My Mega Exciting Life: It's Official: Meet the Masons

Three odds and ends to catch up on:

Someone asked about this photo the other day, so I pulled it out and we had a good laugh about it and it's really too good not to share. Please check out the worst photo of Mr. Smith EVER:

this is from mardi gras. i.... i just don't know. it makes me laugh to no end.

I was getting dressed to go for a run on Saturday and was watching the news. It went off, and a rerun of the gubernatorial debate I'd attended earlier in the week came on. I'd sat near the front at the debate so I paid attention to the TV and:

check out front row joe!

And for anyone in the area with an ounce of observation, you undoubtedly have noticed the incredible weather we've been having lately. A picnic was in order on Sunday and here is our view:

behold mead's quarry picnic with the johnson/womac/canan/smith contingency

Next, WEDDING TIME!!! I love weddings so much. Marty and Shawn make it official!

Kristina and I thought we'd lend a helping hand to Shawn and Marty. It sounded like a lot of work so we decided if we were going to put in the time to help set up for her wedding and reception, we needed to have a little fun in return. So we demanded, and got:

a prenuptial slumber party! brooke wilhoit's folks were kind enough to let us stay the night before the wedding at their INCREDIBLE farmhouse where the rehearsal dinner, wedding and and reception was to be held. please meet brooke, and here is ki, me and shawn.

I also had the pleasure of meeting Brooke's sweet folks!

the second i saw the matching pajamas i was in love with mrs. wilhoit

Brooke's daddy is a chiropractor and so he:

cracked everybody's back

The next morning: up and at 'em!

as cliche as it sounds, brooke and shawn (in the next room) woke me up singing 'going to the chapel.' i wanted to throw things at them at 7 AM but forgave them because they did giggle an awful lot in between verses and it was cute.

Time to get the farm ready for a wedding! I seriously think this is a testament to clean living; they couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day. Here is the view of Morning Glory Farm when we woke up the next morning:

ceremony site

barn

reception site. um, yes, that's daylight peeking through the trees just like on a hallmark card.

Next: we worked worked worked worked worked!

here we are figuring out how to set everything up. BTW, throughout the day so many folks came by and said how nice we were to help set everything up, but i would like to point out what my mama always says: it's easy to do favors for people you like. we really had fun!

And did I mention Mrs. Wilhoit was a sweetie pie?

that would be coffee service she sent out for us

Part of my job that day was to put sand in the bottom of one million Mason jars (GET IT?) so the candle wax wouldn't stick. I thought it was a boring job until:

i found out that shovels and pails were involved! for some reason, that made it way more fun.

I panicked a little bit when six five gallon buckets of flowers arrived. I didn't know that flower arranging was part of the deal. No worries!

good division of labor: kristina was creative, i was hired muscle. i hauled the water for the vases, she arranged.

We even helped set up a hay ride for the folks in the lower parking lot!

many many quilts were involved

After all was said and done, we were pooped. I grabbed one of the quilts off the hay ride and:

nite nite. time to get our beauty rest before the wedding!

Then, we go inside to see the progress of the bridesmaids all getting beautiful! They were kind enough to share a cuppa with us:

i like how they roll

Which I took with me while I went to get myownself beautiful.

this is me in a claw footed tub scrubbing off my dirt and grime. first time in a tub like this, BTW. i only squirted the walls three times washing my hair. i blame the champagne.

After getting ready, we visit with the girls while waiting for our party to arrive.

here is shawn putting her dad's tie on him

When we see the Mowrers, Smiths and johnson/womacs arrive we scamper out to join them!

me, amand and jenny self photo! john is a self photo conscientious objector.

If you could have been there on that incredibly beautiful fall day, where the sky was blue blue blue and the fields were rolling and green with the red brick farm house with the immaculate lawn and NOT GET TEARY EYED when the beautiful bride (previously 100% sight unseen) was whisked out the door by her father through the white picket fence... your heart is made of stone.