The Rehearsal Dinner

Of course, there was a rehearsal and rehearsal dinner... the dinner was at this great brewery in downtown Colorado Springs, Phantom Canyon. We had a wonderful time! As you can see, my brother had a great time too!! he he ( I totally forgot about these pictures loading in the "wrong" order)
Chris and I enjoying our meal. We were honored to sit at the table with Anna, Justin, Bishop Sheridan (the celebrant of the wedding Mass), a couple of servers for the Mass and the musician and his wife.

Quinn, Brent and Chris chatting with a friend, Tim. Tim and his family have been dear friends of the family for 15 years! Tim's wife, Sue, read in the wedding. Anna and Timmy, Tim's son, have been in the same grade and attended the same schools since 2nd grade! His daughter, Coleen, who is just a year younger than Anna, is also a good friend of Anna's.

There's the happy couple!! (this picture was really supposed to be first)

Anna with friends, Coleen, Jayme (a bridesmaid) and Sue (one of the readers at the wedding)

The day before the wedding

Of course, we gals felt like we needed a bit more prepping before the big Wedding Day! So, the day before my mom, my sister, Casey and myself all went to get manicures and pedicures. It was glorious!! They worked on our feet first... the massage chairs were nice.
Then, after the pedicure they didn't make us get up from the massage chairs... they just did our nails right there! It was great!

Mom is drying her nails under a "special" light

Though, you can't tell from the picture, I too have my nails under the "special" light. :-)

Bachlorette Party

I am not sure if I should be posting pictures from Anna's bachlorette party... because it got pretty crazy!! he he If you call chocolate fondue at the Melting Pot with four bridesmaids and a good friend, wild and crazy. he he (fondue is one my sister's favorite things to do.) We had a grand time enjoying all of the many goodies to dip into the various chocolates we got.

Casey, Anna and myself right before we left for the restaurant. Casey is an Air Force Lieutenant and is stationed over in Italy. She flew back to Colorado to be apart of Anna's wedding! Now, that is a dedicated friend!!

Anna took the first bite. She is obviously having fun. :-)

All the bridesmaids, minus me, with Anna as we were leaving the restaurant several hours later.

Slippers

It has gotten rather cold here in the last several days. And when the cooler weather arrives Chris and I enjoy wearing slippers. So, when we pulled them out the other day Jonathan got interested in wearing some himself. We made a trip to the store so he could pick some out. He was more than extactic when he saw the Lightening McQueen (his favorite character these days) slippers. He wears them all the time... even to bed!

Anna's Bridal Shower

Two weeks before the wedding, I co-hosted a wedding shower for my sister. The assistance that the other bridesmaids, Quinn and Jayme, put into it was a tremendous help!

The PAR-TAY was at my mom's house with about 25 people... I think that there were only 2 people that RSVP'd no; which says a lot about Anna. Pictured below is the ice cream cake- probably the nicest decorated ice cream cake that I have seen- my mom ordered. She also made a scrumptious cheese cake. Those came after the salad bar, though. :-)

Anna got some great gifts all for the kitchen, which Justin is thankful for. Homecooked meals are really going to be expected now. he he

Thank you to all who attended and helped!Someone got a little creative with their wrapping! (hint: it's a Victoria's Secret box with a Potterybarn sticker... don't worry she got some of her plates in this box.)Gotta love pyrex!One of Anna's bridesmaids got creative and made an entire basket of cooking goodies: flour, sugar, baking powder, muffin mixes, etc...Mom enjoying some of the scrumptious dessert... as you can see in the backround, I am too. :-)

Isn't this a nice ice cream cake??

The Park

The other day I was privledged to watch my nephew, Padriac. One of the things we did was walk to the park just up the street from our house. Though, from the looks on their faces it might appear they didn't have fun... but they did!! Jonathan wanted to make sure that I took a picture of him "scaling" this thing. :-)I was excited that they all fit into the wagon.

WHEW!

Since, my last post I/we have:

• bought a mini-van
• co-hosted a wedding shower for my sister
• organized and attended my sister's bachlorette party
• attended and partied at my sister's wedding
• and last but not least, turned 30!

So.... WHEW!! I have the pictures on the computer now, now I just have to upload them to the blog. I am VERY excited to share with you all of the great things going on in our lives. The kiddos are wonderful. Jonathan and Catherine are growing quickly and they make me laugh constantly!

If this wet your appetite please stay tuned to the blog for pictures. :-)