Many Moments of Marital Bliss

Dear Family & Friends,

This is coming WAY later than I had intended. I caught the crippling flu this week! My school sent me home after I threw up after lunch (graphic I know). Doug has been such a trooper taking care of me this entire week! I am so surprised he has not caught it yet. I hope that if he does catch it, he will catch it soon! The wedding is only 9 days away!!!!!!!

But, as always, I digress. I wanted to share some wonderful and beautiful memories of my second and final shower. Doug's mom, Gayle, threw me such a beautiful and intimate shower at a very special place, the Madonna Inn. The Madonna Inn is considered the half way point between the Bay and SoCal.

Early Sunday morning, my mom, Kelly and I woke up and piled into the car. Kelly and I had just spent a wonderful day and a half together celebrating with the girls at my bachelorette party. This was certainly an eventful weekend. From the moment that Gayle told me she was hosting me a shower, I was pretty stoked. Then, a few weeks later I got an email from her saying that it would be at a very special spot- the Madonna Inn! The Madonna decorates their restaurant with pink hearts everywhere (you can check out the pictures). Between this shower and my mom's shower, my 2nd year apartment at UCSD was put to shame! There was pink everywhere! What I loved the most though, was being with my "new" family! Doug's family has welcomed me since day one. I feel so incredibly blessed to be a part of their family, to be welcomed into their special traditions, and to be able to go on trips with the "cousins." Lol. Doug has a very special relationship with his cousins. They are very blessed to share such a close relationship!

Kelly, my mom, and I arrived in San Luis Obsipo after Yahoo's map system gave us HORRIBLE directions. Those of you who know me know I LOVE to take pictures. Kelly was such a good sport with my picture taking. We pulled off into a beautiful scenic view of the ocean and took pictures. If you are able to view the albums you will see one of me with my arms in the air. I was screaming the whole weekend "IM GETTING MARRIED!" Our road trip was certainly fun! The great company, the random turns, the stop at the 99 cent store, and so much more made is memorable!

We we arrived, we met up with Doug's wonderful family. Gayle was busy making sure everyone was perfect at the restaurant. Fran was running back and forth to help. For those of you who do not know Fran, Fran will ALWAYS be the first to help ANYONE out! Even when she is supposed to be on vacation or resting, Fran has such a giving heart that she will sacrifice everything for others! Fran and her sister Juli will be doing the scripture readings at the wedding! So, of course, being with Doug's girl cousins Fran & Juli is always fun! We headed down to the restaurant at about 2 o clock. The entire restaurant was beautiful. I felt like a princess. Gayle had put her very special touches all over our table. She crafted a beautiful centerpiece out of our wedding invitation. She had placed some perfect pictures around the table and had adorable wedding rings everywhere. Everything was decked in pink. We feasted to our delight and had a fun time with the presents. Thank you Ladies for blessing me so much that day! Very sadly, my mom and I could not stay for bridal bingo..... but at New Year's we will have to play! Im not going to let us get out of that! :) Especially when Doug and I stay in the honeymoon suite at Grandma and Grandpa Wrights. lol j/k. After this wonderful and intimate shower, my mom and I had to head back south to do a bunch of bridal errands. Before we left, Gayle ordered a fabulous and magnificent cake! You need to check out the pictures!

So long story short (and my head is still filled with Nyquil and other meds... sorry for the words being all over the place).... I had such a blessed and amazing shower! Thank you Gayle and Kelly for all of your love and hardwork! Thank you Karen, Meg, Anna, Fran, Juli, Grandma Wright, and mommy for making the day so special! I love you all and I am blessed to be your family! And finally, when all is said and done, I have to say THANK YOU to GOD! I never could have imagined him blessing me with a man like Doug... and then going ABOVE AND BEYOND and gifting me with this amazing family. Ever since I was a little girl I asked God for just good enough... and he has truly blessed me with great. I have the BEST in-laws. I dont know of many mother-in-laws who would go out of there way like Gayle did to go above and beyond. At the root of Gayle's heart is always the intention to bless and give to others. I am certainly most fortunate to be on the receiving end. As I enter into this new family, I hope that she will take a break and be on the receiving end! Thank you for being the great stuff! I will cherish you always and I hope you know that that is the way that I view you for life! I AM SO EXCITED TO BE A PART OF YOUR FAMILY!!!!!!!!!!!!

See you all in less than 9 days!

(Doug and) Beth <3

ps. to view the pictures you can copy and paste the following links

http://ucsd.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2223736&l=11bc4&id=3304510

and

http://ucsd.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2223742&l=c238b&id=3304510