weddings, wonderful, what?!, and winning

Weddings:

Brent and I returned late Monday after A LOT of driving over not a lot of days! Was it worth it? Every moment.

Saturday Brent headed down to Joplin to be an usher in a wedding (He says he was the MVP of ushers...I'm sure he was ;) and I went to a wedding a little closer to home (Congratulations Katie and Devin, and Brandon and Julie!) It was fun for both of us to be able to see a lot of people we know and love all in one location. Here is a picture of my family (minus Dan- taking the picture- and Brent) at the wedding:

I felt like this one is fitting: Mom and Kali are getting focused "You stand here..." Dad is looking at the clouds (I think), and I am looking at him, clearly not paying attention to Mom and Kali's direction. Picture 1.

This time I'm sure dad something just before the click (or Dan)...whichever...Mom thought it was hilarious

Wonderful:

Having a brief second at home was a breath of fresh air. On Sunday we had quite the party! Brent's parents and grandparents all were able to come, along with my grandparents, uncle Creighton, Uncle Kirby and Aunt Lisa (and Stella, Jesse, and Shane!), and Aunt Linda. It was a full house and the hustle and bustle and food and conversation was wonderful!

The birthday boy (Creighton) explaining some story about German Chocolate Cakes to Shane who has learned, like the rest of us, just nod, occasionally laugh, and keep listening

And, of course, getting some input from the dads on which was the best route to head back to Kentucky

Uncle Kirby and Jesse restringing the Dulcimer that Kirby built.

(Aunt Linda: You posed for this!)

One of our new favorite games: Bananagrams!

Brent was a very tired boy from all the driving he did.

And then this kid showed up and we had no clue who he was...until we figured out it was our nephew, Luke, who apparently decided to grow 4 feet!

After I took this shot of Grandma Pat she said, "No one is safe now!"

Okay...so Mom made this wonderful cheesecake and, being the wonderful hostess she is took it out of the fridge to feed to crowd. I don't know if the mob was pushing in on her, or if she was in a hurry...but she turned and !!!

Luckily, we're all family, and it wasn't really "technically" on the floor.... It still tasted delicious!

What?!:

Okay, so I don't even know what to say except that Grandma and Grandpa and mom and dad gave me my graduation/christmas/birthday present while I was home. Tucked in it was a card stating: "Some things are worth waiting for!" So I opened up the box and....
Can you even believe it?! (Neither could I!) THANKS again! I will enjoy it for a very long time and you will reap the benefits (pictures). I shot some pictures of the stormy sky on the way home:

Winning:

I think this is one of the funniest things that has ever been documented on my blog, but here I go again....

Remember the soap challenge? To not buy soap until after our one year anniversary? Call me competitive; call me strange...whatever.

I think it is safe to say: I WON!!!Some "mysterious" Maysvillian sent me a big bottle of soap in the mail! I could not stop laughing after I opened it, but I suppose I asked for those antics :) Then when I was home, mom handed me a bottle with a foaming pump (which, don't worry, I will reuse!) Oh man...it's all so funny to me and yet I was serious about this competition. :) Thanks for all your support!

One final, and important note: Brent has an interview tomorrow for an Assistant Athletic Director position at a local Christian School. His interview is at 9. Your prayers are very much appreciated!