We're alive I promise!

Oh my goodness has it been a long time (for me at least) since my last blog post! Don't worry... we're alive and well :)

I went back to Missouri for my sister's wedding! Aaahhh! I'm still reliving the beautiful day it was!! (*insert huge happy face here*) Thinking back, it was quite a world-wind week that I was home. I flew into MO on the 20th and was at my parents house for almost a week before going to stay with my sister the last few days before the wedding. That weekend we had crazy weather, and it continued pretty much the rest of the week. I believe it was the 22 when the devastation in Joplin happened, and my heart still goes out to all the families affected. And even the days following we had crazy weather with tornado warnings and watches. Our family just kept praying it would workout for Rachael's outdoor wedding on the 29th and we kept a close eye on the weather forecast. On Friday of that week, we had her Bridal Luncheon at a local winery's visitor's center where we went on a small walking tour and then had lunch. Then it was off to Rach's bachelorette party!! We headed down the road to the actual winery and met a couple more people. We sipped on some wine, gave her some of her gifts (and I'll let that remain just between us girls!), and then went back to her house to meet another friend before we headed off to dinner. Little did she know we had a limo picking us up! The look on her face was priceless! I wish I could describe it on here, but it would end up just being a "Suzanne story" and for those of you who don't know what that is... you're blessed.

Anyway... we had a great time! And the weather was nice to us from that day on (it was a little cold that Friday, but nothing unbearable). Then Saturday, Rachael, Hilary and I went and got out nails done and did some other last minute errands before the rehearsal dinner that night. (Side note: It was so cute at the rehearsal though, because that's when I first saw how nervous she was! When Dad walked her down the isle, she didn't even look at Tom! Haha, she just kept her head down and was very serious about everything! lol - ok, there was a bit of a "Suzanne story" for you) Ray had gotten in early Saturday morning after spending the night in the airport in Atlanta and then met us as the rehearsal. But after dinner, Ray, Mom, Dad, Rachael and I all headed back to Rach's house to work on programs. It was a fun night getting her all ready to get married the next day :) Another thing I'll always remember.

Since the wedding wasn't until 4:00 Sunday afternoon, we didn't have to be up super early. We got to the reception site around 10 where the hair lady (I know, that's her official title, haha) was waiting for us and we took turns setting up tables, chairs, center pieces and everything else. It looked beautiful and better than that, the sun was bright and shining! It was even kind of hot! All the guys showed up around 12 to set up the chairs for the ceremony outside and next thing you know, it's closing in on 4:00. Rachael was nothing but calm and collected the whole day (or at least that's what showed hehe). She said she had the nervous/excitement, but I would say all-in-all, that's a good thing to have. I have seen some beautiful brides, but I think my sister trumped them all. She was gorgeous and when she walked down the isle, Tom could barely contain his emotions and the former Marine shed some tears. (Ray even admitted he teared up, but shhhhhh! He doesn't read this!! haha!) The ceremony was beautiful and everything turned out great! The reception was so much fun and I hope the Bride and Groom were able to enjoy themselves, but most of all just be able to take everything in and remember the day as a day of love, celebration and pure joy.

Monday morning we went back to their house for a brunch and present opening (my duties didn't stop at the wedding! Since I missed her shower, I was the one who had to write down the gifts). It was great to be able to spend some extra time with everyone before we had to take off the next day. But before we left on Tuesday, we were able to stop by and see my friend Emily who lives in St. Louis and have some lunch. I hadn't seen her since our wedding, so it was great to be able to catch up. Why I didn't take a picture I have no clue...

So, I guess this brings us back to the almost-present. Last week I started catching up on things around the house (ok, ok, mostly things on the internet) and next thing you know the weekend is here. We went to the beach on Friday after Ray got off work. Saturday, Ray fiddled with his car and I helped a little, then that evening we went to our friend's house and had bbq before heading to the movies to see "The Hangover 2." We heard mixed reviews on it, but I think all four of us agreed that it was just as good as the first one. Good times :) Then on Sunday Ray and I went to the beach! Although... it has gotten quite lame that you have to pay to park in the public parking spaces... what's the point of that?! Ok, I get the point of it, but it's just not cool. $10 parking?! No thank you... we'll just go somewhere else... and so we did. (I should say that that's just from the hours of 9am -5pm, but still.... bleh! They should just make it on the weekend so they can get money from the tourists...) So we made out way down to a different area (I'm not saying where though! Ok.... It's public... not a big deal... everyone probably already knows where it is anyway...). ANYway! We finally got to the beach and the sun is trying to come out behind the clouds, and then we end up seeing dolphins! Adorable, cute, dolphins! And not just one or two like the other time we saw them. There was a whole pod! Twice! It was super cool and totally made not paying for parking that much better :) And that my friends and family, has now brought us up to the present.

Oh blehhhhhh! Jillian Michaels! Oh good grief I'm never going this long without blogging again... Ok, so I failed when I was home and I only did the workout once. So... I started it back up on Friday, and am planning on doing level 1 until Wednesday to get myself back into it, and then going onto level 2. Ok yay! That's it! I'm going to Zumba tomorrow with Felicia - wish us both luck! And I'm including the vid I took of the dolphins. It's the black dots that appear a little farther out than the people were swimming. I so wish the camera would have picked them up better! They were fairly close, but it's hard to tell. Oh well, enjoy anyway! Lots of love!!

PS: Ok, maybe not... The video was taking hours to load, so I cancelled it and will try again tomorrow. Sorry!