Gotta catch up! It's the last day of May!

Selwyn (my rat) is jumping from my shoulder to the keyboard while I write this. So I apologize for any random letters that might appear. I'll try to edit this!

We are now less than two months from the wedding date, and things seem to be coming together fairly well. A friend of mine saw our engagement pictures and asked to use us as models to help her build her photography portfolio, so now we have two sets of engagement pictures to choose from. I don't have the CD from her yet, so I haven't posted any of those pictures. We really need to get started on the announcements soon though!

Today my dad and I went over the guest list and (following the suggestion of our caterer) counted the "yes", "no", and "maybe" guests for the reception in Utah. Holy lots of people! I guess I shouldn't expect any less considering the size of the family I come from. We have a little over 300 "yes" guests and over 80 "maybe" guests. For anyone who may be interested (or need to use this little skill for planning a reception or other party in the future) we take the "maybe" list and divide it in half, because our caterer says in his 30 years of experience, that's a fairly accurate guess at how many will actually show up.

Also, my sister and I started making lists for bridal showers. I'm going to have two. How lucky am I? My sister is in charge of one for the family (so aunts, cousins, etc.) and one of my best friends from high school is going to do a bridal shower for friends and coworkers. It will be interesting to see how it all works out. The family bridal shower is going to be a breakfast, and it will be more of an "open house". So come, eat food, talk, whatever. I don't know what is planned for the other one yet, but I'm guessing it will be more like the traditional bridal shower (meaning games and such). That will give me a nice variety.

Tyler and I have our apartment now. We took over the lease of another couple and start paying rent the middle of June. I'm glad we are doing it this way (though it means spending money for an empty apartment for a month) because it means we can start putting the apartment together before we have to move in. We already have a dining room table (with chairs) and a couch. We are lucky to be moving into a college town with lots of married couples! We've gotten good deals on both the dining room set and the couch because couples were moving away and anxious to get rid of things. It has really worked to our advantage.

Outside of wedding plans, there's not much going on right now. Tyler just started mid-terms this last week, which is keeping him pretty busy and stressed. He's doing a good job though. He's also caved in and will be starting a telephone research job this coming week. Money is money, and we desperately need it!

For myself, I am just working. For the next few weeks I'll also be playing Mom. My mom and my youngest brother have gone on a trip to New Zealand for the next two and a half weeks. My sister and I are taking turns cooking and cleaning. Dad was given one night a week to cook, but he's already found a way out of that! In his defense though, his excuses are legitimate.

My sister graduated from high school on Thursday and it gave me a chance to reminisce about my own high school days. Especially because we graduated from the same high school and she went to school with the younger siblings of some of the people in my graduating class. I can't help but wonder what everyone is up to four years after high school graduation. I guess if I go to my five-year class reunion next year, I will find out! I can't believe how much time has passed since I was in high school. I'm starting to feel old!

And for anyone who might wonder...Selwyn just stuck her nose in my mouth and then started licking my teeth. EWWW!!! Maybe she wants to be the first rodent dentist???+ <--this plus sign compliments of Selwyn