Who says you can't come home?

Well, change of venue and change of day. What can we say? We're tricky.

Our wedding will be on ...wait for it... September 11th of 2010! I know, I know. Why would we have it on September 11th, you ask? Well, because that was the only day the historic Riviera Ballroom in Lake Geneva had an opening (gee, I wonder why?) and because, as Brian so eloquently put it, "we can't let the terrorists win!"

There you go.

The backyard reception at my parents would have been beautiful; however, all of the rentals were adding up - along with weather, parking and outdoor worries. The Riviera is fantastic and we were lucky to book it. My sister had a winter wedding there and I have never seen anything so beautiful (ala Janice Borri). So, our glamourous 30's like theme will be gorgeous in this old building. It is right on Lake Geneva and in the heart of the little town itself.

Lake Geneva, although a resort town, is where I basically grew up - 'cruising' the blocks in our cars in high school...Pizza Hut after the basketball games....frequenting Champs when I turned 21. Even my junior and senior prom were held at the Riviera (which now shocks me because that had to be a pretty penny for our school!).

This is 'home' for me - and what's even better is that Brian LOVES it. Even as I looked at other places, he kept bringing me back to this one.

So - save the date! (We think it will be easy to remember...) And we still have plans to mix this wedding up a bit - don't think just because we're in a fancy old ballroom that we plan on being all dignified...

Do you not know us at all?!

The Cat in the ...basket.

Coloring eggs!

Easter morning. Notice the 'wolves' surrounding Hannah...

Daddy came up with a new dessert: chocolate chip pancakes, hot fudge, ice cream and whipped cream!

"Are you getting this? Are you getting this? Do something! He's not supposed to be in there!"

And again...

And the next day...

And the next day...

We took the basket away and he's back to the sink (in the wet bar).

We hope everyone had a great Easter! We missed being with family and friends - but it was a great day!

In the words of Beyonce..."if you like it, then you should've put a ring on it." Well, Brian must like it! "It" being me, of course...

We're engaged! Not that this is a suprise to anyone by now, I'm sure, but we were reminded again in the last few days to update the blog (thanks Emily and Ben!) - so here it is. The official word: Brian has decided to buy the cow!

The proposal was sweet and funny - and that's all you really need to know. Brian called my dad for his blessing earlier - and then popped the question shortly after - well, actually he didn't really ask. After some sweet teasing, Brian snuck the ring on my hand and said, "Let's get married!" I don't believe that I ever actually agreed... I was too busy jumping up and down and screaming. After some sweet words between the two of us ("Seriously? SHUTUP! You want to marry me?! For real?!"), the phone calls began...

I can't tell you how excited I am to be Mrs. Farmer! I hold that name dear because it represents my wonderful husband-to-be and his sweet, kind grandfather that he was so extremley close to - and who we will honor on our wedding.

We are planning a summer wedding for 2010 - most likely July 10th, so mark your calendars! It's going to be an outdoor affair with the reception being at my parents home - a huge tent reception that evokes old hollywood glamour! And you know how we like to mix things up...so expect the unexpected.

We don't do "normal."