Best ever.

I have the best friend in the whole world. You may have read about how she saved my life here. She really is amazing...and this is WAYY over due but it is oh so worthy of a post!

I was soooo exhausted in this pic!

She may be just as excited about me getting engaged as I am!  We have only discussed our weddings and our future lives together for like, ever! I am also over the moon about the idea of having our babies together (unless she wants to start right now which I would definitely be A-OK with!)

She made me feel so special when she delivered these to my house when I got back from Rockport the weekend we got engaged!

Check out this amazingness...

SPRINKLES CUPCAKES WITH MY NEW LAST NAME!!

AMAZING right?!

And wouldn't you know, both me and my mom cried when we saw these!

She is one of my few friends that appreciates a pretty packages and she had these yummies wrapped up so cute with a big bow, a glittery "U" (my new favorite letter!!!!) and the sweetest "recipe for love" measuring spoons! -wish I had a picture!-

And just so y'all know...I will be proudly stealing the last name Urbanovsky. Yep, it's crazy long, and hard to say, and it doesn't exactly "ring" with my first name that's already odd...but sharing a name with Trav is one of the things I am seriously MOST excited about!

It means he's stuck with me for-ev-er.....BWAH-HA-HA-HA-HA

The second I get married I will be choosing checks instead of plastic because

I CAN.NOT.WAIT. to sign them:

"Mrs. Travis L. Urbanovsky"

Old fashion? Yes. But it will be happening!

And my kinder babies? I will be "Mrs. Urbo" to them, just like his mama! I've never had a nickname before....this boy is seriously making every single stupid dream I ever had (like wanting a nickname, growing pumpkins, and smoking bees - to name a few) come true!

Ms. Landin said "YES!"

Most mornings I have a message waiting for my kids when they walk into class. A typical message usually says something along the lines of "Ms. Landin thinks you're ballar!" or "Did you get your guns up this weekend?" (all my students are Tech fans because I make them be)

I always have fun writing the messages and the kids love to read them but I was especially excited to write a morning message the Monday after I got engaged!!

This is how I told my sweet kinder babies I was officially off the market...

After about oh, 200 guesses on what the picture was ("Is it a pumpkin?", "a wrench?", "a trash can?") someone finally guessed a ring!

I showed them my new ring, which did not impress them much, and told them I got it that weekend. When I asked them to guess who gave it to me, they all yelled out "Jonathan!" (my sweet -and very single-  brother who had just come to school to help us plant flower for our plant unit) I quickly said "NO!" decided not to get in to the topic of incest, and finally someone guessed Travis!

I asked what they thought the ring meant. Guesses were flying! All of them followed by lots of giggles.

"It means you're having a baby." No, no it definitely does not mean that. YET!

"It means you got married."

"It means you have to live with Travis."

"It means you have to kiss a boy."

I finally told them that the ring meant I was getting married! I explained that Travis asked me to marry him to which they all responded "EEEEWWWWWWWWWW!!!!"

The boys in my class think ole Trav is pretty cool.  I show them pictures of the fish he catches and the animals he shoots and the fun animals at his parents house. They all think it is all pretty spectacular. I had warned T though that he would lose all cool points after I told them what he had gone and done. It was true...they now think he's gross to want to marry a girl. HAHA.  Man, I love little boys!  

THE rock!

I mentioned that when I first saw the ring, I was a little taken aback. I had sent him at least 5 pictures of rings I loved. The same ring I had wanted for who knows how long. Simple. Skinniest band you can possibly get with a round solitaire. 

Here's one of the few pics I sent him about 5 months ago.

but with a round center stone

I assumed since I had sent him pictures he'd go with that. Simple and easy.

Well, I was wrong. Obviously, it was absolutely gorgeous but I didn't know what to think at first because it was so different than anything I'd thought about before. I was so dead set on what I had always thought I wanted.

He bought the diamond first then found a setting. He explained that he and jeweler tried the diamond on multiple settings like the ones in the pictures I sent and they agreed that the skinny band didn't support the weight of the diamond. Then he told me the minute they put it on this setting he knew it was the one. He said it looked like me and had a vintage feel to it that he knew I'd like. 

Remember the little breakdown I had the morning after the proposal? Well after that little episode I was feeling 1000% better about everything. Once he explained why he picked the ring I started to love it. I mean LOVE it. And now? I am absolutely OBSESSED with it.

Want to see??! OK! 

in the box - via crappy iPhone shots (like all my terrible pics)

and the diff angles on my finger.

IT'S SO SPARKLY!!! 

That phrase comes out of my mouth at least 15 times a day. Y'all this baby even sparkles in the dark! Love! 

At first sight I didn't think it was "me".  I am not a very blingy person and this was just so much! But it is safe to say this baby is NEVER leaving my finger now. (Let's pray it stays on there forever anyway, this new rock is adding plenty of anxiety to my life currently, I check at least a million times a day that the ring is on my finger and then that the center stone is there. So paranoid!)

Ironically, I have received 2 random messages from girl friends saying that they can't believe how perfect my ring is and how it totally "fits" me.  I just tried on a couple solitaire skinny band rings, like what I had always wanted and I hate the way they look on my finger! As always, Trav was right. He honestly knows me better than I do I think.

Jeezus....have I mentioned how lucky I am??

On a side note, we're going to have to make a custom wedding band. Have any of y'all had experience with that? I want something simple and definitely understated. Oh, and insurance for this bad boy is OUTRAGEOUS! $700 a year?? Nah-uh, not happening. Any ideas on where to insure this for less, surely that's not normal! All suggestions are welcome! Please and thank you!

HOT MESS

Now, I am generally an over excitable person. I have thought about every aspect of a proposal, wedding, marriage, family, etc. more than the average person (trust me, it's an obsession) and I imagined my reaction to becoming a fiance to be much different. It was a feeling I had never experienced and I had no idea how to show that emotion. Simply put, I was a wreck. A big ole HOTT MESS. 

I was SO excited and happier than I had ever been in my entire life.  It was literally like Travis was fulfilling all of my dreams for life in one simple question.  I have always wanted to be be a wife and mother. Like always and forever, since I was probably 5. But it almost seemed too easy. Was it for real? Was that all it took to have my life changed forever? Just a simple little question?  

One second I was crying and jumping up and down, the next I was feeling like I was going to barf. I just kept telling Trav I thought I was going to be sick and he was starting to get a little nervous that I wasn't sure about this whole thing, poor guy. (Have I mentioned that he is SUCH a good man to put up with me?) The millions of wedding ideas I've had stored in my mind for 10 plus years we're flowing out like crazy. I immediately started worrying about how on earth we'd ever have time to plan our own wedding with so many other weddings happening in our life. I was speechless but all I wanted to do was talk and tell Travis how much I loved him and how excited I was. My mind was spinning. I was freaking out. I never freak out!

  I always thought I would be so excited to call our friends and share the good news but a phone call just didn't seem appropriate. I wanted to run and hug all their necks as soon as I could but we were not near them and I wanted to soak in every bit of the weekend with my new fiance! We sat in Trav's truck on speaker phone and called friends and family for at least 2 or 3 hours. Just as soon as I stopped crying we'd call someone else and the tears would come rolling back. To say I was utterly exhausted by the end of the night, would have been putting it way too lightly.  

Of course, I didn't sleep a wink all night. Ideas were rolling through my mind, I would begin to fall asleep and I'd have an urge to google the most random things (wedding rings for Trav, venues, bands, etc.) and constant dings from my facebook push notifications were keeping me up...I wanted to read them all right then!   

The next morning I woke Travis up (at like 7) and just started bawling. (I know y'all, I was a crazy person!) I told him how I was sad I wasn't completely surprised and how I loved the ring he picked out but was expecting something completely different (like the pictures I'd sent him). I wasn't sure how I'd make a wedding band out of my grandmothers diamonds for it like I had always wanted - something he didn't know. I sobbed and explained that we were so busy this year there would be no time to plan this wedding I've always dreamed of, I cried because I felt so silly and ungrateful acting the way I was, and I cried (and cried and couldn't stop crying) when I explained that I had gotten used to saying goodbye to my boyfriend but I was NOT used to saying goodbye to my fiance!

As always, Travis calmly listened to my craziness and explained that everything would all work out perfectly. He told me why he wanted to be my husband and why the weekend and Rockport was so special to him (and I actually heard every word this time!) He explained why he chose the setting for the ring, why he wanted to propose the way he did and told me that no matter how crazy I was acting he'd always want to marry me. What a relief! I must have asked Travis 10 times if he still wanted to marry me. He had never seen me such a wreck (and hopefully never will again!)

That melt down was the best thing that could've happened right then. We laid there for a little bit longer just letting it all sink in and then I was back normal again, thank the Lord! I've said it before and I'll say it again, Travis ALWAYS has the right words to say at the right time. There is no doubt he was created specifically for me. 

We spent an amazing day together, just the two of us, which rarely happens. We got breakfast and did some shopping (my favorite activity) in all the cute shops of Rockport. I am really regretting not buying a picture we saw and loved for our first home. hoping it'll still be there next trip. We went back to the house, rested, snacked, and then went fishing (Trav's favorite activity). It was perfect. (all of it except for the boating accident we had which I'm pretty certain left me with a concussion - just what my already jacked up brain needed!)

Because obviously we'd go fishing the day after we get engaged! Love it! Wish this pic was with the reel Trav got me complete with pink line! Oh well. :)

I couldn't wait to see my momma and dad on Sunday!!!  We met our parents half way and enjoyed lunch together. After, we went to his sweet Granny Betty's for coffee and dessert. Then, I sadly told my new fiance good bye - but timing couldn't have been better because I got to see him just 2 days later!

I let my dad drive my car home...I was EXHAUSTED! I've slept like a baby ever since that night!

AND I am not acting crazy anymore!! Halle-freakin-lujah!! I am probably the happiest most excited person you will encounter these days! The only thing that could make me happier would be having Travis here. I am beyond blessed to have him in my life!

3rd Times a Charm

Rockport, Texas.

Hands down one of my favorite places on earth. I have grown up enjoying this part of the Texas coast and have been sharing this love with my sweet friends since the moment we could drive (and even before).

A weekend in Rockport includes all of my favorite things.  Friends, family, fun, drinking, sun, water, porch sitting, relaxing, music, eating....it can't be beat.

Rockport brings people together.  

You see, Rockport is a really special place to me and Travis.  We spent our first weekend (after only one quick, friendly date) there with all my best friends.  We had a great time! A few days later, however, I called things off with him.

Fast forward a few months (after I realized I made a GI-normous mistake).  Travis invited me and my besties to "C.A.S.T. for Kids" this amazing program where you pair up with disables children and go fishing on the coast. I can safely say this was the weekend I knew I'd marry him someday. It was cold and rainy but we had a blast reeling in tons of fish (that Travis caught of course) and the kids we're loving every minute of it. (And no lie, I was loving seeing a man be so incredibly into an activity like this) Later that evening we went to his bosses house, John and his wife Rhonda, for an unforgettable night of fun and drinking and dancing. These people have now become some of the people dearest to me. The awesome bar set up at their house on the canal is called the "Sand Bar" - it's by far my favorite bar to party at and drinks (and delicous snacks) are always plentiful!

I can't remember exactly but it may have been this Rockport weekend Travis told me all he wanted for his birthday was for me to be his girlfriend to which I responded "no, not yet". HAHA. I had this crazy idea that until I was absolutely certain I was going to marry the boy I was with, I didn't want to officially be in a relationship.  (2 weeks later I caved and told him he could be my boyfriend)

So Trav, poor guy, was 0 and 2 at this point. First time we spent the weekend together, broke things off with him; asked me to be his girlfriend, told him no.

Since that trip we have spent multiple incredible weekends together in Rockport, the bay in general, is our place.

And as luck would have it, his losing record changed....when he asked me to be his wife....in the same location we stayed up talking for hours and shared our first kiss over a year earlier, I didn't hesitate for a second. It was a question I had waited almost our entire relationship to answer.

I wish I could remember all the sweet words he spoke to me the night of November 17, 2011. But all I heard was the question that would make me is wife. The question that will always be my favorite question ever asked.

11.17.11

The day I got engaged.

As I posted before, I had a feeling a proposal was in the very near future. I waited each weekend in October thinking "maybe this is the weekend". October came and went and before I knew it November had practically vanished. Our schedules are about to get crazy busy (out of town/country weddings basically ever non-holiday weekend from now until April) and because a dear friend mentioned that he had planned to pop the question before Thanksgiving I had a pretty good idea it would happen.  

On the way to Rockport I had convinced myself this wasn't going to be the weekend. I was sure he was just trying to throw me off and I was positive he hadn't asked my dad or purchased a ring but the moment I pulled up to our cute little bay house and he walked outside to meet me, I knew what was about to happen.

I wish I could remember much after that.  He walked me into the house, sat me down, which instantly led to tears...the rest unfortunately is a huge blur, he talked to me for a bit, got a knee, pulled out a box, asked me to marry him, I said "YES!", and just like that, we were engaged! I have no photo documentation of details or anything but I have this big honka rock on my finger that is a constant reminder of the night I became a FIANCE!!

11.17.11

Bear with me...these next few posts are for my memory - they're lacking all the fun of a typical post like pictures, etc.  Those will come soon!

YES.

Want to know what I did this weekend!??

Oh you know....just got ENGAGED!!!! 

I promise a post about all the happenings very soon! Tonight though I'm celebrating with girlfriends and catching up on sleep! I had NO idea how exhausting becoming engaged could be!

BUT IT IS THE MOST INCREDIBLE FEELING IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD!!

I don't think it's all quite sunk in yet, but ladies....I hope you like wedding talk because for the next oh, year or so this little bloggity blog will likely be all about my plans to create my dream party wedding that will make me the wife to the man that I am certain was put on this earth just for me! 

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!

JIC

Doesn't JIC stand for "just in case"? I feel like we used to say that back in the day...anywho...

Here's a short story:

Back in August I was in the car with a bunch of girl friends talking about random stuff and I asked, "When is Travis going to propose?" and my friend Britt blurts out, 'before Thanksgiving!!". The car went silent, I was silent, and I instinctively grabbed the first thing I could find (a sunglasses case) and I hit her in the head with it. Hard. (because obviously "When is Travis proposing?" was a rhetorical question!!) She cried (I think more because she's pregs and less because it hurt) and I cried (I have no idea why). And then it was over. And we all went on to excitedly discuss Trav and I getting engaged.

What are the chances this scene could be reproduced?? Slim to freakin' none in these frigid 84 degree temps!

Obvi I was SO excited but now I knew and I was very sad about that, because who doesn't want to be surprised?!? I told Travis that I knew. So, I am like more than 99.99% percent positive it will not happen this weekend - the last weekend before Thanksgiving (because he has told me in the past he has a plan and this weekends trip was just pulled together by me so I know it's not "part of his plan", and I am certain he doesn't know my ring size, and I'm pretty sure he hasn't asked my dear ol' daddy yet...) 

BUT........

that .01% of me has a date with the nail place after school today (and probably every week from now until it actually happens!) You know....JUST IN CASE!!

because a sparkler like this should only adorn a manicured finger

Better safe than sorry, right?!