Looking Back at 2012

It is New Year's Eve which means another year has gone by. As I sit here, I have been thinking of everything that has happen this year, I thought I would share a few of the highlights.

January

Our year started off pretty bad when our house got broken into.  It was an awful experience that I don't know if you can ever get over.  They took minor things and our insurance company (Allstate) was AMAZING but I am still afraid I will come home to our house being broken into.  For all those renters out there, the $10 a month I paid for renter's insurance was SO worth it.  

The best thing that came out of this was that we got our baby, Charlie, the next day.  We had been looking at getting a dog but I just never could decide on what to get.  We went to Petsmart to get fish food and I went to check out the dogs that a local shelter had there. When I saw Charlie (Jacko at the time), I knew he was my dog.  It took me about 30 seconds to decide if I wanted to get him or not.  He has been the best dog anyone could ask for.  He is such a mama's boy and loves to cuddle on the couch.  Aspen has been such a good big sister and has taught him so much.  They are great friends and play constantly.  I can't imagine ever only having one dog.  

Feburary

Jason and I celebrated our 2 year on the 19th.  We usually combine Valentine's Day and our anniversary together.  We wanted to skip the crowds and stay home so we grilled steak and lobster tails and had apple crisp and ice cream for dessert.  It was perfect.

March 

March started with a visit to Arizona to celebrate my brother's graduation from his masters program.  It was great to spend the time with my family and to see my brother graduate.  I thought I made him a pretty cool gift and he seemed to like it.  

March also brought a much needed Spring Break from school.  It was beautiful the whole week and I spent most of it laying outside in the sun.

Jason also started his new job at Travois in March. This has been such a blessing and we both love the company.  They are very family oriented and always want their employees to put family first.  They have an onsite day care and you can bring your dog to work.  Can't get any better than that!

April

April brought more warm weather and the wedding of Jason's friend Mike and his now wife Megan.  It was in Wichita and Jason was one of the groomsmen.  It will definitely be a wedding to remember since we had to leave the wedding early because the tornado sirens started going off.  It was a crazy night with tornadoes touching down all around us but luckily we were safe.  

May

The hosts and the proud mama to be

May is always a long month to get through with summer break right around the corner.  May started with me helping host my friend Sarah's baby shower.  It was definitely a fun day with lots of cute baby clothes.

Of course May ended with the last day of school.  Since we didn't use any of our snow days, the students got out early and us teachers had to stay for exciting meetings.  We probably learned a ton of great things but with summer vacation right around the corner, I don't think I remember much from them.  

June

June is the beginning of summer break but it is also the beginning of summer school.  Most teachers think I am crazy for doing this but it is easy money.  4 weeks, 4 days a week, and 4 hour days.  Can't beat that.  It gets me out of bed in the morning and I have the whole afternoon to do things.  

June also was when Jason and I decided to start looking to buy a house.  We thought we were going to be able to go month to month on our current rental property but that did not happen.  We knew we were cutting it close but we were hoping to find something, close, and move in by August 1st.  When we first started looking, I didn't know if Jason and I would ever agree on a house.  After only 2 weekends and 10 houses, we fell in love with one of the 1st houses we looked at.  We went back and forth with offers for a week and finally agreed on a price June 29th.  It was just in time since I was leaving for Europe for two weeks 4 days later.  

July

July was definitely the craziest month of the year.  I left on the 3rd for my two week trip to Europe with my best friend Lauren.  We had planned this over a year in advance but little did I know I would be buying a house at the same time.  Our trip started off pretty bad with our plane being delayed almost 10 hours.  This also meant that our plans of celebrating my birthday on the 4th in a London pub never happened and we missed a whole day in London.  We just pretended it never happen and started our "real" trip on the 5th.  We stayed in England until the 7th and then headed to Germany for 3 days.  Then we traveled by train to Switzerland which was the most beautiful place I have ever been.  If you ever get the chance to go, you MUST go to there.  After Switzerland, we left on the train to end our trip in Venice, Italy.  We drank a lot of wine, ate a lot of food, and had Gelato everyday.  The trip was amazing and worth every penny.  I know 30 years from now Lauren and I will still be talking about how much fun we had.  

While I was in Europe, Jason was taking care of all the paper work and finalization of our new house.  He was also braving the record breaking summer we were having in Kansas.  It was a hot summer and I am so glad I missed 2 weeks of it. 

July ended with Jason and I closing on our first home!! We closed on the 30th and had to be out of our rental by the 1st.  It was a crazy, HOT 3 days but so worth it.  We loved our new home and can't wait to make many memories here.  

  

August

August brought more hot weather and me going back to school.  We started a week later than normal which was great since I needed that week to help get unpacked.  August 15th was also Aspen's 4th birthday.  We celebrated with carrot pupcakes.  She really seemed to enjoy them.  

September

The biggest and most important thing that happen in September is that Jason and I got engaged!!! It was one of the happiest days of my life and I can't wait for our wedding on October 19th, 2013

October

My parents came to visit for a week in October.  It is always great to see them and I wish I could see them more often.  We visited and booked our wedding reception site and bought my wedding dress.  October also is the month of my favorite holiday, Halloween.  My team and I dressed up as the 4 seasons ( I was winter) and I only got 3rd in the staff pumpkin carving contest.  I was pretty disappointed since I won last year.  This was also the first Halloween where Jason and I had trick-or-treaters.  

November

Jason and I hosted our housewarming/engagement party in November.  We had a great turn out and I really appreciated everyone driving up to our house. 

For Thanksgiving I made the drive up to Iowa since my parents were going to be there.  It was so much fun to spend Thanksgiving with so many family members and I hope this will happen more often.

December

I always enjoy the many traditions of December.  Holiday parties, Lauren's cookie decorating night, and Julie's cookie exchange. We had our first snow day of school even if it was the worst day to have one(the last day before break). We celebrated Jason's birthday at Kansas City Sea Life and I carried on my family tradition of oyster stew and summer sausage sandwiches.  We spent Christmas morning with just the two of us and had Christmas dinner with Jason's family.  

2012 has been a great year but I am looking forward to 2013.  Jason and I are looking forward to taking on some small home improvement projects and most of all our wedding!  I hope everyone has a great New Year and here is to 2013!

Snap Shots

I have been meaning to post but haven't in awhile.  December is always a busy month.  The highlights:

1. Jason's Holiday party

2. Lauren's Annual Cookie Night

3. Julie's Annual Cookie Exchange

4.  We had our first snow day on the last day of school before break. It was bittersweet since we had so much fun stuffed planned that day.  Our kids missed "The Polar Express" movie, all school sing along, and the winter party.

5.  Riverview Staff Holiday party had to be postponed because of the snow as well.  

Today was the first day of my winter break and I am really looking forward to it.  Jason is also taking the week off.  Jason's birthday is Christmas Eve so I have planned breakfast out in the morning, Kansas City Aquarium during the day, and my family tradition of oyster stew and summer sausage sandwiches for dinner.  Christmas Eve is one of my favorite times of the year.  We our hosting Christmas dinner at our house with Jason's family.  It will be nice not to have to leave but I am really missing my family this year.  Hopefully one day I will get to spend the holidays with my family too.  I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

Bottom: Beautiful scarves my mom makes; the Kansas Pizza  Box Project in my class; Cookie Night at Lauren's; pup dogs wanting to go outside and play in the snow
Top:a gift from one of my students; Charlie playing in the snow; Aspen waiting to got outside

Photo Dump

I am copying this great idea from my friend Sarah's blog.  She posts photos from the week.  Here are a few I took this week.


Top: Smithville Lake; Sick Charlie cuddling with Momma
Bottom: Beautiful Aspen; Two tired pup dogs 

Thankful

As this Thanksgiving break comes to an end I have much to be thankful for.  I was very thankful this year since I got to spend Thanksgiving with my family and I didn't think that was going to happen.  Unfortunately the reason for traveling to Iowa for Thanksgiving was for the unexpected passing of my cousin Joel.  Even with this sad news, I had a great time seeing so many family members I have not seen in awhile.  I am thankful to my Uncle Dick and Aunt Nedra for allowing my parents and I to come to their Thanksgiving at the last minute.  Some other things I am thankful for this year in no particular order are:

• Jason:  He loves me for who I am and puts up with my craziness. I can't wait to become Mrs. Betts!
• Aspen and Charlie: They are the best dogs anyone could ask for. I can always count on them to be excited to see me when I come home and to cheer me up if I am having a bad day.  
• My parents:They have always been there for me and have been great role models for what a happy marriage should look like.  
• My job:I am thankful to have a job that I love and to work with the amazing people that I do.
• My house:  I am thankful that Jason and I were able to purchase the house we live in and I am looking forward to making many memories in this house. 

Overall I am thankful for my life everyday.  I am in good heath, have a roof over my head, have a job, and have many people who love and care for me.  

So...with Thanksgiving break coming to an end, bring on Christmas!  I am a firm believer in not putting up Christmas decorations until after Thanksgiving but fully embrace Christmas once Thanksgiving is over with.  After driving home from Iowa Friday morning, I started putting up our Christmas decorations.  I still have a few things to add but am happy with everything so far.  

My First Blog Post

So I am excited to finally get my blog up and running!! I have so many family and friends scattered around the country that this is a great way to keep everyone informed.  Getting engaged helped get me motivated.

So I am excited to be the future Mrs. Betts (hence the title of the blog) and can't wait for October 19th, 2013!  Many people thought I was crazy to wait a whole year to get married but I have always wanted to be a fall bride.  After I got engaged I quickly started thinking about my wedding (not that I haven't been planning it for years).  If you know me you know that I never wanted to have a big production of a wedding and wanted to spend the least amount of money as possible.

Ceremony

I knew that I wanted to have a small ceremony with just parents and siblings and knew that I wanted it to be outside.  At first I was thinking the Overland Park Arboretum and Botanical Gardens but it is just too far south of where I live now.  I haven't decided for sure but Jason and I are now leaning towards the outlook point at Weston Bend State Park in Weston, MO.  It is close enough to us and we love the view overlooking the Missouri River.

Bridal Party

I know I might have some disappointed friends out there but Jason and I have decided not to have a bridal party.  I have amazing friends that I want to be at my wedding to help celebrate and have a good time and not have to worry about wedding party duties.

Reception   www.cellar222.com

As I started to look for reception sites I was quickly disappointed in the outrageous prices out there.  No wonder people go into debt trying to plan a wedding.  Personally I believe that my wedding can be just as special without spending a fortune on it.  As I continued to look around for reception sites, running off to Vegas started to look better everyday.  We looked at a few places and they were all beautiful but paying some of those prices for just an empty room frustrated me.  The other problem we were running into was that apparently October is the new favorite month to get married in Kansas City.  So many places didn't even have October dates available.  I couldn't believe it especially since I was calling over a year in advance.  Were people booking their sites before they were even engaged?  When we walked into Cellar 222, I loved it from the start.  It was small and intimate and the decor was so amazing that I knew that I would not need to spend an enormous amount on decorations to "spruce up" the place.  I still do believe that the price is crazy but compared to all the other places out there, it was actually reasonable.  Scott, the event planner of Cellar 222, was so friendly and you could see that he really enjoyed his job.  We decided on October 19th only because it was the only date available.  I originally wanted October 12th because Iowa has a bye week that day.  It is pretty sad that I am planning my wedding around the Iowa football schedule.  I am okay with October 19th because it is not an Iowa home game and I don't want to make some of my season ticket holder, family members choose my wedding or the game.

Dress

This is not my dress.  Just inspiration.

Crazy I know, but I already have my dress.  My parents were in town for a week and my mom and I decided to go check out dresses at David's Bridal.  I have never wanted to spend a lot of money on my wedding dress especially since most end up in a box for years after.  I also decided I wanted a short, tea length dress so that it would be more practical for a "party" like reception.  I fell in love with a couple dresses at David's Bridal but LOVED one dress once I put some red shoes on with it.  I fell even more in love with it when they told me the price was $199!!! My mom and I both said "We'll take it!!" when she gave us the price.  I am still thinking I will go with red shoes but haven't completely made up my mind.  

Flowers/Decorations

I have decided to only have a bouquet.  Flower prices are crazy for something that barely lasts the whole night.  I am going to have lots of fake pumpkins, leaves, and other fall decorations.  I love fall and will use everything from my wedding to decorate my house for years to come.  I have already picked up some things when they had all the sales on fall decorations after Halloween.  Thanks to our friends, Craig and Sarah, we have plenty of beautiful vases to use that came from their wedding in 2010.  I think they were happy to get rid of the boxes from their basement.  

Dessert

I have decided not to go with a cake and am going to have a dessert bar.  I have many friends who are amazing bakers that I am hoping to recruit to make fall desserts for my wedding.  So all my friends who are bakers out there beware I might be hitting you up to make something for my wedding.  I am hoping to have an assortment of small bites of common fall desserts such as apple crisp, pumpkin bread and pumpkin pie. 

Food/Drink

We are hoping to pick a caterer soon and look forward to the tastings!  We are thinking of going the appetizer route since we are planning on starting our reception around 7:30.  We will be having beer and wine only because of my many nights working at the Surf and Sand Resort. I decided early on that I would never have hard alcohol at my wedding. 

That is all we have for now.  I am looking forward to keeping you updated on our wedding plans.