Baylor Homecoming, Bella Style

Baylor Homecoming was a highlight of the Fall, as usual.  It was my quickest one yet, but I still got there.  Twenty-two years and counting!  I rode down with my parents Friday afternoon, and if you know them, you know that Miss Bella came along, too!

{Bella does Baylor}

{Cute parents and pup}

{Bella and the Bear}

I hopped around from various activities on Friday night.  I've never done that, and it was quite nice.  I was feeling pretty un-focused as I'd just had a crazy week at work on top of moving, so it was nice to go wherever my little heart desired.  

I stopped in at Pigskin to see the Deltas perform,

then over to hear my old BRH choir sing for a bit at Singspiration 

and then to the bonfire!

{Green and Gold fireworks!}

I met up with Amanda and Megan and their hubbies, and we had a great time catching up.  The fire was HUGE and quite warm.  We stopped for Starbucks first while waiting for everything to get under way.  Of course now that we're gone, they put one in the library on campus.  Maybe I would've gone more...

Probably not.  :-)

{Annual Dad/Daughter bonfire pic}

{Cuzzies.}

Saturday morning, we made it for the end of the parade, just in time to see our peeps.  (The floats are really cool, but I was just focused on friends this year, especially!)

{Me and Lyndsy}

I wonder if some day we will look back at this and question why we wore such large sunglasses.  But I know it is because we are so in style.  Duh.

{Bella and Dad are Baylor-ed out in BU jackets and hankies}

{Papa, me and Bella}

Papa and Jonita came down to see Anna in Pigskin.  They stopped by First Baptist's gym to say hello before heading to the 2 p.m. show.  They made it earlier since the game ended up being on TV later that night.  

{Laura, Papa, Me, Mom & Bella}

Nearly a complete family photo.  (Yes, T-roy still comes home for BU Homecoming.  Love it.)  Adam was working part of the weekend, and I was there for such a short time, it would've been a lot of driving for not a lot of Baylor-ing.  So next year, we have already requested time off that weekend!  Woohoo!

{BSB friends--me, Allison and Madeleine, Rebecca and Leah}

It was a quick weekend, but lots of fun.  I'm so thankful for yet another year of memories and time to catch up with friends!

Life this week

I went to Arizona this week for training at work. I don't really like to travel alone for trips like this. Although we were meeting other March of Dimes staff from all over the country, I tried my darndest to not go alone. And it worked!

I'm so glad my Mom got to come with. me. We arrived Monday afternoon to the resort and walked to little shops and an outdoor lunch. We dined on fish tacos and enjoyed the sunshine.

Then we headed to get a massage, and it was one of the best that either of us had ever had. It was so good, that I fell asleep at the end, and my body didn't hurt for the first time in about three weeks. A.maz.ing.

I sat allll day long from 8-5 Tuesday and Wednesday. At night we would go walk around and eat. Mom had lots of projects to do on her computer, so she worked away while I was busy. It was so nice to come back to the room and have her there!

We did a bit of Christmas shopping at the Scotadale Fashion mall, and I educated mom on the ways of Kona Grill. Yum!

After a half day of the training on Thursday, we headed back home. We had such a good time laughing and talking and hanging out together.

I came home and was welcomed by my sweet husband! He had gotten all the stuff to make steak sandwiches for dinner and was quite excited about it. I, however, had no clue what a steak sandwich was. (I was envisioning the Chick-fil-a chicken sandwich on a bun but with steak instead.) Thank goodness I was wrong!

Behold the steak sandwich, complete with toasted bread, melted provolone cheese, and sautéed green peppers and onions. Delicious. 

I am glad to be home and am looking forward to only a one-day workweek next week! Happy Friday!

Wedding Weekend: Rehearsal

I finally have a few moments to devote to the blog that's been oh-so-neglected.  I have a zillion photos from Friday's rehearsal and rehearsal dinner.  I'll try to pick the highlights.  I think most people that read this blog are in the pics, so at least a few people will enjoy it!  I had a hard time picking.  :-)

{Sarah and SMoo with the bow bouquet}

David & Norene

 

Sisters

This is one of my favorite parts of our sanctuary.  The baptistry is right in front of it (you can't see it), but I think it's such a great verse from Revelation that applies to new life in Christ and a new life two people build together.  

Some of my girls!

Ms. Teresa was the wedding coordinator, and also my Sunday School teacher when I was little.  It was so neat to have her be a part of this with us.  She's great at (nicely) keeping everyone on task.

Pops came this weekend, and had help from Tammy.  She went everywhere with him and made it possible for him to come visit.  I loved having them there.

Vicki B. from BSB was our pianist.  She was so instrumental (ha!) in coordinating all the music.  She worked with our soloists (Chris & Diane), the strings and brass groups to make everything seamless.  We had A LOT of music, which is one of my favorite parts to remember from our wedding day.  

Troy's girl, Sarah, came down with him for her first wedding...ever.  Pretty amazing!

I love this pic.  Sharon (in red) is my Aunt Jenny's daughter, and that's her husband, Whit.  They are good buds with Papa & Jonita.

Shay Sandwich

I think I'm trying to explain to Adam what the heck is going on.  He looks a little unnerved!

Adam's college pastor came down from Wisconsin.  We loved having Nate & his wife, Amanda, there with us.  

Several of our groomsmen were firemen and had to work that night.  Papa was one of the stand-ins for us.  He and Anna look so cute up there.

The boys are here!

My girls all lined up and ready to walk down the aisle.

Love this pic of me and my Daddy.

House party friends--Katelyn, Lyndsy, Gentry & Natalie

Feather sign-in pens became props.

Love the smile on Adam's face as my dad and I are walking down the aisle

All smiles!

Quiet boys...

We're married!  Just kidding...almost there.

Troy's job included holding the boys for the few minutes they stayed on stage.  He literally held them with a vice-like grip.  They did so well on our wedding day, though...they just had to get their wiggles out.

Here we go!

Papa with his youngest grandkids.

Looking back at all these makes me so happy.  I loved having everyone I loved in one room.  Sheesh.  That's gotta be one of the best things ever.  

Stay tuned for more pics from the weekend...

Dear Self

Dear Self,

If you'd been asked what your first month of marriage might look like, I don't think you could have answered correctly.  

I mean, you knew Adam would be sweet.  But did you know that he would pack your lunches and drop your work you left at home on your desk saying, "These looked important--thought you might need them."  I don't think so.  Did you know that you would go to bed laughing and wake up laughing together, too?  Did you know he would set up all your utilities and grocery shop when you didn't have time to go together and just take extra-good care of you while you're super busy?

You might have guessed that the month would fly by with boxes being packed, but did you think that you'd not have to buy a single one?  It's the little things that make a big difference!  Did you know that your mom would come over and pack and pack and pack, and your dad would bring both of you lunch and you'd all hang together out and watch the Baylor game?  I don't think so.  And then could you have guessed that mom and Adam would come back over and keep packing and taking things off the walls and doing little things that were so helpful, you just didn't know where to begin?

Did you know how hilarious it would be to keep the boys with Adam?  You might have guessed it, but nothing could've prepared you for the laughs and the lessons you both learned that night at the ball park. I'm sure you could've guessed what happens when Knox eats a huge scoop of beans at Dickey's BBQ...but you couldn't have known it would go through his little body so quickly and make such a loud noise for such a small person.  (The kid can toot...)

Did you know that you'd be getting to do so many cool things at work and smiling about your job all. the. time?  I don't think so.  Even though your first big event to plan there is coming up, I don't think you could've forseen your experiences filming a segment at Channel 5 or getting your photo taken with the Mavs' NBA Championship trophy.

And I don't think you would've guessed that your mom would show up at your doorstep with a tiny little ball of fur named Bella.  She has become your new little buddy, and even came to work with you one day when you dog sat for her.

And after nearly a year of growing out your hair, would you have guessed you, too, would go with the "post wedding chop" like so many brides do?  You surprise yourself sometimes.

It's been a great (almost) month so far, and it's flown by.  Who knows what adventures you'll have next!

Wedding weekend: Bridesmaid Luncheon

On Friday, wedding festivities really kicked into high gear!  We headed over to my Aunt Laura's house for the Bridesmaid luncheon she and Jonita hosted.  There were peacock decorations, delicious food from Macklin's Catering, and petit fours with our monogram on them.  

Hostesses, Laura an Jonita

I love my Auntie.

Sarah came in town from Georgia and Claire took the day off from teaching.  Almost everyone there had to rearrange their schedule to be there.  It meant so much to me, and I so enjoyed sitting around and chatting with them.  This was definitely one of my favorite parts of the Wedding weekend!

Gentry, SMoo, Mary Ellen, Anna, Claire, Sarah, 

Katie, me and Amanda

Go Team Wedding!  The three of us really worked as a team to pull this off.  It would not have been the same without them!

I love my Mama!

My camera died about half way through the party, so the rest of my photos are on Amanda's camera.  I'll add more to this post when I get those.  :-)  I stole this last one off her blog...

Each person in my wedding party got an apron that I'd picked out.  I tried to pick ones I thought would go with their personality.  Claire and Sarah both got ruffles, Anna got a sunny yellow Anthropologie looking one, etc.  It was fun to hand them out and share the first memory I had of them and another memory that has stuck with me and meant a lot.  It was a special time to honor these incredibly sweet friends in my life.  I would not be who I am today without them, and I am continually humbled by their love and support.  I truly believe I have the dearest friends a girl could ask for!