A peak behind the curtain...

The Bridal Shower curtain!

Nicole's sister, Beth, crafted a wonderful Bridal Shower on Saturday. She reserved room in a darling little Bistro, arranging for all the guests to order off of the menu for lunch. The food was teriffic, the ambience, perfect; everything was so comfortable and everyone had the most fun.

Here are the specs:

The four girls and I got up before the crack of dawn Saturday morning to make the trip over the mountains, swinging by to pick up my sis, Aunt Nina, and our good friend, Alena (who is also one of the bridemaids). It's always my pleasure to drive over the Rockies to my favorite place in the world, the Western Slope of Colorado, but it was an even better trip than usual with all the chatty-girl company and such a joyful event waiting for us at the end of our drive. I'd met Nicole's Mom, Deb, and had met her sister briefly, but had not had the chance to meet all the bridesmaids and the rest of her family and had really looked forward to it. We knew that we'd love them all, and we did. (Nicole could not possibly have come from anyone but the most dear kind of people.) The Bridal Shower was the perfect chance to meet everyone and such a treat to get to put faces to names! Beth chose two creative, silly games to play (which I'll describe in a minute), and the little bistro was filled with lots of chatter, lots of laughter and lots of presents to open. It was perfect.

Some pictures of the festivities:

Now, Nicole darlin', there really are a lot of pictures of you in here. Yes, indeed, there are. But, that's because you were the queen of the day, and rightly so, the center of all our attention. And I want to show off my beautiful daughter-in-law and the lovely shower her sister threw for her... So, bear with me here. (You are gorgeous in every single one of these pictures -- and look at all the fun!)

The Family: The bride-to-be with her sister, Beth.

Nicole's Mama, Deb, with Beth's a-dorable baby boy, Trey (almost 2 months old).

The Fun:

Game #1 was The 20 Questions, Bubble Gum Challenge

Beth cooked up twenty questions for Paul to answer, then asked Nicole each of them to see how well she knew her husband-to-be. Any time Nicole missed a question, she had to put a piece of gum in her mouth. It was hilarious! She only missed five or six (tough questions!), but, as you can see, it was still a mouthful.

How much gum do you have in there, Nicole?

Yikes!

The Presents:

Everything from Pyrex, to cookbooks, to the traditional nighties, and lots more!

Beautiful Alena holding our gift, a basket of towels and other bathroom goodies --matching soap dish, lotion dispenser, etc. (And don't you say a word, Alena; it's a gorgeous picture!)

A Martha Washington cookbook from my mom.

Isnt' this cute?
"But I can't hold this one up in a restaurant!"

We're all feeling a little better that Nicole will have Aunt Nina's afghan to keep warm.

And a little bubbly is always good.

Game #2 -- The What's-in-Your-Purse challenge:

Beth called out a list of items on at a time; if you had an item, you were instructed to sit in the chair to your right or left; if someone was already in that chair, you sat on her lap. As the game progressed, there were multiple "stack ups." It was a riot!

A good time was had by all!

We're so glad Nicole will be a member of our family and that we'll have such a sweet link to her circle of wonderful friends and family!