Semi-annual update. Blogging is hard.

I have to stop doing this to myself.  Also, I should stop giving my friend Katie a hard time about not updating her blog. And hi Heather! I'm sure you are reading this soon!  My faithful blog followers.

My last update was early September.  Which means we have celebrated 4 of 5 family birthdays since I last posted.  So, birthday celebrations included a pool party for lovely lucy, a camping party for precious peter, and a neighborhood celebration for adorable addy.  Sandwiched in between their big days were trips to Disney World (a hit for Lucy, who wore her Mickey Mouse t-shirt and pointed at it all during the parade held just for her birthday), & Legoland for Peter man.  Also a huge hit...farther from O-town than we planned for, but a super fun experience.  If you can go, go!

P and L are halfway through their school years, they both have amazing sets of teachers who we love dearly.  I love how my kids are loved at their school & admired and encouraged for the little unique people that they are.  Peter started soccer with his school friends, he is much more interested in practice than he is in playing the games...his favorite thing to do is sit on the bench and play in the dirt with his friend Annie.  He loves practice though!  Lucy was the team mascot...and cried when she wasn't allowed to play.  This same scenario has popped up now that P has started tee ball.  Lucy cries and cries and says "only boys can play", to which I say "no way lucy loo!  girls are awesome too and you can play...you just have to be 4!!"  I also want to tell her, get used to it my friend.  The boys are not going to want you to play!  But she's fierce and she'll hold her own the day after her 4th birthday :)

We celebrated the great Aunt T's wedding to Spencer.  We all had a blast together with the whole family, it was an impossible task without the help of the other great aunt Theresa & Matt who came to help us with the kiddos for the weekend!  Cousin Casey to the rescue who braided Lucy's hair (I still need to learn that skill), and we were thankful for a super relaxed bride who didn't seem to notice or care that none of our kids left the ceremony when they were supposed to.

ok.  It's photo dump time.  As usual, this is the best you'll get from me!

September: Lucy loo's birthday

- 20 photos!  I don't know how to pare down.  Is that right? Pare?  I used to be smart. (Also, yea, i just googled it.)

October

Aunt T got married! 

i had a lot of fun at the after party.  a lot.

cutest halloween crew there ever was!

November: Peter man's birthday

also included, Fun Fair, setting up for Christmas

December: Addy girl

January

celebrating Uncle Mack & Alex's engagement!

February

March

I had to document this find...for FREE!  What a steal. I'm thankful for my re-entry on facebook for this gem.  Brendan calls it the chariot...and it's totally the way we ride now.  Happy March my friends!

Oh, another note.  I'm into doterra essential oils these days.  I thought they might be hokey at first, but our family of 5 have made it through the winter with barely a sniffle!  No more nebulizers or antibiotics for us! ( I mean, we'll take them if we need them, but we haven't needed them!) I'm a believer!  www.mydoterra.com/essentiallylea.  So empowering, I'm telling you!

Capitol Hill to Foggy Bottom

After a year working on the Senate's greatest staff for U.S. Senator Bill Nelson of Florida, I am leaving (hopefully temporarily) in order to serve in a veterans fellowship at the U.S State Department as a Foreign Service Officer. Glory and I had had some great times in the Senate, and I hope to be back on this great team after the year is up!

A true blue dog

Sniffing out bad policy

Last Chance's Stella Maris "Mariner's Glory"

The bourbon assisted, live-auction winning, name angst-ed, long awaited addition to the RBDIII traveling roadshow is here! I picked up new puppy GLORY from her litter family in snowy Last Chance, ID and brought her to sunny Florida to meet her new family. She traveled by air from ID to FL, then by car from FL to DC. What a champ!

First night together

Chilling under the seat on her first plane ride

Meeting her cousins

Surviving I-95

Queen of her new castle

Wedding Bells

We did it!

I mean we in the whole sense of the word. Spencer and I are the ones that got married, but the whole clan made the Wedding Week really the best week ever. I have to admit, for the two weeks prior to the wedding I was an anxious mess. It was probably a lot longer than just two weeks but I want to think that I was a fairly relaxed bride.


A short paragraph about the months leading up to the wedding:

I had the best summer, traveling back and forth to New York City, a full 10 days in Pensacola, a weekend trip to Washington DC to visit with friends, another weekend trip to Colorado to see Grace Potters and some friends from New Orleans, and finally a weekend at New Smyrna Beach with my closest buds celebrating my last days of being a bachelorette. When I wasn't traveling, I got to spend so many hours with my favorite little people of all time, adorable A, lovely L, and precious P. At this point, it should be clear that my mom is the most amazing person of all time since while I was celebrating and having an excellent summer, she was holding down the fort and planning what would turn out to be the best weekend ever.

 In between all the traveling, mom, LDL, and I did all the fun things that brides get to do. We picked out my wedding gown (my most favorite dress ever; and a major surprise), tried on bridesmaids dresses, celebrated with champagne, tasted incredible foods with the caterers and at the bakery, created a signature cocktail, and stamped T&S on many, many things. Wedding planning was a delight, mainly because my People are delightful.

But the two weeks prior to the wedding. . . yeah. Wow. I was a ball of stress thinking about getting married, moving, trying to find work in New York etc etc. Stress at the house was high too; AC broke about a week before the big event. NBD. The reception is at our house and the weather forecast called for torrential rain. So our "rain plan" was to house wedding guests in the house. You need air conditioning in Florida for that.

Anyway, I just wanted to give a picture of what was happening prior to the festivities and I haven't even touch 1/4 of things/events etc. In strokes of obvious Divine Intervention, every thing fell into perfect place. The rain stopped and the sun shined; temperatures were cooler so that it felt like Fall in Florida; vendors hired turned into advice givers and stress relievers; friends and family showed up in droves to support and celebrate Spencer and me.

We kicked off the weekend with a New York Big Apple party on Thursday for the neighborhood friends and families. I couldn't have asked for a better kick-off. I felt so comfortable and loved and relaxed. The host house was welcoming and beautiful. Lifelong friends are such an amazing blessing.

Friday started out with a banging brunch at Country Side Circle. My entire wedding party, my aunts, and dear friends showed up to shower me with love at a brunch with an "Always Be Adventuring" theme. Executed excellently -- even though some of the childhood photos of S and me were a little embarrassing (but hilarious and awesome). LTD wrote the most incredible poem in a way that only she can do -- love articulated through the alphabet. Brunch was filled with hilarious stories; we laughed until our sides hurt thanks to the storytelling skills of my bridesmaids. So quickly brunch was over and I found myself getting ready for Rehearsal at the church and a celebratory dinner thrown by S's parents. Initially I was apprehensive about people giving toasts or other speeches. But then things got started and I loved every bit of it. My siblings are thoughtful, funny, and skilled orators. My friends seem to remember everything told stories with such joy. The setting was beautiful in a back yard facing Lake Killarney. And before I knew it, the night was over.

Wedding Day Saturday was just perfect. I couldn't have asked for anything more. My parents house looked like a scene from a movie. The bridal party and I got ready at the house while watching SEC football (thank goodness the Gators managed a win against UT just before we boarded the bus). Things went swimmingly the whole day -- even if they didn't, I didn't notice! Pictures prior to the wedding were fun -- lovely L ran up to me in her fancy dress with her fancy hair and asked if I was getting married. Then she spent the rest of the day talking about her wedding. She definitely thought that this was her party. LDL and LTD helped me get dressed, RBD2 picked up where they left off and kept me company -- relaxed, laughing, and excited -- until we walked down the aisle together. From then on out the evening was magical. I may have botched a few of my lines and gone in for a kiss a bit too soon but it was those things that made it a fun event. The joy was contagious -- surely the presence of the Lord is in this place. 

The party following the ceremony was the most fun party I've ever attended. The first dance that S and I had practiced suited our style (and he showed off much better moves that I did). The food was delicious and the drinks were flowing. It was one of those nights that I never wanted to end -- except that I was also so tired! Looking at the pictures has been so much fun -- I love seeing that everyone else had as much fun as I did. Literally, the best day of my life. I'll never be able to thank people that participated enough - most especially my parents and siblings for being their true, rock-star selves.

PICTURES:
http://blog.mikebuoy.com/2014/10/orlando-wedding-photographer-taylor-spencers-orlando-wedding-and-reception.html