The Big Wedding Day

On May 9th, Uncle Luke and Aunt Briana tied the knot! They had an outdoor wedding at Big Springs County Club and the weather could not have been any better! Everything went down without a hitch and everyone looked great. We are so, so happy for the newlyweds! 

The Ring Bearers 

We had to be there three hours before the ceremony for pictures. While we were doing groomsmen pictures, Luke sat on the curb, right in bird poop. While we were cleaning him off, Caleb leaned against a tree and got sap all over the back of his tuxedo coat. Yep. Fun times. :)

Uncle Luke and Aunt Bri surprised the boys with Lego sets as a thank you.

with beautiful Caroline, one of the flower girls

Luke carried a "Ring Security" sign and Caleb carried Granny Sue's Bible with the rings attached.

with Grandma and Grandaddy before the ceremony

Me, with Grandmom and Aunt Paige

Grandma & Grandaddy

Grandmom & Grandpa

Caleb and Luke did great! Caleb was super serious, concentrating really hard and Luke walked with a little swagger in his step, even giving a thumbs up as he made it down the aisle.

The handsome groom and Grandaddy, who officiated the wedding.

Love these next two pictures. These were taken just as Uncle Luke got to see Briana for the first time.

Briana and her dad

Mr. & Mrs. Stoltz :)

The little ones watched as Luke an Bri had their first dance.

Little managed to eat the entire top layer of icing off his cake in one bite.

Taking a Minecraft break

We ate and danced and enjoyed the night until around 10, but had to call it a night and get the boys home. It was the perfect wedding, and we are so glad Briana has officially joined the family now!

My Wonderful Mother's Day

I had simply the best Mother's Day that I could imagine! First, I got to wake up to these two cuties...

Since we were out late the night before at the wedding, we decided to sleep in, skipping our Community Groups, and just attend worship. 

This also meant we had time for a few pictures!

After church and a quick stop at Subway, we headed straight for the lake, even changing into our suits in the car. Ha! It was a perfect, hot, summer-like day. :)

Trying out his new squirt cannon. 

Caleb would ride the tube all day if we let him. He actually took a pretty big fall, basically flipping off the side, yet he came up with the biggest smile on his face. He is such a little lake rat!

Me and my #1.

Creed surprised me with a dozen beautiful roses and a cookie cake, which I quickly cut into, leaving the knife in the container. Because...every single time I passed it on the counter, I had to cut a piece. (Which is why it was all gone two days ago!)

Caleb surprised me with this sweet letter:

Dear Mom, I love you! Thank you for cooking good food for me. Thank you for letting me snuggle with you. You are a great mom. Love, Caleb

And, according to Luke, I am 10 years old and his favorite thing that I cook is macaroni and cheese. (Yet, he wouldn't eat macaroni and cheese if his life depended on it-ha! I think he misunderstood her and thought she meant my favorite food...)

 I love, love how he signed him name!

Melt my heart...

My #1 also surprised me with another gift...I have already had a blast using my electric bug zapper tennis racket. It works wonderfully and is just as exciting as you could imagine. ;) 

First Piano Recital

On Saturday, May 9th, Caleb had his first piano recital. He LOVES his lessons with Mrs. O'Leary each Monday afternoon and even though it was going to be a very busy day, he was determined to play his songs. Thankfully, he was allowed to play first and we left as soon as he was finished. We are so proud of his hard work!

With everyone else in wedding mode, Marshma and Papa were the only ones able to meet us there.  (Grandaddy actually stayed home while little brother took his nap!) 

Whew.

The last few days have been awesome, but exhausting at the same time. 

The boys are now able to officially call Briana "Aunt Briana," as she and Uncle Luke tied the knot this weekend. A few hours before their wedding, Caleb had his first piano recital, which went great. And, to end our weekend on a relaxing note, we spent Mother's Day afternoon at the lake.

Before things got busy around here...

 Little blankie was found at Marshma's house. It went missing Christmas and their cleaning lady found it last week wedged in their couch cushions upstairs. (I had looked in the basement couch!)

We got our boat out of storage and on the water for this season! Instead of fighting ramp traffic and trying to back the boat into storage with only inches on each side, we have it at the marina on the lake. It is so much easier and so convenient. We are super excited!

We made our first evening Graeter's run of the season for (simply the best) pints of ice cream.

(and first sticky hands!)

The rope swing is still hanging at the back of our neighborhood! (I decided that it wouldn't hurt to leave Luke's bike helmet on. ha!)

And, on Friday evening, we had the rehearsal for the wedding. 

While Caleb took his job very seriously, Luke...not so much. (This was while Bri was making her way out.)

Excited for the BIG day!!

The Rest of April

This is what the second half of our April looked like...

Spiderman went to dinner with us one evening.

We are so proud of Luke...he is finally able to write his name legibly. (Ignore the "V" and "H"...those were his mistakes.) For a little guy that isn't too interested in writing, this was a big accomplishment!

Wearing Uncle Matt's camo from when he was little. Loved seeing the "M.H." on the tag. :)

Rhett has had a rough month or two. We think he may have fallen down our deck stairs?? Not sure, although he has done something to his spine. He is on his second round of anti-inflammatory medicine, and we are hoping this does the trick. This was taken after an afternoon at the vet...he was worn out. (Somehow he always covers himself up!) 

Luke and I spent a total of 5 hours shopping...on the quest for a pair of dress shoes to go with the rental tux he is wearing at the wedding. It took all three malls, but thankfully, just in time to pick up Caleb from school, we found a pair. Payless. Go figure.

We had an impromptu dinner with neighbors. Crazy boys!

Caleb celebrated his buddy Mason's birthday at Bricks & Mini-Figs.

I just love watching this group of kids grow!

Mason is the only kiddo in Caleb's class that Caleb hasn't been in class with (preschool or Kinder) in previous years. We are so glad that Mason came to WA! He's a sweetheart!

I met the girls from my community group at church early one Saturday morning and nine of us headed up to IKEA. By the looks of the Suburban, it was a successful trip. It isn't all mine...that belongs to three of us. ;)

We had dinner with cousin Ava to celebrate Aunt Erika's birthday.

That night, Ed gifted Caleb his old XBox 360. Caleb has been in Minecraft mode ever since!

A breakfast date before school. That morning, Caleb said Mom, we should really do this more often. How could I ever resist that?!!