Going to the Chapel...

So 34 hours after I got home from Ozark, I barely had time to unpack before boarding a plane to San Antonio, Texas. This trip was a very special trip for many reasons... 1)It was the furthest and longest time I had ever been away from the boys, 2) It was the first time I've ever traveled by plane by myself, 3) I was going to San Antonio for the first time ever! 4) One of my dearest friends, Amber was getting married! I have many embarrassing pictures of Amber and myself.. but non are on my computer so unfortunately I can't post any!

Amber and I have known each other since 1993. She was one of the first friends I made when we moved to Ozark. We went to school and church together, so we were together ALOT, and formed a lasting friendship. Even though we had our caddy "girl" fights in high school, Amber has always been by myside. She was one of my first friends to meet and approve of Brandon, and she came all the way from Austin, TX to be a bridesmaid in our wedding. She has a very special place in the heart of Brandon, myself, my parents, and my extended family.

I was honestly a little nervous about going down there. I had only met her fiance, Sean, once before, and the evening didn't go according to plan. But after getting to spend some quality time with the two of them, they are a perfect match.

Amber was such a laid back bride. Melissa and I ( 2 of the 3 bridesmaids) were more stressed out about the wedding details than Amber was. I think Sean stressed a little more than she did too! Seriously, as soon as I got to town, I said I have to see your dress. She said that might be a little hard, since my aunt still has it in Missouri and won't be down until tomorrow to do FINAL alterations. My jaw dropped! She wasn't even stressed about it! But oh my goodness that dress was perfect. This is a picture of Amber trying on her dress after her aunt (standing next to her) had done the final alterations.

The dress was simply beautiful. I wish I had more picutres. Her Aunt Linda did a FANTASTIC job.

While they did the finishing touches Melissa and I decided to scope out the Riverwalk and take a quick, and I mean quick tour of the Alamo. We unknowingly got there 15 minutes before it closed.

Later on that evening Melissa and I took Amber out to the River Walk for her mini bachelorette party. We just ate apps at different restaurants down the RW, and talked about the good ol days!
The next day Amber and her mom went for some mother daughter bonding, and got mani's and pedi's, and then we met up for lunch, and got ready for the rehersal dinner. I wish I had more pictures of the weekend, but my camera battery died, and I forgot to bring the charger. But it was beautiful. It was unlike any wedding I've ever been too. First it was a Catholic ceremony..so it was long. Standing 45 minutes in 4 inch heels is no easy feat, especially when your upper arm is being attacked by a Texas Sized fly, for most of that 45 minutes. There was a 4 hour break after we completed pics and the beginning of the reception, so we once again headed down to the Riverwalk. The weather was gorgeous, and we (the bridal party) were starving, so once again we ate, and people watched. The reception was held at Sean's dads Art Gallery; Blue Star. So the reception had a modern but classy feel to it. And the food, that I did eat, was to die for! Especially the cake. The easiest was to describe it, was 5 layers of strawberry and cream cheese icing Heaven. It was hands down the best cake I've ever had.

My trip ended with Melissa and I eating a Whataburger (one of my favorites), and then going to get Brandon and the boys a souviener. B and I watch a show called Man vs Food. The host of the show travels around to different cities, and tries complete the challenges that different restaurants have. (EX: eat 10 of the world's hottest hot wings in 30 minutes without anything to drink. or something like that) Anyway, on one episode he went to SA and showed a 4.5 lb cinnamon roll. And there is nothing my 4 boys love more than cinnamon rolls! Luckily the mom and pop joint was just minutes from Amber and Seans house, so we went a picked one up. I seriously had to send stuff home with Amber's parents, so that I could fit the roll in my suitcase without going over the weight limit. With the roll included I was .5lbs away from having to remove more stuff!

November... where did you go?

November was a crazy month. It started off with the boys and I spending two weeks at mom and dads. Usually if I can swing it, I'll plan a trip to mom and dad's so that I can attend MOPS at church. I love going, and it gives the boys some interaction with other kids, besides when they are at Sunday School.... Plus they love Ms Patty and Ms Reba, their teachers.

This time it ended up being easier on me to stay for 10 days. I had MOPS, a jewelry party at mom's house, and then I co-hosted one of my best friends baby showers. (That's mainly what I'll blog about this time!)

Sara and her husband Justin are pregnant with their first child. A daughter named Molly Abigail. She is due in Feburary and you can follow her blog http://sfloyd-nutshell.blogspot.com/. It is super cute and she keeps up with it! Anyway.. whenever we started talking about the shower Sara had told me that she wasn't going to do Molly's nursery in "normal" girl colors. At first I was a little shocked, because as long as I can remember Sara has loved the color pink. But I am so glad they went with the theme they did. It is so cute! I wanted the shower to match the nursery so Kelly and I were on the hunt! I finally found ( with the help of my neice Brooke!) the most perfect invites, and then everything fell into place.

I have a friend in Ozark that does all of my cakes. She does such an awesome job, that I just tell her the theme or in this case show her the website and she completely does the cake on her own! I knew that this might be kinda a difficult cake to match, but she did a wonderful job!

Sara had also told me that she didn't want to play games, but

that she wanted everyone to make a scrap book page. Again, I

was a little worried, but they turned out wonderful, and everyone

got involved. I was so busy taking pictures that I totally forgot to

do one, so I'll have to make her one some other time!

Here are a couple of pics:

Overall the shower was a great success! Molly will have enough clothes to last her a life time! Congrats again to Sara and Justin, I know y'all will be great and wonderful parents!

Girl Time!

Okay, so I should have written this post weeks...okay maybe months ago. As most of you know, Brandon's sister and her family live in Anchorage, Alaska. Normally you would think that since they live in Alaska we don't get to see them much, but I think in the two years they have lived there, we've seen them more than when they lived at Whiteman Air force Base in Sedalia! Seriously! Before they moved in January of 2008, they stayed a week with us, then came back in September for a week, then this past May Heather and the girls came for two weeks and a couple of times since!
Each time she comes Heather and I make a point to have some "us" time. Even if it is just an hour away to our favorite store Target! Anyway, when she was in in October Heather and Brandon went out for a little while and I got to spend quality time with my niece Brooke!

I've never really spent one on one time with a little girl! It was so much fun! Even though she was only ten months old.. we still had a good time. Girl talk, fixing her hair, eating and we even did a little late night online shopping! I decided to take some pictures of her chomping down on a graham cracker and water, but every time she saw the camera she would start posing! Here are a couple: