Jessica & Logan Get Hitched

My little sister is a married woman now!  I can hardly believe it and I'm SO happy for the both of them as they start their new lives together.  My entire family has been rooting for this boy to marry this girl since the very beginning and I think most of us knew Jessica would marry Logan before she did :)

Here is a glimpse into last Saturday's loveliness:

They couldn't have asked for a prettier venue! And my sister made a drop dead gorgeous bride.  I had a hard time holding it together when she walked down the aisle.  Little ring bearing Landon only made it half way down the aisle before he noticed he had everyones attention and started clapping.  My dad had the honor and privilege of marrying them (he married Ben and I too). 

Although sunny during the ceremony, the reception brought the rain and we were forced to rush through some formalities.  But hey, what's a wedding without something not going as planned? This is what I love about my sister, because while rain may have brought some brides to tears, Jessica was out dancing in the rain and loving every minute of it.  The rain was gone as quickly as it appeared and everyone continued celebrating.

From top left: Bridesmaids at the bridal party table.  Landon taking a bite of his grandpa's lunch.  Landon getting away with eating a cake pop, which he thoroughly enjoyed.  The Bride & Groom with the cake.

Mom & Dad with Jessica & Logan:

The Bride & Groom enjoying their first dance:

 Landon cutting a rug with his aunt:

Sisters:

My youngest sister, Jaclyn caught the bouquet :)

Bridesmaids posing in the AWESOME photo stand my dad built:

Ben, Landon and I:

Sending off the Bride & Groom:

So now it's official.  My little sister is married. Landon has his first uncle and I have my first brother.

Packing & Wedding Day Emergency Kit

Tonight I am packing for my sister's wedding on SATURDAY!  Holy crap that went by quickly! Well for me it did, I'm sure it didn't fly by for the bride and groom :)  I remember thinking my 10 month engagement felt more like 10 years.

Anyways, Landon gets to be a little ring bearer so I'm praying he actually walks down the aisle without stopping to pick up some rocks or socialize with guests.  His little outfit is SO cute!  Also, I'm super stoked about my new dress for the rehearsal dinner from Banana Republic.  I love, love, LOVE their outlet sales!!!!

And I made a little Wedding Day Emergency Kit for my sis including the following:
Mini first aid kit
Tissues
Instant stain remover
Deodorant
Ibuprofen
Altoid mints
Make up remover
Bounce lint remover
Tums
Snack (I found these little chocolate filled pandas that we used to eat when we were little...except I think the ones we used to eat were koalas, hmmm)

I think I got the basics covered! Time to let the festivities begin!

The Fountains

The kiddo and I took a little trip to The Fountains to hang out with my good friend Paula.  We window shopped (because everything is ridiculously overpriced).  We shared some Big Spoon yogurt. 

But mostly, we chose this place to hang out so Landon could play in the water...and for some reason, this place is never crowded so I don't have to worry about older kids running over him :)  The water is on a timer so The Wombat was soooo cute trying to chase whichever one would spring up next, but then all of the sudden they all shot up and be made a bee line for me. 

Here he is with his accusatory point and glare. Haha!!

 

Definitely going to be making many more trips here to cool off this summer!

Apple Nachos

We have a new favorite household snack we've been obsessed with for the past few weeks:  Apple Nachos. I adapted the recipe from HERE via Pinterest.

This is our version:

Two Apples
Approx. 1/4 Cup Melted Peanut Butter
Chocolate Chips
Bakers Angle Flake Coconut, Sweetened
Unsalted Dry Roasted Pecan Pieces (from Trader Joe's) - This is random, but I only like pecans if they are in pieces :)

Directions:  Thinly slice the apples and spread them out on a plate, drizzle some peanut butter, add toppings and then drizzle the remaining PB.

I figure it's like 80% healthy :)

Garage Sale Jackpot

Landon and I have a Saturday morning routine.  Ben heads to work, Landon has breakfast, I have coffee, we throw on some grungy clothes and hit the garage sales. Sometimes we simply just walk the neighborhood, other times we drive.  We always head to the park afterwards.  It's a win-win Saturday morning for the both of us.

However, this year's garage sale season did not kick off with a bang. I am trying to be good and not collect junk but it is still a rare thing when I don't come home with one. single. thing.  Not even a book.  So when we had three whole weekends where we returned completely empty handed, I was discouraged.  But I also refused to settle, knowing that if I was patient enough we would find THE ONE...

And then one morning, while out on a stroll, we hit the jackpot.  Big time.  I find the best sort of garage sales are the unorganized ones where people are just randomly pulling stuff out of their garage and not really caring how much it sells for just as long as someone takes it off their hands.  This was that sort of garage sale. And here are the goods we collected for twelve dollars....TWELVE measley dollars!!

Little Tikes Picnic Table: Retail $80, Garage Sale $5.  OMG I have been looking for a reasonably priced picnic table FOREVER because my cousin over at Girls Club... Plus Two Boys always posts the cutest freakin' pictures of her daughter sitting at her little picnic table.  Of course, my child would rather climb and stand on the table than sit nicely and pose for cute pictures.

Little Tikes Climb and Slide Castle: Retail $114, Garage Sale $5.  Uh, yeah Landon already has two climbers, one for inside and one for outside (both from garage sales) but I seriously couldn't pass up this steal so I texted my friend Lindsey and this castle climber went to Landon's little buddy Mason.

Little Tikes Big Car Carrier: Retail $99, Garage Sale $1.  This one is a little sun damaged, but still, my jaw dropped when she asked me to pay A DOLLAR for it.

Playskool Train Go Round: Retail $20?  I am guessing here, since this is outdated, but I only spent a dollar on it while garage saling.

I actually ended up spending an extra dollar, buying some lemonade and tipping the kids since I felt guilty for robbing their mother blind.  All in all, we saved about $300. Everything needed a good scrub down but all are in great condition.  Totally worth the wait :)

Excuses, Excuses...

I have been slacking when it comes to posting lately and I have a million reasons why...

First, we had a lovely little vacation in Santa Cruz.  Then I was buried in laundry when we returned from our oceanfront getaway.  Then my laptop screen pooped out on me and has since been sent in for repairs (thank you Costco!!)  Then I was consumed by bachelorette party invitations and Make A Wish scrapbooks. 

And finally, the most exciting reason of all is: We found a house. And it's perfect.  And we spent most of our week making offers and signing our life away.  To simplify a very long and confusing process, here is the short version:  The sellers accepted our offer and now we wait and wait and wait some more on the bank.  It's exciting and frightening and the waiting is the worst. It's a short sale so everything is sorta up in the air and I am trying hard not to set my hopes too high.  At the same time, I'm trying to have faith that everything will work out the way it's supposed to, whether we get the house or not.

Okay, so that is only six reasons, but that last one has my mind spinning and I've found it hard to focus on anything else!