The Wedding....PART TWO!

PART TWO....Here we go with a bunch more photos....

My handsome nephew Luke. 

Ring Bearer, my nephew Carter...'Lil Cutie!  Don't you just want to squeeze those cheeks?

They take their flower girl responsibilities very seriously! 

My nephew Connor...Love this sign idea!  Although I think the rope started hurting Connor's neck after awhile. 

Mike seeing Sandy for the first time coming around the corner.

The handoff!

The entire wedding party, minus the kiddos, in the gazebo at the Chinese garden.

Sand ceremony...

My kiddos with the bride and groom.

My big sister Paula, her hubby Andy and their adorable son Luke.

Remember the last photo I posted in Part one???  I wonder where my kiddos get the idea to make funny faces from???

The bride and groom with the kiddos in the wedding party.

Notice the other side of the sign says "and they lived happily ever after".

My kiddos with the bride and groom again.

In the middle of the botanical gardens are these six random sheep.  While working on this blog I tried to google the meaning behind these sheep, but was unsuccessful.  Anyway, the girls thought that these sheep were pretty cool.  The night of the rehearsal dinner it was fairly chilly.  The girls wanted to play on the sheep then.  I told them that they could play with them the next day.  They didn't let me forget.  Since it was a BEAUTIFUL day, (they seriously could not of asked for better weather) we let the girls play on the sheep afer the ceremony.

Notice the picture of the flower balls hanging from the sheeps horns. This was Addison's idea.  Kuddos to whomever came up with the idea of the flower balls.  Even though the botanical gardens would not allow them to throw flower petals, I think this was easier all the way around. 

One of my favs....Since at the time of the wedding the Cardinals were in the playoffs, the fountain at the botanical gardens were dyed red.  My girlies were seriously intrigued with the red fountain.

Attempt at a group photo.

Again...Making silly faces is kind of a family thing!  This was an attempt to get them to pose for a photo in from of the sign at the reception.  They were tired and crabby at this point.  Allowing them to make a goofy face was the only way I was going to get this photo.

Dancing!  Or should I say spinning?  The girls were literally spinning around in circles on the dance floor.

Again, If you have a weak stomach skip to the next photo....

A little after 10:00p.m. we decided that the girls were about to crash.  I decided we better leave before they had a melt down.  Moments after we got into the car Alexis looks at me and says, "Mommy I dance too much".  I asked her if she had fun and if she was tired.  She responds with "I spin too much, I gonna puke".  I had about 5 seconds to grab the bowl we keep in the car for such situations.   Let me just tell you....the red velvet cake was more red coming up than it was when she ate it.

Right before we left, I wanted to try and get some "generation photos".  It didn't happen with both sides of my family.  We were able to get one with my Dad's side.  Four generations....My Grandma, My Dad, Me and My Munchkins!  Not the best photo in the world but it serves its purpose.  As you can see, my kiddos were minutes from a meltdown.

The wedding was seriously beautiful.  I was skeptical of the weather forecast but it turned out to be an absolutely gorgeous day!  Congratulations to my baby sister Sandy and my new brother in law, Mike!!!

The Wedding...PART ONE!

As many of you already know, we traveled to Missouri a week or so ago for my baby sister's wedding.  We left our house to travel to MO on Thursday, October 18th, 2012 and returned home the following Tuesday.  Luckily I was smart enough to take that following Wednesday off work to recover/do laundry.

I may be a little biased, but my girls were probably the cutest flower girls that you have ever seen.  I'm going to let the pictures do the talking rather than type out a big long story.  Let's start at the beginning:

As with all our road trips, we try not to plan too much.  We leave when we leave and we get there when we show up.  I've learned traveling with these two, is always an adventure.  This particular morning we left our house around 11:00a.m.  At about 1:00p.m. it was time for a potty break and some lunch.  The girls had requested that we stop at the "checker restaurant".  No problem!  There is one at almost every exit.

The following evening was the rehearsal dinner.  It was kind of a chilly evening with a few rain drops.  Luckily the rehearsal went off without a hitch. 

Addison was practicing her "tah dah's" after she walked over the bridge.

(photo by Sherry Nuelle--Mother in law of the bride)

After the rehearsal, Sandy's future mother in law hosted the dinner at Joe Bacardi's.  I can't say that I was all that impressed with this place but the fellowship and camaraderie was great.  Sandy and Mike were nice enough to hold the girls for a minute so I could eat. 

Disclaimer:  If you have a week stomach, skip to the next photo...

The girls were extremely off their schedule and adding in the time difference it was well past 8:45 before they had dinner.  I blame myself for not prepping better and bringing snacks.  Addison was so hungry when she finally got some food that she was shoving things into her mouth.  It also was extremely warm in the restaurant.  Everyone had been served, but for some reason I still didn't have a plate.  Addison came over to sit on my lap.  She looked at me and said "Mom, I'm gonna puke".  I had about 3 seconds warning.  I grabbed my Mom's empty coffee cup and Addison let go.  Luckily we were able to grab another empty cup from another table and the mess was pretty minimal. 

The next day was the big day!!  The girls got up wanting to know if this was the day that they get to wear their princess dresses.  They were pretty excited. 

Love Sandy's shirt!

I don't know why, but I absolutely adore this picture of my 'lil sis and my 'lil peanut getting ready before the wedding.  Everyone says Alexis looks like a "mini Sandy".

A few moments before the ceremony was to start, I was able to capture my princesses with Grandpa.

Anyone who knows my goofball sister, knows this is a typical pose for many of her pictures.  I was lucky enough to capture it just seconds before she was to walk down the aisle.

Stay tuned for part two!  I'm weeding through almost 350 pictures.

Pumpkin Night at School...

****Please excuse my blogging absence, we have been out of town for my little sister's wedding.  Once I sort through the hundreds of photos I have taken over the last few weeks on my digital camera (as opposed to my cell phone), I'm sure you will be sick of my blog updates***

The girl's had family pumpkin night at school yesterday (Wednesday, October 24th, 2012).  I seriously love how the girl's school really tries to get the families involved in all kinds of activities.  My kiddos had a great time showing their Ga Ga (Terry's mom) their classroom and all the fun stuff they do at school.

Here are a few pictures:

Addison scooping out the gunk from the pumpkin.

Alexis helping!

Addison and her finished pumpkin...carved free handed by yours truly!

Alexis and her finished pumpkin....carved by Daddy.

All of us with Ga Ga.

THE PUMPKIN TRAIN!!!

This past Saturday (October 15th, 2012) we took the girls on the pumpkin train!  We rode the train from the local station to the pumpkin patch and back.  The girls were in HEAVEN!  Their love for cars and trains right now is unreal.  I thought most little girls loved baby dolls and barbies??  Not my kiddos!  They love hotwheels and trains. 

While waiting for our train to board, the girls got to play on some of the "retired" train cars.

We also got to meet the conductor. Alexis was very taken with the conductor!

Always an attempt to get both of them looking at the camera at the same time....It never works!!

Boarding the train....Our train car had a "junior conductor".

"Driving" the train.

This is what the girls did the majority of the train ride.  They were too excited to sit down.

Once we got to the pumpkin patch the girls didn't want to partake in many of the activities.  All they were interested in was getting back on the train.

The hay maze did entertain them for a bit.

They liked the cow.

Playing on the tracks....

Alexis wasn't really into posing for photos.

LOVE this shot of Addison!

The girls were happy about taking a tractor ride.  The man who was in charge of the tractor rides gave the girls a penny that had been ran over by the train.  You would of thought he had given them a million dollars.  They were/are seriously excited about their "train money".

Here are the girls "driving" the tractor:

The park where the train departs also has a merry-go-round. 

The girls seriously were in heaven all day long!

Both kiddos keep talking about riding a "real" train.  That night Alexis was actually saying "all aboard" in her sleep.  I love days like this!  Totally worth every penny we spent that day!!