It’s getting close to the wedding date and Hannah has been putting the finishing touches on many of the details. In fact, I stopped by Janet and Flip’s house this weekend to find her putting the finishing touches on the event signage. People have gotta know where the bathroom is right?

Deputy1: “Do you swear to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you God?”

Groom: “I do”

Bride: “I do”

Deputy1: chuckles …. “That’s my favorite part. You can cross your fingers though.”

Bride/Groom: awkward laughter “What’s the process for filing for an annulment or divorce?”

The actual process is discussed for longer than you’d think necessary when applying for a marriage license. The subject is then dropped while paperwork is filled out

Several minutes later

Deputy1: “Uh, is this righ…oh well, you probably made a mistake. You both have the same last name?”

Deputy2: “Wait a minute. What’s going on here?! We don’t allow this in Everett”

Bride: laughs so much she actually lets out several small snorts

Groom: smirks (wonders to himself if he actually got all of his questions completely answered about that annulment process)

For those of you coming to the impending nuptials (those 5 of you that read our blog, we thank you for your readership) please be aware that mosquitosare going to be out in full force once the sun goes down. We’ll have a variety of things to ward those buggers off, but please be sure to bring other clothes to either change into or layer up. We want you to be able to enjoy the events, especially Spoonshine!

My original intent with this post was to mention how beautiful our garden is right now. So many things are putting on a show, as my mom likes to say. I’ve been on vacation or in Anacortes for the past two weeks and I love coming home to see new color, shapes and blossoms popping up. It is surprising what has popped up; things that I thought were gone, but decided to wait and see are now making me smile.

While in Anacortes I had an opportunity to hang out with friends that I rarely see. Kara had a party in my honor and did not disappoint from start to finish. From crab, salmon and a special version of Know-Yr-Own to a late night with lots of laughs, many memories were created. (KXPX, anyone?)

At one point we were floating around Trafton on The Party Barge (Yes, The Party Barge) turning circles and screaming as if our lives depended on it. It was a flashback to my childhood and I realized how amazing all my friends are. (I’m lacking pictures from these hours….they would’ve been good ones. Lara, Deb & Nicole took over and manned the PB (Party Barge in case you are wondering) like sailors.

Cora and Chaya are troopers to the extreme. They showed up a bit late because Chach had to work and so they didn’t get to get on The Party Barge when the rest of us piled on. Needless to say, C&C showed about the same time us Party Bargers had figured out how to steer and were happily floating in the middle of the lake. Did that hold back my wonderful cousins back from enjoying The Party Barge? Nope, not the Glass sisters!! After yelling back and forth across the lake they (They meaning Chaya, as there was only one paddle, Cora sat in the front of the boat deciphering our shrieks from the Barge.) canoed out to the middle of the lake to join us. I’m sure all the neighbors loved listening to a bunch of 20 somethings (okay, we’re mostly closer to 30) squeak, squawk and bellow to our heart’s content. Thanks to Shirley who provided us with her house and Party Barge.

Beyond being on the lake at Shirley’s, we had a fabulous night. Many, many stories. Not many are blog appropriate. (one word: Tiffin) I’ve realized that it is easy to go on vacation or do something super fun and exciting, but coming back and typing about it is a whole different thing. Once I attempt to write about the Oregon Coast, New York or gardening with my mom, I become acutely aware that I am no longer on vacation or doing the thing that made me want to write about it in the first place. That said, I’m off to do something else.

I’ve been going through old and random pictures lately and have really had a fantastic time looking at the different styles that everyone has gone through. Remember the neon colors? Super short shorts for guys and huge bangs for girls? Phil and I were cracking our selves up last night looking at some hilarious ones of our family. I’m saving those for another project.

School is out!! Although it was really bittersweet to say goodbye to my students today, I’m ready for the summer break. I came home today to to discover that my National Board kit was waiting for me on the front stoop. Apparently, they thought it’d be funny to make sure it showed up my first day of summer vacation.

In other news, I got my dress fitted today. I have a REAL wedding dress. It really is kind of shocking. I initially tried some on thinking that I “needed to make sure I didn’t like any of them.” Yeah, that didn’t work. I got one and it is beautiful. When I put it on I feel fancy and excited for our impending nuptials. I like to throw around that term whenever I know someone is getting married.

Sydney is on vacation in Anacortes and she’s into chasing cars, according to the most recent reports. She’s coming home on Friday. Did I mention that I’m done with school?

***Warning: This is a long post about printing our wedding invitations…click on any of the blue highlighted words to see pictures!***

My brother Phil has a super old printing press set up in his garage. I asked Phil if Barry and I could possibly print our wedding invites using his tools and skills. Phil seemed thrilled and very excited from the get-go. I had no idea what an undertaking this project would be. Thankfully Geneviève kept us fed through the whole process.

We headed to the Paper Zone to pick paper. Yeah, it sounds simple, but we were in a store called the Paper Zone….to pick paper. I had no idea there were so many colors and textures of paper. was super sweet in helping me make the decisions, listening to all the reasons I did or didn’t like certain colors. We still had our work cut out for us:

1. Pick font from the massive amount available.

2. Set Type & mix paint: white with red makes PINK!

3. Print! (watch the printing movie to see all the action)

4. Check the goods and keep printing.

Basically, this went on for 4 days with a million steps in between. It happened to be freezing and I busted into Phil’s camping gear and put on his boots. They didn’t quite fit, but my feet were

better off because of them. Geneviève carved the wave that is on the back of the envelop out of a linoleum block. She busted it out and I, as always, was amazed at her artistic ability.

We didn’t just spend our time at PW Elverum Print Studios, but had to make a run to Bayshore to photo copy the directions sheet. If you have never been to Bayshore Office Supply in Anacortes you should go, it’s a funny small town experience. Phil is a regular there. Speaking of Anacortes, two of my favorite family members, Nancy and Midge, stopped by to see the work in progress….I think they got cold.

One thing that I really appreciated about working with Phil on this project was his ability to see how he wanted it to look in the end based on they vague description I shared with him. He started by drawing a mock up and that mock up kept changing…until we got to the real thing. (Check your local mail box to see the final invite soon!)