Our New Toy

John and I decided to buy ourselves a fancy camera for Christmas.  We have been talking about getting one for awhile now so when we couldn't think of anything to get for Christmas...bingo!  We wanted something that we could use on vacations and also I wanted a SLR camera.  Since most SLR cameras are big we were excited to find the Sony Nex5N that was a compact SLR.  We love it!  Here are a few pics we took this weekend of our beloved Charley!  Can't wait to get to Italy and take some awesome pictures...oh and to learn how to use this thing!

Merry Christmas to all of our family and friends from the Isom/Cannons (can't wait until its just one name)!

143 Days...but who's counting?

Wow in less than 5 months I will be Elissa Cannon!  Crazy to think about and even stranger to see it written out!  I could not be more excited for the day to come.  I have started posting some links to the right with Wedding information and will try to keep the blog updated on information for our guests.  This week we sent out our Xmas Card/Save the Date and working with the lady that is doing our invitations to finish up final touches.  John and I also have finished registering which I have to say was very overwhelming and we are both glad we are done with that!  We also have scheduled our food tasting, my hair trial, have looked at tuxes (pretty sure we know what we are going with) and booked 2 of our hotels while in Italy for the honeymoon (3 more to go! Still looking for a hotel in Venice, Florence and Paris...suggestions welcome!)

The next few weeks are filled with holiday festivities.  John and I have so much to be thankful for this year and are looking forward to spending time with our family and friends.  With all the hustle and bustle of wedding planning it will be nice to take a break and relax with our loved ones.

ENGAGEMENT PICTURES!!!

I am sooo excited that we got these back :-)  I won't post them all but here are some of our favorites!!!

Vendor Checklist

6 months to go to the wedding...wow it is creeping up on us!  I think I am keeping a good handle on things.  We have only had one bump in the road so far!  Ceremony has to be moved from 6pm to 7pm because of the Kentucky Derby....I know...seriously? The derby is causing this?  Who would have thought!   So here is where I am at.

Location - Chandler Hill Winery
Band - BOOM
Florist - Tina Barrera - The Special Event Florist
Cake - well cupcakes, Sarahs Bake Shop
Photographer - Nicole Welch Photography
Invitations - A Work of Heart by Cari
Honeymoon - Italy :-) 
Dress - Maggie Sottero
Bridesmaid Dresses - Bill Levkoff

We are getting close.....stay tuned for information about our big day and also a post of our engagement pictures! :-)

Finally the boys...

So we finally have our whole wedding party in place!  I have to appologize about the pictures I can't believe I don't have a single picture of John and his brother Chris!  So...here they are.

Best Man - Chris Cannon, Johns Brother
When John and I started thinking about who we wanted to stand up for us it was a no brainer that Johns brother Chris was going to be the "Best Man".  We are so fortunate to be so close to family here in Cedar Rapids.  It is great to be able to get together so frequently for Sunday afternoon dinners with everyone. 

Groomsmen - Johnse Bushlack, friend of Johns and who introduced us.  (Yes this is the husband of my Bridesmaid Lauren!)

Johnse and John have been friends since they were kids.  When I came up to visit Johnse and Lauren 3 years ago they were the ones to introduce John and I together.  We are so lucky to have such wonderful friends here in Cedar Rapids.  We love going on vacation with them and have had some great times over the years!

Groomsmen - Paul Koenig, fellow firefighter and also kind of how I know John....
The reaon I say that he is also the reason I know John is because we actually met on Paul's bachelor party!  Paul is a very good friend of both John and I.  I have gotten to know his wife Carly very well over the years and we love getting together with their family!  Paul and John have also done a lot of remodeling projects over the years...including our entire house! 

Groomsmen - Steve Mast, fellow firefighter and maybe the funniest person I know
Steve and his wife Jill are very good friends of John and I.  We try to get together with them as well as the Koenigs as much as we can (tough with their schedules).  Steve is probably the funniest person I know and constantly has you laughing.  Jill and I have become good friends over the years and just recently finished up the "Citizens Fire Academy" together.  Steve has also worked on many remodeing projects with John and Paul including our entire house!

So there you have it!  The Wedding Party is official!  :-)  I feel so blessed to have every one of these people in our life!  Stay tuned for updates on wedding stuff.  We are going to try to use this blog to keep everyone up to date!

The wedding party...well just the girls for now :-)

Since John hasn't asked everyone to be in the wedding yet I won't post who all the guys are BUT since I am more on top of things (haha) I can at least post the girls.  Here's a little about each one...

Matron of Honor - Elaine Hanley aka my favorite sister...okay my only sister but still my favorite :-)
I was so excited to ask Elaine to be my Matron of Honor.  She is my best friend and always there for me no matter what.  She is the person I call to calm me down if I am upset and the first one to tell me I am not going to "die" when I am being a hypochondriac.  We weren't always great friends in fact we were down right mean to one another growing up.  I am so glad that as we got older we grew so close.  I am also very lucky to be close enough that John and I are able to visit her, Brett and our adorable nephews so often.

Bridesmaid, friend and the reason I know John - Lauren Bushlack

Lauren and I have been friends since we were in High School.  It was 3 years ago that Marisa and I came up to visit her in Cedar Rapids, IA.  Who knew I would leave there having met the love of my life.  When Lauren and Johnse said I needed to meet their friend John I thought nothing of it.  I am so thankful to both Lauren and her husband Johnse for introducing us and being there for us on this journey.  Having Lauren in Cedar Rapids has made the transition to moving to a new city so easy.  John and I enjoy the time that we get to spend with their family (including their extended family).  Lauren's father in law will be marrying John and I in May. 

Bridesmaid,  friend and old roommate - Marisa Taveau

Wow where do I start?  Marisa and I have been through pretty much everything you could possibly imagine together.  When I graduated college I was so excited to move to Kansas City, MO and move in together.  We shared some CRAZY times that I will never forget and cherish so much.  Marisa and I met our sophmore year of High School and did pretty much everything together for those 3 years.  When I went to college Marisa was the one who listened to me when I was sad and homesick and was always there to let me know things were going to be okay.  We have been through everything together (literally everything) and have stuck by each other 100%.  ITTM Moose

Bridesmaid, sorority sister, and a friend that is always there for me - Meredith Kinkle

Meredith and I met in college and were sorority sisters at Phi Mu.  She is probably the funniest person I know and is constantly making me laugh.  We had SO much fun together in college (probably too much fun..don't worry Mere I won't tell any stories).  Meredith and I have laughed the hardest I probably have ever and cried the hardest together.  I will never forget the time that I needed to get away, jumped on a plane to Tampa, and she didn't even have to ask me why.  She just knew that I needed a break, Mere I will never forget that!  We have not seen each other that much over the last 6 years (wow I can't believe I have been out of college that long) but we talk so often that I feel like I see her all the time.  LIOB Mere.

I am truely honored to have all of these girls in our wedding.  They mean the world to me and I am so excited!  You guys are the greatest friends/sisters I could have ever asked for, I am truely blessed!

Water parks, wedding photographers and an engagement!

This past weekend John surprised me and got the whole weekend off of work!  We went up to Waterloo, IA to the waterpark on Saturday and had a GREAT day in the sun!  Such a fun relaxing day!  Sunday we headed down to Iowa City to an AMAZING restaurant, The Orchard Green.  Definitely one of my new favorite places to eat!

I have also been working on the wedding, although I have to say probably not as much as we should be!  I am trying not to procrastinate though so today I booked our photographer.  I am really excited to have Nikki Welch do the photography at the wedding.  She has shot photos there before so I am so excited.  Here is her website.  http://www.nicolewelchphotography.com/

We also have new exciting news.  John's sister Ann got engaged this past week in Alaska!  So excited for her and Ryan!  Going to be a big year for the family!

Okay back to weddingi planning...goal for the next week, Wedding Invitations...

A weekend in St. Louis

This past weekend John and I headed down to St. Louis for some cake tasting and the cardinals game.  It was a quick weekend but a ton of fun.  I think we have decided that we are going to do cupcakes for the wedding cake.  They were delicious!  After the tasting we headed out to Chandler Hill Winery so that John could see where we were getting married.  I was so relieved when he said he loved it!  Here are some pictures from our trip!

The actual spot where we are tieing the knot

Mom and I at the winery

Go CARDS!

Summer Projects

John and I (okay mostly John..okay all John) has been working hard outside this summer creating a great space for us to use for entertaining as well as a cozy spot to drink coffee and read the Sunday paper....hmm at what point in my life did that become one of my favorite things to do?  John used pavers to more than double the space we had.  I absolutly love it!

John also built me a great raised bed garden.  It is just big enough to plant tomatoes, cucumbers, jalapenos, onions, green/red peppers, lettuce, yellow squash and finally asparagas.  It is so great being able to make a salad by simply walking in the backyard!  So now that these are through you may wonder what will keep John busy the rest of the summer? Well he has dreams of a parking pad next to the house for hopefully a boat someday and a shed in the backyard.  We'll see if we get those done..... so stay tuned!

Let the wedding planning begin....

Wedding planning is in full force!  We have selected a date, venue and band so far which I have to say I am pretty proud of us considering we have only been engaged for a month and we are both horrible at making decisions!

The date is set....drum roll......CINCO DE MAYO 2012!!! 

We are going to get married at Chandler Hill Vineyard in Defiance, Missouri.  It is the perfect spot for John and I.  We are really wanting an outdoor wedding and something more intimate than your typical banquet hall.  I was so excited that they still had openings in the spring! 

The band we are booking is called Boom!  Kind of a fun name don't you think?  They play just about everything from country to motown!  I am excited to dance the night away :-)

Now on to photographers.....cakes.....flowers......THE DRESS....etc.

CRFD Memorial 5k Run

This past Saturday John and I participated in the CRFD Memorial 5k run.  It was my first 5k and I will have to say I was pretty impressed that I finished and ran the whole thing.  I ran in just under 30 minutes.  I am so proud to say that John got 3rd place in his age group (what he calls the old man group) with a time of 18:49.  Here is a picture of us after the race!

We're ENGAGED!!!

I am soooo excited to annouce that John and I are engaged.  May 6th I decided to take a half day off of work because it was finally supposed to be nice outside.  John and I had been planning on taking Charley to the Sac and Fox trail for a walk and to let her swim.  Little did I know that this was going to be a walk I would never forget. 

We were stopped at a spot where Charley could swim and we were talking about how lucky we are to have one another and about how we can't wait to spend the rest of our lives together.  John asked me "Promise me you will stay with me forever" of course I said yes and was kind of thrown off by him asking me that question.  He then said "Then I only have one more thing to ask you" he then dropped to one knee and and asked me to spend the rest of my life with him and to marry him.  :-)  I said of course and so our story takes on a new chapter. 

We don't have any dates planned yet but are thinking sometime in the Spring and possibly at a winery outside of St. Louis.  We are both so excited and blessed.  I am so lucky to be marrying my best friend and live happily ever after :-)

A Winter Getaway...Punta Cana

After weeks and months of the horrible cold weather in Iowa, John and I decided to get away to somewhere warm.  After looking around we chose Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic.  It was absolutely beautiful there and just what we needed to recharge our batteries to get through the winter!  We spent most days laying on the beach reading and napping.  We also went zip lining which was by far the highlight of the trip as well as went snorkeling where we swam with sharks and sting rays!  Here are a few highlights from the trip!