Merry Christmas

Hope this post finds you enjoying the last of the Christmas Spirit!
It's been a crazy busy few weeks, which is why there have been very few posts!

Jonah and I finished up our finals and classes. Jonah went home on the 19th, and I didn't get to come home until the 23rd. But, the semester is over and classes went well for both of us.

If you don't already know this, Jonah is a HUGE fan of Christmas. I mean, christmas carols blaring starting November 1st if no one yells at him for it.

We started with the traditional family Christmas for my Dad's side on Christmas Eve at our house.

On Christmas Morning I opened presents with my family from both my parents and Santa. Wedding planning was the theme this year, and I got a bunch of great new books on it as well as a subscription to Martha Stewart Weddings. Now that I'm done with finals and have a little time to focus on Wedding Planning, these books will REALLY come in handy.

In the afternoon we went to Oconomowoc to celebrate with Jonah's immediate family minus the flu-ridden Aaron, Jenny, and Emmett.

For those of you who don't know, Jonah's sister Beth lives in Oconomowoc with her Husband Trevor and their three kids Owen, 5 1/2, Evan 3 1/2, and Isabel, 6 months.
Owen and Evan received matching Power Wheels F-150s for Christmas from Santa, and when we rolled up to the house they were having an awesome time playing.
We ate a great meal and exchanged gifts. I got a new digital camera from Jonah's parents and immediately turned into Renee Anderson, snapping pictures of anything I could see.

I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.



More Christmas stories to come and wedding planning updates.
Hope everyone had an awesome Christmas!
Now time to relax before New Year's.

Maybe...

Adventures in Minnesota...

This past weekend we took a break from the hustle and bustle of the impending doom that is finals to visit some of Jonah's family in Minnesota.
Jonah's cousin, Anne, was in A Christmas Carol at The Guthrie theatre. We were lucky enough to have an efficient tour guide in Jonah's uncle, Gerry, and he showed us a very busy but awesome Saturday.

We got into MN late Friday night, so after a bit of catching up we all headed to bed. Friday morning we had brunch at Becca's new pad which she shares with Anne. Anne's college friend, Jenny, was also visiting. Becca just moved in but has become a Home Depot aficionado--including making a very crafty headboard with some bamboo someone was getting rid of.

We then made our way to the Mall of America, which I haven't been to in probably a good 12 years. We went on two coasters--> the second one was quick but had quite a drop!

We followed that up with an amazing roast at Liz, jonah's cousin, and Steve, her husband's house. It was especially fun to see Liz's growing pregnant belly! (Although, unfortunately she had to opt out of the rides. I wonder why....)
They also happen to have a golden retreiver, Captain, and if it's the last thing I do, I'm going to convince Jonah we need one! I think Captain helped changed his mind though. Step by Step;).

We then scooted downtown to see the holidazzle parade, which was very cute! Every float had people with lights on their costumes and while the wait between floats was a little long because they had to coordinate it with street lights downtown, it was definitely a very cool experience!

From the parade we went to The Guthrie. What an amazing building! It's beautifully designed with a ton of cool features. Check it out if you have a chance, here's the link. http://www.guthrietheater.org/
The show was awesome. It was reworked a bit so it was a 90 minute straight shot without an intermission.
We got to see Anne perform which was a real treat, and we also got to meet Peter Michael Goetz when Anne gave us a backstage tour after the show. Most of you probably know him as the father-in-law from father of the bride 1 and 2. He was actually playing Scrooge in A Christmas Carol, and was really amazing! He even entertained our request for a picture, which I will be showing to my jealous father.
Ever since we got engaged, he's been watching father of the bride...A LOT.
Hopefully, like Kathy(Jonah's aunt) said, he won't have a break down in the bun aisle.

We followed up the show with a trip to an awesome German bar, Gasthof zur Gemutlichkeit. With a little help from the gps we figured out how to say it. There was lots of dancing, and 3-3L boots fell victim to those of the Reason clan.

We ended the weekend with a great brunch where Anne's boyfriend, Blake works. It's called Tavern on France, and I'm telling you, if you need brunch and you happen to be in the Twin Cities area-- GO THERE.
The food was crazy good, a whole brunch buffet set up with pretty much anything you can dream of.

We hit the road from there and got back into Cottage Grove around 4:30 this evening.
Phew, even typing it up I'm tired thinking about it! It was truly a great weekend--a lot of great fun!


Hope everyone had an awesome weekend!:)
Wedding Planning is going well, and I'll update you soon!:)

The picture is of all of us with "Peter." (He doesn't know it yet, but I think he's my new best friend.)


Until next time!
Kels

We Set The Date!

We've set a date!
After a (very small) amount of looking, we've found a reception venue and have set the date for our wedding.

We'll be getting hitched on June 4th, 2011.

So far we know the ceremony will take place at St Stephen's Lutheran Church in Monona, Wi.
This was my church growing up, so I'm very excited about getting married here. (Especially since I had the honor to see Claire Sorge become Claire Ogunsola there this past weekend. It was quite a reality check watching someone get married and thinking about being there in 18 months! )

The reception will be held at the Masonic Center downtown on Wisconsin Avenue. Aaron and Jenny Reason(Jonah's brother and sister-in-law) had their reception here and it was at the top of my list when looking. After seeing it this past Friday(11/27) I was pretty set on it. I had posted earlier that we had hoped for June 11th, but that was the only date that had already been booked at the Masonic Center. We weren't set on it anyway, so we decided to make "D-Day" (as Jonah's been calling it) a week closer.

So, recap. WE'RE GETTING MARRIED! ON JUNE 4TH! At St Stephen's in Monona with a Reception to follow at the Masonic Center downtown.


Also, I've been working on a website from "the knot" but didn't want to put it up until we had more info.
Now that we know the date and the ceremony and reception, here is the link:
http://www.theknot.com/ourwedding/KelseyAnderson&JonahReason

I'll be updating it more as we know details(like times).



In other news, It's December 1st, which means we are celebrating the birth of one of my best friends(and a bridesmaid!)! Here's wishing Jenny Kondrasuk a super-tastic 21st birthday.


That's all for now, hope everyone had an excellent Thanksgiving!

Kels

The Post that should have come first...

I'm not one to get overly sentimental in a public forum. However, thinking back on the past 3 weeks and in light of yesterday's Thanksgiving festivities, I realize how very much both Jonah and I have to be thankful for.
Both of us are truly blessed with our family and friends.

Friends that have been there from the beginning, friends that suggested I may just get along great with that new kid from Holy Cross, Friends that have changed my life.

Family that carted us back and forth before we got our licenses, came to every school event they could, and even tagged along as year after year the boutonniere pinning picture still had to be staged(I'll get it...eventually. Maybe.)

...and friends and family both that take an amazing milestone like getting engaged and make it THAT MUCH BETTER with well wishes and support. I cannot explain the feeling you get when you know your friends and family are completely behind you.

So, my mom and dad, Kristen, and Kourtney, and to Tom, Linda, Beth, Trevor, Jenny, Aaron, the boys, Isabel, our grandparents, our extended families and all of our friends, this one is for you.

We cannot say it enough. Thank you.

Love,

Kelsey (and Jonah!)

Idea time...

Today's picture is an oldie! This was my Junior Prom, so May of 2006. I'm starting to get excited about being able to look back at our first homecoming together(My freshman year!) to now.


So!

As I said, updates on wedding planning.
We're at the point where we still have plenty of time but I just want to get some things organized-->
So I need ideas!

I know there's a lot of you that are either in the process of planning or had a wedding recently.
So-
Photographers? DJs? Florists? Wedding Dress Shops? etc...?

Shoot me an email or leave me a comment on facebook or here if you've got ideas. I want to know what company you liked and WHY so I can start narrowing down choices.

So far from what I've read about wedding planning, a year and a half starts out as a happy cushion, then people put it off and all the sudden they have EVERYTHING. TO. DO. with very little time left. I'm trying to avoid that at all costs, seeing as finishing up school is enough planning on it's own!

Alright, that's all I've got for now. Once we've informed the wedding party there'll be a fun post about that.

Happy Thanksgiving!!! Don't eat too much turkey, you need to save room for lots of Pumpkin Pie!:)

Kels

Beginning post...Engagement Story

I've decided to start a blog to let everyone know how wedding planning is going and the like so you can all see what I've been up to. I KNOW you're riveted.

Jonah might post too if I can convince him. For as much as he calls me a bridezilla, we may just have the very rarely seen groomzilla on our hands!

So far, we've gotten engaged. You probably already knew that if you're here.
We got engaged on my 21st birthday, November 6th. We were going out for dinner downtown and lucky for Jonah I am somewhat impaired when it comes to getting my bearings direction-wise downtown. We decided to go to Paisan's, which I did not know had it's own parking lot. When we circled the square looking for parking, I didn't think anything of it. (Again, lucky for Jonah!)

We were walking in front of the capital when I saw the Subway and decided I needed something to drink RIGHT NOW. Jonah staved off having to propose to me with a super classy Subway cup in my hand by asking if I wanted my birthday present before I could bolt across the street to grab a soda. I of course said I wanted my present.

He asked me to marry him and pulled out the ring. I said yes and it was all down hill from there...;)
The picture above is one snapped by a friendly pedestrian who happened to stroll by. Kudos to her for figuring out Jonah's fancy camera to get us a "just got engaged!" shot.

So far we've decided a couple of things-
We're looking to get married later in May of 2011 or June. As of now, we think June 11th might be cool since we got engaged on 11/6. (Get it? 11/6, 6/11? So clever!)
And we've also decided to have the wedding in the Madison area.
We'll be looking at reception venues and hopefully booking a place by January.

More planning to come! If not before, Happy Thanksgiving!