Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Father's Day

We took my dad out to eat at his FAVORITE restaurant (besides Golden Corral of course- ha!) for Father's Day this year. Big Jon & I bought him a ribeye from Texas Roadhouse. We definitely enjoyed the company.  We miss Mom & Dad & getting to see them and talk to them every day, so we always enjoy our visits. 
*My fabulous parents*
* My handsome hubby & me*
*Daddy's Girl*
I do have a funny story from dinner. Every few months I let my true blond shine through and do something incredibly airheaded. I went to the restroom after we finished dinner- we were all just sitting around chatting and waiting on the check.  When I was walking back to the table from the restroom, I walked down the wrong aisle. I looked for our table but didn't see my parents or Jonathan. I didn't realize it was the wrong aisle at the time (they all look the same!), so I assumed they must have walked outside.  I went outside of the restaurant, looked all around, but still didn't see them, so I walked around the back of the building to the cars. I started to get a little panicked when I didn't see them, so I thought "Maybe they're playing a joke on me?" Then is occurred to me that I might have walked down the wrong aisle.  I went back into the restaurant and found them sitting exactly where I left them! Ha!!

What Makes a Dad
God took the strength of a mountain,
The majesty of a tree,
The warmth of a summer sun,
The calm of a quiet sea,
The generous soul of nature,
The comforting arm of night,
The wisdom of the ages,
The power of the eagle's flight,
The joy of a morning in spring,
The faith of a mustard seed,
The patience of eternity,
The depth of a family need,
Then God combined these qualities,
When there was nothing more to add,
He knew His masterpiece was complete,
And so,
He called it ... Dad
~~Author Unknown.~~

My dad is truly one of the most giving, generous, and compassionate men I know. He has a heart of gold, loves deeply, & helps others any time he can. He supports and provides for his family endlessly. He is one of the hardest working men I know, yet it still gentle, kind, and understanding.  Everyone who knows him or meets him loves him. He has always been my biggest fan, encourager, and supporter.  He tells me he loves me, hugs me, and taught me to work hard. 

Love you, Daddy!

Check out this view!

This isn't even the prettiest sunset I've seen at our house yet, but check out this view from our front porch.  I didn't get my camera till a few minutes too late, but I am SO in love with this view.  I feel like God is smiling on us every evening. I can't wait to get a front porch swing!
Isn't this gorgeous??
"Now be pleased to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever in your sight; for you, O Sovereign LORD, have spoken, and with your blessing the house of your servant will be blessed forever."
~2 Samuel 7:29

Another wedding shoot...

Yesterday we had a photo shoot with Jeff McPhail, owner of Spotlight Picture in Dacula.  His wife and I teach together, and she asked if Jonathan and I would be interested in doing a shoot with him to practice some of the new ideas and techniques he recently learned at a wedding workshop. I would wear my wedding dress every day if it was normal, and Jon already had a tux for Brian & Laura's wedding, so of course we I agreed! We met in Dahlonega because there are so many beautiful locations to shoot.  Jeff was GREAT to work with, and fortunately he brought his lovely wife, Paige, & hilarious little son, Reece, who entertained us all with his jokes.  Jeff was extremely professional & had some great ideas. We did have a little rain, but we went with it and got some cute pics with my VS umbrella.  Jon was a total trooper for being in a tux for 2 days straight, and we ended up with some great shots. Here are a few! Enjoy!!
 I guess now I should look into getting my wedding dress preserved.... :( But I must say, it sure felt good to have it on (and it still fit!)! I LOVE that dress!!!! And, I have to brag on my hubby, who laced it up like a champ! Thanks, Jeff for a GREAT shoot!!

Monday, June 27, 2011

Sneak Peek of Laura's Wedding

Don't worry, I have a whole post to come, but here are just a few pictures of Laura's special day. I am BEYOND jealous that Laura got to snag Dana @ Memories Happen Photography as her photographer.  She was my matron of honor, so I thought that might be a little too much for her to handle. :) 
(P.S. Jon said he almost called mistook Dana for me a couple times at the reception....even though he KNEW I wasn't wearing black! Crazy!)

I know you're excited to check out these killer shots! Laura is like a model!

First Look!
Breathtaking.
Love this! Isn't it stunning? That blue wall rocks.
Bridesmaids.
My picture idea.
Groomsmen. Funny boys.
It was just 9 months ago that Jonathan & I were at that same alter saying our vows.
Goodness, I love this man!
 So honored to be a part of the special day. Stay tuned for her wedding blog post! :) (And Chelsi's! I'm still waiting on pictures!)

Viva La Mexico: Dia TRES!!

This was one of my FAVORITE days!!!!  We ate breakfast around 9:30....the french toast was to DIE for!! Since I ate so much of it, we decided to hit up the gym while the Doss's went for a run. It was unbelievably HOT in the gym....seriously, like a sauna. I enjoyed sweating my toxins out, but my poor hubby was about to die from heat exhaustion, so he headed back to the room to cool down.  We all met at the pool right at 12...

 12:00 was time for water aerobics....and this is when it started. Before Dana & I could make it over to participate, the activity leaders called us out to come on over. "Barbies, come here!" in their Mexican accents. It was hilarious. We participated while the guys looked on from their floats.  During aerobics, the men kept calling us "seesters" & even "twin Barbie seesters."  I tried to tell them in my limited espanol that we were not sisters, just BFFs, but they didn't get it. They told Ryan and Jon afterwards that they were so lucky to marry sisters! It cracked us up because we have heard this many times in the past and people KEPT saying it all throughout the week.  I love the compliment!

They also had a fashion show around the pool with these BEAUTIFUL (I mean really, they were knockouts...) Latino young ladies modeling sexy swim suits and cover ups.  Of course they had smokin' bodies & their 4" stilettos helped. All the men were gawking, but heck, I didn't blame them. I couldn't stop staring either! There was one perv old man who kept taking pics while acting incredibly crude toward the models. I wanted to push him in the pool & hold his head under water for a little while, but people like that don't change.  Anyway, it really made me want to eat healthier for the rest of the week! Ha! Good thing the girls only had one more fashion show scheduled while we were there...it's definitely not something you wanna look at every day while you're in a bathing suit. Dana & I decided we would look like that too if we wore stilettos with our swimsuits. ;)

We enjoyed another lunch (strawberry icecream for dessert- one of the perks of an all inclusive....dessert after every meal! guess the swimsuit models didn't scar us too bad!) and headed back to the pool.

We met up for a few photos before dinner....but we had to wait for our lenses to defog. The temperature change from the room to outside was brutal!
This is Jon's favorite dress...that's why I wear it so often. :)
Ryan jumped off this bridge later in the week! Ha!
 My fave!
Precious!
Doss & his faces. No wonder him & Jon are such good buds!
 Being sassy.
The girls. BFFs.
 The boys. BFFs also.
We had dinner @ the Meditterannea restaurant...Cibu...our fave!
 It was DELICIOUS,
  and our little waiter was precious. He just smiled the whole time. I love that all the waiters are so helpful and polite....always pulling out chairs for the ladies and helping you carry plates at the buffet. 

After dinner we listened to a comedian. Bless his heart. He tried. :)
  We decided to go to the "lounge" afterwards so the boys could shoot pool.
Dana & I made friends while the boys played. 
Check out my burnt shoulders.
Of course they thought we were sisters too. Check out my gorgeous seester!
 When the music went old school and really irresistible, we all headed to the dance floor to show the high school kids what was up.  Hahha, we worked up a serious sweat & laughed the whole time while we tore up the dance floor. I loved it afterwards when Jonathan told me how "impressed he was with my moves." He was totally serious too! LOL!
I think the Dossinator liked his 'ole lady's moves' too! Hahahahah!!
Check out Van Doss's dia tres here!!