2 Weeks!!!

Only 14 days till my little sister gets MARRIED!!! I can't believe Jessi's about to be a married woman! I'm so so excited for her. She's going to be such a beautiful bride. And while I can't show you pictures of THE dress, here are a few of the runners-up...

SPOILER ALERT!!!

WOW. But seriously, Jess, we just can't wait to see you shine on your big day!!!

Pumpkin Spice Woo hooo!!

The Pumpkin Spice Latte has arrived, which means it's time for Fall. And so far I'm actually enjoying the cooler weather. I can't remember when I've been so excited for the Fall. But after this excruciatingly hot summer, October has never been more welcome. This weekend we spend most of our time outside in the yard. It has been PERFECT! Here's a few pictures I snapped...


Time for pumpkins!!!


Bailey is LOVING this cooler weather


We did a little landscaping in the back yard


The other side (this is the Crepe Myrtle that is taking over our lives)


Finally I have some pretty roses in my back yard!

BABY LANDRY ARRIVED!!!
By far the best part of our weekend was getting to see Landry. Kristi and Jared (Brandon's cousins) had their second kid on Friday. It's hard not having much family around, but we feel so blessed to have them close enough to see sometimes. I'm so excited about getting to snuggle more with this sweet girl. Here are some of the pictures I took at the hospital this weekend...


Landry Faith- 8 lbs 6 oz, 19 1/2 inches of ADORABLE


I could just snuggle her forever!


Brandon, Jake and Jared watching the Rangers, of course


Sweet Landry with her Mommy


Brandon with little Landry


Oh look at that face! I love her!

How Could I Forget!?!

I wrote about my Nashville trip last weekend and completely forgot to mention meeting MIRANDA LAMBERT! I saw her on my flight to Nashville and was immediately starstruck. I texted Jessi, who then decided to come pick me up at the airport when I got there in order to stalk my fellow passenger. Jessi began by politely calling her name, only to be quite rudely ignored. We gave up on seeing her after getting my bag, but as we were walking out- there she was. Jessi could not be stopped, as much as Dad and I begged. We ended up getting our picture with her, but I was too busy talking to her so I look like an idiot. Jess and I were pretty excited despite the fact that we're pretty sure Miranda is a pretty big jerk. All those trashy country songs are maybe a little more in character than we'd thought. But look at that great hair!!!
Me and Jess with Miranda:)

Nashville weekend

Last weekend I went to Nashville for wedding preparation weekend extraordinaire. Friday we got Jessi for her Bridal portraits which were AMAZING. She looked gorgeous and all I can say is tulle + pleats = beauty. Just kidding. But it was really fun. Jess is going to be a gorgeous bride. Then Saturday we cooked and decorated for Jessi's lingerie Party that night. A bunch of Jessi's best friends came over and we had a blast. Here are some of the photos I took from the weekend...


I have the best sisters


Cookies Allie and I made for the party favors:)


Me and Bethie- can't believe you're about to be a mommy!!!


Al, Jess, Ashley and me


The cake- because Jonathan's nickname is Spiderman:)

These are all the pictures I could post. The party went really well and then Jessi had her kitchen shower on Sunday at Kirsten's house. I got to see lots of family and finally got to meet the newest member of the family- Kinley Stewart, my cousins precious little baby girl. It was a short visit, but I'll get to see them again in just a few weeks! I can't believe Jess is about to be a married woman!!!

Another month

In addition to the preparations for Jessi's wedding and Brandon and I both being pretty busy at work, we've had a hectic month. Recently life seems to be going so fast, but August reeeaaaaally came and went in a flash! I just thought I'd write a few things about what we were up to the last month...

I finished the Hunger Games series and am on to my next book on the reading list. Ever since I've been out of school I've been somehow excited about reading. My friend Stephanie has been giving me book suggestions, all of which I love. I am a changed woman!



Chaz came to town and stayed with us. He and Emily were driving from Tennessee to California, so we got to spend a few hours hanging out with them. They wanted to go out on Brandon's boat, but it ended up not being the best night. We still had fun and it was great getting to see our old buddy. I know Brandon misses him and the other college roomies a lot...crazy that it's been more than 3 years since we've really hung out with most of them.

My dad came in town the next weekend to talk at a church in Ft. Worth. It was a quick visit, but it's always so good to have family come to Dallas and see what our life here is like.

Labor Day weekend, Brandon and I got the dining table we've been wanting and waiting for it to go on sale. It finally did so we are excited to have something that will seat all our family and friends:) Here's a quick pic, as promised...



Then Sunday, Kim and Philip came through town. We went out on the boat even though it was really choppy. And Bailey and Baxter had a good time playing like always. It was so nice to have the day off on Monday. We went over to Jaime and Joe's for a cookout with the family, and I got to hold baby Lily Kate. It was a great weekend with family. Here's a few pictures from the lake...











Friday night we went to Jared and Kristi's to celebrate Colt's birthday. He's getting so big and so smart. It's so crazy that he's two years old already. It really doesn't seem like that long since we were visiting him in the hospital. And now he's about to have a baby sister...time flies!

Melany's shower was on Saturday. It was a great turnout and we had a lot of fun, largely because of the hard work of Martha Stewart, aka Lacey Lee. Melany got lots of cute stuff for baby Avery. Can't wait to meet that precious girl! Here's a few pictures from the shower.









We found a new favorite spot for Bailey- Routh Creek. It's like a mile from our house and she LOVES playing in the water. It feels pretty secluded, always a nice thing being this close to the big city. Here she is playing fetch with her daddy...



Oh the Cowboys. What to even say. We've been counting down the days and anticipating the start of football season. We went over to watch with some friends, but the Cowboys did NOT come through for us. It was soo disappointing. And Brandon did not take it well... Hopefully we got all of our horrible blunders out of the way that first game and now we can just have a great season! Gooooo Cowboys!!!

In other news, TV is getting good again. Parenthood starts back tonight, and Glee and Grey's Anatomy start back next week. YAYYYYY!

And...last but certainly not least...ONLY 39 DAYS TILL JESSI GETS MARRIED!!! Ahhhh!

Memphis Weekend

This weekend I drove to Memphis for Jessi's very first wedding shower. It was a long drive, but we had a great time. I got to see my sisters, mom, Memommy, and Aunt Marlea. The shower was wonderful and Jess got so much cute stuff for their apartment. We also got to do a little shopping and had a fabulous Italian dinner with mom and Aunt Marlea. Unfortunately the weekend just wasn't long enough!


Memommy, Jess, and Aunt Marlea


With my Memommy


Me, Mom, Memommy, Jess, Allie, Aunt Marlea


Hmmmm


Jonathan and Jessi


Ok. The REAL Jonathan and Jessi


Sisters- they're my favorite.


So glad I got to go see them


With the brother-in-law to be

A wedding, a vacation, and some other random stuff

August has been FLYING by. I still feel like it should be July, but we've been having lots of fun. I have so much to post about, but here are the highlights-

Michael and Melissa's Wedding!

Church girls with the bea (minus a few of course)


Church boys...this is really the only picture of them I could post

FAMILY VACATION
We met my family in Hot Springs, Arkansas for a week relaxing at a house on Lake Desoto. We had a great time playing on the water, watching movies, eating good food, and catching up on some much needed sleep. Here's a few pictures of our week...

I forgot how fun tubing is...well, unless I have to ride alone with Brandon and he feels the need to battle me off the tube


Brandon got pretty good on the slollem ski


Dad on the knee board- he's still got it!


They love when I take pictures of them...they are all inspecting one of the hot springs- those hot springs are actually very hot!


Sisters, looking kinda rough in the 110 degrees (or what felt like it)


On our back porch looking over Lake Desoto


Allie and Blakey


Doing a little wedding planning on my way through Nashville


I got to see my newly pregnant BFF Beth for a short visit while I was home


OTHER RANDOM STUFF
Ever since I got out of school, I have a new-found love for reading. I am obsessed with the book I just read- Hunger Games. I just read it this week on vacation and had to force myself to put it down and hang out with my family;) I really don't want to tell much about the story, because I think everyone should just read it. It's a little weird at the very start, but then it is such a good story. I have to really have a page-turner if I'm really going to read, and this one had me hooked big time. Just thought I'd send out that recommendation...so so good.

When we got back from vacation, our hot water heater had a leak, so this week we've been dealing with getting hot water back in our house. Now that I had about a day to do some laundry, I'm headed to Memphis tomorrow after work for my sister's very first bridal shower!!! I'm pretty excited, despite the 7 1/2 hour drive.

Tonight we had our last softball game. It was not a particularly great game, but we had such a fun season. I almost got killed by a grounder to 2nd base, but somehow survived. It has been so much fun seeing our friends every Thursday night, I'm sad it's over!

Hope everyone has a good weekend, I'm headed off to my beloved Tennessee!