Paintballs, Snow, and a Kiddie Pool

Disclaimer: These are not normal paintball guns. They don't shoot as fast or hard, and we only aimed at inanimate objects. :)

The Rest of the TN Weekend.

The night before the wedding, Tessa had a dinner at her house for family and friends that had traveled from out of town for the event.  Due to our ridiculous events at the airport I missed a lunch at the Pancake Pantry earlier in the day, but was so glad we at least made it in time for this, so that we could catch up a bit before the big day.

Tessa's Dad is one of the most individualistic people I have ever met.  He comes up with the craziest ideas and always has every one either feeling confused, rolling on the floor laughing, or both.  On this particular night, he had created a "Science Experiment" in which we were to tell him which of the Diet Pepsi's were caffeine free.  He had even created and printed off special sheets to record the results on. The best part of it was how serious he treated his experiment.  I have so many hilarious memories of him. 

Mom ready for the test.

This is my friend, Jessica.  We grew up down the street from each other and were both obsessed with sports.  We would spend long summer days playing basketball, softball, soccer, football, lacrosse.....pretty much any thing we could think of or find the equipment for. It was so fun to catch up with her.

This is Danielle's one-year old, Anndi.  I got to pick our her outfits every morning and get her dressed for bed. She is a cutie pie!

Danielle is an amazing cake decorator.  Here she is creating Tessa's cake, which was not only beautiful but also extremely delicious.

She got a Cricut Cake for Christmas and I got to teach her all about fondant.  One lesson and she is already better than me, doesn't that make you sick? :) jk Dani.

Danielle's Dad has owned Sonics for years.  One of our traditions whenever we get together is to order and eat TONS of Sonic food in one sitting.  

 We also both have an addiction to Target Clearance sales.  So we had to stop at Target at least once while we were together.  I think 80% of mine and the boys wardrobes are from 75% off Target racks.

Fun, fun, fun. I love my friends.

Paul and Tessa's Wedding

So I got a FOUR day kid-free vacation last weekend. It was amazing, fun, relaxing, rejuvinating, celebratory, etc. etc. etc. Don't get me wrong. I am in LOVE with my boys, but I haven't had a night away since Bug was four months old, and it just felt plain good. It helped to know they were safe at home with their Daddy and Poppi.

And the reason for the visit: One of my very best childhood friends was getting married! It was such a beautiful and happy day.

Brothers of the Bride.  

This is Tessa's older brother, Abram.  He is awesome.  He has such a tender heart, kids adore him.  We haven't seen eachother in over 5 years and every time he saw me he would say something like, "Remember when you and Tessa would make cookies EVERY day?" or "Remember when we would go toilet papering?" And the best of his quotes from the weekend being, "Oh yeah! I remember that freckle.......yeah, I remember that freckle on your nose."  HA HA!  Love him.

One of my favorite pictures from the weekend.

Tessa and her Daddy.

My hostess, Danielle, and her ADORABLE baby girl, Anndi......I want one.  (More of our adventures from our weekend together in a future post.)

One of my Freshman Roomates and best friends, Bekah.

Another great childhood friend and BYU roomie, Diane.  She has a hilarious sense of humor and is super tiny.  When I was handing out bells at the ring ceremony I spotted this ginormous one just as she walked in.  We were all giggling about it through the entire ceremony.  The perfect Diane bell. :)

Doesn't Tessa look gorgeous?  Her dress was perfect on her.

Another great childhood friend, Jeneal, and her PRECIOUS little girl, McKayla....I want one (wait did I say that already?).  It was soooooooo good to catch up with old friends and to celebrate Tessa's special day.  I think I smiled the entire weekend (minus the HOURS and HOURS spent in airports on the way there and on the way back, but that's a whole other story I won't get into.)

Congrats Tessa!  Thanks for sharing your special day. Love you!

Crazy Straps and Snow Days

 The boys got Toy Story Silly Bands from their Uncles for Christmas.  Bear has been wearing them around the house almost every day since then.  He likes to take them on and off and wash them each under the tap before he puts them back on. Bug thinks they are called "Crazy Straps".  I LOVE how kids interpret words.  HILARIOUS.

 (That nasty looking stuff he is eating is guac and baby food squash.  Doesn't it look tempting?)

  We are finally getting snow around here.  Last year we had already been "snowed in" for almost three months.  A MUCH welcomed change.  Now I just have to make it through March. 

 Normally I am a go, go, go Mom and have a hard time if we don't leave the house each day, but in the winter it is just TOO much hassel. Mittens, coats, beanies, scarves, being worried about germs, etc.  I have tried to limit our outings to the YMCA and Joy School. 

The weather has lead to creativity around the house and the boys have been having a blast together.  Bug is such a good big brother. I am so grateful for him.

Here's to 6 Years

There are some people out there who have the talent for writing.  I am not one of those people, but have always admired those who can write exactly what they feel without making it sound wordy or cliche.  I usually limit my posts to pictures with a few captions and a couple of sentences describing whatever the post entails.   This post is different. 

Eleven years and appoximately three months ago, My Bond and I went on our first date.  It was his High School's Homecoming, we were 16, it was akward...enough said.  But obviously not akward enough, because it was followed by more dates, prom, a trip to Cinncinati with his family and a few other friends, a first kiss, and then a tear-ridden "I love you" at the airport before I got on the plane to begin my first semester at BYU.  The following January Bond left for his mission.    

I wish I could say that from then on I  "waited" faithfully for him and wrote him every week, but most defintley (for both of our benefits) I did not. As I swam the college seas of dating, I did not find one single guy out there that made me feel so unreservedly loved as My Bond did.  He treated me with complete adoration and without judgement. He loved me for exacly who I was and did anything within his power to make me feel special. 

Somehow our paths crossed once more in August of 2004 at BYU.  I was preparing to leave for a mission to Belgium and the Netherlands. We dated for about three weeks before I flew home to get ready for the Mission Training Center.  On the way to the airport an informal proposal was put forth and after a few weeks of deliberation, we were officially engaged and married two months later.

It was the best decision I ever made.

As I look back on our 6 years of marriage, I feel so grateful to somehow have snagged this perfect-for-me man.  I am a better and happier person because of him.