Wedding Day!!!

What a wonderful event it was! We loved celebrating with Ryan and Julia and also catching up with so MANY family and old friends! The amount of people who traveled so far is a testament to how much Ryan and Julia are loved.

The Original Connor family

The bride-calm, cool and collected before the wedding
The groom- not so calm- with his adorable ring bearer, Jack!

Ryan and Mom

Getting hydrated before the big event!

Me and my oldest!

Mr and Mrs Connor enjoying some refreshment at we rode the trolley to the reception

Maeve and Jack loved the trolley!

Sisters

My NY cousins

Yummy Cupcake Tower

Getting a snack (and flip flops) before dancing

These two tore up the dance floor!

Danny Clark (Ryan's college baseball coach), Ryan and Dad

Just one of the many beautiful arrangements!

Me and Betsy- who was there the day Ryan was born!

Surprise of the night! Erin Johnson Saunders a dear friend and sorority sister at Furman and is a friend of Julia's family! Loved seeing her!

Krystals were served late night!

Sweaty sisters!

Dad, Brian Donaldson and Bob McKillop- friends from high school in NY who all moved South many many years ago!

My Dad and his cousins- George, Mary Jane, Ellie and Susie. My mom and dad met at Ellie's sweet 16 party and have been together ever since!

Singing the Chi Omega song Shades. Unbelievable how many ChiOs were at the wedding! Julia and Ryan's daughter(s) won't have a choice! :)

Getting marital advice from the band

Leaving for Aruba!!

It was such a fun four days of parties and celebration. We are so excited to have Julia as part of our family now and can't wait for many more memories!

Big Boy

We buckled down last week and FINALLY potty trained Jack. We had tried a few times before but he was not interested. It was getting a little ridiculous that he was 3.5 and still in diapers plus he has to be pt for school. So we stayed home and did it! Jack was not into it on Monday but by Tuesday he was doing great and by Thursday was accident free! Monday and Tuesday were the least fun days but overall it could have been alot worse. He loves wearing his big boy underwear and will show anyone he meets! To celebrate this special milestone we went bike shopping! This was Mimi and Goose's gift to Jack for being such a big boy- he got his own big boy bike!

We have never taken Jack to Toys R Us- yes, that is right. Just didn't feel the need to introduce him to that store until absolutely necessary. Yesterday was the day b/c he wanted the Toy Story bike like our neighbor Danny and that is where he got it. Jack was quite distracted by all the other toys but Clay helped him focus and we got the bike.

They got started immediately putting it together.
And then outside they went...

This one warms my heart...

And this one kind of breaks it... Madeline was very jealous!

Someday our sweet little girl will be big enough but I can only hand one milestone at a time!

Great start to the weekend!

Friday was a beautiful day- 8os and no humidity! We all went to Family Day at camp so Jack could show us what he has been up to. He was also named "Camper of the Day!" We were so proud of him! The hat he is wearing is what they give the kids and then they can earn "respect" beads- the puffy balls on top. Jack has his visor flipped up like a cool kid.

We brought our lunch to the playground where all of Madeline's hair was blowing in the wind!

Not sure about coming down the slide alone

We had the Edgars over for dinner and Madeline tore up the corn! She loves it!

After dinner we went to our favorite local ice cream place, Sunni Skies. Madeline likes to sample everyone's flavors.

Our two favorite babysitters- Paige and Macey

Jack regaling us with his new set of "knock, knock" jokes!

After eating the ice cream, there is always chasing around the field. Madeline loves to be in the middle of the action!

Friday was a great start to our weekend! We have lots more planned with the Apex festival this morning, a cookout and fireworks tonight and a block party tomorrow! Happy 4th!

#3

We had a great ultrasound yesterday and the baby cooperated to let us get some good shots of it's profile. In the second set, you can even see its little hand waving at us! Madeline even said "baby" when she saw the picture!

Surprise!!

As we were heading home to Raleigh on Sunday, it felt weird to get on 75 South (to go to 85 North). For 10 years, I turned right and went north on 75. I said this to Clay and 5 minutes later we were headed to Knoxville for a surprise Father's Day visit!

Madeline warmed up to Goose b/c he kept fruit snacks in his pockets!

Remember Jack and Maeve in the summer of 2007?
Can't believe how much they have grown!!!

It isn't a trip to Mimi's without chips and onion dip!

It is always a treat to visit Knoxville, even for just a night!

Shower for Cathy

We went to Atlanta last weekend so I could host a baby shower for my good friend Cathy Aldridge. Cathy and I met while working at Home Depot 10 years ago!! I introduced her to Chaney and Betsy and the rest is history. We were so excited to celebrate with Cathy (and Kyle) and can't wait to meet baby boy Aldridge in August!

Chaney, Cathy, Betsy and me
Baby bumps

Yummy desserts

Madeline and Ellis (Betsy's son) made an appearance after the shower

Future tailgaters

While I was at the shower, Clay and the kids got to visit Todd, Courtney and Claire Kopriva. They had a great time at the pool and hanging with our fun friends!

Good eatin in Atlanta

We miss our friends the most in Atlanta but next we miss the food!!

Remember Jack- October 2007- sitting on the bench outside Sam and Dave's BBQ?

Well we went back to introduce Madeline and it is still as yummy!
We met the News and the Egans. It was so fun to catch up and see our kids run around together. The Egans are expecting their first in August so it gave them a glimpse of what is to come!
Mad, Jack and Ryan New
Hmm...

We met our former co-worker Nancy Gillenwater for lunch at NY Deli- another favorite! The Turkey Rachel is still as good as ever and so are the fries!

And don't worry, I went to Willy's THREE times while there. If not for a meal, then just a snack. Oh how I miss you Willy!

Sunday kids

I know the time will come when they want to dress themselves but for now, I am taking full advantage of being in charge!