A glimpse of my wedding!

I have really been looking forward to the link up that Absolute Mommy was hosting today. It is a what I wore wedding edition.

Unfortunately, I am old school and don't have the digital copies of my professional wedding photos. :(

So, I have a few candid shots to show you today.

This is where we got married....almost 5 years ago!

 

My wedding dress was actually my SECOND wedding dress. I had  previously bought one that really flattered me and felt "right" when I tried it on. However, I saw this one in a window and instantly fell in love with it. I just knew the second I put it on that it was meant for me. So, my hubby indulged me and we bought it. The first dress still hangs in my mom's closet with the tags still on it!

Being the dutiful groom and carrying my train.

It's funny because when I envisioned what I wanted my wedding dress to look like it was nothing like this. I had imagined cap sleeves and covered buttons with lace details. Instead, I ended up with sweetheart neckline, sleeveless and soft pickups. I still love this dress and wish I could wear it around the house! As if it would fit. :(

Girls being silly trying to calm my nerves before walking down the aisle.

Walking down the aisle

Two weeks before my wedding my wisdom teeth became infected and they wanted to pull them. I said heck no! I didn't want to be swollen and in pain so they loaded me up with antibiotics and pain pills. Luckily, the infection went down and the pain subsided. Side note... I still haven't gotten them removed.

But, because my teeth had hurt so bad I was hardly eating and lost more weight after my final fitting. my dress was loose and I ended up stepping on it and almost tripping while going down the aisle. haha

First kiss as husband and wife!

 My bridesmaids were all given a choice of three colors to choose from. I was pretty relaxed through the whole thing and said as long as they were somewhat matching. that color and style was up to them. I wanted them to be comfortable and I think it turned out great.

I wouldn't have changed anything at all about that day.

Friday's Letters

Dear Life,
Man, you have been rough on me lately and have really thrown me for a loop. Can you just settle down for a bit and give me a bit of a break?!

Dear dairy free diet,
You are so much harder than I imagined you to be! I love cheese and yogurt!! Almond cheese just doesn't cut it! If It weren't for health reasons than I wouldn't be doing this.

Dear Hunger Games,
Yes, I know I am a little bit late jumping on the band wagon here. I started you two days ago and I am hooked. I have been staying up way too late reading!!

Dear weekend,
For once we don't have any concrete plans and it feels good! I am hoping the weather clears up so we can spend it outdoors.

Dear blog friends,
You guys are amazing, seriously! I have "met" so many friends on here and received so much support, love and encouragement from you!! Thanks!

Jaxson's Monster Birthday Party

On Sunday, the day before his actual birthday, we celebrated with friends and family.

In the months leading up to Jaxson's birthday I had been searching through pinterest hoping to glean some inspiration.  Boy, did I ever. Jaxson loves Monsters Inc. so I figured a monster theme was fitting.

There were so many great ideas and I was eventually led to Etsy where I found a cool pdf file that could be purchased, downloaded, printed out and then assembled. Since I don't consider myself to be very crafty this was the perfect solution for me.

Jaxson's cake was made by a friend of the family and it turned out fantastic! It was so adorable and tasted delicious!

 We decided to go with just desserts and since we have two chocolate fountains we put them to use.

We have everything you could think of to dip into the chocolate; bananas, strawberries, rice krispie treats, marshmallows, graham crackers, oreos, pretzels and vanilla wafers. We had cones to fill with candy and our own personal "slime juice".

I thought the googly eyes were a fun touch on the clear cups!

We can't forget about the water bottles!

My step dad made these monster cut outs and my mom sewed bean bag monsters for a bean bag toss! The kids got a kick out sticking their heads inside and pretending to be monsters!

So did some of the adults!

Jaxson's very own monster zone!

Some fun things worth mentioning that weren't captured on camera:

I had an old spiderman pinata from last year that I thought I could recover and make into a monster. It didn't really work out so we stuck with spiderman. It was so adorable to watch the little 3 and 4 year olds (and Kendra) try to break the pinata. When they realized they couldn't do it, I was called upon.
I ended up breaking the broom handle in half and not even a dent in the pinata! That thing was strong. It took Brandon with a 2x4 to break it!

After opening each one of his presents he had to show it to all of his friends. This made for a very long process of opening gifts.

He received a little acoustic guitar and upon opening it he jumped on top of his chair and proceeded to sing and dance for everyone. :)


It really was so much fun and I can not thank our families enough for all of their hard work to help pull off this party! I think I was more excited about the decorations than Jaxson was! I am already brainstorming ideas for Kendra's party in August!

Dear Jaxson,

 Yesterday was your third birthday! I can not believe how fast the time is flying. I feel like in the blink of an eye you have grown from my newborn baby boy into such a little man. I could not be more proud or have more love for you than I do right now.

Everyday you amaze me. I know everyone tells you that there is no way to describe the love you feel for your child until you look into their eyes for the first time. I understood the second I set eyes on you. Yes, you gave us many scares during my pregnancy, but you have flourished and become such a strong, healthy, active little boy. Yes, emphasis on the boy because you love all things car, monsters, trucks, muddy, dirty, and sports related!

You are also a sensitive little guy and are very much a little care taker. You generally think of others and worry how they feel. You are also very receptive of my feelings and moods and you are a very good snuggler. Some of my favorite times are when you crawl into bed with me in the mornings and we have some cuddle time.

Yesterday, per your request, you had heart shaped pancakes, chocolate milk and "comfy" blankets for breakfast.

After breakfast we loaded into the car and set off for the zoo. It was the perfect day for it. The first time we had temps over 70 degrees in almost 7 months!

Here you are in front of the python exhibit!

All day you kept saying how excited you were to see all the "amazing" animals. You were full of so many questions and such wonder at all the things to see and do.

You were such a good big brother making sure sissy got to see all the animals. :)

We finished the night off by finally getting our fire pit going and roasting some marshmallows for smores!


All in all it was the perfect way to celebrate you!


Stay tuned- pictures from Jaxson's Monster Bash tomorrow. :)

I haven't disappeared!

I just want to say a big thank you to all of my readers (yes, that's you!) for always giving me so much support and encouragement.  I can not tell you how much it means to me that you care. Your thoughtful words give me strength when I need it.

Things have been pretty chaotic around here the last week; concerts, girl's nights, Jaxson's third birthday, a trip to the zoo and colds for the whole family! Phew! Needless to say, the housework has gotten neglected and I have a lot of catching up to do!

I can not wait to share all the photos from Jaxson's fun monster party!

Just give me a few days to catch up on everything else around here. :)

Last Thing Thursday

ATE:Grapes and bananas.... nothing too fancy around here.


Bought myself: an iced soy mocha.... but that seems to be an almost everyday indulgence (oops). I bought a cute tank from Old Navy the other day without trying it on and  it was too big, so now I need to go exchange it. At least it wasn't too small like every pair of pants I have right now!!



Bought for the babies:Summer clothes and flip flops. The weather fooled me into thinking it was going to be warm so I stocked up on some essentials because the kids had nothing!

Watched on TV: GCB. It is a little over the top at times but still pretty funny! Plus, I have always liked Kristin Chenoweth.

source

Movie watched at the theater: This Means War, with Reese Witherspoon. I think this got really bad reviews, but I liked it. I have always adored Reese and I thought it was a good mix of romance, comedy and action thrown in for the hubby. Perfect date night movie. :)

Got really excited about: This weekend! Saturday is the street fair, Dierks Bentley concert with my friends and then Jaxson's birthday party Sunday!

Can you believe this little guy is going to be three?!

 

 Linking up over here with Gentri Lee for 7 Questions.


7 Questions:
1. What is your favorite App? (even if you don't have a smart phone I'm sure you've played around with someone else's)
Hmm... just one? Well, right now it is Instagram since I just got it!! (my username is ashdiane1224). I really love playing drawsomething and words with friends too.

2. You have to come up with a book title on the spot- what is it? (don't think- just say!)
For some reason parachute was the first word that popped into my mind?! Not sure.....
 
3. You are given the choice between laughing at everything- always, or never being able to laugh again. Which would you choose?
Laughing at everything.... I would rather be able to see the joy in everything and be able to express it. Plus, sometimes I giggle when I am in uncomfortable situations. I  don't mean to, but it just happens!

4. What natural disaster scares you the most? (tornado, hurricane, earthquake, flood, etc)
They all scare me but where I come from we don't have to worry about tornadoes or hurricanes, but I do live along a fault line and "the ring of fire". We are supposed to have "the big one".

5. What time do you wake up each day? What time do you go to sleep?
My little alarm clocks (my kids) wake me up between 7 and 8 everyday. I try to get in bed by 10:30 and asleep by 11 but it is usually closer to midnight when I fall asleep. I need some time to read or catch up on my shows. :)

6. (question courtesy of Katie) Who's your daddy, and what does he do?
 My dad is such an inspiration to me. Seriously... he was the one who has taught me to be myself and make no apologies for it! Right now, he is between jobs (he has worked retail since he was 16 and finally needed a change) and just trying to find a good fit.


7. What's the craziest dream you've ever had? (like an actual dream- while you were sleeping)
Well, I have crazy dreams all the time! The other night, though, I had a dream that I was considering divorcing Brandon and I had a line of about ten guys to choose from (only in my dreams!). Adam Levene was one. I blame this on the fact that I was watching The Voice before I went to bed. hehe