Weddings!

This seems to be the year of the wedding! We have attended 2 weddings within the last 4 weeks, and have been invited to 3 more between now and October! Last weekend we attended the wedding of Tim's cousin, Kate, to her fiance, Brian. Unfortunately, we did not bring our camera, so I don't have any pictures, but I just wanted to note that the wedding was fantastic! The bride and groom are adorable, and so obviously in love with each other - not in a sickening way - just in the most natural and easy way. The wedding was unique, and had their mark all over it. My favorite part were the tables settings and centerpieces. The wedding was held in an old barn, and the tables were set as a few long tables, rather than several round. It gave such a cozy and intimate feel to the event. Running the entire length of each table were several vases that were handmade by the couple themselves, containing gorgeous flowers in yellows and whites. I took a vase home and love that when we use it we will always remember Kate and Brian's special day. The food and drink were great, the company was wonderful, and of course we danced up a storm. Congratulations Kate and Brian and so glad we could attend your special day!!!
The wedding was in Albany, and since we will be traveling to Albany again this coming weekend for the annual Doody July 4th party, and my sister in law's bridal shower, we decided to leave Ryan behind and spare him two road trip weekends in a row. We left him with our close friends Emil and Tricia, and their children, and I was very apprehensive! He is so adaptable and easy, but we have never dropped him off somewhere before, other than his grandparents' houses. And we had certainly never dropped him somewhere off to sleep - for 2 nights! - without Tim and I. When we dropped him off, he ran to the playroom and barely looked up to give us a hug when we told him we were leaving. Even so, Friday night I tossed and turned in bed, dreaming that he was crying and calling out for us in his sleep I remained worried until I finally spoke to Tricia on Saturday morning, and she reassured me - He was doing great! He didn't miss us at all, went to bed like a champ, slept all night, and was just having a blast playing with the kids. I then relaxed and really enjoyed having a kid free weekend! That doesn't mean I wasn't anxious to get back to him on Sunday of course :) Thanks to Emil and Tricia for watching Ryan, and thanks of course to my awesome little boy for being so easygoing! It was the first of many sleepovers I am sure!

Memories

Last week was Tim's 35th birthday, and as a surprise I bought tickets to the James Taylor-Carole King concert in Washington, DC. We both really enjoy their music, and Tim had recorded the concert from TV awhile back, so I knew he would like it. He had no idea where we were going, right up until we were sipping a beer at the bar next to the Verizon Center. I started pointing people out and asking him, based on their "look," what concert did he think we were there to see. It was funny to see the wheels turning in his mind, but after I pointed at a tall middle aged man who actually looked like James Taylor, Tim guessed correctly :) The concert blew us both away - Both Carole and James have SO much energy, especially for their age! They played all the hits, and the crowd was captivated by the performances. As I looked around at the crowd, I noticed that most people were significantly older than us, likely from our parents' generation, and probably grew up listening to the music of these two performers. The woman in front of me sang along, and swayed to the music, with a half smile on her face, deep in thought, and it looked as though she was remembering many good times had to these songs when the songs were originally released. I noticed several kids and teenagers there with their parents. I started to think about the music we listen to today, and if there are any artists that we have grown up with, made wonderful memories to, and will share with our children. The only ones that come to my mind are Billy Joel and Madonna. Billy doesn't really count, as he is also from the previous generation, and just gained popularity among my age group. Madonna - love her or leave her - has been around my entire childhood through adult years thus far. Will she be around in 20 years? I'm not sure. It did make me sad that I couldn't think of any other musicians that burst onto the scene in my youth, and will continue to make music for years to come that we can share and enjoy with our children. So, for now, we will just continue to borrow our parents music - No one said we can't pass that along instead....

Happy Birthday Tim!

Happy Birthday Tim!!! Hope you have a fantastic day working from home :) I just dug up a couple pictures from years past when we celebrated your birthday! Love you!!!!!

30th B-Day at Phillies-Red Sox game

Celebrating your 30th in Avalon, NJ with friends
Celebrating your Birthday on our pre-baby trip to Block Island

Father's Day in pictures....

Happy Father's Day!

A little early...But not sure I will be on the computer tomorrow! As I type this, Tim and Ryan are playing out back in the kiddie pool at our own little family "happy hour." I stocked up on all of Tim's favorite snacks, and mussels are steaming on the stove right now! Tomorrow we're heading to brunch and then just enjoying a family day together. Happy Father's Day to all the Dads out there - new Dads, experienced Dads, Dad-to-bes, those who want to be Dads but have not been blessed yet! A special Happy Father's Day to my Dad, my Father in law Bob, and Tim - the best father to our son Ryan that I could have ask for :) Give your Dads a big hug this weekend!

Wedding Day!

Katie and Frank's wedding was perfect - The bride was stunning, the flowers were beautiful and everything went off without a hitch! I am proud to say that Ryan did amazingly well as the ring bearer. He walked down the aisle, a little hesitantly but he made it down all by himself. I prodded him a little from the back of the church, and he walked verrryyy slowly until he saw his Dad in the second pew, and then he ran to his Dad and received his prize: skittles :) I may have shed a tear or two when I saw my little guy in his suit walking down the aisle. It was great practice for his Aunt Colleen's wedding in September, where he will again be the ring bearer. He also partied like a rock star at the reception, dancing with the flower girls while the guests ate dinner. The only tears shed all day by Ryan were when he had to leave the dance floor to go home, poor little guy! We had an absolute blast at the wedding. I will let the pictures below speak for themselves! unfortunately we didn't get any pictures of the ceremony, as Tim was trying to entertain Ryan, and I was standing up as a bridesmaid. But we made up for it with other great photos to commemorate the day.

Wedding kick off!

Tonight was the kick off to the long awaited wedding weekend for my close friend Katie and her fiancee Frank, who we have grown to know as well. The night was a love fest from start to finish - Family and friends could not say enough good things about the bride and groom, as well as how happy everyone is that they have found each other. The bride and groom were glowing and smiling all night long. Several speeches were given (I even joined in on it!) and tears of joy were shed by many in the room. It was a wonderful dinner hosted by the Smollons with fantastic food, drinks and company. I am proud to say my little ring bearer did a great job practicing, and did some flirting at the rehearsal dinner as well :) It was a great way to start the wedding weekend!

The Bouncy Bounce mystery

Today we went to Sam and Annie's birthday party at the Gerardis - Sam turned 5 and Annie turned 3. The party was full of fun activities - a bouncy bounce, arts and crafts, pinata, pin the hubcap on Lightening McQueen, and even a Scavenger Hunt to find the cake! Tricia did a great job planning the party and all the activities to keep the kids busy and entertained. Everything went off without a hitch, outside of a peeing incident inside the bouncy bounce - the jury is still out on who the culprit was but Ryan is a prime suspect! Oh well - kids will be kids and it was nothing a little water and vinegar couldn't take care of! Thanks to the Gerardis for another great party!

Birthday Boy

Birthday Girl