Showered...

My baby sister is getting hitched in two weeks.

TWO WEEKS.

That's pure insanity people.

And what kind of sister would I be if I didn't throw her a shower in celebration of said marriage?
Because I do love her so.

It was a bit of a rush to get everything done, since life is pretty much stuck on fast forward these days, but it turned out to be a lovely night.  I hope Alysha will forgive my lack of inner Martha.  I think she's too distracted by the lingerie she received to be too disappointed.

For the food spread, we went with my mom's heaven-sent chicken pasta salad (treadmill tomorrow?  absolutely), a veggie tray, Costco's organic tortilla chips and peach-mango salsa, Nutella-filled croissants and chocolate cake with Magelby's raspberry sauce.

Again, the treadmill and I have an early morning date.

I'm always on the fence about shower games.
Some are uncomfortable and awkward, others are entertaining.
I particularly enjoyed one played at one of my bridal showers so long ago.
Ask the fiance questions, see how many the bride can correctly answer in exchange for a housewarming item.

As much as I wanted to keep most, if not all of this stuff, I'm a pushover and let the bride take them all, despite her failure to identify Jason's ideal vacation spot (the moon, in case you were wondering).
The game was completely worth it when Alysha divulged nearly all her embarrassing stories in a desperate effort to guess Jason's favorite.  In a situation like that, just let them talk.

And then, of course, the trusty candy bar game.
Provided perhaps the greatest laughs (and blushes from the bride) of the evening.

We had to disqualify the other sugar-addicted sister for snatching too many of the treats for her own good.
Kelly's a sly one, that's for sure.
I've never seen anyone yell so loud for a strawberry Ring Pop.

And then there's the brother, who walked in on the party and offered to call up his stripping friends, "The Hot Boys."  I really, really, really hope he was kidding.

My sister has some fantastic friends who came from near and far to celebrate her loveliness.
She's such a fantastic person, it's no wonder she filled the house.

I picked out a little dessert cookbook and asked each of the ladies to write Alysha a little love note with some advice inside.  I fully expect to be the recipient of a batch of the coconut bars included in its pages.

In the meantime, Lola enjoyed the free stay-up-way-past-bedtime card that is always readily provided by Grandma and Grandpa.
I'm pretty sure she was responsible for devouring at least three-fourths of that chocolate cake.

The following is what I like to call, "The Money Shot."

We love our Alysha and can't wait to welcome Jason into the family.
Two weeks!!!