Bring on 2012

Dear Friends and Family,

It's almost a new year and we are definitely looking forward to 2012.  Now I'm not complaining about 2011, it was pretty awesome, but I know there are better things to come.  I'm looking forward to a year of less goodbyes, less change, and a more "normal" way of living, if there is such a thing.  I'm looking forward to a year already half full of travel, family, friends, and a big pretty big event...our wedding day.  I'm looking forward to adding a husband, 2 parents, 4 brothers, 4 sisters, 5 nephews, and 1 pretty cool niece to my family.  That's 17 more people to call family...that's pretty awesome.

I'm pretty sure I spend more time reflecting and being thankful at New Years than I do at any other time of year. Here are few things I have been thankful for this year....

Challenges.

Family.

True friendship. 

Happiness.

Love.

Trust.

Fun.

Memories.

Relaxation.

New adventures.

Cuddling.

Now these are just a few of things and if you didn't make a picture...don't worry I'm thankful and grateful for you also.  It would take me entirely too long to put up all the things I am thankful for.

I'm not going to make any resolutions for 2012...most of the time those end in disappointment.  But I am going to strive to be a better person...a better friend.  I'm going to smile and laugh and cry...a lot.  I'm going to give a lot more hugs.  Those all are all definitely doable.   

Thanks for stopping in....and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!  

Love,

Shannon

Wedding Venue

Dear Friends & Family,

Well, we've been engaged a little over 3 weeks and I've already gotten so much accomplished.  So far, everything has gone very smoothly.  I flew down to San Antonio last weekend and booked the venue. Feel free to check it out at http://www.sunset-station.com/.  It's Depot 1 under the Venues tab.  It's an old train depot that has so much character and charm.  It seemed like the perfect fit for us.  Did I mention the woman helping us is a rockstar?  She's been so helpful and truly understands how hard it can be to plan a wedding from a distance.  Here are a couple photos of the venue...I'm so in love with it! 


Reception Area



Staircase where the ceremony will take place

I feel like now that I have booked the venue, everything else will kind of fall into place.  So far that theory is working for me.  :)

Right now, I'm looking forward to the holidays and trying not to let wedding planning rule my life.  I think I've done a pretty good job so far.  My family is coming to town for Thanksgiving and that is always a great time.  We'll be headed to Cheyenne in December for a wedding and a Christmas party, so we are extremely excited about that. 



Stay tuned for more information to come regarding wedding details.  Save the Dates are going out very soon!!

Love,

Shannon

We're Engaged!!!

Dear Friends & Family,

So I promised I'd try my best to keep this blog up as long as there was something to talk about, well now we have something to talk about.  I figured I could start a wedding website, but then I would be stuck trying to manage 2 websites, so I'm not going to do that.  I'm going to keep it simple and sweet.  That's how I like things.  :)

How He Did It:  Burdette and I went to Kansas City to celebrate our 2 year anniversary.  We basically decided that Saturday was going to be the day we'd celebrate, since our anniversary was on a Monday.  We had a beauitful dinner at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse and then headed to the Kansas City Improv for a comedy show.  It was a pretty awesome day.  We got back to our hotel late and I was tired, but we got to talking about the last 2 years, then Burdette said, well I got you a present!  I said, you did?  Next thing you know he's knealing next to the bed and asking me to marry him!!  It was perfect. 

When and Where:  We are definitely planning a San Antonio wedding.  It's the perfect spot for us.  Burdette was born and raised in Texas and I spent several years there as a child.  Plus, we just love Texas.  We know that's where we'll end up one day.  When is still undecided.  It will definitely be this summer and we're leaning towards May 26th.  It's Memorial Day weekend, so if people wanted they could spend an extra day in SA and enjoy the town.  I have a trip planned next weekend to visit some venues and hopefully find one that I love and pick a date. 

That is all I really know right now.  There is definitely more to come, so keep checking back.  We're extremely excited and feeling truly lucky right now.  Everyone has been so supportive and we're grateful to have such an awesome group of family and friends.  We love you all so much!!!!

Love,

Shannon

3 Month Update

Dear Friends & Family,

This past Monday marked our 3 month anniversary as Nebraska residents!  Not much has changed since the last post, but I figured I would check in anyway.  We made a short trip back to Cheyenne in September for a friend's wedding.  It was a much needed trip for me.  It was so great to see friends and just be in Cheyenne.  Sometimes you need a reminder that it's okay for things to change.  I've needed a lot of those reminders during this transition.  It was a good feeling knowing that the time I spent in Cheyenne mattered to some.  If you are in Cheyenne and wondering when we'll be back, don't worry I have another trip planned for December.  There is a Christmas party that I just can't miss!  :)

Burdette has settled into his job nicely.  He seems to really enjoy it.  It doesn't hurt that he works with a pretty great group of people. It has taken me a little while to adjust to my job, but a new position and a couple of tweaks here and there have made all the difference.  I'm grateful to have met some pretty awesome people there too.  They make the biggest difference in my day. 

We have a big day coming up soon.  Our TWO year anniversary.  If you know me at all, you know this is a pretty big deal.  It's crazy how quickly the time goes by, but I'm grateful for every second of it.  We will be celebrating with a weekend getaway to Kansas City.  I have no clue what we are going to do there, but we're excited and plan on making the best of it. 

The boys are still doing great!  Walter has a doctor's appointment this Saturday.  Nothing is wrong, he's just getting slower and I'm a little concerned.  I just want to make sure he's comfortable and it's giving me an opportunity to check out a new vet.  I'll keep you posted on that one.  I'm going to end it with some pictures of them...they always make me smile.  :)


Love,

Shannon

Frank snuggling with his mommy!

Wally on my lap-this never happens, so of course I snapped a picture! 

Snuggling again with me, he's so spoiled!

Nap time on the couch!  :)

Updates

Dear Friends & Family,

So I feel bad because I haven't written anything in quite some time, but honestly not much is going on and I'm trying to enjoy it a little bit.  :)  Things have been going well.  The house is coming together and I finally put something on the walls, but it was in the guest bedroom, so I'm not sure if that really counts.  I'm taking it slow, I want it to be exactly the way I want it.  My mom and Ryan came over for a visit during Labor Day.  That was awesome!  It's so nice to have family visit us.  I wish we could see them more.  We also finally got grass.  It's crazy how something like grass makes things feel complete.  We didn't know it was coming and then last Tuesday, it was there.  Awesome!  Then we decided to do a little outside work...very little.  Burdette put up a shed to store his man toys and I started working on the landscaping, but most of that work will wait until Spring!

Here is the most recent pictures of the outside of our beautiful new home!

We haven't really done much.  Put some rocks in, a flag, a couple plants..that's pretty much it!  :)

We'll be making a trip west in less than 2 weeks.  If you are in Cheyenne on the 23rd, we're going to try to see some friends then, and then we have a wedding on Saturday.  I can't wait for our first trip back.  It's crazy how much I miss that place!!

Anyway, as always, I hope you enjoy!

Love,

Shannon

Finally!

Dear Friends & Family,

So things have been hectic to say the least.  I'm sorry if I've been out of touch.  We received our household goods on Thursday, along with a new bedroom set, new living room set, and a pretty new chair.  I really couldn't take much time off work and I wanted to get things done quickly, so we've been busy!  Here are the most current pictures, I don't have anything on the walls yet, and I'm not in a rush for that.  I just wanted our home to be livable and now it is.  Hope you enjoy!

Entry way with new tile!

Living room with our new tables and chair

New chair!

Fireplace

Kitchen with new hardwood floors...much better than the old vinyl!

Remember that beer fridge?  This is what took its place and we love it!

Love these floors

Dining room and Frank :)

Guest bath with new tile floors

Guest bedroom for all you visitors!!

Master bedroom-brand new everything!  :)

Master bath with new tile

Master bath

So, we still don't have grass, but it's been crazy hot here, so we're okay with that.  I'll update with more outside pictures once we get it.  Besides that, things have been really good.  I think we are all adjusting to Nebraska well (Frank and Walter included).  Burdette and I are both happy to be in our house and finally be settled.  We even had our first overnight guest...Ryan!!!  I was happy to have him here over my birthday weekend.  Now we're just waiting for my Mom to arrive over Labor Day.  :)  Our house is always open, so feel free to book your next trip to Omaha!  :)

Both of our jobs are going well too...in case your were wondering!  We're starting to get into a little routine and that's always nice.  

Anyway, I hope you like what we have done so far.  Hope to update more soon!

Love,

Shannon

Awesome

Dear Friends & Family,

Things haven't been too exciting around here lately.  I started work on Monday and that has been keeping me busy.  Things are going well though.  I saw an old ERAC friend and that was awesome, then we had dinner with some old friends and that awesome too.  A lot of things have been awesome lately...I should probably find a new word.  :)  We did our "pre" final walk through on the house today and that was pretty fun.  The house is looking fantastic.  I cannot wait until we close on Monday.  It'll be nice for it to finally be our house.  Our household goods are coming on Thursday, along with new bedroom furniture, living room tables, new chair, and a new refrigerator.  The house comes with a fridge, but not the one we want.  We are going to use the current fridge as a "beer" fridge for the basement.  Okay well here is probably the last update before we get our stuff.  I'll keep on updating the blog as long as I have something to talk about, which if you know me well, it'll probably be forever.  Hope you all are enjoying this so far!

Kitchen Appliances!!!  

Kitchen is done minus wood floors

Dining room with blinds

Living room with blinds and carpet

Laundry room

Master bedroom with blinds and carpet

Sorry the pictures are not the best quality.  My camera was dead and I had to resort to the trusty iPhone.  I may try to update this while the floors are going in next week.  Ryan will be visiting and it's going to be a busy time.  Wish us luck!!

Love,

Shannon

Nebraska Residents

Dear Friends & Family,

So it's official...we live in Nebraska now.  We survived our first full week.  Things have been good.  We stayed in a hotel for about 3 days and we are living in temporary base housing until the first week of August.  We are closing on the 1st of August, but won't move in until the 4th, just in time for my 26th birthday!!  :)  I was offered a job at Signature Performance as an Insurance Follow Up Specialist, I start tomorrow.  I'm very excited to start working.  It gets kind of boring when Burdette goes off to work...it's much more fun exploring Nebraska together.  I finally have updated pictures of the house, so here they are!

Back deck with window looking into the living room- I love this big window!

Kitchen with granite and and tile backsplash-can't wait for wood floors and appliances!

Close up of backsplash-I wasn't sure how much I liked this, but now I think I love it!

Spare bathroom counter top

Tray ceiling in Master bedroom

Master closet

Master bathroom counter top

That is the latest news on the house.  The carpet is in and looks great.  Hopefully I'll get to take some more pictures soon.  The house needs touch up work and a good cleaning, but it's looking great.  

Ryan has a short TDY in Omaha the first week of August, so we're excited to see him.  It's perfect timing because I'll need lots of help unpacking that week.  :)  We'll probably hit up the zoo that following weekend...it's my birthday and I like the zoo, so that's what I want to do.  

Thanks for all the well wishes as we make this final transition.  It's a very exciting time for us.  It's a little lonely out here, but I'm feeling love from all over right now, so thanks for that!  Keep checking back for more updates.

Love,

Shannon 

Bye Bye Cheyenne

Dear Friends & Family,


I just wanted to do a quick post to let everyone know we made it to Nebraska safely.  The boys are even enjoying it so far.  :)  Thanks to all of my Cheyenne friends for making the last 4 years so enjoyable.  Even though I have moved a lot and enjoy exploring new places, it never gets easier.  I'm grateful for all the memories that I have of Cheyenne and of the people I have met.  Each one of you will always hold a special place in my heart.  I love you guys!  Please keep in touch and visit us soon!  


Love,


Shannon


You and I will meet again
When we're least expecting it
One day in some far off place
I will recognize your face
I won't say goodbye my friend
For you and I will meet again
~Tom Petty

Granite!!

Dear Friends & Family,

So when you're buying a house there are a few things you look for.  Women are always attracted to three things:  the kitchen, the bathrooms, and the closets.  So when you're building a house you focus on those things too.  I was a little nervous picking out everything..floors, cabinets, counter tops.  I'm feeling much better now because we have granite and I couldn't be happier with the picks.  Everything is coming together now.  We are still waiting for carpet, sod, appliances, blinds, and bathroom counter tops.  All of the vinyl flooring will be changed immediately after we close on the 1st of August!  Hope you enjoy!

Entry way-this flooring will be changed to tile.

Entry way again-I love the windows in the door!

Kitchen

Island with sink and granite!!

Close up shot of granite with dark cabinets-I love it!!

Master Bathroom-Shower has a door now!  :)

Close up of the fireplace

That is the latest update!  We should know A LOT more on Monday because we will officially be living in Omaha on Sunday.  We're so excited about the progress and even more excited that our closing got bumped up 2 days.  Until then we are just enjoying our last couple of days in Cheyenne.  Burdette's last day at work is today and now we can focus on packing up the cars and saying our goodbyes.  I'm trying not to be a huge girl about it, but it's hard.  I'll miss Cheyenne.  :)

Thanks for stopping in!

Love,

Shannon