Goin' to the Chapel

We officially have a new sister-in-law! Jeff and Raquel had a beautiful wedding day. The rain held off and, just like in the movies, the sun came out right after their ceremony. We had a blast all day, and especially enjoyed the reception.
Raquel was very passionate about the cake. It turned out just like the photo she found in a magazine.

The bridal party had a lot of fun together!

We got in trouble for taking this photo because the photographer needed us.

If you look in front of Gary, you will see mashed potatoes in a martini glass. We were SO excited that the mashed potato bar was still open when we showed up.

Hopefully the next post will feature Abby. Sarah had contractions all day yesterday but they weren't doing it. They stopped before she went to bed. Gary and I felt Abby jumping around today, and we all gave her quite the pep talk. These are my cousin Kelli, me, my aunt Carol, my cousin Amy, and Sarah (and Abby).

It's a jungle!

Picture posting isn't working right now--check back later because I'll try again!

This past rainy Saturday, Gary was watching tv and I was in the kitchen. I was in front of the sink doing dishes, turned around, and when I turned back, saw that half of our tree fell down! Gary noticed the noise but I guess I missed it. We LOVED that tree--it was the only one that we wanted to keep in the yard. Before we went out on Monday night and cleared it up, we had all of these crazy theories about why it fell. I won't post them, because you would laugh at us. Our neighbor (the one who is mentally challenged) asked Gary if it was termites. When Gary chopped down the part that was hanging, we could look at the inside of the branch. A lot of the main branch was really dry and dying. Sad. It was raining too much on Saturday to clear out the tree, we were busy on Sunday, so we didn't get to it until Monday after Gary got home from work. In the meantime, about a third of our yard was covered in tree--the dogs had a blast hiding in the branches. Frodo liked to wedge himself in spaces too small for Pippin to get into. It was hilarious. Thank goodness our albino skunk friend didn't decide to hang out in the tree, too.

On Sunday, I went to the last shower that I was invited to this summer. My friend Lynne from work is 5 1/2 months pregnant and her mom and sister came in from England to throw the cutest shower ever at an English tea room in downtown Rochester. We ate little sandwiches, scones, and tea. It was too cute!

Sunday we went to Breana's and Craig's to celebrate their new fence! I somehow only got a photo of the chainlink part, but the other 3 sides are gorgeous wooden shadowbox. They have been working hard, and invited our dogs over to run free in their backyard with their golden, Lucy. As you can see, Frodo is a lap dog--the other two dogs were running too fast for him. The dogs even got barbequed turkey hot dogs from Breana! We told them that this was their last moment of being the center of attention, because once the twins get here, no one will pay any attention to the dogs! After dinner, we went on a walk: Emily and Frodo, Gary and Pippin, Breana and Lucy, Renee in a wheelchair, Gary's mom, and me. We looked like some kind of parade! When we got back, I felt Ethan jump around and I was really excited because it's the first time I had ever felt one of them move and really know it was the baby, instead of wondering if it wasn't just Renee talking. He was going crazy!

Monday was tree removal night. While Gary chopped and hauled the heavy stuff, I collected all the little sticks and burnt all the dry ones (most of the tree).

Tuesday I gave myself a gorgeous French pedicure (I am very proud of myself) and did my nails forJeff and Raquel's wedding, which is on Friday. Later, my mom and I picked up our dresses. Then we went out to Tuesday dinner with my mom's family. Today I am up early so I can go over to my parents' house to work on place cards with Jeff, Raquel, her mom, and my mom. Then, tonight, my class is having a picinic and I get to meet all of my new kids and families! I am so excited! Our school building is closed until Monday, and I am itching to go set up.

Sarah is showing many baby-is-almost here signs that, once again, are too personal for a blog. We're all hoping that the baby doesn't come on Friday so that Brian and Sarah can be at Jeff and Raquel's wedding!

Georgia, Part II

The rest of our Georgia trip was “sweet” to borrow a phrase from Mitch. We didn’t want to leave! Amber, Mitch, and Nolan are such a wonderful family and they are great friends. They are the cutest parents and are the perfect blend of protective, scheduled, and relaxed.

Monday we went to the next town over for lunch, to try on bridesmaids’ dresses for Meredith’s wedding, and to see some of the historic Southern town. Apparently Monday in this town is the weekend—they take Sunday and Monday off. The main bridal shop that we went to see was closed, the place Amber wanted to go for lunch was closed, about 2/3 of the cute downtown stores were closed, and the plantation we were going to tour was closed. We drove around in the car and saw lots of cool houses and went into a few shops. At the first store, the friendly owner talked with us for 10 or 15 minutes. She was so sweet. She even held Nolan! We asked her where to go for lunch on a Monday. She told us all about the economics of the town’s “should we open on Mondays” debate, and then called a restaurant to see if they were open. She even gave us a map and drew our walking route to the restaurant. We didn’t even buy anything and she was that nice to us! The strangest part of the south is the fact that really nice, religious people are really racist. She told us that this place would be open on a Monday because the owner was an Orthodox Jew and he wouldn’t miss a day to make money. She didn’t say it in a mean way; it was just a fact to her. This is after she talked with us about religion and how big Christianity is in the south. Weird.

We went to the cute lunch place she recommended. Some friendly ladies in line helped us choose foods for the “southern experience.” Amber had a shrimp Po’ Boy sandwich and cheese grits, I had a chicken salad sandwich that came with extra mayo on the bread and fried green tomatoes, and Gary had an amazing looking cheeseburger. Nolan dined on green beans and a bottle. He was STARVING and acted like he hadn’t been fed all week. Amber started feeding him his baby food and usually stops to make his bottle, but she had me finish feeding him while she made the bottle because he wanted to EAT! What a cutie! The grandfather-aged man next to us talked to us for quite a bit while we all ate. When he asked me what I did in Michigan and I told him I was a teacher, he asked me “if the schools up there are integrated.” I replied “yes” but also commented that in the city of Detroit, the schools have more black kids, and in the suburb where I teach, it’s mostly white kids with a good number of Asian and Indian kids because their parents work in the auto industry. He said that they have Asians and Indians down there, too, and that he would send them all up north to me--HA HA, he laughed. Wow. I don’t hear stuff like that every day. We stopped at the farmers’ market on the way back and I bought some delicious, huge peaches—my favorite fruit.

Monday night we went with Mitch to see his workplace. It was like being on a movie set. On the way out, we drove around the “lake” where there are several alligators to see if we could spot any. Amber saw one from the car, and she, Gary, and I got out (with our cameras, of course) to see the alligator up close. I said that it was like being at the zoo but there was no glass! We had amazing pizza for dinner, chatted, and then we went to sleep. Amber got us on a parent’s sleep schedule—we got up around 8:00 and went to bed before 11:00. That is not what Gary and I are used to on non-work days, and Amber was up even earlier than us with Nolan! It was easy to get up, though, when it was to Nolan making cooing noises. Have I mentioned yet that we LOVE Nolan and almost brought him home with us? We threatened to pack him up in our suitcases. He is such a happy baby and was so much fun to play with. Gary and I even fought over who got to sit in the backseat with Nolan when we got into the car. We couldn’t get enough of him.

Tuesday morning we went to the pool, got lunch at Sonic (yum), came back to the house, took showers, packed up, and it was time to leave for the Dave Matthews Band concert in Atlanta. We checked in to our hotel and made it to the concert before the opening band started. Gary got us great seats under the covered pavilion top. Good thing he did, because it was raining when we got there and during the opening band. By the time Dave took the stage, it was just HOT. Musically, the concert was amazing. He did some songs that he doesn’t usually do—some Gary had never heard live before, like “Crash into Me.” He also did “Dream Girl,” one of our favorite newer songs. I had a hard time enjoying the concert because I was so claustrophobic. It was too hot, sticky, and stinky for me. It smelled like sweat, puke, smoke, and I was sweaty. Not the best venue, but a great concert none the less. Gary’s point of pride is that we exited through a back exit and were back at the hotel 8 minutes after we got in the car. I was a little scared to go out another way because we were in a bad neighborhood (I didn’t even post about the crazy things we saw on our way to the concert) but we followed a bunch of people with Georgia plates and made it back to the freeway without getting lost.

Wednesday, we drove around downtown Atlanta on our way out of town. It was really pretty. We didn’t stay and do any touristy things, because we had 12 hours of driving and it was already 10:30. (We couldn’t get up early on our own without Amber and Nolan to wake us up.) We ate lots of junk food. Did anyone know that they make dark chocolate M&Ms now? I’m in heaven! We were going to stop at Big Boy for dinner to get away from fast food, and then Gary saw a Red Lobster at that exit! We had a delicious dinner. We got home around 11:30 at night. Gary drove the WHOLE way down and the whole way back. I offered to drive, but he kept saying that he was fine. Isn’t he wonderful?

Thursday morning, I picked the dogs up from the kennel. They were briefly excited to see me, and then they passed out all day. I unpacked, did tons of laundry, and accidentally took a two hour nap.

BABY UPDATES: Sarah is moving along and her doctor told her “any day now.” Renee is bored, but the babies are getting big. Both mommies to be are having contractions, so we’re looking forward to holding all three healthy babies soon! Michelle went for her first ultrasound on Jim’s birthday and all was well. She goes for her second ultrasound on her birthday on October 12th, and that will be the day they find out if it’s a boy or a girl. I’m officially calling girl. If you count the fact that I said that Renee would have a boy and count that as being correct since it’s a boy and a girl, I have been right for Amber, Sarah, and Renee. Watch, Michelle, you’ll have a boy and blow my psychic streak.

Georgia on my mind

Did you know that saying is the official motto of Georgia? We learned a lot from reading the very informative booklets that we got at the first rest stop of the state, namely that Gary and I stink at crossword puzzles. The ride was long, and Gary drove the WHOLE way! We only stopped four times--so for everyone who knows how often I need to go to the bathroom--this was a miracle. So our whole Saturday was spent driving.

Sunday we went to church with Amber and Mitch. We went to the swampy nature preserve and walked all along the wooden path. It had a metal grate all along the sides so that the alligators can't come up on the path. Gary and I were a little bit freaked out. Amber said that she was at first, too, but they have never even seen an alligator there, so she feels fine now. The water level was very low, so we had resigned ourselves to the fact that we would definately not see an alligator there. After we had walked the whole path, had turned around, and had walked about a quarter of the way back, Gary's hunting eyes spotted a little alligator!! Mitch said, "NO WAY." But yes, here is the alligator we saw. He/she was about 3 1/2 feet long and just sat in one place. Gary and Mitch tried to throw little sticks and handfulls of Spanish moss at it because we wanted to see it swim, but it wasn't having any of it. How exciting!

We came back home for Nolan's nap, and Amber made dinner. It was an old recipe from Cooking Light! The best part is that the recipe used zucchinni, which we had brought down from Gary's parents' garden. Amber could not belive how big it was! We only used half of it during dinner, and we wanted a photo of Nolan with a cross-section of the massive vegetable. He is teething, and loved to suck on the zucchinni. After dinner, I was holding Nolan and he was playing with a cloth napkin. (Amber brought out the fancy stuff for us!) I tossed it over his face and started playing peek-a-boo with him. He was laughing and screaming. So was Amber, because that was the first time that Nolan got the game of peek-a-boo.

Today we're going to try on bridesmaids' dresses for Meredith's wedding and then we might go into a plantation. They don't let babies in, so we're not sure if we'll abandon Amber and Nolan. After Mitch is done with work, he's taking us to see his work--and maybe we'll see bigger alligators!

Some of these are Amber's photos since we couldn't upload ours on her computer. Doesn't she have an artistic eye?

Mom--I saw that you commented!! I was so excited!

The last shower of the summer

Sorry, the photo post isn't working right--I have two more to post. I will try tomorrow.

This weekend my mom, Raquel, and I hosted Sarah's baby shower. I love baby showers because all of the presents are so adorable. We saw the baby's room afterwards, and I should have taken a photo of the way Sarah and her mom painted the room. Now all they need is a baby!!! Look how cute Brian looks with the new diaper bag!

Raquel cut and colored my hair before the shower. It's super short--it hasn't been this short since we got engaged. I love it, but it took a few days for me to get used to it. Raquel and Jeff's wedding is two weeks from this coming Friday! Crazy!!! She and I hung out a lot this weekend and we had a blast. She even spent the night last night, so with her, Ashley, and me, it was a sisters-in-law fest over here.

Gary is out of town for work all week with Rodger. They are in Utah on an army base. Gary's cell does not work on the base, so it's one of those trips where we don't talk much the whole time he's gone. He's staying in a "hotel" on base, but it's really army barracks! He's sharing a bathroom and eating in the cafeteria.

We went out to dinner on Saturday after the shower with Rodger, his wife (Pria) and their two gorgeous little girls. The five year old is very verbal and amazing with chop sticks--she ate fried rice very adeptly! The two and a half year old is really cute and got put in a Super Nanny time out by her mom. It worked! She was screaming, "I'll be nice!" a few seconds after she sat on the steps. Pr ia says she likes the show because the kids on it are always so much worse than her girls!

Gary and I can't wait to leave on Saturday for Georgia! We have grand plans to spoil Nolan and Amber said she'll take us on a walk to the swamp where we might see an alligator! If we see one, a photo will DEFINATELY make the blog.

I am coming down with Raquel and Jeff's cold, so I better get over it before Saturday. Right now I'm drinking tea and whiskey--Jen told me about it for sore throat prevention, and it works wonders. I also made a massage/adjustment appointment for tomorrow at the chiropractor. I know people are skeptical, but I haven't been sick hardly at all in the year and a half that I've been going, and when I'm coming down with something, it kills it!

The doggies have reservations at the kennel. They are so excited (clueless)! They have become best friends. They nap together--this morning I woke up and they were both spooning in Pippin's bed. Frodo has figured out that we go potty outside (not on the carpet, behind the dining room table). He only has two problems (1) He LOVES the couch. He perches on the arm, overlooking the entrance to the living room (2) He eats his poop. His breath STINKS. However, he is mighty talented. Frodo has caught on to many of our commands and routines, and he can climb the ladder that goes into the attic. Pippin can't, and he wishes he could. Whenever Gary goes into the attic, Pippin puts his front paws on the ladder and cries. Frodo cries, too, but he just climbed that ladder like it was stairs. He would have gotten the whole way up, but I kept carrying him down. Sorry the photo is blurry; Gary was up in the attic, looking down, shouting, "He's going to fall!"
I just realized that it wasn't my last shower of the summer--I have a baby shower for Lynne, a friend from work.

Baby, Babies, Baby

This weekend we celebrated Renee and Dan's baby shower. It was a "really nice shower" to borrow a phrase from my mom. They got so many cute things! We all are so excited to meet Audrey and Ethan in a few weeks! Look how great Renee looks--no belly photo on our camera from the shower day--we forgot. I am posting a recipe from Cooking Light that Gary and I love and that I made for Renee and Dan last week. They loved it too. It's not too hard and it's delicious!!

Chicken Scaloppine with Spring Herb Salad Recipe (Some of the salad ingredients are hard to find--I make mine with fresh regular green beans (not haricots verts--small green beans), spinach, parsley, chives, and the dressing. It's still wonderful.)

Big announcement from Michelle: she and Jim just told us that they are expecting their first baby around March 1st!!!! We are thrilled for them, and thrilled "to spoil it and then give it back to them" as Gary said. I love babies and am glad to have so many joining our family lately!

Sarah and Brian took their last baby class at the hospital, and their September 2nd due date is almost here! Sarah's shower for baby Abigail is this Saturday. Renee said her doctors said she might have her babies as early as September 1st (her official due date has been said to be September 15) so mabe we'll have 2 nieces and 1 nephew on the same day!!

Yesterday Emily came over for the day while her mom was at work. The dogs had so much fun with her and slept all night after she left. Emily baked cookies ALL ON HER OWN! She's an excellent baker and she is good at doubling fractions.

This week Ashley is staying with us while her parents are in Florida with Emily. We are watching her like a hawk (thought I'd include that in case her parents are reading this from Florida). She's reading her summer homework novel at this very moment!

One great thing about Ashley being here is that I had a deadline to finish cleaning out the green room, which I was calling "wedding gift purgatory" since it was the place where all our gifts went before we either put them in the kitchen or returned them. It's actually a spare room now--look at how clean it is! There is only one box I have left to unpack (not in the photo, of course!) and when I get my desk from my parents, I want to repaint it and put it along the wall under the window (to the right of where the bed is). That's all I'm doing this week, besides finishing up my projects for my grad class--2 weeks left!
Our wedding proofs are due to arrive any day now. Here are a few jpgs that Jennifyr Slater sent us. We even like the one of us under my veil (we both thought we'd hate it.)