Rollercoaster!

Good thing I like roller coasters cause the last few weeks have been nothing but a giant roller coaster! Not just any roller coaster... the really old ones that are jerkie and hurt a lot... also the ones that you are never quite sure if they are just going to fall of the track! haha anyways...

Ok so we are down one ring bearer... due to miscommunication im guessing... I am still confused but non the less we still have CAIDEN as our ring bear! Woo hoo! Go Caiden! Sian and Cami are our beautiful flower girls! There dresses came in and they are soooooooooooo cute! Sian tried hers on last night and it was truly perfect! Speaking of perfect... or should I say a little less than perfect... last week I called my wedding dress store to see if my dress came in... i was told it had not come in but she would track it down and find out where it is, because I am scheduled to pick it up and have a fitting in Utah this weekend (July 31, 2010) well... long story short she called me back a week later (yesterday) and told me that my dress was on a "SLOW" ship and wouldn't be here until August 14... 2 weeks before my wedding... needless to say i was SHOCKED... and shaking mad as she kept telling me there was nothing she could do... long story even shorter I told her I would be in Friday to find a dress... I kept thinking this has to be a TEST from Heavenly Father... sadly I scored about a B-.... So ya hopefully I can keep everything in perspective and just keep focused on what is really important in life... APPARENTLY wedding dresses aren't that important... As my bro would say... "its only money"... haha

Oh a brighter note! I have had some of my bridesmaids try on their dresses and they are sooooo cute! I absolutely love them! Last week I was down in SO CAL and got to order Frankies TuX! Super fun!

Today we are leaving for UTAH/IDAHO! We are going to Utah to hopefully figure out this whole wedding dress thing lol! As well as get TEMPLE CLOTHES for Frankie and I! YAYAYA! Then we are headed up to G-Ma and G-Pa Williams in Malad for the FAMILY REUNION! Holla! I am sooooo excited! Hopefully we can make it to Courtney's Baby Shower! That would be so fun! Speaking of baby showers.... I am sad we are missing Heston and Jen's baby shower for Logan! There are just so many things going on!!

The last couple days Frank and I have been driving back and forth from Medford for the last Home games for the Riverdawgs 2010 season! It was soooo fun!!! Frankie pitched an amazing game Tuesday night for the Dawgs (http://kdrv.com/news/local/182847)! And last night was the final home game! There were prizes all night! Sian won a free pizza and a hat! Go Sian! The Dawgs ended up Sweeping the Nevada Bighorns! In which Phil Sacks plays for! It was great to see him! Frank handed out our wedding invites to the team! We got a Picture of the team! You all know I am crazy about pictures! It was just a perfect night! PLUS the DAWGS are going to PLAYOFFS! YAYAYA! Next weekend down in Arcata, CA! It should be a good time! This has been the most fun baseball season ever! I am so grateful for the opportunity coach Wolf gave Frank to be on this team! WE have had so much fun! All the guys are wonderful! Great group! THANK YOU DAWGS! oh yes, and I have never cheered louder in my life! haha!

Well yesterday was Frank and my ONE MONTH MARK.... there are 30 days until we are SEALED for Eternity! We are both so excited! Yesterday I wrote my vows to Frank and I have to tell you I am the luckiest girl in the whole world! While writing my eternal promises to Frank the thought came to my mind how it is so important that we REMEMBER each and every day how important our FAMILIES are to us! They are the only things we have on this earth that are going back to Heaven with us! Don't let the world get in the way of our eternal happiness!

My family and I have been saying lately "don't let ________ keep you out of Heaven"... In other words we need to always have Christ Like Love! If some one is mean to us and we are mean back... than the sin is on us... So when something bad happens to me and I get mad... my mom will say..."don't let "so and so" keep you out of Heaven!

Congrats CJ and Stephanie!!!

Wedding planning is starting to shape up! We got the bridesmaid dresses in... the groomsmen shirts in... Thank goodness! Thank you momma Debbie! We have the invitations and are working on getting those out! Thank you momma Sam! Anyone out there that didn't get me their address...please do! We are working on getting pictures together for a slide show! Thank you Pappa Bert! If anyone has any baby pictures of me...PLEASE SEND THEM MY WAY! haha I have one! We are working on our keep sakes...and bridesmaid and groomsman gifts.... We still have to decide on flower girl dresses and honorary flower girl dresses... AND A PLACE FOR OUR HONEYMOON! We have flowers ordered... we just got a quote from Raphaels Party Rental... SOOOOO MANY THINGS! haha Please let me know if I am forgetting something! lol

Frank is living the dream! Working 40+ hours a week and playing baseball in between! I am so proud of him! He is having a blast! I love him so much!

I am living the dream as well! haha Working 40 hours a week, planning our wedding and watching him play baseball!

PLUS! we both have been getting to spend time with our family members and friends whom we love so very much!!!

LIFE LESSON: SMILE!

4th of July Weekend!

I need to start this blog by saying CONGRATS TO ALLANAH AND RYAN!!! THEY GOT ENGAGED TODAY!!! Woooo Hoooo!!!!

Story time!
Frank and I had our first picnic at OIT in the Spring of 2009. We got our lunch from the marketplace at OIT. For some reason I cant remember what we ate... but Frank can.. to bad he isn't writing this with me... anyway it was so fun and so perfect! It was sunny and warm! We sat there and were telling each other when we first new that we loved each other! It was so sweet! It's little moments like that that we need to focus on in life! Its moments like that that remind me to slow down and enjoy the journey. I saw a card the other day that said, "Life isn't so much about where we've been, as who we've been there with." and the card had a picture of two puppies cuddled up in a bucket! Sooooo cute! I thought of Frank-a-tank and my self! I thought of how important he is to me and how grateful I am to have him as the love of my eternity and soon-to-be eternal companion!

Wedding update!
Well I know I said we had the invitation finished in my last blog! well... with all the bridesmaid dress problems we have changed the color gray in our wedding colors to BLACK! haha So I went and stopped Smithbates from printing our invites so I could change them to match the color scheme. AND BOY AM I GLAD WE DID! The invitations look so much better!! I absolutely love them! We are still looking for bridesmaid dresses! Black, cap sleeve, t-length... under $100! If you find it let me know! Also, for our groomsmen I think they are wearing black Hawaiian shirts with white dress shorts and flip flops! My mom and I have been looking for decorations! We have come up with quite a few things that we found at Michaels craft store! My aunt Kay has agreed to make our Ring Pillows! I am so grateful for all the help from all my friends and family!

My mom and my sister are hosting a BRIDAL SHOWER for me this Saturday, July 3! I am sooo excited! Its my first bridal shower! It is going to be great! I am super excited for TRISHA, JULIAN AND ARIANA to come this weekend!!! As well as everyone for my bridal shower! I am so grateful again for everything everyone is doing! Especially Suzanne Stewart and April Appah and my mom who are helping tons with Frank and my OPEN HOUSE on Sept. 11, 2010 here in Klamath! I am soooo soooo sooo excited for that! Wow everything is happening so fast!!! Like I said before ENJOY THE JOURNEY!

Today:

Frank is super duper busy! He is working 12 hour days, playing baseball and spending time with me! He goes from one thing to the next! Everyday! I am so proud of him and everything he does! He really loves his painting job (and he is really good at it)! He is doing really well pitching for the Southern Oregon RiverDawgs (even with his hurt finger)! Not to mention his team is so much fun! What a great group of guys! They all have a good time! BUT most importantly he is receiving the Melchizedek Priesthood Sunday, July 4, 2010! We are all so happy for him! Me on the other hand I am working away in the Public Relations office at OIT! Trying to get in shape by running now and then and eating less! haha its harder than you think! Than the rest of my time is spent wedding planning!!!!! YAYA We are less than 2 MONTHS AWAY!!! Its crunch time!!! Any advice out there? Or anyone know where we should go on our HONEYMOON!?

Well tomorrow Frank and I leave for his RiverDawg games! GO RIVERDAWGS!!! They play at 7 p.m. tomorrow night (July 1, 2010).

Well that's all for now! Have a great day and don't forget to ENJOY THE JOURNEY!

Invitations DONEZO!

Story Time:

When Frank and I first started dating I was working for SkyWest Airlines in Klamath Falls. As a part of being employed for an Airline you get great flying benefits. So Frank and I decided that we wanted to take advantage of these flight benefits! We set it all up for him and I to fly to San Francisco and go to a Giants baseball game... sadly the Giants are Franks FAVORITE TEAM! but i say GO DODGERS... anyway haha... we fly to SF for Free... Frank got us some AMAZING seats down by the field on the 3rd base side! We go to the game and it was so amazing and so fun! I liked it because we just happened to sit by another Dodger fan! Thank goodness! haha So while we were down in SF we decided to also go to Great America! So we took a couple of different trains to get to San Jose, CA (its about 45 miles). It was perfect! We had an amazing time! We closed the Park! However, getting home was not so perfect... we left the park just in time to catch the train back to San Francisco! We ran to the train station and started looking for the last train of the night back to SF... we looked at the posted train schedules... trying to find the right one for us. The first train came by and we were sure if it was the right one... well I wasn't sure.. FRANK WAS!... so i questioned it... we had about 1 minute to board the train before it left... the schedule said there was one more train after that... and in a panic I said "what if this is the wrong train.." We ended up not getting on because of me... We got on the next train... and as much as I don't like to admit it... Frank was right... it was the wrong one and we should have gotten on the first one... so we were on this train forever.... going the wrong way!!! I feel asleep... and when the train stopped we got off and asked where we were... the Taxi cab drivers laughed and said South San Jose... I could not believe it... They asked where we were trying to get and we said SF. They laughed even more and said... can we give you a ride... cause you just got off the last train.. we were like crap.. so of course we said yes... A long cab ride and some dollar bills later we made it back to SF.. lol what a relief! Needless to say... our first trip together... we will never forget.

Wedding Update:

Well we have finally FINISHED our invitations! Thank goodness! What a relief! We sent the design in to SmithBates to get them printed. We will get them shortly and send them out! So if you are reading this and have not sent me your mailing address, please do!!!

Now we are working on GROOMSMEN ATTIRE and DECORATIONS for the Open House in Klamath and Reception in San Diego! Also, I am super excited for my BRIDAL SHOWER that my Sister and Mom are throwing for my JULY 3rd!

Today:
Frank started his job at CollegePro this week and he loves it! I am really happy he is Playing Baseball and doing something he loves for work! Very exciting! His baseball team (the Southern Oregon RiverDawgs) has home games in Medford this weekend at the Harry & David Field! Saturdays game is at 7 p.m. and Sunday is a double header starting at NOON! GO DAWGS!!! Frank is pitching the second game on Sunday!

Tonight we are going to Sushi and to the movies to see A-TEAM with our friends Mindy and Bryan! Should be super fun!

Well that's all I have...

QUOTE OF THE DAY: Don't rush through life always waiting for the next big thing... Live day to day, moment to moment!

Frank Pitched a 9-inning Shutout for the Riverdawgs!

Story Time:

April 9, 2009 was the day Frank asked me to be his girlfriend! We went to dinner and a movie! We were having such a great time. I have never felt so comfortable with anyone in my life. As we were driving back from the movies to Franks dorm room we were talking about relationships and other related topics and when we stopped in front of the dorms we finished our conversation and turned to me and said, "will you be my girlfriend?" "I looked at him with a huge smile on my face and said YES! but only if you love me more than baseball!" Haha and he told me he did! haha maybe he was just trying to make the sale but I took his word for it! Haha! That is the day I truly fell in love with FRANKATANK! I knew that he loved me more than anything because I know baseball was his first love! So if he could sit there and tell me he loves me more than the thing he loves most in this world than it must be right! :) Frank I love you with all my heart!

Wedding Update:

Ok... so things are starting to fall in place and it feels great! I would like to get the word out there that there are two hotels that are willing to give a group discount. Here is the email I sent out to those that have told me they were coming!

"Hi Everyone!!!

Ok so the best deal I found for lodging was the Ramada Inn San Marcos (760-471-2800). If you have not yet made lodging accommodations for the wedding we have a group rate of $64 + Tax at the Ramada Inn San Marcos. YOU MUST CALL (760-471-2800) BEFORE WEDNESDAY, JUNE 22 in order to get the GROUP RATE! The Group Code is: COOKE/CHARLTON WEDDING.

The other hotel giving us a discounted rate is Hampton Inn San Marcos (760-736-9249). The Group Code is CCW (COOKE/CHARLTON WEDDING). $129 per night. YOU MUST CALL BEFORE WEDNESDAY, AUG 11!

Can't wait to see you!

LOVE,

Tabatha

PS: Other hotels in Carlsbad are pending. Both of the hotels above are in San Marcos, CA. That is about 15 min drive to Carlsbad, CA.

PS:PS: Please spread the word about these hotels! I don't have everyones emails... THANKS!"

Anyways... I am still working on the invitations... fun fun! If you haven't done so yet... please give me your mailing address!!!

Another thing I am working on is center pieces! That is super fun!

TODAY:

Well this weekend was awesome! Frank and the Riverdawgs went to Elk Grove, CA and play the Folsom Pioneers Friday and Saturday. They played a double header Friday and split... then Saturday they play one and lost. Then Sunday we were in Carson City, NV and they played a double header against the Nevada Bighorns and they split (lost the first and won the second)! Then Monday they played one more against the Bighorns and they won! Frank pitched a 9-inning SHUTOUT (only allowing 3 hits) this game with a hurt/swollen pointer finger on his throwing hand!!!! I was sooooo proud of him!!!!! He is such a stud!

I was sad because I had to miss his game and come back to work... but someone has to support us haha! JK FRANK! I wish I would have been able to stay and cheer him on! Lucky his awesome team were all there to fill in for me!! So Frank and the team where headed back to Medford, OR (where they left from) when Frank realized his keys were in my truck... so long story short my kind loving parents drove me and Franks car keys to Medford to meet him there! It was so great to see him! ALL and ALL the trip was awesome! and so are the RIVERDAWGS!!!

Today Frank starts his new painting job! He is excited! And he gets to buy painting clothes! haha GOOD LUCK on your first day hunny!! Yes, he still works at Fred Meyers! He is a busy boy!

Well that's all I have for now!!! Hope everyone has a wonderful day!!

Work, Wedding & Baseball!

Ok... so I must start off by saying... WOW! I am terrible at BLOGGING! Please don't hold it against me... k... now that that's out of the way lets start with a story!

STORY TIME:

So... both Frank's extended family and my extended family are from the same area... Southern Idaho... Like, we have relatives that live in the same town (Malad, ID)... that's how crazy it is... AND YET we did not meet each other until 2008 at OIT which is 800 miles away from Southern Idaho... After we met, we started hanging out a lot... we took a trip over to Ashland to watch OIT's volleyball team play SOU's volleyball team... and on the way over we started talking about our childhood and one thing led to another and we figured out that we basically grew up 30-minutes from each other in a county 800 miles away from Klamath Falls, OR [my time there was only summers of course (Malad, ID) and he actually lived there (Downy, ID)]. So we started texting and calling our family members to see if they new each other... and they started texting us back saying that we might be related!!! AWKWARD! haha... only because this was after we had our First Kiss...Thankfully, later we found out that there was no relation... haha but of course... we laughed about it and still had fun!!!

WEDDING UPDATE:

Wow! So we have so much wedding stuff going on! Making that trip to San Diego at the end of last month changed EVERYTHING (for the better of course)! It was so awesome to be down there! Some of the changes I can think of off the top of my head are... The location! and The Wedding Colors!

Ceremony Location - So we got down to the beautiful San Diego! What an amazing place! If you haven't been down there COME TO OUR WEDDING! haha! We went to visit the old wedding ceremony location (The Dana at Mission Bay) and although it is a nice place in the heart of San Diego... it just wasn't what I was picturing... I called and asked if we could cancel our reservation... and they agreed to it! So that was a blessing! Then we were back at square one looking for a location to have the ring ceremony and reception... We didn't find one until after Frank and I returned back to Oregon... We searched online for a few days when we stumbled across Ocean Palms Beach Resort. I gave them a call, than my loving Brother, Sister-in-law, niece and nephew went to look at it for me! One thing led to another and it is now our ring ceremony and reception location!

Reception LocationRing Ceremony

Flowers - We went to visit Carlos! My sister-in-law Sharon hooked us up with our flower guy Carlos! He is amazing! He has a beautiful flower shop in San Marcos, CA! Sharon, Cami, Frank and I went to Carlos' shop to pick out flowers... when we went there we were thinking we wanted yellow and white calla lillies and lillies... but after Carlos showed us all that his flower shop has to offer we came out with two more wedding colors and totally different flower arrangements. Our new colors are BRIGHT pink, yellow and orange along with White and Grey! Our flowers are now Gerbera Daisys and Lillys! They are going to be sooooo beautiful!

Bridesmaid Dress - Sooooo the long stressful hunt for bridesmaid dresses is OVER for the COOKE/CHARLTON wedding! haha Wow! I can not tell you what a relief that is! They are so cute and everything I wanted! They are gunmetal grey and just awesome! They will be here in two weeks and then we will just have to get them fitted! Thank you bridesmaids for putting up with all my craziness! Shoes are the next thing... Bridesmaids if you have an idea for shoes let me know!

I AM SO EXCITED!!!

What we are working on now - Well this list can get pretty long... but I think the main thing is getting invitations ready to be sent out! Sharon, Bert, Caiden and Cami took some amazing engagement photos for Frank and I while we were down in San Diego last month! It was fun! I told Sharon she should go PRO! haha Here are a few...

TODAY:

Last night Frank brought me a "Just Because Present"!! He got me earrings, a bracelet and a couple sweaters! They are so cute! I am the luckiest girl in the world! Honestly, Frank is truly amazing! And I love him so much!

Today, Frank left for Folsom, CA to play baseball. For those of you who don't know, Frank is pitching for the Southern Oregon RiverDawgs this summer! He is doing very well and I am so proud of him!!! Here is a little info. from the MailTribune (Medford newspaper):

"RiverDawgs claim series

June 15, 2010

The Southern Oregon RiverDawgs' pitching staff was sharp in the rubber game of a three-game series against Sonoma Monday.

Frank Charlton threw six shutout innings and Jordan Lewis masterfully sealed the 6-1 victory as the RiverDawgs at Harry & David Field.

Charlton, who earned his first win, allowed four hits, struck out four and walked four.

Lewis, gave up one unearned run on one hit and a walk in three innings. He fanned six and got his first save.

The RiverDawgs (4-2) broke it open in the sixth inning with an RBI ground out from Ryan Hayden and a run-scoring single from Travis Wolf to gain a 5-0 advantage.

Shawn Freeman launched his first home run of the season for the RiverDawgs, a solo shot in the bottom of the fourth."

In the first game Frank pitched for the RiverDawgs he pitched 7 great innings and their team WON!!!

As for me... my agenda today is work, lunch with Val and Diana, wedding planning and hanging out with the family! :) and MISSING MY FRANKATANK!

Lesson for today: Treat everyone with kindness! You never know how things may turn out...

How we met!

Story Time: How We Met

We met in the summer of 2008. I was a camp counselor at OIT (the college we both attend/attended). He was on campus with his friend registering for fall classes. He and his friend were wondering around aimlessly looking bored and I was playing ping pong with the group of camp kids I was in charge of. When they walked in the CU at OIT I couldn't take my eyes off him. He and his friend came over and talked to us for a while. Some of the girls in my camp group mentioned that we were going to the movies and offered an invite... They accepted... His friend was showing interest in me and the whole time I was wishing he would. After the movie was over it was the last I saw of him for the rest of the summer.

I was down in San Diego visiting my brother, sister in-law, niece and nephew when I got a Internet message from Frank. He said hi and gave me his number. I was really excited inside, but thought it was really funny that he would give me his number instead of ask for mine... I guess he was throwing the ball in my court haha. We started talking via Internet... we had a lot in common and I eventually gave him my number and we started texting as well... I was very excited for school to start up again (that's not normal) where we would finally get to see each other again. Finally, Sept. 29, 2008 came and we saw each other again, we gave each other a big bear hug! His hugs are so amazing! We became instant best friends and hung out a lot. However, I knew we didn't share the same religious beliefs and I was a senior and he was a freshman... and so on and so on... and this and that was going on... so we just stayed friends even though there were some obvious feelings involved... after we made the decision to just be friends the was a two week period when we didn't hangout as much... maybe it was because we were both kind of disappointed that it didn't go any further... i dunno...

A few months into Christmas Break we started talking more and more and realized our feelings were not going away... but only getting stronger... When we came back from Christmas break we started hanging out a lot, with our feelings revealed. Well mostly Franks, I was still hesitant because of a few things. By Spring Term I couldn't deny it... I was in love with him! I couldn't hold back any longer... During spring term (April 9th, 2009) he asked if I would be his girlfriend. Shortly after he asked he start coming to church with me. I could totally tell that it was just to be with me... It was a nice thought on his part. He was definitely trying. Then he started to notice that it would take more of a commitment then just coming to church, to be with me forever. So he started asking questions about the religion. I was always very straight forward with him about the church and my beliefs. Mostly that I wanted to be married in the temple!

At first he did not like the idea of becoming a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. But after taking the discussions (lessons) his mind had changed and he was later baptized, and I made sure it was what he wanted to do... This step in his life changed both of our lives for the better! Christ is the center of our relationship and our lives. After I realized that we had the same goals in life there was no more hesitation.

Earlier on in our relationship we found out that our relatives know each other and are from the same area in southern Idaho. It was so neat! It was also great news when we found out we weren't related! haha! It was so crazy to find out he was born 30-minutes away from my Grandma and Grandpa's house (a place where I spent every summer growing up). Who would have ever guessed I was so close to my future husband in my young childhood years, and that we would both attend the same college 800 miles away. I know we are going to be so Happy for all ETERNITY! I love him so much! Everything happens for a reason!

Wedding Update:

Still looking for Bridesmaid Dresses/skirts!!! haha Alli Phair showed me this really cute skirt yesterday that I think I might use as my bridesmaids skirts. I really like it! So much that I added PINK to our wedding colors! So now we have White, Grey, Yellow and Pink!!!!! I am really excited! And yes I did ask Frank if it was ok! So for bridesmaid attire I think this skirt a yellow button up top and big chunky pink neckless! oh and Pink White and Yellow Gerbera Flowers!

Frank and I are going down to SAN DIEGO to do some wedding planning!! It will be nice to finalize some things and BE IN SAN DIEGO!!! So pumped!

Today:

Work day... School day... Moving day... we hopefully will find someone to help us get some heavy things out of the house! ALSO we are in search for a place to live haha this is kind of important! The search goes on! Its way harder than I thought to find a nice place in Klamath for a reasonable price... Anyways... the battle must go on!! Oh and we get to have a birthday lunch for Bryan this afternoon! It should be fun!

HAVE A GREAT DAY!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRYAN!