My Goal is Simple

a blog about my life a few people read

Tag: family

December 19, 2011

Scott and Kelly’s Wedding

As promised, here are some (amateur) pictures from the wedding. The photographer was wonderful so I can’t wait to see what she captured. While the following pictures aren’t professional by any means, I hope they give you an idea of what went down at the exciting event.

I don’t have any pictures of the actual ceremony so here is one from the rehearsal that my dad took. Grace United Methodist Church in North Augusta, SC was beautifully decorated for Christmas and had a lot of southern charm.

The bridal party at the reception, which was held at the North Augusta Municipal Building – a gorgeous venue. Megan, Julie, and I were thrilled to stand up there with Kelly as she married our brother; and Clay and Mike were honored to be beside Scott. I love when weddings have strong family ties. In case you were wondering, I teared up when I saw Kelly walking down the aisle and then Scott’s reaction. Kelly looked absolutely beautiful and radiant with joy. She is a lucky girl, Scott is a pretty amazing guy. And I didn’t trip during my walk down the asile. At all. Yay!

One of my favorite moments of the night was when Clay and I were walking down the aisle together after the ceremony (we were paired up together). Just as we reached the end, Weston came running into our arms. The photographer captured the moment so I can’t wait to see it! Clay’s parents snapped this picture when we were waiting to be photographed after the ceremony.

Megan, me, and Julie before the ceremony. We were given a color and then able to pick out our own bridesmaid dresses. It was nice being able to express some individuality and choose a cut that is flattering for our body type. Awesome. Oh and much to our delight, all three of us now have the same hair color. Last time we saw each other, which was during the summer, I had red hair, Megan had dark brown, and Julie was a brighter blonde. Now we even look more alike.

Isn’t that a beautiful cake? By the way, I feel like I am typing beautiful way too much but I can’t help it…it really was a beautiful wedding.

Weston didn’t hesitate to show off his dance moves at the reception. Clay’s parents arrived in town on Friday and watched Weston while Clay and I participated in the various bridal party functions. It was a busy couple of days so we are so incredibly thankful for their help. For example, the morning of the wedding, while the girls were at the salon, all the guys went target shooting; and they all arrived in one piece for the ceremony. Success!

And little Mikey looked dapper in his tux. Clay’s parents also helped out with Mikey by letting him sleep in their room. Aren’t they just amazing in-laws? I really lucked out in that department.

One of the most awwwww-inducing moments was when my brother surprised my mom with My Guy by Mary Wells for the  mother/son dance. When my brother was young, my  mom would sing the song to him as they danced around the house.

Me and my younger brother. (:

Finally, I’ll close the post with a picture of my youngest sister, Julie, and her boyfriend, Zach at the rehearsal dinner. And wouldn’t you know, Julie caught the bouquet and Zach caught the garter. Stay tuned…

9 comments
December 10, 2011

A Brave and Honorable Man

My grandfather passed away on December 2nd. He was 87 years old. His obituary read, “[he] was a brave and honorable man who served his country with pride, approached his life with faith, and embraced his family with love.“

To be honest, I didn’t really know my grandfather. His health was in decline for the majority of my life and my parents left Michigan when I was a toddler. We would visit every summer, but a true close relationship was never formed.  But he was always kind and always willing to draw a picture for his grandchildren. I remember the first time I introduced Clay to my extended family in Michigan, he was the only one not to make a big deal (jokingly) about me marrying an Ohioan. They talked about football. My grandfather loved classical music and had a wall of CDs to prove it. And most of all, he loved my grandmother, whom he had been married to for 60 years. They eloped a couple of weeks after meeting and the rest is history.

Not much is known about my grandfather’s World War II experience. He was colorblind so the Navy passed him over and he enlisted in the Army. He never talked about his time in the military but the story goes that he was in Whales to heal an injury while the rest of his unit went on to Normandy. I want to know his story. Maybe it is because I am the only member of our family with military ties or maybe it is just because I am fascinated with his generation, but I can’t let his story go untold. The World War II generation is dying. Their stories can’t fade away. They just can’t. I am looking forward to researching his military paperwork and seeing what I can find about his experience.

My grandfather was buried yesterday with military honors in Michigan. My mom and her three sisters were able to attend and to be with my grandmother. I am told that it was a beautiful service and filled with memories. Rest in peace, Grandpa.

7 comments
November 25, 2011

Thanksgiving in Oklahoma

I mentioned last week that life was going to pick up around these parts soon and now that time has come. In a couple of weeks, we will be embarking on a road trip to southern Georgia for my brother’s wedding. We’re both in the wedding so we’ve been practicing our bridesmaid and groomsman duties. Their wedding date is the day before our 7th wedding anniversary so my brother and his betrothed totally had to go and ruin our special day. Just joshin‘, Scott! In all seriousness, we are dusting off the dancing shoes and looking forward to officially welcoming Kelly into the family with style.

My parents came to Oklahoma for Thanksgiving and since it was their first time spending any significant time in the southwestern portion of the state, we were sure to show them the best that the area has to offer. And like I wrote after Clay’s parents visit, it is always refreshing to see where you live through the eyes of visitors. We couldn’t let them leave without a visit to the Meers Store & Resturant, voted as the best burger in Oklahoma. The fresh burgers are made from “the prize winning Texas Longhorn beef raised on the family’s own ranch.” We also enjoyed bottles of Meers Gold Beer, “handcrafted by the Krebs Brewing Company using the original recipe from the Choctaw Nation.”

Having lived here for about eight months now, I don’t think this part of Oklahoma gets appropriate recognition for it’s beauty. I will fully concede that there are many not-so-beautiful parts (Lee Blvd, Sheridan Rd, etc…), but the Wichita Mountain Wildlife Refuge is a sight of wonder.

The Wichita Mountains were exposed and rounded during the Permian Period, with many of the rocky promontories capped with granite that is 540 million years old. Don’t worry, that is about as much of a  geology lesson I am going to give today. You’re welcome.

Oops. Here is Weston sliding down a rock formation during a failed family picture attempt.

The view from the top of Mt. Scott. Clay and I are determined to hike the ‘mountain’ and plan to do so as soon as our schedule allows. The rock climbing opportunities are insane. The view really is breathtaking up there – nothing like we experienced on our trip to Alaska, but still quite astonishing.

A whopping 2,464 feet above sea level. People of Colorado are laughing right now.

Our little daredevil begged to be swung in the air on the observation deck.

Crazy little guy.

And he kept trying to climb over the barrier. This boy is going to give me a heart attack.

You didn’t think I would write this post without the obligatory table shot, now did you? Thanksgiving Day was spent cooking, watching football, and playing word games (Bananagrams and Scrabble). We prefer to sit down after 5pm, because eating a huge meal mid-day is about as appealing as being alone in a hotel room with Charlie Sheen.

A big thank you to Mom and Dad for venturing out to Oklahoma for the holiday. It isn’t the most exotic place, but it has it’s moments. To close out this post, I asked my parents to sum up their experience is a few words and here is what they had to say…

“Prettier than what your writing originally led us to believe. And it reminded us a lot of when we lived in Phoenix in the 1980s and 1990s” Dad

“Most of the storefronts in Lawton reminded me of of the 1960s. And to sum up the place in one word – windy.” Mom

(source)

Are there any other Bananagram fans out there?

4 comments