Carissa's Bridal Party Scavenger Hunt

In between the bridal shower and the bachelor/bachelorette party, we had a bridal party scavenger hunt.  I will admit I was pretty skeptical about how this was going to go down but the best man's wife did a phenomenal job putting it together.  There were 5 categories and we had to complete, at minimum, 5 tasks from each category.  We split into guys vs. girls and did things like:

Spell "love" with your bodies

Get a stranger's autograph and pretend they're a celebrity.

Take a photo of a stranger walking a dog (totally staged at Walmart).

Take a photo with the brides new initials (laying on the floor at Walmart should have earned us bonus points)

Have a pretend BBQ in the lawn & garden section of a store. 

Work out pose.

Stand with a mannequin in a show room or store front (we got bonus points for wearing the same outfit as the mannequin) 

Take a photo with the Bride's parents (her dad was napping so we all piled into bed)

I didn't see the official scores but apparently the guys won.  I call BS because the unofficial score had us winning by over 100 points, but we all had fun and that was the point!

Less than 2 weeks until the big day!

30 Day of Thankfulness {Day 22}

Each day this month I'm joining up with Katie to share with you the many things I am thankful for. I'd love to hear what you're thankful for.

Day 22:  I'm thankful for my high school experience.  I was blessed to attend public high school that is consistantly ranked one of the best high schools in the nation.

 

Everyone who is admitted to Walnut Hills High School must pass a standardized test in 6th grade and the student body is made up of kids from all over Cincinnati, not just one specific neighborhood.  This creates a very diverse and very intelligent group of people.  The school is 7-12, not just 9-12 which also adds to the unique dynamic of the campus.

 

with my BFF at our HS graduation

 



I didn't appreciate the experience at the time but looking back, I'm beyond grateful for everything I learned there, both in the classroom and out.  I didn't have the best high school experience (nor the worst) but I appreciate every bit of it now.   I'm proud to be a Walnut alumna!

 

 

My BFF is ENGAGED!

My Sunday morning started REALLY early.  I had a VERY important phone call to make (our stupid Skype isn't accepting incoming calls for some unknown reason)!

I've known for a while now that she was getting engaged this weekend because I made her promise I'd be the 1st to know so she told her boyfriend I had to be involved.  Living overseas, I feel like we're always the last to know everything and often only find things out because of Facebook (like my BIL's engagement and grandparents major surgeries)!  Her boyfriend knew that she was expecting him to wait until I was back in the States to propose so in order to surprise her he involved me (as much as possible) in the planning.  

I'm beyond thrilled with the way he chose to propose.  Almost three years ago, I took Carissa to a Crossfit workout with me and she was instantly hooked.  Even after I left, she kept at it and it's changed her life.  Not only does she look & feel fabulous, she also met the love of her life at that gym (I totally take credit for their relationship).  They've both come so far in the past three years both in their health/fitness & their love so it was only fitting that he proposed at a Crossfit event.

Luckily for me, there were tons of people around to take photos!

(these were all stolen from her Facebook)

The best part is, someone caught it on film!

The video definitely made me cry.  This girl has been through the ringer over the past 5 years and she deserves to be happy.  I'm so happy that she found Rob and I can't wait for their big day!