Birthdays, Bathtimes and Wedding

That about sums up our Saturday. All in all......it was just one of those GOOD days!


First and FOREMOST.........it was my eldest daughters b-day. Yes, Xena has turned the ripe old age of 11 years old (77 in pup years) and although her age is becoming ever so apparant (can't talk about that w/out crying my head off), she still has the same spunk she did when she came into my life at 3 months old.

I could go on and on.......AND ON.......about how awesome (and challenging) the past 11 years with Xena have been but we'll save that for another time. For now, we're just celebrating another year and thanking God for sharing his sweet angel with us. She's THE BEST!

Otherwise, we spent the day with morning snuggles and then yummy berry pancakes. I'm not big on kids sleeping with parents. From day one.....my girls have slept in their cribs. In fact, they LOVE their own beds. However, they do love getting under the covers with mom and dad first thing in the morning when they wake up. Isn't that what weekends are for?

When this little poop gets in bed with us, it's just all fun and games. I just love those little cheeks and could kiss them raw!!

And this one if FINALLY getting to the point where she'll lay down and snuggle with us, but after 12 hours of sleeping.....she was up and ready to go too!

But I wouldn't trade my morning snuggle time with ANYTHING in the world. There's something about lazy weekend morning when the whole family cozies up in the bed. One thing is for sure........we need to upgrade to a King Size bed!!! :-)

Jim put on a Veggie Tales for the girls while we were getting things ready for breakfast. This is what we found in the living room. (sigh).....too cute!

After breakfast......we headed outside for some fun in the sun. My poor neighbors, they didn't now what was ahead of them when we moved in. While Jim did yardwork in the backyard, we pulled a totally redneck move and brought all of our outdoor toys to the front yard. Including the blue plastic pool. From lawnchairs, playing in the sprinklers to splashing in their "pool", we must have looked like the California Clampett's. SORRY NEIGHBORS!! But the girls were having fun so who cares.

We took advantage of the pool to give our pups a MUCH needed dog bath. As you can see, Chase was just THRILLED with the idea!! (and NO, we didn't let the girls play in that nasty post-bath water)

This video just CRACKS ME UP! I promise, we truly are animal lovers!!





We ended our day with a very special celebration. Our sweet Joelle got married to her love Jake. Their wedding was just gorgeous and she of course, was stunning. I must say, I've never cried more at a wedding than I did at hers.



Her dad's name is Jim and Joelle is his only daughter. Their relationship was everything I can imagine my Jim and his girls will have. So to watch him have to "give away" his baby just really got to me (and Jim too). I held it together pretty well until her dad gave them a toast.....and when they had their father/daughter dance........that was it. Luckily, all the ladies at our table were crying so I wasn't alone! Even Jim's eyes were a bit red around the edges.



I've been to more weddings then I can remember, and I've always looked at it as the union of 2 very happy and in-love people (which was definitely the case with Jake and Joelle). But now that we are parent's of 2 little girls ourselves........all I could think about was the "letting go" her parents are having to face. I just don't know how we are going to do it when the time comes. I just hope and pray they alope...........and it's with someone as stellar as Jake!!!

Despite our sob fest, we had a great time and it was a wedding to remember. We're so happy for them both..........they truly are 2 of the most beautiful people we know!