I used to think a wedding was a simple affair. . .

Boy and girl meet, they fall in love, he buys a ring, she buys a dress, they say I do. I was wrong. That's getting married. A wedding is an entirely different proposition. -George Banks, Father of the Bride

My sister married Jeremy on June 5, 2010. It was a beautiful day and everything was perfect down to the tiniest detail. Abby has only been planning this day for, oh, her entire life. In high school she bought bridal magazines and made idea notebooks. She would have Mr. Fields, the choir director at BJHS, play wedding songs in class that she wanted to have at her played at her wedding. (Mr. Fields played and sang at both of our weddings!) When I planned my wedding, she had all the info I needed on anything I was thinking about. Barbara Ingram was the brains behind the production. She is the owner of Barbara's Wedding Shoppe and takes care of everything. At this point, she and her husband Bobby are more like family. She did my wedding, and several of my friends before doing Abby's. She is A-MAZING.

I don't know that I could ever write the words to describe just how beautiful and special this day was. Abby was a stunning bride. Jeremy's Grandpa Al performed the beautiful ceremony. Abby's wedding party was all of her sweet friends that she has been close to for years. The reception at The Depot was so much fun and a great celebration with friends and family.

Here are just a few pictures taken by the most talented photographer ever- Alyson Clemons. She was so much fun to work with that day and captured the entire wedding weekend with some fabulous shots.

Yes, Abby did MY eye make up that day. :)

This picture makes me think of a preview for a new "family" sitcom on ABC.

My sweet parents- love this picture!

The Graham Girls

The wedding party at the Depot.

The AOII Circle Song

The father of 2 brides! He survived!

An Alabama Send Off!

A weekend getaway-

This past weekend my sister, mom, and I spent the weekend in Atlanta with my Uncle Jeff. It was a great relaxing weekend full of shopping, laughing, and GREAT food! We had the best time!

This picture was at Haven restaurant which was to die for!! You can't tell we're related, right?

Tuesday marked the start of my 18 week training schedule for the St. Jude Marathon in December. Heat + Humidity = not a very fun run. At 5 am the temps are a little more bearable.... It just so happened that the first day of training was the first day back to work for me as well. Talk about rude awakening. Not only did I have to miss The Today Show, I had to eat breakfast in the car! (back to normal. . . )

We had a great inservice at BJHS and I even got to enjoy lunch out with my teacher friends. Lunch is so much more enjoyable when you have longer than 20 minutes to eat.

Tomorrow is Open House and I am looking forward to meeting my class. It is always exciting to start a new school year. Pretty soon my now quiet and clean classroom will be buzzing with little ones and will no longer be so clean! I can't wait!

One down, four to go. . .

I officially became a grad student this summer at A&M and made it through my first semester!! WooHoo! I am getting my Master's degree in Instructional Leadership and hope to finish the program next December. I wanted to get a degree that would offer me an alternative to the classroom. Going back to school was tough, but after I got used to the schedule it wasn't too bad. A&M is VERY different from Alabama, so that was a bit of an adjustment. . . .Let's just say that all the stories you've heard about A&M are most definitely true. Nevertheless, I survived, and actually enjoyed the 2 classes I took.

If all goes accordingly, I will graduate next December. Go Bulldogs! :)

The cake, the dress, and THE earrings. . .

Craig and I spent this past weekend in Hamilton, Alabama for Leah's wedding weekend. I need to give Craig a big shout out (like he reads this, but whatever) for being such a GREAT sport- and I'm actually not being sarcastic.

We started off our trip on Friday afternoon. I flew in from Connect3 with barely enough time to shower after a morning of skating, throw a few more things in my bag, grab my bridesmaids dress and hit the road. We barely made it out of town before a storm blew in. I was hungry and irritable when we hit the road, so after a stop for snacks the trip became a little more enjoyable! We needed to be in Hamilton by 5 for rehearsal, and we were pushing it. But, we made it with a few minutes to spare. Rehearsal went well, or as well as expected when 2 groomsmen are absent. Craig had to fill in for one- which happened to be the one I was paired with. Being his funny self, Craig got the groomsmen around him all riled up, and got "shhhh-ed" by the wedding director. Classic. He wasn't even in the wedding party!

After rehearsal we headed to Dolly's Country Kitchen, a cute little restaurant in Hamilton, for the rehearsal dinner. We ended the night at Leah's sister's house to spend some time with Leah, the wedding party and her family.

Bridesmaids & Paula at Rachel's House

Bridesmaids with the bride

The next morning, I headed off for the Bridesmaids' Brunch at 9, leaving Craigo alone all day. He may say he was bored, but I think he secretly enjoyed the down time.

Our gift- cute houndstooth bag, robe, and fabulous earrings!

Leah had her hairdresser come to her house to do everyone's hair, so our afternoon consisted of hair, make up, helping set up a few things for the reception, saving the groom's cake ;), and trying to keep Leah's dad from killing the florist for being a little (ok, 2 hours) late. It was like we were in the movie Father of the Bride! I loved it.

The groom's cake being "altered" by one that shall remain nameless. . . the green flowers HAD to go.

Our earrings were beautiful and literally weighed 5 lbs. EACH.

THE CAKE! It was SO Leah and tasted as great as it looked!

The wedding was beautiful and went wonderfully. We got to see Tim and Heather- which was wonderful treat. The weather cooperated and the outdoor reception was beautiful. We had a fabulous time!

AOII Sisters

Tim & Heather

My Favorite Guy!

Loving learning how to use my new camera. Here is my "artsy" shot of the night! :)

The Leahs!

Last Friday, I went to Birmingham to celebrate my dear friend's last weekend as a single lady. Leah Wood has been one of my best friends since freshman year at Alabama. We met at Bama Bound the summer before we started school in the fall and then both ended up pledging AOII. Turned out we had a lot more in common that just our names. We laughed, we cried, we celebrated, and became best friends during our four years in Tuscaloosa. Oh the stories that come to mind when I think about the things we did. . . The Leahs!

I consider myself lucky to have her as a friend. She has her own fabulous & unique style (her wedding cake is going to be zebra print) and she has a beautiful voice. She sang at my wedding and was a bridesmaid. AND- she did my make-up. She's got it all!

Before dinner Friday, we had a lingerie shower for Leah. We ate dinner at Chuck's Fish in Birmingham and I definitely recommend it. It just opened near The Summit. We at there all the time in Tuscaloosa because it was Leah's favorite. It's owned by the same guy who owns Harbor Docks in Destin and the seafood is A-MAZING! Then we ate this delicious cake- with zebra print, of course.

I love this girl and can't wait for the wedding this weekend! Bart is a lucky guy and Leah will be a beautiful bride!

West Virginia

Today we went to the White Family Reunion at Montcove Lake Park in WV. This is Craig's family on his dad's side and it is the 2nd summer we've been able to come. Montcove is beautiful and the weather was absolutely perfect. Here are a few pictures from our day--

Craig and his Uncle Miles

Bethany, Abbey, and me taking a little ride on a paddle boat

Abbey, Bethany, and Rylan

Craig and I

my favorite picture of the day . . . .

Happy 4th of July!!

Top 10 Favorite Things About Summer--

1. The Today show- If this comes on during the school year and I see it, I’m late. During the summer, I get to sit back, prop my feet up, and spend the morning with Matt, Meredith, and Al. Ahh, the simple things!

2. Running in the AM- Rarely during the school year do I wake up in time to run before I go to school. For some reason, it’s easier for me to wake up early in the summer, and I have to if I want to beat this heat!

3. Days spent at home- with no where to go, nothing to do, and no makeup to put on! These days are still few and far between, but every now and then I get one.

4. Lunch Out- Everyday during the school year, I eat in the lunchroom with sweet little children. Getting to go out to eat is such a treat! And I get to meet Craig sometimes too, which is an added bonus.

5. Pool/Beach time- Gotta love the hours spent by the pool or on the beach-- with a good book in hand I could stay ALL day!

6. Road trips- I LOVE to go places. We lucked out and got to go to Panama City before the oil came. And in a few days we’re headed to West Virginia to see Craig’s family. Even just overnight trips make me happy- just a change of scenery.

7. Long days- I love that the sun doesn’t go down until late. I love to sit outside with Craig and the dogs, or have friends over, and just talk.

8. No school!!- This should probably be first on my list. By May, it doesn’t matter how wonderful the kids are, it’s time for a break. When August rolls around, I’ll be excited again, but right now the time off is A-MAZING!

9. House Projects- time off frees my brain to focus on the house- anything from rearranging, to cleaning out closets- I don’t get to focus enough on the house during the school year.

10. Summers @ Mayfair- There is ALWAYS something going on at Mayfair in the summer- so far this year we’ve had VBS, Summer Praise & Prayer, and now Marriage Matters. I’m also working on Connect3 this year. Always something to keep me busy! J