs. instead of Ms., right?"

Bahahahaha.

These kids crack me up!

Grandma Van

My grandma is the cutest person you will ever meet. I hope you have the blessing and privilege to meet her someday if you have not already.

When she learned of my engagement, she had one very important question: "Did he ask your parents' permission before asking you?" I replied that he had taken them out to lunch and asked, and her reply was, "Well, then, I love him already." Josh followed the rules, so therefore she approves!

Also since learning of my engagement, she has started calling me about once a week to hear the latest plans. My grandma has always been great about keeping in touch. About once a month, I receive a letter in the mail from her, and also about once a month, she will call to chat. I always make it a point to write her a letter in reply because she LOVES getting mail and it's her only way of communication besides phone calls. Those monthly phone calls have now become weekly, and I cherish the time I get to speak to my grandmother.

Since she doesn't have access to the Internet, she hasn't been able to see any of my pictures, so she kindly asked me to draw a picture of my ring so she could see what it looked like. I printed a picture of it instead, and she proudly has the ring hanging on her bulletin board. I have no doubt she shows anyone who comes to visit.

I just sent her five pictures of a few wedding details, and I can only imagine her face when she checks her mail in the next day or two. She will be thrilled.

What has me chuckling the most is this: The last time I talked to grandma on the phone, she said she was going to send me a picture of a lady named Diana. I said, "Do you mean Princess Diana, grandma?"

"No, no. Her name is Diana and she lived in England. She died."

"Oh, then yes, you're speaking of Princess Diana. What is the picture of?"

"It's her in her beautiful wedding dress."

Sure enough, within a few days, grandma sent me a letter in which was enclosed a picture of Diana. She wrote, "Isn't it a beautiful dress?" She also wrote, "You don't have to purchase this dress, but I think it's the most beautiful dress ever made."

Here are a few other snippets from her sweet letter. Every ounce of it makes me giggle: 

"Dearest Shiloh, I was thrilled to talk to you the other night and hear how much you've accomplished. I was thrilled to hear who you might have as the minister (my brother-in-law, Jeff). I just hope it will be legal! I'm sure Jeff is a Christian and he will be so good. He sings real good, too!!! (Music notes drawn in the margin). "I'll be loving you always." They sang that at our wedding, two girls in harmony, and it was so perfect. I don't meant you should use it though. I'm just making conversation. ha. I like your location, too! You "done" good!...(She wrote that on Thursday, and then stopped for the night. She picked back up on Friday). This is Friday and I quit writing so I'm beginning again. Hi! And how are you? I am fine....Your Aunt Evie would tell you to get married in the morning coz then you can enjoy your whole wedding day and you wouldn't be so tired by night....Love you a million or trillion."

She also added, "If you can't read this, let me know and I'll write another one just like it." 

Isn't she the cutest, most adorable person you have ever met? My grandpa is also the greatest man you can ever meet, too. You should meet them.

MS 150-2013

I finished my sixth year of riding in the MS 150, and it was by far my easiest, best year! My hard training really paid off this year (I've ridden 680 miles so far to date), and I rode like I've never ridden before. I felt great, which just makes the entire weekend so much fun and worth the cause (there have been a few years when I was terribly out of shape and just wanted to give up). 

Thank you to some very generous donations, I hit my goal if raising over $1,000. Overall, Team Saddle Soar raised over $9,000, which is incredible. Here are a few pictures from that weekend. 

 Team Captains, Kari and me

 My little bro, kicking my butt all 150 miles!

 Team Saddle Soar 2013

Kari, Shiloh, Adam, Collin, Dean

Michelle, Sarah, Sonya

(from left to right, back row to front row)

 Our sweet team jersey we had made a few years ago.

 This is our team right before we started climbing Horsetooth Reservoir near Fort Collins. It's the hardest part of the entire ride. 

 It was raining at the start of day two, but the rain quickly stopped. 

 Isn't he cute?

 My parents, who provide so much support throughout the weekend. I ride for my father, who was diagnosed with MS 8 years ago. 

 Six years of making it to the finish line!

 We all rode in together! It was so neat. 

 Shannon, interested in joining us next year? :)

Rounding Up The Crew

Once Josh and I had a date and location, it was time for me to make some calls to my closest friends. I had bridesmaids to round up.

Even before Josh proposed, I knew who I was going to ask to stand beside me on this special day. I have a lot of friends, yes, but they aren't just friends. I have a group of very special ladies in my life who are like sisters, there through the good and bad, there when I make mistakes, there to laugh with me when times are good, there to hold my hand when I cry.

Several people have laughed at me for the number of bridesmaids I have, which is fine. I don't think they quite understand how special these ladies are to me, so I didn't let it bother me. This day wouldn't be the same without my best friends by my side.

I had 10 phone calls to make, 9 of whom are bridesmaids and one who will be my personal attendant. These 10 ladies have seen me through thick and thin:

Shannon (Matron of Honor)
April (Matron of Honor)
Michelle
Katie C.
Irish
Kate N.
Abby
Liz
Britt
Kari (Personal Attendant)

Their reactions were all very much the same: Squealing. Laughter. A few tears. "I'd be honored. Thank you so much for asking. Of course I will be a bridesmaid."

The conversations lasted 10 minutes at the least and up to 30 minutes for others.

"Tell me all your plans..." started the conversations, and I filled each girl in on Josh and my thoughts for our wedding day.
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Josh called his four groomsmen, all of which took about 2 minutes. It went something like this:

"Hey, will you be a groomsman?"

"Sure."

"Cool, I'll be in touch. I'll call you later."
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Though very different conversations, Josh and I are honored to have our closest friends stand beside us.

June 7

Josh and I have a date and a location!

I'm not gonna lie, I am rethinking my occupation as a teacher and am considering getting into the wedding business. Holy moly.

Want to have a wedding? You need at least $3,000.

Want to have a summer wedding. Add at least $2,000 more.

Want to have an outside wedding in the mountains during the summer? Add another $2,000.

Want to have food? Add $2,000.

Want alcohol? Add $1,000.

Want music? Add $500.

Do you really need a pastor? That will be $250.

Want to have the ceremony on the same grounds as the reception? $500, please.

Want decorations? Cake? Lighting? Flowers? Servers? Photographer? Well, you're going to need a small loan, and don't plan on a honeymoon after all is said done. Also, don't plan on buying a house in the near future.

Like I said, holy moly!!!

I have a new appreciation for attending weddings. Seriously, I had NO. IDEA. how much a wedding costs, and I will never attend a wedding again without giving gratitude to the bride and groom.

Josh and I booked a lodge near Estes Park for our wedding next summer, and we decided it was worth the cost. We will be able to house our entire wedding party, as well as our grandparents and parents. We get the lodge for three days, and it will basically be a mini vacation for everyone.

Our wedding anniversary will be June 7, and I keep running that date through my head with a smile. My anniversary will be June 7, just two days shy of celebrating with my parents. My anniversary will be June 7, only on summer break for one week. I will be married on June 7, 2014.

There's a lot to do before now and then, but June 7 cannot come soon enough! Even if I don't get everything done, even if something isn't quite right for my OCD personality, even if I don't get to have everything I have ever wanted, I will be a wife in less than one year, and that is perfect enough!

The Last People to Know

After Josh and I got back from camping, I had told everyone but three friends: Abby, Kari, and Nikki. I had plans to see them on Saturday night, so I decided to wait and tell them the news of my engagement in person. 

I was fearful the news would spread on FB and the girls would see it before I could tell them, but everyone did a great job keeping it quiet until it was official on the internet. 

Nikki had to cancel (because she had a baby a few days prior), and I arrived at Kari's about 20 minutes before Abby got there. I carefully hid my ring from Kari's view, and as we waited, I got more and more nervous to tell the girls. I was so excited, I could barely contain myself, but I wanted to tell them at the same time. 

Abby arrived with cupcakes! Kari's birthday was a few days away, and Abby brought dessert for us to celebrate. We each got one of each flavor: Birthday Surprise, Wedding Cake (my favorite), White Chocolate, and Chocolate. (Even though you can't tell from the picture, the cupcakes are mini cupcakes, so we didn't EACH eat four giant cupcakes).

As soon as we were seated on Kari's patio, I put my hand on the table and said I had something to tell them. They looked, they saw, they shrieked! They jumped, they hugged, they may have even shed a tear!

(My hands were shaking by this point). 

I was so, so happy to share the news in person, and they were equally happy to hear the news. Their excitement brightened my night!

(Kari, Abby, and I met about eight years ago when I first moved to Denver and Abby had just moved to Denver from Kansas. Kari is a native, and the three of us started attending the same church around the same time, and we became instant friends (along with Nikki). Since that time, Nikki has gotten married and just had her first child on July 4. Also, Abby got married, moved to Kansas, and had Lawrence three years ago. Even though Abby lives afar, we have all remained best friends). 

It was a great night catching up with two of my favorite people. I only get to see Abby about once a year, so these three hours together were very special and made even most special that I got to share my wonderful news face-to-face. 

Abby is going to a bridesmaid, and Kari is going to be my personal attendant. I can't wait to spend my special day with these two beautiful ladies!

4th of July

What was so special about Josh asking me to marry him when he did was I got to share the news face-to-face with so many family members that I only get to see once a year.

The following day, July 4, the Nichols/Anderson crew headed to Aspen to join up with my mom's cousins (they have always been my "aunts" to me). I was so excited to share the news with them.

We arrived at our yearly picnic site, called the Grottos (halfway up Independence Pass) before the rest of the family, so Josh and I took Case exploring.

 You'll notice that Case has this thing with his tongue and pictures. As in, he likes to stick his tongue out when a camera is nearby. He was so excited to go exploring!

 Case had to take a picture of Aunt Dido (and please excuse some of these pictures for being blurry---I don't have the best camera in the world, and it gets blurry with the slightest motion).

 Case hanging with (soon-to-be) Uncle Josh. 

 After Josh, Case, and I were done exploring, we went and grabbed Shannon, Jeff, and Siahna to join us on a little hike. 

 The Anderson crew climbed down into the ice cave, so this is me looking down at them. Then Jeff had a slight slip on the ice and injured himself (scrapes and bruises). 

 Love this sweet girl!

 Climbing up out of the ice cave. 

 Case, the strong man, Anderson. 

 All of us crossed the river, and words can't even describe how cold it was. It took your breath away. Josh and I crossed once holding Case's hand, and halfway to the other side, Case started crying and said, "I never want to cross this river again. It's too cold." It sure was, buddy. 

Josh and I then took a mile long hike through the forest (no, there wasn't a trail). I didn't complain once!

At the end of our hike (and destination), we met up with my mom's cousins and my mom. 

 My mom, "Aunt" Connie, and me

 "Aunt" Caralee, my mom, "Aunt" Connie, and me

And they are so thrilled with my ring! (I totally love this picture).

(Just in time to end our day, a dog, a lady, and a man fell into the rushing river by accident. Josh saw them fall into the waterfall and we never saw them come back up. We all stared in shocked horror as the girl eventually came up and started screaming, "HELP! HELP!" All the boys (Josh, Jeff, and all my boy cousins) went running to help, jumping over rocks and climbing up the waterfall area on huge boulders to come to the rescue. After a horrible, terrifying ordeal, the guys were finally able to save the dog and the guy (we were all certain both were going to be dead). The dog and man were all okay. The woman, who was the first to be rescued, had a severe concussion among other issues. My mom, the nurse, was able to take care of her until they could get her to a car and her fiancé raced her to the ER (we didn't have cell coverage where we were, and attempts to call 911 were failed). It was a horrible scene to witness, but we praise God everyone was okay in the end. As we were packing up our cars to leave, the guy and gal came back (to look for some lost items). The gal was a little worse for wear, but she was eventually going to be okay. We were all shaken by the accident). 

There were no fireworks that night due to restrictions, but we went back to my aunt's house where we had pizza and sat in the hot tub. 

It was a great Fourth of July!