and hudson makes three.

a couple of weekends ago i helped host a shower for one of my dearest friends, ms. jen. it was so fun to get together with all of jen's friends and family. there were friends she had known from high school, former co-workers, her family, and then court's family. i had so much fun getting to chat with different ladies and hear new stories about jen. i wish that i had gotten better pictures ... i may have to snatch some from jen. everything is ready and waiting at the collier residence. the nursery is all put together, hudson's clothes are all washed and hung or folded. even the carseat and baby carrier is ready and waiting. i know we've said it a thousand times, jen, but travis and i couldn't be more excited for you and court. baby hudson, we can't wait to meet you!

worn-out wednesday.

i've not got too much to write tonight. i'm very sleepy. i was trying to help travis with his homework and feel asleep sitting next to him in the oversized chair. -- baby, here's something funny: i just rewrote that sentence to ensure there were no dangling modifiers. =)
i was out of the office most of the day with kate and roxie. we were delivering holiday gifts to our clients. that's the first time that all three of us have ever been out together. it really does not happen all that often.
at lunch kate asked me how far i've gotten on our wedding. i told her that i haven't done anything at all! i know that i have plenty of time if we're not planning to get married until october, but i would still like to get started. i'm excited to do everything. i think i need to start with venues and figure out where we're going to have it. we also need to figure out who will officiate.
it's something we've looked forward to for so long, but it's so strange now that we're engaged ... it will just hit me all of a sudden that this is real. we got an email last night that dee had sent out to all of her family. it was a follow up email to the family reunion last sunday. she mentioned in it that they would try to schedule the reunion next year around her son's wedding. it was strange to know that she was talking about us. it also put a huge smile on my face.
tomorrow is my year-end review with jason and kerry. i haven't decided what all to tell them. we received a survey at 4:00 this afternoon that we're supposed to bring with us to our review. i asked a week ago if there was anything that i needed to bring and they said no. i suppose right now i should be filling that out instead of blogging. i think i will just do it in the morning.
for now i'm going to take the rollers out of my hair and head to bed. i've been having such a hard time getting up in the morning, i decided to try rolling my hair at night. maybe it won't take me so long in the morning if i just have to do touch ups. =) sweet dreams!

03 december 2008: it's real.

at lunch kate asked me how far i've gotten on our wedding. i told her that i haven't done anything at all! i know that i have plenty of time if we're not planning to get married until october, but i would still like to get started. i'm excited to do everything. i think i need to start with venues and figure out where we're going to have it. we also need to figure out who will officiate.

it's something we've looked forward to for so long, but it's so strange now that we're engaged ... it will just hit me all of a sudden that this is real. we got an email last night that dee had sent out to all of her family. it was a follow up email to the family reunion last sunday. she mentioned in it that they would try to schedule the reunion next year around her son's wedding. it was strange to know that she was talking about us. it also put a huge smile on my face.

ladies i am officially off the market

before i get too carried away with my ridiculous rambling i just want to send a congrats out to jen & court. you guys will make great parents.

and now for the big news.......

i took the plunge and made the decision. the results are in and she said yes!
of course she did. now if i could only get her to get me a dog..... ;)

thanksgiving was as good as a holiday could get but with news of a new baby cousin on the way it only got better (4 boys in 6 years.... YIKES!!). lots of awesome food, as i have had double dinners now for the last 3 thanksgivings. great on the taste buds yet hard on the belly. my best friend, and rhiannon's brother, justin was self elected into this great tradition of double dinners as he is now, as you all know, recently engaged. good luck dude! good times indeed.

well it's bedtime here on the home front. just thought i'd give an update. peaceout dudes and dudettes. it's time to play my most important role..... THE BIG SPOON!! later..... i'm wasting good cuddle time :)

november 2008: a look back.

in november, a new member joined our family. a little neice named layla. justin and lindsay got a gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous baby pyrenees. every week we've watched her grow and can not believe how quickly she is growing up.

november was even more special for us. on november twenty-first, travis asked rhiannon if she was ready for her next fairy tale as his wife. the answer of course was yes. now we find ourselves booking venues, attending wedding shows, and planning our big event for 2009.

we spent thanksgiving with both of our families and it was our first holiday with lindsay. for the first time, we had thanksgiving at the lears/aukerman's first and then at mom and dad's. layla and ivory spent lots of time together, and my dad's sister "nanny" joined us for the first time in years.

catching up.

hello lovelies. thank you for your patience with my blogging hiatus the past month. work has been wearing lately, and when i get home in the evenings, i feel as though my brain is fried. i feel like sitting like a lump, or i'm busy with the kids' wedding invitations, etc. there are many exciting things for you to read now, and i will try to do better in the upcoming month. more exciting happenings are in store with dee's birthday this week, jen's baby shower this weekend, christmas, and then justin & lindsay's wedding!

thanksgiving 2008.

this weekend was spent with family and friends at mine and travis's parents' house. it was, of course, our first thanksgiving together as an engaged couple, and our first thanskgiving with lindsay. travis and i had lunch with travis's family first; justin and lindsay did the same with her family. we then all met up for thanksgiving at my parents' houses. we had a full house with all of the us + my aunt penny (always known as "nanny").




to copy jen's example, i want to mention the many things we have to be thankful for and leave you with other pictures of our thanksgiving celebration.

- our recent engagement and the excitement surrounding our future wedding and marriage
- each other
- real friendships
- we will add a new member to the family in the upcoming month
- families we love and adore
- wonderful relationships with friends who are like family to us
- our good health
- provisions for the day-to-day necessities of life

we hope you had a wonderful thanksgiving surrounded by those you love. we were thinking of you.

november 21, 2008: going to the chapel!!!

when i first met travis, he sent me a bouquet of flowers with a card that said "heard any good fairy tales lately?" and it was signed on with his phone number. on friday i received a beautiful bouquet of flowers with a note that read, "are you ready for your next fairy tale?" david and karen thought we needed to look through the flowers for an engagement ring. karen was ready to destroy the bouquet! i insisted that we weren't getting engaged and that travis is just a hopeful romantic. kristy kept saying, "you're getting engaged. have a good weekend engaged girl. call me when you get engaged." i kept insisting that it wasn't about an engagement; travis was just being sweet. i spent the last few hours of the day admiring my beautiful bouquet; five o'clock finally came, and i loaded the flowers in the car, carefully securing them in the seat with the seatbelt. i called my mom on my way home to brag about my flowers. i told her that several people thought i was getting engaged, but i just felt lucky to have a great guy like travis who could send a bouquet like that for no reason at all. when i got to the apartment there was a note on the door that said, "please finish your phone call outside." i figured travis was on a phone call or watching a movie. i got the door unlocked, walked in the living room and sat down the flowers. i didn't see travis, but before i had a chance to say anything the beginning of the movie "sweet home alabama" begin playing. "sweet home alabama" was one of the first movies that travis and i ever watched together, and we used to watch it over and over again. we often quote it being silly. the movie was cued to play right at the moment when dakota fanning asks the little boy, "what do you want to be married to me for anyhow?" his response, "so i can kiss you anytime i want." at that moment, travis walked around the corner and said, "are you ready for your next fairy tale -- he then got down on one knee with the ring in hand -- as my wife?" i couldn't believe it! it didn't seem real. i quickly walked across the room, and said, "yes! of course!" we were both a little choked up. travis put the ring on my hand and i couldn't believe how beautiful it was (is).

we didn't have a lot of time at that moment to call everyone to announce it because we had to be in muskogee by 7:00 so that i could shoot a commercial for my parents' pool hall. i jumped in the shower, quickly got ready, put my jumper on, and away we went. my phone has never been busier. we didn't call our families because we wanted to surprise them when we showed up.

i was able to reach jen, shannon, mandi, and claudine. i could not reach amelia (for two days!!) and andy and kasi didn't answer immediately, but they both called me back and screamed when i told them the news. my friends were so excited for me, and they could never know how much that means to me.

when we got to the pool hall, the camera man was already set up and waiting for me. i kept trying to get my mom and dad to notice, but we were there for almost an hour before my mom said anything. she was actually at the far end of the counter when she suddenly slammed her hand down on the counter, exclaimed, "oh my gosh!" and came quickly to my end of the counter. she had a huge smile on her face as she grabbed my hand. she said she didn't realize what it was earlier, that she had seen it, but just thought i was wearing jewelry for the commercial. my dad saw her face and came over to see what the excitement was about. he never says much, and in keeping with character, he just smiled. i was glad that he smiled though, and seemed to be okay with the engagement.

justin and lindsay arrived while i was on the phone with kasi. i put travis on the line with her, and we thought justin realized what was going on. it actually took them a few more minutes to catch on. after we told them, we headed to the house so that i could show sierra. justin and i were the only two who went in the house. i kept petting the ivory and asking sierra what was on the dog's stomach trying to get her to notice my hand. when she did finally see it, i thought she was going to pass out! she shouted when she saw and grabbed my hand for a closer look. she gave me a huge hug and told me she was so happy for us. i gave her the story and then we had to head out to dinner with lindsay and justin.

the waitress noticed my ring, and travis told her that we weren't the only newly engaged. he told her that justin and lindsay had just gotten engaged a couple of weeks ago. the waitress was excited for all of us and congratulated everyone.

we weren't able to do much else after dinner because justin had to work the next morning. i didn't mind, though. i was basking in the glow of being engaged! :)

we stayed the night at my parents and headed to travis's parents the next morning. we were there for a while before anyone noticed. as i've mentioned before, steve asks us every visit, numerous times, when we are to get married. of course the day we have news, he neglects to bring it up. he was out in the garage rebuilding the engine to dee's truck, so he was a little preoccupied. when he came in travis told him that i had received flowers at work friday from a strange guy. steve's response, "that's a good way to keep that finger naked for a long time." i was then able to tell him that i had, in fact, gotten clothes for my finger just the day before. i held out the ring and he said, "i see that. it looks a little overdressed to me." sheesh ... there is no pleasing that man. =) dee frowned at him when he said that, and then told me that it was very pretty. we had to leave for a bit, but when we came back, dee came over, kissed my forehead and told me congratulations. she said she wasn't expecting it right at the moment that we told them and she felt she was too distracted by the upcoming family reunion and thanksgiving to respond the way she would have liked. she told me that she was proud of us and happy for us. we told amanda while she was at work, and we thought she was going to pass out. she panicked at first, but later told us that she was happy for us (and that she loved me).

it was fun sharing my news with everyone at work. kate screamed when i told her, and she wanted to hear all about it. the guys keep saying i need a crane to carry my hand around. i'm having so much fun!

travis and i would like to get married in the spring, but we're thinking it will probably be october 2009. we haven't set an official date, but of course, you will be some of the first to know when we do.

thank you for all of your well-wishes and loving words of kindness!

love, travis and rhiannon

11.09.08: lindsay's bridal shower.

lindsay's shower was held on a sunday, and my weekend leading up to it was crazy. travis had gone to muskogee, so i did most of the running around on my own. my aunt brenda, mandi, and i hosted the shower at mandi's house, but we didn't get to see each other much beforehand because everyone was so busy. the week of the shower my aunt had two dinner banquets and another luncheon that she was hosting. the day of the shower, i rushed around picking up last minute items and hoping that i would have time to get everything ready in time. i met my mom in owasso and we headed to mandi's. the colors i used for the shower were shades of pink, chocolate, and splashes of lime. everyone had a good time, and i got to meet lindsay's sister sarah and her mom for the first time. i also met her grandmother. they were all very sweet and seemed to have a good time getting to know one another. i was excited that the event was a success, but was sad when i realized i didn't get pictures of several of the focal points of the shower. i had candles and pictures of the kids on the coffee table and a large 11 x 14 frame on a stand and it's own table. lindsay and justin received some wonderful gifts for starting their new life together ... now they just have to unpack and put them all away.

weekend review.

what a great weekend. too short, as most weekends are, but a great weekend nonetheless.


it started out a little rough on friday when i had to leave work because i was in a lot of pain and on the verge of passing out. i came home around 3:30 and went straight to bed. travis woke me a few hours later when he got home from work to give me some advil. it didn't help the pain, so i called my doctor and he put me back on lortab.

on saturday travis and i both slept until almost 1:00; this is not usual for us. once we woke up we spent the afternoon around the apartment, and then we headed to muskogee. we spent some time at travis's parents' house where we had a really good visit with everyone. we waited for justin to get off work and then helped him and lindsay move some of their furniture into their new house. i was starving, but by the time we got everything moved, it was time for the latest showing at the theater, and everyone decided they would rather see the movie and grab dinner after. we watched body of lies. it was pretty good ... long, but good. i think that i got tired before the last 20 minutes of the movie, and grew anxious for it to be over.

since the movie lasted so late and since justin had to work first thing the next morning, we headed to our respective homes.

sunday was an excellent fall afternoon. we spent time shopping for travis new pants. we went to the mall and spent some time there. we went to sam's and got a membership. there are some serving platters there that i am trying to decide whether or not to purchase them. after sam's we went to a restaurant that is near and dear to our hearts -- el tequila. if you've read our "100 things" you'll know this is where we spent several of our first dates. the food was delicious; it had been a long time since we had been there.

after dinner we did some more shopping at target and then headed to blockbuster to pick up some movies to wrap up our evening. i was pretty tired by the end of the shopping spree. i didn't make it through the movies. i was taking my medicine again and trying to do the bills ... may i advise you to not do the same. =) i noticed i put a $48.67 purchase down as $19.99 -- there was no purchase for $19.99! sheesh.

today it was back to the grindstone at work. i'm looking forward to the upcoming holidays and wedding festivities ... though, it does mean that i have my work cut out for me over the next few weeks.