Josh and Rachel's wedding

As most wedding weekends are, this one was pretty full. It was so good to see friends, hang out, and of course eat BBQ and play N64 as part of the festivities leading up to THE festivity, the wedding. This post will be mostly pictures, since that's the best way to tell this kind of story.

Here are some of "da boys," a.k.a groomsmen, hanging out at Dave and Buster's, site of the bachelor party (Caleb and I had our own party in our hotel room-- he slept, I read on my Kindle :)  I got to go to a shower for Rachel, so I wasn't always sitting around while we were in Missouri. ;)

 Rehearsal dinner, table one-- left side, left to right: Stephanie, sister of the bride and maid of honor; Josh, groom; Rachel, bride; bridesmaid and her fiance (?). On the right are Stephanie and Rachel's cousins, the pastor and his wife, and another bridesmaid.

 Rehearsal dinner, table two-- us and a bunch of family members and friends of Josh and Rachel. It was fun to talk to some of Josh's college buddies and hear stories about him from before we met him.

 All dolled up for the wedding! Handsomest Best Man ever, in my opinion. :)

 The happy couple

 Bridal party

 Best man and maid of honor

We took this self-portrait just after the wedding, waiting outside. One thing I thought was cool about their wedding: they had a big sendoff leaving the church, with bubbles, I think, before the reception-- that way everyone gets to participate in a celebratory sendoff, and it's still light so you can see everybody! There was a second, quieter sendoff later, around 10:30 or 11, I think. Caleb and I were both pretty fried-- him from staying up late with a very stimulating crowd for company, me from chasing him around all day while Sean got dressed, took pictures, placed signs along roads, and did other best-man-type duties. It was a really fun day and we are so glad to have been a part of it!

 Mothers' dance at the reception-- both moms are so sweet!

Sean did a fantastic job recreating the Mizzou logo on the new Lt. and Mrs. Carlson's car. It was fun decorating their ride for them! And now they live about 15 minutes away from us in a cute house! We are so grateful to have them as friends. :) We definitely enjoyed our July trip to Missouri to see Josh and Rachel get married.

What we've been up to lately...

This month...

Caleb practiced his wax-on, wax-off skills using some Tupperware lids he found in a kitchen drawer. He loves sliding around the room with objects under his hands-- sometimes ice-cube trays, sometimes board books, you name it. He's a busy little guy, never still for long!

Caleb helped Mommy wrap Christmas presents. Scotch tape only occupied him for so long, then he was climbing onto the wrapping paper to investigate what I was doing, or trying to get the scissors out of my pocket, which I put there to keep safely away from him, or picking up the object(s) I was in the middle of wrapping. I finally decided to wrap presents while he was napping. :)

Caleb helped decorate the Christmas tree... by arranging ornaments on the floor, after taking them off the branches. :) He still toys with the lower branches occasionally, but we are working to keep him away from the tree, and he has lost interest, for the most part. Probably due to the fact that the bottommost foot or so of our tree is unadorned.

Caleb helped Mommy with housework; he finds the vacuum especially fascinating. It's a delicate dance, luring him to other parts of the room so I can vacuum the piece of carpet he was previously occupying. It's actually kind of fun! I can't fault him for being curious.

There you have it! We are busy this time of year, but not too busy to squeeze in fun times with friends, a car purchase, and visits with family!

Stay tuned for some catch-up posts from this summer and fall, as well as more-recent events like Thanksgiving and gingerbread house-decorating!

Gingerbread Houses!

It's not every Tuesday night you get to have friends over, eat candy, and showcase everyone's unique creativity!!! On Tuesday, December 6th, we had a bunch of friends over to build gingerbread houses! We used gingerbread-style graham crackers and each of us constructed a fun building. I for one had lots of fun and felt even a little giddy. Usually my extrovert husband is anxious to have fun and play, but this time I was excited. (Don't get me wrong, I love people, but I do tend to feel exhausted after lots of socializing.) Sean was excited too, to clarify!

Mallory, Matt, and Sean hard at work

 Sean, Cam, and Josh

The table

 Our completed houses

And... I insisted on taking individual shots of each master architect and his or her structure.

 Cameron Cunningham, one of our "old," dear friends from CA/Vandenberg days, with his radio tower. He works out at Schriever, as do Josh and Sean.

Josh Carlson, another oldie-and-goodie friend from CA (also Sean's former roommate before we got married!), with a very discriminating look on his face.

 Mrs. Rachel Carlson (as of July this year) with her welcoming little bungalow. Peppermint doormat, anyone?

 Yours truly, with a snow-bedecked rooftop.

 Mallory Hillis, the real-life artist/sculptor (and mama-to-be!), with a popcorn smoke-topped chimney.

 Matthew Hillis, dentist/resident at Fort Carson, husband of Mallory, moonlighting as Godzilla! These two are our newest friends, but good ones already! Thanks to Brandon and Emily for introducing us all at a BBQ at their place a few months ago.

Sean and his masterpiece (replete with snowdrift in the corner, not visible, and a snowman outside)

It was great fun, and we made lots of good memories! We are so grateful for our friends here. It's hard to believe we are only 18 months away from our next assignment-- which may or may not mean moving away. Just yesterday Sean and I were talking about how to balance two seemingly-conflicting emotions: contentment with our circumstances, while allowing ourselves to miss people or past seasons. (The conversation was prompted by me crying over missing my friend Amanda, and missing that season we had in California.) It was such a sweet time when we were in California: a bunch of fun, active single people who hung out all the time and "did life" together. It was relatively carefree-- no kids, marriages, or mortgages! (Not that any of those three things are bad, they just change your life monumentally.) We have been so blessed to continue that fellowship we experienced then with at least four LT's from the California group getting stationed here-- Sean, Josh, Cam, and Brandon. But life is changing. People are getting married and starting families. Both Josh and Brandon are dads-to-be now! Our tour is on the downhill side of time, 2.5 years down, 1.5 to go. For Sean and me both, Colorado has a special place in our hearts. We started our married life here; Caleb was born here; we bought our first home here; we found a thriving church home here; we've grown and matured here. I know we will continue to grow and mature throughout our lives, but there's something about the "early years" that stimulates a fond nostalgia, even when you're in them!

Anyway, before any sentimental tears drip into my hot tea, I'll sign off, with a pledge to cover Josh and Rachel's wedding next time!