A weekend with the girls!

One of my college sorority sisters, Amanda, got married a couple of weekends ago in Clarksdale, MS. I flew home solo to go to the wedding and several of my other sisters came without their husbands as well. It was great to see everyone again and so fun to party with all the girls.

Chi Omega's
How many people can sit on Lanier?
(Lanier, Jennifer, Leslie, me and Amanda)
Barb, Jessica, Mary Emrey, me, Leslie and Jennifer
Jessica, Ashley, Leslie and me
The reception was held at the Hopson Plantation. There are several buildings on the property including houses that can be rented. All the wedding party and lots of the guests stayed in these houses and I crashed with some of the bridesmaids in this big house. There were interesting things all over the house from signs to mannequins to furniture. I am sure some of it is worth some good money. Definitely years and years of history in these buildings.





And the "stuff" was not limited to the insides of the houses. There was plenty of yard art to go along with it.
A random pile of water skiis...
Cutout shadows on the wall (that were extra creepy in the dark)
And a unique bowling ball / wheel sculpture.

It was the perfect setup for a wedding, especially one where most of the guests were from out of town. We partied late, did lots of catching up and made the most of our short weekend back together.

Congratulations Amanda and Peyton! Thanks for the great reunion!! :)

5 Years – Celebrate in Austin

5 years ago (July 22, 2006), we were sweating it out in a very hot church after over an hour with no power in late July.  Despite the heat and the sweat, we had a beautiful wedding, made even more perfect by the lights coming on as I was about to walk down the aisle.  The party to follow was more than we can ever imagine… we look back on it often and have so many fun memories.  A big thanks to everyone who made that day so awesome!

And wow, what an amazing 5 years.  We got married, made Ryan’s bachelor pad our “home”, adopted our dog Admiral, watched our friends and family get married, bought a boat, bought a lot for a new home, sold our boat (sad), started building our “dream home”, sold our first home, got pregnant, moved in our new home, welcomed home our little boy Cason, have watched him grow into a toddler… and oh so much more!

To celebrate our 5 year anniversary, we took a weekend trip to Austin.  We ate some awesome food, saw parts of the city we’d never seen, relaxed by the pool and had more awesome food!  Our favorites were Shady Grove for Lunch and Moonshine Grill for Dinner (possibly the best steak I’ve ever had).

On our way we stopped at the Blue Bell Factory in Brenham and did the tour

Then each got our free cup of ice cream at the end… plus another cup for $1.  (I’m wearing a necklace I bought on our honeymoon.)

We had a fancy dinner at Carmelo’s before the comedy show at Ester Follies on Friday night. (I’m wearing the dress I wore to our rehearsal dinner.)

On Saturday we went to Zilker Park.  First stop was the Botanical Gardens.  I think the drought has caused the gardens some trouble, while still beautiful, there was not much color.

Then we went to Barton Springs and put our feet in the water. Such a cool park, cool city.

The pictures stopped here, not sure why.  We had lunch at Shady Grove, relaxed by the pool, and dinner at Moonshine Grill.  Sunday morning we slept in then headed home to see our little munchkin!

Happy Anniversary, Ryan.  I love you and look forward to many, many more amazing years!

Whitney and Eric Get Married!

Since the first time I met my newest sister-in-law, Whitney, I knew I loved her and hoped that one day, we'd be family. By the time she and Eric went off to college in different parts of the country, we all knew that if anyone could survive the distance, these two could. Ryan and I had done the real long distance thing for a year, plus a couple of more "short" long distance years while I was in grad school. We knew it would be hard but also knew that it would likely prove just how much they were meant to be together.

That phrase... "meant to be together"... is almost an understatement when it comes to Whit and Eric. They are just so perfect together that its simply a joy to watch.

After what seems like 10 years (I think it was about 6 years), Whitney and Eric finally got to "tie the knot" and join their lives together in marriage. Pulling a trick out of Kevin and Steph's book I'll direct you to their blog for the play by play. I'll just add some pictures here.














Everything about the wedding was just amazing and the love that is so obvious between these two is an inspiration to us all! Congrats you two!

It felt like home

Over Memorial Day weekend, Ryan and I flew to Nashville for my dear friend Ross's wedding.
The wedding was beautiful and the reception was a blast. It was great to have the gang from Murrah back together again. Not much had changed!

As I left the reception tears welled up in my eyes. I exchanged hugs and "I Love You's" with Ross, his parents, Ann and Taylor. Something just hit me about how much I do love those people, how much we had been through together and how hard it was to leave them all again. We don't see each other much since we all live in different cities but when we do, its just like old times. They are my family. The friends I was always myself with, the friends that always made me laugh. Their families opened their homes to me on soooo many occasions (as my family did for them.) And oh, the stories we have shared. I think it just hit me how hard it is to "grow up", to move away from home, to leave the people who lived through the events of my life that made me ... me. Its part of life... we move away, we get jobs, we get married... but man, do I miss you guys. Ah... I'm crying again.

Back to the wedding... Here are the few pictures I did take. As I said, it was a beautiful wedding. The food was great. The cake was awesome and the band played all night.


Ryan and Ann at the Kids Table. He really fit in that chair! :)
Ross playing a couple of songs (with his band, Telephant)
Congratulations Ross and Mandy!

Texas Country Wedding: Kevin and Steph

This month we started the Wedding Circuit: Part 2! Last year we had a long list of weddings to attend throughout the year and throughout the country. This year is shaping up to be pretty similar with weddings from Brenham/Round Top, TX to Nashville, TN. And, to top it off, two of the weddings are Ryan's brother's so its a busy year for us!

We started the year of weddings with Ryan's middle brother Kevin and his new wife Steph. Steph and Kevin decided to have a "Destination Wedding" to the little towns of Round Top, Brenham and Shelby, TX. This area is the Antique Mecca of Texas and provides a beautiful backdrop for a classy, Texas country wedding.

The groomsmen (and their significant others) all stayed at the Scenic Hills Resort -- a cute, fantastic little place with one main farm house (3 bedroom) and 7 smaller (1 bedroom) cabins that are walking distance to the farm house. It was so fun to have everyone all together. We cooked breakfast in the morning, soaked in the hot tub, and just enjoyed each other's company.


Ryan's parents hosted a fantastic rehearsal dinner. It's always so fun to see the pictures of the bride and groom growing up, especially when they are family. And of course to hear all the wonderful and funny stories the friends and family have about the happy couple. Also, a chance to get some pictures of the cousins.


The day of the wedding, we took a quick trip to Round Top for Lunch at Stone Cellar Pizza. It was a cute wine cellar and pizza place and the food was fantastic!


The wedding ceremony was held at the cutest little chapel, Shelby Chapel and the reception was held at the La Bahai Dance Hall. The food was delicious and it was a excellent party! It was great to see all of Ryan's family and to celebrate the start of Kevin and Steph's married life together.

Kevin and Steph, we wish you many years of happiness! And Steph, welcome to the family!