Here Comes The Bride

Last weekend, Matt's youngest brother - Jake - got married to David's new Aunt Kim.  We had such a great time visiting family and being a part of the big event. Because Matt and I were both in the wedding, David was a little hesitant to walk by himself (there wasn't anyone back there to help get him down the isle)..so he ended up walking with me, which worked out great. It is hard to believe that Jake is married. My first trip to OKC to meet Matt's family was when I attended Jake's high school graduation, which doesn't seem like that long ago (Of course, considering we have almost been married 5 years and dated for 2 years before that... it was). We wish Jake and Kim all the happiness in the world and hope that they can find the same joy and friendship in their marriage that Matt and I have found in ours. Marriage can be hard, especially when you add kids and careers in to the mix, but it is something that I get sentimental about (oh, yes- I had a few tears during the ceremony)- mainly because I so cherish my own marriage. Matt and I think alike, but challenge each other when needed, and can communicate without talking. For the most part, we have perfected this sharing of responsibilities, fully support each other through ups and downs, really enjoy each others company and are both so proud of this amazing little man we created and are raising. It is a good thing.

So here are the pictures that we have (I am sure there will be more to come).

At the rehearsal and dinner that followed:

 

At the wedding:

 

We saw this amazing double rainbow on the way back to Dallas. You have to look closely to see the second one:

Still alive...

Things have settled down a little bit, so I wanted to catch up with some of our life events over the past month and a half before we head up to OKC tomorrow for Jake and Kim's wedding. So what has been going on with us- well, after working A LOT in August, I got very sick around labor day. By Wednesday of last week, I went to the doctor and they determined I had the flu. No clue how I got it, but thankfully David and Matt managed to stay healthy (thanks, in part, to Matt moving him and David upstairs). As of yesterday, I seem to be recovered and feeling back to normal.

David started back to school about 3 weeks ago and is doing great. He had a rough start (lots of crying the first week), but we have had tear free drop-offs the last two weeks and he is quick to inform us how much fun he has when we pick him up.  School has been great to help him get out of his shy phase and he has really "come into" his personality.

Hayley came up to visit us last weekend (yes, she even braved coming into the flu infested house to see David). It was SO SO SO great to see her and David had a blast. We took it easy since I was under the weather, so we just hung out and visited. We also spent a lot of time outside enjoying the first taste of fall weather. It was a good visit. We miss her! 

Earlier in August, my brother had to be in Dallas for a work conference and he brought the fam with him so we could all spend some time together. It was lots of fun, although I don't know how they do it with three kiddos. We went school clothes shopping, got in a zoo trip and went to a Rangers game during their short visit. We are so proud of Brandin (my brother)- he made it through school with three kiddos and got a great job at Spacex- the private company that just sent a rocket up to the space station.

We have been making lots of park trips now that the weather is getting a little cooler:

Here are pictures from our park trip with Hayley:

Here is a picture from a birthday party that David took Matt to last weekend. Reports are that he had a blast!

Labor Day

It has been a rough few weeks. I have worked non-stop the last few weeks and just completed one of the busiest (and worst) months at work ever. Suffice to say my flex time plan at work has failed. Completely failed. So - September is going to be a month for regrouping and figure out the plan going forward. So far we are not off to a good start. I worked most of the day yesterday with the plan to take some time off today (Sunday) to hang out with David. As it turned out, Matt and I both woke up with high fever, aches and a sore throat on Sunday morning. David seemed ok at first, but started feeling bad mid-morning. We all stayed in the bed the entire day. It is times like this that it would be nice to have family around to take care of you. Luckily, we have the next best thing - lots of take-out options and the ipad.

Too Busy...

I don't have time to do a full post because I am in stuck in the middle of hell at work. We are short staffed and I have been working 15 hour days for two plus weeks now with no end in sight (at least not in the short term). Sitting in bed working last night (well after midnight when David came to our bed), I snapped this picture - which was too cute not to share.

Weekend in Austin

David and I went to visit Aunt Hayley this weekend while Matt and his brothers hung out here in Dallas. We had a great time - we went to dinner on Friday night, went out to lake Travis on Saturday (her dad has this awesome boat and he was so nice to take us out), and then we had brunch and a park trip on Sunday before David and I flew back to Dallas. I can't describe in words how much I miss her - she has been and always will be such a good friend, but the last three years - we saw each other a few times a week and she was like a second mom to David. It was so great to see her, but also such a reminder of how much we miss having her around. I guess this just means that we will have lots of trips to Austin in our future. I really love the area that Hayley lives in and Austin is such a cool town.

Also- a weekend get-away was very much needed for me.  I worked pretty much non-stop last week - in fact, last week reminded me all the reasons why I don't like my job and worry about my long term future. I worked a minimum of 12 hour days and a couple of 19-20 hour ones. It is just a lot and there is so much stress associated with deal work. Luckily, the two closing that I had scheduled for Monday got pushed back and I was able to enjoy the weekend.

Here is us having a bite to eat in the airport before heading to Austin:



 Hayley playing with David at Phil's - a restaurant in Austin that is in the same building (and I think owned  by the husband of ) Amy's ice cream (an Austin favorite). They had the absolute best veggie burgers ever! So good that I brought one back for Matt- we almost missed our flight because I wanted to make sure to get one for him to try. And both Matt and David agreed - amazing!

Gary (Hayley's dad) let David "drive" the boat- which he thought was pretty darn cool. He got a little ahead of himself. When Gary tried to pull it into the cove to tie-up with other boats, David was really concerned about him hitting the other boats and starting yelling "turn the boat, turn the boat."

The boat had bedrooms, so David was able to take a nap on the boat.

On Sunday morning, we had a great breakfast - including some flash fried brussels spouts. One of the cool things about Austin (and South Austin in particular) is that there are lots and lots of vegetarian and vegan restaurants...so Hayley and I had some great meals.

David enjoying his breakfast

At the park near Hayley's house