Evan is Three!

Happy Birthday, big boy!!



Ronin is always to freakin' happy and photogenic!



Luke wanting to be just like his cool cousin, Ronin!



Sweet baby Logan. I just wanna squish and nibble on those cheeks!

Luke getting the hang of the slide/bridge.

Maeve is showing that cake who's boss!

Seriously... soooooo happy all the time!

Dubroca Family, Adams Family, Hammond Family, and Badoud Family:



Fun party... glad we were able to celebrate with friends and family!

Memphis - Anna's Wedding Weekend (part 2)

It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon in Memphis, and all the bridesmaids gathered at the Memphis Zoo to get ready for Anna's big day!!

There was laugher, there was beer, and there was nervous excitement as the girls curled hair, powdered faces, and pinned bra straps.

Erin, our resident make-up artist, gave Anna "the works":

Here's a shot of Anna showing off her beautiful dress:

I just love this next photo! So hilarious - Caitlin, Angela, and Karen helping each other zip up their dresses (those darn zippers were SO difficult to maneuver!)



Putting on the finishing touches... Anna's mom helps pin down the veil. The veil was Anna's "something borrowed" from ME!! I was so honored!!!

ah, the lovely bride!

Now that all the ladies were ready to go - it was picture time! It was fun goofing around with everyone during the hundreds of photos that were snapped by the photographer at the various zoo locations. Sadly, I only got one photo of the bridesmaids with my camera (and I forgot the turn the flash on for Brad!), but I stole two other photos from Angela on facebook...







Such a good-lookin' and fun bridal party!

The wedding went off without a hitch as did the reception. Dancing ensued, cake was cut, toasts were made... you know the drill!

This post would not be complete without mentioning how different it was attending a wedding with a toddler!! During Anna and David's first dance, I was outside with Luke while he pushed the stroller up and down the walkway. Up and down. Up and down. Up and down.

When Anna and David cut the cake, I was watching Luke climb up and down some stairs in front of the polar bear viewing area. Up and down. Up and down. Up and down.

(actually, I have a photo of that one...)



Luke usually goes to bed at about 7 or 7:30 - but since it was a special occasion, Luke didn't get in bed until 10:00!! That's very late for my sweet boy, but very early for exiting a wedding.

Such is life with kids! :)

We did manage to get a family photo (thanks, Angela!) and a shot of Luke and I before going back to the hotel.

Congrats to Anna and David Tuttle!! Now, when are you guys gonna have kids?! :)

Memphis - Anna's Wedding Weekend (part 1)

This past weekend, the fam loaded up the Tahoe and headed over to Memphis for Anna's wedding!! We left on Friday morning and I went straight to the bridal luncheon at the Beauty Shop. It was such a cute little restaurant - delicious food, wonderful dessert, and the best company! That night was the rehearsal (at the Memphis Zoo) and rehearsal dinner (at the BBQ Shop - YUM!)

We had some free time on Saturday, and although we were at the zoo the evening before, we decided to take Luke to the zoo again for the full experience!

We saw elephants...



We saw "kits" (cats)...



We saw koalas...

(koala in the background)

We saw ostriches...

We saw zebras...



And we saw giraffes...

Whew! Of course, we saw more animals than that - but that gives a pretty good overview (and showcases my best photos).

With all of those amazing and exciting animals to observe, this was really Luke's favorite activity at the zoo:

Pushing the stroller!!

He couldn't get enough of it!

It was all we could do to get him to look over at the animals sometimes... he was on a mission with that stroller!

Anywho, we all had a good time at the zoo! It was a beautiful day to get outside and walk around. Here's one more parting shot from the zoo experience:

(what a cutie pie!)

Next, we headed over to Huey's to have the "best burger in Memphis" and I must admit... it was an awesome burger!!

We made it back to the hotel for a little relaxation before the evening festivities began.



Ok, this seems like a good spot to end this blog post for tonight. Stay tuned for the next post about the beautiful wedding!

Easter Weekend!

We had such a fun Easter weekend this year!! We went to Cheekwood Botanical Gardens for their big easter egg hunt. We actually took Luke to Cheekwood last year as well... maybe we have a new family tradition! :)

It is fun going out there - they've got some arts and crafts, face painting, balloon animals, the Easter bunny roaming the grounds, several scheduled egg hunts, and of course, plenty of room to RUN AROUND!!!

We went to the very last egg hunt of the day for ages 2 and under at 3:30 (after nap time!). This is what the "baby" egg hunt looked like:

It cracked me up - there were eggs EVERYWHERE!!

Here's the little guy scoping out the scene and preparing his egg gathering strategy.

Ok, now let me describe how the actual egg hunt went down.

3... 2... 1... GO!!!!

The small field immediately swarmed with kids, babies, and proud parents. We unleashed Luke and - let's be honest - he was pretty confused as to what he was supposed to do. We encouraged him to pick up an egg that was laying at his feet and put it in his basket. Yay! One down, plenty to go!

Next, Luke wanted to walk around for awhile... then Luke wanted to be picked up... then Luke wanted to play on the wide, grassy stairs for awhile. Needless to say, not at all interested in eggs! Finally, something caught his eye from a distance and he made a beeline across the field! Yay - watch out plastic eggs - it's go time!

Oh... wait... that's just a rock.

Sure, go ahead and put it in your basket.



At this point in time, we looked around and noticed that all the eggs had magically found their way into other kid's baskets! Poor Luke - you snooze, you lose! He was finally getting used to the scene and was actually looking around for some eggs now. Bummer!

A nice lady walked by us - saw Luke - and grabbed a handful of eggs out of her child's basket and threw them on the ground in front of Luke. So nice!! He was thrilled and very enthusiastically gathered his loot!

On our way out, we encountered the Easter bunny strolling around. Yeah, we had to stop and get a photo. I don't think that this photo requires any additional explanation. Instant classic.

Here are a couple more cute photos...

(lookin' tough):


While we were in town, the three of us decided to get some pizza at Mafiaoza's (our FAVORITE place), then stop at Las Paletas for some wonderfully refreshing gourmet popsicles. YUM! What a fun day!

Ok, now on to Easter Sunday.

I carefully assembled Luke's basket on Saturday night and put it out on the ottoman for him to "discover" in the morning. I was very proud of his basket - I strategically chose items that I knew he'd really like - some books, a small football (he's obsessed with Andie's big football), a big bouncy ball, two squishy dinosaurs (he loves the dinosaur book that he got from Aunt LT for Christmas), bubbles, and some Peeps to try!



Success! Luke did not disappoint with his reaction! He spotted the basket from across the kitchen and ran into the living room with a smile plastered across his face!

Now, for the big Easter finale, Luke tasted his first Peep!

Delicious! Just like the whole weekend!

Huntsville - Uncle Pat's 50th and more fun!

We took the day off this past Friday and headed down to Huntsville for the weekend. When we got to town, we immediately went to see Grandma and Grandpa.

Grandma showed Luke how to draw on rocks with chalk:

After Grandma and Grandpa's house, we went over to the Barnsby casa to play, eat dinner, then splash around in the bath with Andrew.

Bright and early in the morning, we headed over to Aunt Sally's house to visit these two:

(cousin Ronin)

(cousin Maeve)


Ronin showed Luke how to whip up some good eats in his kitchen. Luke decided to heat up some plastic green beans in a skillet - can and all! :)

Then they had a little jam session:



I think this move is called "the claw"

Next, it was off to Rosie's to meet Kristen and Andrew for lunch. The food was delicious, but the best part was the awesome purple balloon that Luke got!

(in the car on the way back to Kristen's house from Rosie's):

Once we got back to Kristen's, the boys went down for naps, then around 3:00 we headed over to my aunt and uncle's house for my Uncle Pat's 50th birthday party! They had a big blowout and fun was had by all!

I should mention that this entire weekend was especially fun and exciting for Luke because of all the animals involved. As you know, we have zero pets in our house. Luke, however, is obsessed - I mean, OBSESSED with cats and dogs! My parents have two cats, my sister has three huge dogs, Kristen has a cat, and my aunt has two small dogs! Pets galore!! He was loving it!

(Andrew, Luke, and Andie at the Sloan's house):


The final excitement of our day occurred when Kristen's Jeep got stuck in the yard at my aunt's house when we were leaving! The ground was really muddy from previous rain, but we took a risk and parked there anyway. Kristen feels bad for creating a few decorative tire marks in their yard - but really, she isn't to blame. She was just following us and we directed her into that off-road position. Oops! Luckily, the Sloan's had a chain and our Tahoe came to the rescue (really, we just wanted to give everyone a good excuse to take another shot! party on!)

Scott, I'll post these pics just for you so that you can laugh at your lovely wife! :)





Whew, another successful weekend! It is always so hard to try to see everyone and do everything whenever we come to Huntsville to visit! We didn't "do it all" (we never can!), but we had a good time and got to see lots of our favorite people!!