Move over, Princess Kate!

'Cause there's a new princess in town!! And it's my sister!


Absolutely stunning. No other words for it.

I don't think I ever truly believed that Holly was an unlucky person even though this has been her claim ever since we first met. But this weekend had me second guessing! The wedding was breathtaking, but it didn't come without a lot of mis-haps and stress. Poor thing. Not what you want to think about when you are the bride. But she handled it better than I believe anyone else ever could!



We met up with the bride to be, bridesmaids, friends and mother of the bride on Friday morning for brunch and mani/pedi's. Just as we finished eating the thunder boomed and lightening began flashing. After we drove around relentlessly searching for the mani/pedi place--in torrential downpours, none-the-less--we finally found our destination spot. We relaxed and laughed and entertained everyone around us. I'm sure we were all quite a hoot. (Did you know that Target now has co-ed dressing rooms?? Now all the 12:00 appointments know, at least! Hahaha!)



Seriously, they did a WONDERFUL job pampering us and we had the best looking toes in town!


When we finished up we ran out to the car and I noticed some papers laying right beside our vehicle. I told Holly that someone's papers were down there and they were now soaking wet. Jokingly I asked her if they were hers. Upon closer inspection, turns out, they were! It was her itinerary for the weekend festivities! Yikes!



All we could do is laugh. Then a phone call. Turns out during the thunderstorm/lightening storm, the winery (the place where they were getting married) has been struck by lightening. They have no power and, subsequently, have no running water since it is powered by a well. Holly is told to have a back up plan. As in, tell all the guests to make sure to use the bathroom before they arrive!!! All along, Holly and her mom are saying under their breath, "Only Holly..."

But power is restored and the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner were perfect. The weather was absolutely gorgeous and the winery was beautiful!

Later that evening, Holly's dad informs her (every 10 minutes or so--just like Weather on the 10's) that tornadoes and damaging hail are predicted for the next day between 9 am and 12 pm. The wedding was set for 10 am of course.

We wake the next morning to black skies and flooding in surrounding areas but that wasn't about to stop us. Arrangements were made for the wedding to be held under an outside tent. Steph D jumped in with her mad decorating skills and everything was just so beautifully done. I have no pictures of the ceremony (because both Brandon and I were in the wedding party). Kinda makes me sad that I have no pictures but I have hopes that some will appear on Facebook soon!

The ceremony was simple and sweet, just like the couple.

After the wedding and countless pictures we were finally ready to head out. The wedding party made a pit stop (in all our wedding get up) to McDonalds. Would you believe that they didn't even give the bride and groom their food free?? And they were standing there in wedding clothes! We laughed and joked that it continued with the "classy but trashy" theme. Haha.



We left McDonalds and the wedding party gathered at a Bed and Breakfast until time for the reception. It was tons of laughs as the newlyweds kept everyone entertained and my brother begged to wear the BnB robe to the reception. Carpe was obsessed with the "Thomas Jefferson" desk. And doesn't she look presidential?? Carpe 2012!!! Haha.



The reception was absolutely beautiful. Holly's parents worked so hard and they throw one fabulous party. They sure have southern hospitality down pat and they aren't even from the south!! Haha.





These girls are so much fun and know how to have a good time!!



It was truly an amazing weekend and I'm so thankful for so many things. Thankful for my parents and family and friends who jumped in and took care of my kids.



Thankful that my grandparents were able to make the trip.


Thankful that I have another wonderful sister, thankful that my brother has a wonderful mate, thankful to know Holly's precious family and thankful to have been a part of it all. Congrats to this amazing couple!! We love you guys!!

Vacation Snippets

Vacation already came and went. What a way to begin our summer. We headed for the beach just as we do most every summer. Although B wasn't able to go because of work this year, Uncle J and Holly and Jack joined us this trip. Four boys, ages 7 and under. A little fighting, but a whole-lotta fun.




The trip started off with a bang...literally. The front tire blew out. Man was I glad to have my handy brother and dad along at that moment! But, it barely slowed us down. About a half hour and a few snacks later we were back on the road.



Let me just insert here that the beach, combined with my obsession/love of taking pictures makes me unbelievably happy. And I manged to get a few really cool (at least in my opinion) shots. You know...for an amateur...



I fell in love with silhouette shots, can you tell?





Yes, this is the death-trap that nearly killed my new sister. I don't think anyone went out in the boat after that incident!
















Don't you just LOVE how little the ocean makes you feel? When I'm there it is just so refreshing.

I'm not sure where Little Britches comes from, but I'm beginning to suspect a hospital switch. Because I'm certain there is no way I could have ever produced a child that hates the beach. Yet, somehow, I have. Poor guy's feet barely touched the sand a total of three times the entire vacation. We would carry him down to our spot and he would sit in a beach chair, legs curled the WHOLE time. Never got in the ocean (minus that one time that he ran out to the water and it immediately knocked him under! Oops.), never played in the sand. Nada.





Little Jack, he LOVED it. He couldn't get enough. He would go from sunrise to waaaaaay past sunset. I think his favorite though were the balloon hats at Margaritaville. Thanks again stilt-people for sending us home with balloon hats AND balloon weapons that we had to endure for the duration of vacation.




We did have a splash-n-play area that Rhett eventually tolerated. And the lazy river became a big hit.






We did the obligatory "beach photos" but we paid dearly for them with an agonizing trip to the souvenier shop where no one (Lawson) could decide what they wanted. We walked around that shop for close to an HOUR waiting on him to make a decision!

But the beach photos--well, here are some out-takes. Let's just say that it took all hands on deck and a crowd of goofy-acting adults (and a few irritated ones!) to wrangle one decent pic. The out-takes:


But, isn't it all worth it for this? Just look at all those little angels!



But don't be fooled, we still have plenty more in store for the coming summer. First up, Uncle J's wedding on Saturday! Then, I have a summer "bucket list" that I'm working on. I'll try to share all of that later. But for now, we bid farewell to this--one of the most perfect places on earth.