Hello Texas! Sure is good to see you again....

I've been back in Texas for a week now, and it's been so much fun!! The wedding weekend was crazy busy, and these last few days have been so relaxing and nice. I'm really enjoying my time at home.

Tuesday I flew down to Houston for the day to visit my friend Justin and meet his fiancee, Amanda. They are getting married this weekend, and I am going to another wedding, so it was wonderful to get to spend some time with them before they get hitched and be able to hand-deliver their wedding present (I got them ice cream sundae glasses and spoons!!) They are a great couple, and I know they will have a wonderful life together.


Tuesday night I met up with Melanie, a friend since 4th grade. We went to Cadillac Ranch in Irving - a note to my Texan friends out there - if you haven't been yet, you should definitely check it out - live music and great food!! We enjoyed a leisurely dinner and catching up on high school gossip...our ten year reunion is next year - CRAZY!!!


Wednesday was a leisurely day of running errands with a quick lunch at Corner Bakery (yum!! I miss that place!). Wednesday night I went to the Rangers game with my parents. It was so much fun...despite the fact that the Rangers lost...bad...to the Yankees...

We had pretty good seats...




Today has been another relaxing day. I met Dayme for lunch at Paradise Bakery (another fave!), and I could sit and talk to her for hours - she only had two hours today, but we'll definitely meet up next time I'm in town. We enjoyed a great lunch and did lots of catching up!!

Tonight my mom and I are off to the Arboretum for Cool Thursdays. I better get going - gotta pack up our picnic dinner and then we're off.

The Story of How I Gained a Sister-In-Law

The wedding weekend has wrapped up, and it was really wonderful. It was great to see all my family and friends and celebrate with my brother and Leann. The pictures speak for themselves, so I'll let them do that (with brief captions, too, of course)

Day One: Bridal Luncheon, Spa, Dinner with Bridesmaids
The table set-up at the Bridal Luncheon


I love Hydrangeas


The gift boxes I made for each guest


Leann looking at her rehearsal dinner bouquet - each of the guests wrote a Wedding Day wish on a card and attached it to the ribbons on the bouquet. It turned out pretty cute!!


The guests at the Bridal Luncheon


Day Two: Rehearsal and Rehearsal Dinner

Rehearsal Dinner Site - Love & War in Texas




Good to be back in Texas....



Gifts for the bride and groom - furry coozies (made these), passport holder, key chain


The & Theme was alive and well (remember the invitations??). I was really pleased with how it all turned out...






My Aunt Kathie made Bryan and Leann a wedding quilt. Each family member was asked to submit a quilt square. Of course Marcy and I had to include an & in our square. Can you see it?? :)

The happy couple


My cousin's daughter, Clara, and I were attached at the hip during the rehearsal dinner. She's such a cutie pie!!


The bridesmaids


The cousins (only 5 of the 15 were able to make it)


Day Three: Wedding Day

Bryan and his groomsmen - I hadn't seen some of these guys in several years, so it was great to be reunited. Bryan has known all of his groomsmen since high school, and he's known his best man since 3rd grade.


Family photo


My mom and her sisters...they don't look anything alike do they??? :)


My Aunt Karol, Uncle Brad, Trisha, and Clara


Me with my baby brother - can't believe he's married!!


Bryan getting kisses from the bridesmaids


The Wedding Party


Bride and Groom


Our new family


Groom's Family Photo


And now, the funniest ending to the whole weekend. Everyone came over for a nice brunch this morning before returning home, and Bryan regaled us with his tale of the wedding night. He lit some candles by the bed, and later in the evening he knocked a pillow onto the candles. The pillow case caught on fire, and then the pillow caught on fire. Luckily, Bryan was able to throw it into the bathtub and turn the shower on before the smoke alarm went off. He put the burned pillow on the bed with a $5 bill attached to it, and a note that said "Sorry for the mess." What a great story that will be for the kids some day :)

2 jam packed weeks...

I think I may have taken on too much when I offered to do all the decorations for my brother's rehearsal dinner and Leann's bridal luncheon. It's been fun to make everything, but I've been extremely busy. I'm sure you can tell I'm excited about going home - it's all I seem to talk about lately. I haven't been home for more than one night in over two years, so it's pretty hard to hide my excitement :)

Last weekend I took some of my girls from Girl Scouts to camp. They had a great day, and despite being at "work" all day it was pretty relaxing for me (with the exception of the extremely noisy bus ride home - don't those girls ever get tired??).

Yesterday we went to the beach and laid in the sun, and I've got the sunburn to prove it - ouch! We also met Luke, my friend who is in town for a few days, at the Mariner's game. Mariner's lost, but it was a really close game with beautiful weather. I'm loving this gorgeous weather pattern - it rains during the week, which I don't mind since I'm inside most of the time, and then it's sunny and 70 degrees on the weekend. I'll take it!!

Well, those decorations don't paint themselves, so I better get back to it, then it's off to the dog park, and a barbeque tonight. Have a great week, and I'll see some of you SOON!! Can't wait :)

Making lanyards at camp...


More lanyard making...definitely the girls' favorite part of camp (well, that and singing!!)


The girls during their outdoor education lesson


One week later....
Safeco Field


The sunset from Safeco Field


Ken Griffey, Jr. - he's back, and everyone is SO excited!!


My new Vera Bradely bag - I had to show it off because I was so excited when it came in the mail. It's definitely my favorite print...of this season, anyway :)

Happy May Day!

I can't believe that in just three short weeks I'll be home for my brother's wedding and Whitney's wedding reception. My week at home is packed full of seeing friends, spending time with my family, visiting one of my oldest friends, Justin, in Houston (I'm missing his wedding because it's the same day as Whitney's reception), and hopefully relaxing a bit...I can't wait!!!!

This week I've been busy making Whitney's wedding present (I'll post pics later - can't spoil the surprise), making a treat for Paige's new baby Kylie (pics later), and finishing the Rehearsal Dinner invitations. They turned out pretty cute - I had to modify them a bit after the first one proved to be too bulky for the mail. I had a knot in the pink ribbon and the & sign placed at the bottom at first. Then, I changed them to this....






What do you think??

Have a great weekend! I think we're going to visit Leavenworth, WA (it's about an hour away). They're having a Recycled Art Show there this weekend - everything is made from junk. It's supposed to be pretty cool, and the town is this cute little Bavarian town with wineries (yum!) and cute shops!!