Leigh Anne's Wedding Shower and more trips to Pickwick!

(Written a few months ago), Leigh Anne is getting married in a little over a month and her bridesmaids and I threw her a fun ladies bruncheon shower at the home of one of her bridesmaids moms lovely home. My mom and Joan also helped host the shower and we used a lot of my mother's beautiful antique mismatched china, vintage tablecloths, bud vases and apothecary jars. It turned out just beautifully. I created the invitations on antique handkerchiefs with the help of my new favorite website www.spoonflower.com  She got some lovely gifts and overall it was just perfect!

We've made a few more trips to the lake this summer. And the boys always have a ball!

Then of course, we had the big trips this summer Leigh Anne's bachelorrette party in Lake Tahoe, NV with all but one of her bridesmaids and one more girl made the trek out to Reno in July. We all flew out on Thursday afternoon and arrived late in Reno and stayed at a casino and partied the night away.

The next morning we made the drive up into the mountains to a lakeside hotel where we all enjoyed a catamaran cruise on the lake which was so fun and gorgeous weather and scenery. Leigh Anne had bought us all straw hats and had them all monogrammed which was so cute in our pictures. We had a total of 9 girls and we had not the least bit of drama the whole trip! We stayed at Trey and Leigh Anne's uncle Gene's condo in Incline Village, CA. I guess since it was a snow skiing resort where we stayed and at a higher altitude, the change in air quality really got to me and TJ's sister Meghan. We both got extremely sick and were feeling awful. We did get dressed up however and made our way to dinner where we all dressed in black suits with bow tied "tuxes" and Leigh Anne wore white.

It was super fun and we turned heads where ever we went. We enjoyed a fun dinner then exhausted from all the days events made our way back home and got up for a river rafting day the next day (I opted out of this because I still felt so bad from the altitude sickness and had no sleep because of it). Then we had a lingerie shower and left for home the next morning. I flew from Tahoe to Ft. Walton to meed Trey and the boys who had gone down on Saturday for his work convention and James and Joan were also apart of as well. That was great because I had missed them so much and the boys were having a ball at the beach and at the massive hotel pool(s). The conference is always fun and we enjoyed meetings, Bloody Mary Bingo with the ladies and dinner presentations.

We stayed at the Hilton San Destin. Super nice!!

The boys had hotel sitters for some of it, and the rest of the time we just enjoyed the scenary. I was still not 100% so I didn't even hit up the outlet malls! (gasp).

 

Brooksie "chilaxin"

 JoJo with the boys in the ocean. They were having an absolute ball!

 So that should tell you the power of altitude sickness. I learned I will never go on that family ski trip that we all have been talking about for years....I just cannot do that high altitude stuff. OTher than that we have been gearing up for Leigh Anne & TJ's big day and now Tracy and Kyle's as well. Plus Camden is starting Kindergarten soon!! Summers will never be the same!!

Duncans lake trip & My sister is engaged!!

Several weeks ago Trey's best friend from high school and college (he was also best man in the wedding) Chad Duncan and his wife Jana and 3 children (Miles, Jack & Ava) came over from west Texas to stay with us at the lake house! It was such a treat because their kids have never really been on a boat before and they all had a ball. Camden and Brooks loved having someone close to their age there to play with as well. We enjoyed several cruises around the lake, tubed some and the kids fished and played on the water slide and at the pool as well. It was such a fun weekend and we loved having our good friends the Duncans there. It was a special treat because we usually only see them at Christmas when we make our annual trek to Texas. It is such a long drive (around 12 hours!) any time we have a long trip to go on, Camden always asks "is it as far as Texas??!".

Only one missing is Camden, but Jack, Ava, Brooks and Miles are represented!

Chad and his cute kids!

The boat is so relaxing!

The kids riding on the ranger around the neighborhood. They loved it!!

So fun! It was like a roller coaster!

Waterslide fun at the lakehouse.

 

Jack getting some baseball instruction from Trey. He was grinning from ear to ear the entire time! These boys are so into sports and they knew Trey used to play professionally, so it was a really cool treat!

 

 

Jana and I decided to take the little ones into Savannah to check out some of the little downtown shops and then let the kids get some frozen yogurt, I made the mistake of allowing Brooks to eat his on the road and when I looked back this is what I saw!! Brooks covered in chocolate ice cream and his own hair gel! Haha! The messes this kid gets in never ceases to amaze me!

Messy Brooksie :)

In other news, my little sister Tracy just got engaged!! We all knew Kyle was planning something and the ring had been purchased, but didn't know exactly when it might happen. He asked all of us for our blessing, which we of course gave him and he took her to dinner and then to a rooftop at the Madison in downtown Memphis where he and she had their first official date. They were just sitting there talking and they looked so in love that a bystander snapped their picture with her phone to send to her friends with the tag line "this is what true love looks like!" Little did she know that moments later, she would witness Kyle crouch down on bended knee to propose!! He even went as far as to have a friend of his from the news station capture the event on film! It was so special to look at the photos especially because we were not there. It made us feel apart of the experience! They are super happy and the wedding is set for January 18, 2014. We are so excited and busy planning the special occasion! Can't wait for more wedding fun!! I was graciously asked to be the Matron of Honor so I'm pretty pumped about this honor and have already been busy planning all the fun activities!

This is the photo the lady snapped to send to her girlfriend (prior to proposal!)

We went several weekends later and picked out her stunning gown!! I cannot wait for Kyle to see her in it is going to DIE! It's incredible and just what I always pictured her in!!

Dave Matthews, Weddings, engagements and lake trips with friends!

My favorite band of all time Dave Matthews made the rare appearance at our little amphiteatre in Southaven at the end of April! We were SO pumped. A huge group of our friends had been obsessing about this for several months. We are die hards and I've probably seen them about 8 times live since high school. It was a great time with our friends and the band we love!!

Then Memorial Day weekend, our good friends Julie and Adam got married at the Cadre building downtown. It was so fun because all of our close Southaven friends were there. We all got dressed up and even hired a taxi to chauffeur us to and from downtown. The kids stayed with mom and dad so Trey and I had a ball hanging with our friends it was much needed.

The girls at the wedding

after party at the Peabody with my good friend Laura

James and Joan were there as well!

Leigh Anne was a bridesmaid and Trey looking dapper!

With the bride (not the best pic!)

This was all three boys with my mom down at the farm having a ball in the bath!

This is my dad whom the boys refer to as "Gallegah" at the farm telling some of his crazy stories!

We then went to pick the boys up Saturday AM from Mom's at the farm in Hickory Flat and then made the trek about an hour to the Lunsfords' lakehouse at Pickwick. Leigh Anne & TJ joined us and we had a great time Sat-Monday on the lake and the boys went for Cam's first fishing trip with the guys Sunday morning. He loved it. I laughed so hard Monday because he had placed it ever so neatly a minnow in his little art binder....I have no idea what his plans were for this, but we quickly removed it and disposed of it properly! I'm sure I would have discovered it in a few weeks if I hadn't seen it when I had!! I plan on keeping a bag of all the things I find in Camden's pockets and giving it to him when he graduates or when he gets married. So far, I have some very interesting items in there...

Soccer and more spring events

In other news, we have been a more healthy family this year. We are definitely eating better and mixing in more fresh fruits and veggies, counting calories and Trey lost an amazing 50 pounds! He is been doing Insanity and now moved on to P90X. He looks great! I have lost too, but not nearly as much. I'm not as disciplined. I still enjoy my sweets and carbs :). Although I did accomplish something this year that I never thought I would I ran a 5K! It actually ended up being much longer than a 5K, bc the volunteers directing us messed up the route and by the end we measured that it was 4.59 miles! I was determined to run the whole thing which I did, but it was a struggle at the end. I just really paced myself and ran it slow, but who cares I did it!! It was a glow in the dark run so we had bright clothes and paint that glowed under the black light at the end. My sister and a few of my girlfriends did it together which made it really fun.

 

 

 

 

 

Then a few weeks later I ran in another 5K, this one was the color run which consisted of us with white shirts and dry paint powder being thrown at us along the way. We got filthy, but it was so fun. I was able to run the whole thing again (waaaay behind my team of girls, but ran it all nonetheless).

 

Camden played his first organized sport this year! We liked this league because it was a small church league that played a few times a week (no weekends) and they were close to home. His team name was the scorpions. They were undefeated and we were very happy to watch all the games. Camden was not 100% committed, he was a little more worried about the snacks and water breaks they took. But he loved the goalie position and it was an introduction to a little bit more discipline than he is apparently used to.. Brooks wanted to play more than anyone out there. His Jo Jo and Grandad got him a red jersey as well with the number "00" and the letters PMIC which stood for "Put Me In Coach"! I laughed hysterically when I saw that! Brooks enjoyed running onto the field throughout the game and also playing with some of the other smaller children who were watching their older brothers and sisters. He even would line up with the rest of the team at the conclusion of each game and stick his hand out to tell everyone "good game, good game....". It was so cute to watch. We waited until Cam was 4 to play but we may have to let Brooksie play on the 3 year old league next Spring!

 

 

Camden's class had a field trip to Cedar Hill Farms in Hernando, MS several weeks ago. It was a great time for the kids. This place has it all, petting zoo, hay ride, train ride, restaurant, and fields of whatever season it is growing for you to pick (berries, watermelons, pumpkins, etc). And at the end they have an awesome playground with a HUGE slide that the kids (and some adults) had a ball playing on! I was so glad I could go!

Camden with his best friend Makayla

The whole class with Ms. Mary Beth and Ms Katrina (they have known Cam since he was 2!)

Another big event this summer was Camden graduated preschool!! He is growing up too fast! He will beginning kindergarten this fall and could not be more excited!

Before the graduation ceremony, we went to eat at Cracker Barrel with Ce Ce, Walker, and Tracy and Kyle.

Cam with Makayla and Brooks before the ceremony

Our little graduate

Cam's speaking part was "When I grow up I want to be an ARTIST!" He was told to make sure to speak up and say his part loud so he yelled the Artist part! It was very funny:)

~Two little scoundrels~

 

We've had a few functions with our friends lately. We had a BBQ at our house a few weekends ago and it was crazy we counted 12 children between us all! We took a pic of all the kids together on our couch! I never realized that between all of us every couple has 2 children! Everyone except Trey and I have a boy and a girl, we are the only ones with two boys :) Guess we will have to do something about that! ha!

The kids in our (fertile) group of friends! Almost in chronological order!

Lake fun with the boys

Another cute pic from Grandad's boat

 

Cam's first official fishing trip with his dad and granddad and (soon to be) Uncle TJ!