We're Married!!

Wow, it's been a long time since I've blogged. I have a lot of updating to do!

First and foremost, we are finally married!!! Jason and I could not be happier with how our big day turned out. It really was just perfect. I wish I could re-live it over and over and I wouldn't change a thing. During the planning process I was always nervous that things wouldn't come together or it wouldn't be a "fun" wedding. But every detail fell into place and came together beautifully and I think all of our guests would agree that it was definitely a good time! The dance floor was packed all night and we had a blast celebrating with our friends and family. It's so amazing to look around a room and realize that every person is there for you, genuinely happy and excited for you and celebrating your love and commitment to each other. It really was the best day of our lives!

So, I guess I'll just start from the begining and break it out into multiple posts so this isn't ten pages long! First up...Rehearsal Day!

Coming Soon to a Mailbox Near You

Invitations are in the mail! I took them to the Post Office today on my lunch break, had them weighed, bought postage, stood there and put the stamps on and sent them off! It is such a huge relief to have those bad boys out of my hands and on their way to yours! I was a little nervous letting them go and kept thinking what if I forgot something or something is not right, but I was pretty giddy walking out the door! My friend Emily and I worked all weekend to get them done and I literally bought every roll of pink ribbon from 4 craft stores! Thanks Emily for all your help. I really really appreciate it! Thanks again to Courtney who designed the invites. They turned out great!

As the wedding gets closer, check out our wedding website for all the info you need and sign our guest book! Less than two months to go!

Meet the newest addition!

Merrill Grace Reithel was born this morning at 8:55 am EST! Jason and I are so happy and excited to welcome our new niece and can't wait to meet her when the family moves to St. Louis in a few weeks!

A Few Observations

A few things I have noticed about being a homeowner:

• Cleaning isn't quite so painful when it's acutally yours. There really is pride in ownership.
• Painting can change the entire feel of a room.
• Plants need water or else they die! Our yard is landscaped very nicely. Hopefully we can figure out how to keep it that way!
• New furniture is exciting!
• If you happen to lock yourself out of the house, the screen to the bedroom window pops out - just ask Jason ;)
• If you don't put your trash/recycling/yard waste in the correct trash can/bin/bag it will remain on the curb. Unless of course your neighbor across the street convinces the trash man to take it anyway because the new kids don't have it figured out yet.

Jason and I are loving our new house and being homeowners. After a long weekend of moving, unpacking, arranging furniture and hanging pictures it is starting to feel like home! Pictures coming soon!

Shower #2

Jason's mom, Sandy, and sister, Erin, hosted a wonderful bridal shower for me a few weeks ago. It was at Jason's Aunt Eunice's house in Lake St. Louis and everything was perfect! For those of you who don't know Jason comes from a very large family (especially his mom's side!) and I was so happy that so many of them were able to come.

The house looked beautiful

The food was fantastic and the cake was delicious!

Jason's Aunt Amy made her famous sugar cookies as favors. They are so yummy!

I received so many wonderful gifts. I wish I had a picture of everything packed into my mom's car at the end of the day. We couldn't even see out the back!

As a surprise "game" Erin recruited some help from Jason. They made a list of questions for Jason and then he video taped his answers. At the shower I was asked the same questions to see how well I know Jason. After I gave my answer, they played Jason's to see if they matched. It was really cute and fun. I did pretty good too! I think I only missed a couple. Like what was Jason's confirmation name? Seriously? I had no idea! Even now I can't remember what it actually is!

Thank you Sandy and Erin for putting together such a wonderful shower! I had a great time and enjoyed spending time with the family. Can't wait to have everyone back together for the wedding!

Congratulations Jason!

Tonight is Jason's last class ever and he officially has his MBA! Jason has been taking night classes for two years now and put in endless hours of hard work to get to this point. I'm so proud of all that he has accomplished. Pending the outcome of this last class, Jason has gotten straight A's! My little over achiever;) I know that having his MBA will help Jason to continue building a very successful career and life for us. Can't you tell how excited he is to be done?!

I treated Jason to dinner on Saturday night to celebrate. We decided to try the pizza at Pi, a place in the Loop that is now known for it's pizza thanks to President Obama. Pi has catered for several of the President's trips to St. Louis and were even invited to the White House to prepare dinner for him and his guests. The President has declared it the best pizza he has ever had! I have to agree, it was delicious! We had the deep dish and it was definitely the best I've had. The crust is light and not greasy at all and the ingredients were fresh. I highly recommend it!

It's been a big week for us! Congratulations, Jason! I love you!

Closing Day!

We haven't really mentioned this on the blog yet, but we bought a house!! We found the perfect little house in Brentwood and put an offer on it the first day we saw it. We are happy to be staying in the same area. We have lived in Brentwood for the past two years and really like it. It's such a central location and we can get just about anywhere in St. Louis in 20 minutes or less. We aren't moving far from where we are now - 1.1 miles to be exact!

The house itself is perfect for us. It's an all brick ranch style house built in 1955. It has 3 bedrooms, 2 full baths, a finished basement and an awesome back patio and yard. Just right for a starter home. It's on a quiet cul-de-sac street and the neighbors that we have met seem very nice. The older man across the street filled us in on who lived in each of the houses and when he came to the house next door he said his daughter lived there. She literally moved out of his house and across the street! That has to say something good about the neighborhood. I only have a couple of pictures that I took during our final walk throught last night. The house was covered in boxes so I didn't take too many. More to come though!
Front of the house:

The back of the house and deck:

The kitchen:

So today was the big day. We closed on the house and are now officially homeowners! Jason and I were both very anxious and a little nervous as we headed to the title company for the closing. We both felt a little sick to our stomachs at the thought spending our life savings and now being in debt for the rest of our lives! But once we got there and started signing the papers all the nerves went away and we were just so happy and excited!

A big thanks to Jason's Aunt Cathy who was our agent. She made the whole process so fun and easy and we couldn't imagine working with anyone else! Thanks Cathy!!

We are planning to start moving some things this weekend and then move all the big stuff next Friday, July 3rd since Jason and I both have the day off. We can't wait to get settled in our new home!