The Carter Wedding

What a super time was had by all!


My precious brother and his wife married on Mother's Day weekend and we had the best time celebrating! My family is so fortunate to be gaining such a sweet daughter and sister-in-law in Stacey. We think the world of the bride my brother has chosen and look forward to many, many years of joys and celebrations with them! Daddy and I were honored to be a part of the wedding party and enjoyed every minute of the weekend! From the bridesmaid's luncheon at IV's, to the Rehearsal Dinner at Park Heights, to having our hair and makeup done, to the ceremony and dancing the night away at the reception, fun was abundant! Congratulations you two! May your marriage be full of love and happiness!


Me, Stacey (my sister-in-law), and Holly (my sister) at the Bridesmaid's Luncheon


Daddy and I before the ceremony


Neal (my brother-in-law) and Holly before the ceremony

My brother was a cheerleader at Ole Miss and his father-in-law was a cheerleader at Mississippi State. They are in a battle of "getting" each other. So, my brother had Colnel Rebel attend the reception!


My Mom and my Brother dancing at the reception


Doll, Dash1, and Dash2 in their wedding attire. We had a babysitter with them throughout the wedding and reception. However, we brought them to the church for pictures. After getting home, we took them to a local rose garden and took a few pictures since we had not taken any the day of the wedding!


Mac and South (my sister's boys) at the church in their wedding attire. (My sister remembered to take a cut picture while they were dressed!)

Mini Getaway to Good Ol' New Orleans

As I mentioned in yesterday's post we took the kids on a mini vacation to New Orleans for a few days. Our primary goal was to attend the C-USA Baseball Tournament at Tulane and cheer on our Golden Eagles. However, we had to throw in a little kid friendly fun : ) while we were there! We had a super trip! New Orleans is just a hop, skip, and a jump from our city, so the trip was an easy one. We treated the kids to a day at the IMAX Theatre and Aquarium, a day at the Zoo, and their first experience to Cafe Du Monde. I must say all three were a treat...even for the adults!


We chose the Dolphins and Whales IMAX movie and I was so proud of Dash1 and Doll. They kept their 3D glasses on and enjoyed the show. It was pretty cute to watch them reaching out to "touch" the creatures. We were fortunate the movie time was close to Dash2's nap time and he slept through it.




The Aquarium was equally delightful. They enjoyed exploring the exhibits, watching the sea creatures swim by in the big tank and walking through the tunnel "surrounded" by the ocean. I was especially proud of Doll - she wanted to pet the baby shark!










Later that evening we walked along the riverwalk to the Cafe Du Monde in the French Quarter. I was really looking forward to sharing such a great place with the kids. I am sure they are not old enough to fully enjoy the experience; however, this place holds a special place in my heart with lots of great memories with special friends. And afterall, there is nothing like a fresh, hot beignet covered in powdered sugar. And they are made even more delicious by eating them in the open air cafe! I think Dash1's face says it all!







I was kinda surprised at the activity level of the French Quarter. It has been years since I visited. Maybe my visits mainly fell on weekends back in the day of working summer camps on the coast. However, I must wonder if this was due to Hurricane Katrina. It did not dampen our experience whatsoever! It may have even lightened it. We were not constantly sheltering our children from the "not so pretty" New Orleans vibe.


The Zoo was equally rewarding. We have a local Zoo that we frequent often. But, getting to go to a Zoo with BIG animals like elephants, giraffes, and sea lions brought some great smiles from the five dubs! I'll leave you with a few of those!

I'm not so sure about this...

I really want to be a blogger. I can sit and read my favorite bloggers for an hour at a time (not that I should do that, of course). I have a few faves that I visit daily, sometimes more :-; and I enjoy reading about their days...even if they write hardly anything at all! I can come up with ideas to write about and have the thought, "Oh this would be a good post". But, days and then weeks pass and I just don't get it done. Then the "good post" is outdated. You can see what I mean by checking out the date of my last post. What does that say? Yep. you read right! March 16th! Yikes. I need to get with it.

I must admit we have been swamped with busy-ness! This Spring has been more busy than just the "busy" of a stay at home mom to a 5, 3, and 6 month old! We have been involved in three weddings (one of which was my brother), Dash1 finished up Preschool, is playing Coach Pitch, and is taking swimming lessons this week, Doll is getting geared up for her first ballet recital, and we took a mini family vacation to New Orleans last weekend. On top of this schedule we have been trying to finish our upstairs. It has been a long haul but we are soooo close! We have all the walls painted (a few are in need of their second coats) and are ready to start finalizing the trimming out. Then the biggies left will be flooring and plumbing fixtures. YAHOO!!! I am so excited! We will be moving Dash1 and Doll upstairs, gaining another family room, and (drumroll, please) my scrapbook desk.

I was reading a post of one of my faves this week and she was writing about how much she missed having her own room once she got married. I can empathize with her. I have not ever thought about it in that manner. But, after reading her post, I must admit I agree. I am so looking forward to having a space of my own to house "my" things. And a place I hope will be come a special retreat for me (albeit tiny)! So, I finish this post with a reminder to myself...get with it girl! Blogging is fun! It is a way to document our lives...very busy lives...but lives that one day I will love to remember!