Happy Father's Day 2013

Happy Father's Day to my daddy, father in law, and to the man who gave me the best gifts I could have ever asked for...my wild and crazy, but super sweet and loving kiddos. I didn't plan anything for today...I figured we would just spend a relaxing day at home since we have been going going going for the past few weeks.

i was originally going to put kevin's dress shirts on them, but it was really really big and you would only be able to see the tips of the shoes.

Parker woke up at the crack of dawn (6:20 am) and Avery woke up around 7:10. I ended up taking Avery to the pediatrician b/c she hasn't been feeling well and has been tugging at her ears. But before we left, the kids gave Kevin his present. Nothing big, but something he needs.

After we got back home, we just lounged around, ate breakfast, played, watched a movie, ate lunch, then went swimming.

For dinner, we are going to have one of Kevin's favorite dishes. It's a Cuban dish called Masitas de Puerco. It's basically a fried pork dish with black beans and rice and plantains. It's sooo good! I order the exact same thing and the kids order Arroz con Pollo (yellow rice with chicken). For dessert I ordered a flan for myself (nobody else likes it) and everyone else will get ice cream cones.

all nice and smiling at the pediatrician's office...completely aware that Dr. G just laid down the verdict: an antibiotic SHOT!!!

i gave her the iTouch to distract her from the impending shot

poor baby got her shots on her bum...and yes that's plural! TWO shots!!! First I wasn't even prepared for her to get a shot (I hate needles!) and then apparently it was gonna be 2 shots! She did so good the first shot though. She didn't even flinch or cry. But the antibiotic, which was the 2nd shot apparently stings so that's when all hell broke loose and the nurse asked if she could have a lollipop.

we rarely give the kids candy, but ya know, when you get two shots, even Mommy will cave and give you candy!

kevin has been needing a new coffee mug for a while now and I've been raving about my Tervis cup for months! He never would have spent that much money on a cup, but I think they are worth it b/c they really keep your coffee hot and my drinks cold! hopefully daddy's isn't too embarassed to use his cup at work with half naked babies on it! lol

happy father's day 2013

Daddy, we want to be just like you when we grow up. Love, Parker & Avery

getting ready to go swimming

a Tervis full of Riesling...I filled Kevin's with Yueng Ling

I'm not a pool jumping kinda girl. I tend to get my feet wet for a few minutes then move on to my knees, then hips...you get the idea. Well when your husband and 2 kids are egging you on to jump and calling you chicken...and your 2 year old is smirking at you as she jumps into the pool with no problem...what are you left to do, but jump in the pool...and drag her in with you!

after pool time we watched Bubble Guppies in bed before putting the kids down for naps (in their own beds)

I haven't asked Kevin how his Father's Day has been, but poor guy had to make his own breakfast, cooked lunch (he made a Filipino noodle dish called pancit, which is similar to lo mein), and will be picking up our dinner to go! In my own defense, I was the at the doctor's office during breakfast and I was slathering sunscreen on the kids while he made lunch and I did offer to go pick up dinner. Love you, babe! We love and appreciate all that you do for us! xoxo

Mother's Day 2013

5/5/13: Mother's Day this year couldn't have been more perfect. Parker woke up around 7:35...he was sleeping in our room b/c the kids' godmother, Kristin, was visiting and had slept in Parker's room the night before. She was supposed to leave early and I thought she had slept in so I popped out of bed and saw her getting ready. Parker and I sat on the couch and waited for her to get done and then Kevin came walking out. I was confused b/c I was letting him sleep in (I know...it should have been my day to sleep in). Well he and Parker disappeared and then came back and Parker showed me "a surprise". I saw a vase of cut of flowers and a small gift bag on the dining room table. As I gave Parker a thank you kiss he giggles and yells: "it's a picture frame!" and an exasperated Kevin tells him: "shhh, it's supposed to be a surprise, don't tell Mommy!". I opened up my cards...the cards were so sweet! As I reached inside the gift bag, Parker again squealing and jumping up and down yells: "it's a picture frame!". Guess what I pulled out of the bag??? A picture frame!

Kevin and the kids worked on my gift when they got home from work/school while I was still working...Kevin said it was a 2 night process. Both kids painted my beautiful picture frame!

Kevin said Parker helped paint the heart on the sign. He turned away from Parker for a second just in time for Parker to say: "Mommy loves sprinkles!" and watch Parker dump a bunch of pink glitter all over the heart and the floor...and with only 15 min til I got home from work. By the way Lyndsay C...I probably owe you a big bottle of pink glitter! lol



On Saturday night, after going out to dinner Kevin said he needed to stop by the store with the kids to pick up a few things for me while Kristin and I went to a girlfriend's house for a little girl's night in. He apparently got ingredients to make french toast...yummy!

not sure if she'll kill me for posting this...but here's the kids' fairy godmother, Kristin. I don't know how, but we didn't take any pic at all except for this and none with  Avery b/c she decided to sleep in!

after Avery woke up we decided to go to the park and brought the kids' plasma cars. this was the best present ever! the kids love using it!

my babies and me

my lovies and me

it's not just the kids who love riding the plasma car! lol

it was a sweltering hot morning so we only stayed for about 30 min...Parker didn't mind the heat and was racing around in his plasma car. Avery started to leave her car behind...so I had to ride it with her.

we decided to have a water kind of day after the park to cool off. we bought the baby pool since our big pool wasn't ready for swimming yet. Avery is sporting her first ponytail!



After playing outside, we had lunch. I was going through a wedge salad phase so Kevin fixed me up a big salad for lunch. The kids napped and then we decided to go to the airport and have a picnic dinner at the roof top deck of the garage. Only to find out that the roof top deck was closed for maintenance. Try explaining that to your 3.5 year old who was so excited to watch the planes and "trains" and have a picnic. Plan B was formulated as we drove back home. We decided to head to another park that we had never been to before, still eat our lunch on the back of the truck and then walk around and play with the kids.

Overall, it was a fabulous day! I couldn't have asked for a more perfect day! My wonderful husband and kiddos made this day simply the best day!

Mini Sliders

Kevin ran errands while the kids napped and I worked at home. He decided to go ahead and do our grocery shopping and planned dinners for the week as well. Yeah, I think he's pretty amazing too. When he got home he told me he was going to make mini sliders for dinner...similar to what we had at our friend Mike and Sarah's house a couple of weeks ago. These were so yummy and so easy (of course it was...I just handed him bottles of herbs/seasonings and watched. lol).



Gather it:
1 lb of ground beef
3 mozarella cheese sticks, cut into about 1/2" pieces (I suggested using Baby Belle cheese, but the chef vetoed my idea...still think it would have been delicious)
white onions, diced
1 whole egg
garlic powder
black pepper
dried parsley flakes

Toppings/bread:
Hawaiian rolls
sliced cheddar cheese
sliced tomatoes
lettuce

Make it:
1) Combine all ingredients in bowl except for the cheeses, toppings, and bread and mix together.

2) Make a small patty, place 1/2" piece of mozzarella , and top with another small patty and press both patties together to seal cheese in the middle.

3) Grill patties to desired doneness and top w/ sliced cheese and allow it to melt on the patty.

4) Cut Hawaiian rolls in half horizontally and place patty on bred, top with tomatoes and lettuce and gobble it up!

We served ours with macaroni and cheese (what else?!?) and fruit. For dessert Parker and I made funfetti cupcakes (without icing). We had lots so we shared some with our neighbors b/c let's face it...we don't need to eat all those cupcakes especially after all the cake we I ate from Avery's bday.

Robbed

Robbed...Burglarized...I still can't comprehend it ever happened. Kevin came home from picking the kids up from school the other day and saw a piece of a picture frame on the floor. He briefly wondered if I had had a tantrum before work and flung a picture frame around (no this has never happened before), but then realized that our TV was missing. Yep, that would be our mounted flat screen TV was gone. He also realized that the other flat screen we had in our bedroom was gone. The TVs we are sad about b/c everyone in our family is a big TV watcher, but they also took our 6 month old Macbook with photos I have of the kids that I haven't backed up yet b/c I hadn't bought a new hard drive. Go figure I have already deleted the pics off of the camera. So I'm really really sad about that. It hurts that they stole my jewelry...some were expensive pieces, but it's not the price that hurts. The pearl bracelet my mom let me borrow on my wedding day was stolen. The Tiffany bracelet Kevin gave me for our 2 year dating anniversary was stolen. The watch Kevin bought me for our 1 year wedding anniversary was stolen. The sapphire and diamond ring Kevin bought me as a "push present" after I had Parker was stolen. The charm bracelet my mother-in-law bought me with charms on it representing the kiddos was stolen. The ring my mom bought me for my college graduation was stolen. Avery was given a bunch of gold and diamond earrings that she was still too young to wear that I was keeping in my jewelry box for safekeeping...now gone. Avery's baby bracelet Kevin's godmother gave her for her baptism was stolen. Avery's other bracelet that was given to her for her baptism by a grandmother figure was stolen. I had 2 sets of diamond earrings that are now gone too. I had a bunch of cheap jewelry in there too and I had the garter that I wore on my wedding day tucked in there. ALL GONE!

But, what hurts the most is that they stole the pearl earrings my mom bought me to wear on my wedding day. The same earrings that I thought I'd let Avery borrow on her wedding day. I pictured her walking down the aisle wearing my earrings and wearing Lola's pearl bracelet too. Now she can't. Sure I can file an insurance claim and probably buy some of the same items again, but it's not the same thing. I can buy the same pearl earrings that I wore on my wedding day, but those weren't the ones I wore on my wedding day so the significance of Avery wearing them on her wedding day is gone. I can buy another $100 Fossil watch (by no means was it expensive), but that watch represented something more. Kevin bought it for me while we were on our 1 year wedding anniversary trip. We were having to take it easy b/c I was 6 weeks pregnant and had had a close call with the pregnancy just days before the trip so we just walked around City Walk and stayed around our hotel. Every time I wore it I was reminded of how sweet and caring my husband was and of the precious baby we were so excited to have. If I buy the same exact watch it will only remind me that the first one was stolen by some uncaring ruthless a**hole(s) who probably pawned my watch.

But what is really bothering me...and Kevin too is that we feel so violated. Home is supposed to be where you feel safest, but someone invaded our space and took that sense of security from us. Kevin and I barely slept a wink the night that it happened b/c I was so paranoid that the burglar(s) would come back. Kevin took the next day off to clean the house up and to strengthen the security of our house. Still I find myself looking over my shoulder and looking at everyone who walks or drives by my house suspiciously. I was home by myself for a bit yesterday morning and I found myself checking all the windows, the locks, throwing open the kids bedroom doors and checking closets. I blow dried my hair while facing my bedroom door so that I could see if anyone was going to jump out at me. I'm paranoid now that I'm constantly being watched and I hate that feeling! I just want my sense of security back! How can I get that back???

Jo Koy Date Night Out

Have you heard of Jo Koy? If not, go Google him! He is hilarious! But be forewarned, he curses and talks dirty...a lot. I first saw one of his shows on TV a couple of years ago when Kevin was watching him. I'm normally not a fan of comedy shows, but this guy had me hooked b/c he is half Filipino and he had a little bit about his Filipino mom. Some of the things he said and how he said them reminded me of my mom, aunts, and/or aunties ("Auntie" is what you call your friend's mom..."Uncle" would be their dad. Kinda weird I know. So when you call out Auntie at a Filipino party you get about 30 people turning their heads to look at you). Anyway, my sister in law found out he was coming to town so we bought tickets to go.

We had a blast! Laughing is good for the soul. Crying with smeared eye makeup b/c you are laughing so hard...yep it was that kind of a show. We all talked about being Jo Koy groupies...now what to do with the kiddos??? lol

we went to carne Chop House after the show...they had yummy steak quesadillas!

we walked around Ybor after dinner...it was a little crazy since they had a St. Patrick's Day parade during dinner

we walked up and down the street...eyed some of the bars and clubs that we used to go to. Did you know that Prana is still around? lol But sadly our tired 32+ year old bodies could not handle all the fun. Plus my 5" heels were not made for walking long distances, especially on brick walk ways and roads littered with little beads. My sister in law picked us up for the shower and we thought about calling in a car service to pick us up if we all drank too much, but since I only had 3 drinks and I sipped my wine through dinner I was fine and drove us home. 3 drunks in the car trying to tell me how to get out of Ybor...fun times! lol Then at 1 point Missy yelled "Go this way!" and for some reason I swerved (safely) and followed her direction...only to realize she had directed me towards the slightly longer way home. "UN-BEH-REE-RAH-RUR"!!!! Last time I listed to a drunk Missy! lol

Jo (we are on a first name basis now) will be on Chelsea Lately next week...I've got to remember to DVR it! Well folks, my sick (literally sick, not hungover sick) needs to get back in bed with my hungover hubby! Oh, the luxury of having Lola in town for the weekend!!! She's got munchkin duty! lol Love you and thank you, Lola!!!

Men Are From Mars and Women Are From Venus

You've heard of that saying, right? What about men and women are just wired differently??? It's crossed my mind sure, but last night Kevin's response to my question just made me wonder. Here's how the conversation went:

Me: "How much of his lunch did Parker eat?"

Kevin: "I don't know. I don't really look at it."

Crickets. Crickets. Crickets.

I mean how do you not look at what is left over when you clean out his lunchbox? First: you know how wacky crazy I am and NEED to know how much of it was left. Second: Aren't you concerned about his health and whether he's eating or not? In Kevin's defense I pack Parker's food so he doesn't even have an idea of how much Parker has eaten. I don't expect him to count how many nuts Parker didn't eat, if Parker had 3.5 tangerine sections left, or if Parker took approximately 2.25 bites of his sandwich. I just want a general idea.

Here's another conversation that also happened last night while Kevin and I were discussing how hungry both kids seem to be every night despite eating a lot for dinner and tons of fruit before dinner to tide them over:

Me: "You have to give them some protein and not just a bunch of carbs so they'll feel full longer."

Kevin: "And what kind of protein should I give them?"

Me (trying to remember what we have in the fridge): "Cheese?"

Kevin: "Your son doesn't like cheese."

Me: "Well you could have given him some hardboiled eggs, but you ate them all!"

Kevin (all defensive): "I made them for me!"

Me: "Really? You made them for yourself...just yourself?"

We dropped the conversation and continued with our date night in, but it really got me thinking. I remember a conversation I had with my mom when I was pregnant with Parker and we were eating dinner at a restaurant and my mom gave me her last bite of food, I said something along the lines of: I don't think I could ever give my kid my last bite of food or let my kid order for me (like my mom sometimes does when I can't decide between 2 different entrees...I know call me spoiled, but at least my mom and I have similar tastes in food). Truth be told Kevin is trying to eat healthy and the eggs are a good snack...they just happened to be our last 6 eggs and I forgot to buy more at the store. Then there's also times when the kids flock to him as he is trying to eat and wanting a bite of this or a bite of that. Kevin shares his food with them, but he ends up grumbling after a while or if they take too many chips. I (and probably other women) gladly give up their food...ok so I get a little stingy with my fries, but I still share them. I just may eat them a little faster. I often give them my last bite and Avery often eats a good portion of my meals. I think a mom's instinct is to make sure her babies are well fed and taken care of. Where as a dad's instinct might be to feed himself first so that he can remain strong and defend his family. Ok so I know this isn't the Stone Ages, but that's what popped in my head. How else would you explain it?

Then there's the scenario of dealing with a crying baby in the middle of the night. There have been plenty of times where I've gotten up numerous times with Parker already b/c he likes to get re-tucked back in after he wakes up from peeing and I'd like a turn in getting some sleep too. Here's how it usually goes down when we hear Avery crying through the monitor:

Me: "Kev, Avery's crying. Go take care of her."

Kevin (rolling away from the monitor and me and starts snoring immediately): "eiae nf jdaifwnvmpai."

So I get out of bed and really have to stop myself from smacking my sweet sleeping/snoring husband, stomp across our room and into Avery's room, to cuddle her for a sweet second and to lay her back down. It's not a long process, but I'd just like to be able to get some sleep too. When I talk to Kevin about it the next morning he laughs and swears he didn't hear her. I DON'T BELIEVE IT FOR ONE SECOND! Kevin was so great when both kids were newborns and needed feedings/changing in the middle of the night. He somehow woke up to help me almost every single time, but now he apparently can't hear a screaming child.

Oh oh oh...this one is good and tops it all off...last Saturday we had this conversation:
Kevin: "I'm going to go look at tires and wheels (rims)."

Me: "You can get tires, but we don't have extra funds for rims."

Kevin (20 min later): "I'm going to Target to get some new undershirts and stuff."

So he leaves with Parker and comes back about 1 hour later and he tells me all the things he got with Parker. About 5 minutes before I'm about to walk out the door, I get this bombshell dropped on me:

Kevin: "I ordered new tires...and rims."

Me (whirling around and eyes blazing): "WHAT?!?"

I COULD NOT BELIEVE IT!!! He has never made such a large purchase without talking to me about it before...especially on something I've said no on b/c we don't have extra funds for it. I left the house before I could find a toy to chuck at him or before I started crying b/c I was so mad...I hate this about myself by the way: I cry when I'm really mad. I plotted ways to get back at him...do I buy a new Coach purse? Maybe get a new pair of shoes? Or have a nice relaxing day at the spa? Or maybe I'll start packing him pb&j sandwiches every day for lunch for the next couple months. Or maybe I'll just give him the silent treatment. Well silent treatment won b/c we really don't have the funds for the rims or for expensive purses or spas. I got back a few hours later and was pretty much ignoring him (really mature, I know!)...til he dropped another bombshell on me:

Kevin: "You know I was just joking right? I didn't really buy rims. I haven't even bought tires yet."

I didn't know whether to kill him, to scream, to cry, or to hug him. I know he was testing me to see what my reaction would be. If I didn't act too crazy then he would have ordered them, but since I went slightly ballistic it was a no go. I mean who does that?!? Who plays such a crazy mean "joke" on their wife? I guess obviously a man who wants rims whose wife could care less about cars and fixing them up and would rather spend their money elsewhere!

Don't get me wrong. I love my hubby. He's fantastic. He's a wonderful husband and dad. But I think we are just wired a little differently. Plus I'm pretty sure I do things that drives him insane. I'm OCD about certain things that he's not as concerned about. I could careless about cars whereas he wakes up at the crack of dawn once a month to go to breakfast car show thingie that starts at the ungodly hour of 6:30...as in a.m....and on a Saturday!!!

Does your hubby/significant other do anything that drives you nuts? Make me feel better and comment below and tell me!!!

"Cut A Rug"

I really loved looking at these pics from 5 years ago...lots of fun memories...especially from the reception. When I was looking for a reception site I had only ONE criteria: it had to have windows with a great view. I didn't want a hotel ballroom where you are boxed in. My mom wanted that kind of a reception. We battled for a bit over this...eventually I won. Isla Del Sol Yacht and Country Club was suggested to us by our wedding coordinator. I really wasn't sure if this was the place I wanted b/c the dining room was very "green". Their views, however, was absolutely gorgeous! Our wedding date was actually supposed to be March 1st. However, when I called Isla del Sol to book our reception, they had booked a club event for that night already b/c it had taken me so long to decide. So now I had to find a date that worked for Isla del Sol, Tammy (wedding coordinator), the church, the DJ, and the photographer. I wanted to cry. Eventually we all settled on February 2nd...so that's how it became that we would get married on what I would later find out as Ground Hog Day!

This pic sums up our night pretty well...this was towards the end of the night when everyone was nice and toasty:

Here's the gorgeous (and calm views) when looking out the panoramic windows...the reason why I fell in love with our reception site:

We took pics during cocktail hour. While the guests enjoyed hors d'oeuvres and drinks they also got to watch a video montage that my uncle made showing pics of Kevin and me  growing up and then dating. I got a bit annoyed with my photographer so I cut our session short (sadly we didn't take pics with our bridal party - a big regret of mine for putting my emotions in the way of getting some great pics) so we did get to enjoy some of our yummy hors d'oeuvres in a private room. 

when we first got to Isla del Sol, Kevin and I took pics...it was pretty bright outside and my new hubby has very sensitive eyes so he was squinting in EVERY photo! It didn't help that the photographer's assistant was shining this "foil" to reflect some sunlight on us. I liked the pics where we were kissing b/c his eyes were closed and it didn't look like he was mad about something. lol

 one of my have pics...prob b/c we were in the shade and you couldn't really see Kevin's eyes! lol

 in the full sun, but eyes closed...and I just realized that the assistant is off to the right of this pic! The other pics (of course I have like 10 pics of almost the exact same shot) didn't have her in them. Boo, but I'm too lazy to search for more pics!

 hottie hubby looks like he was posing, but he was actually just watching me take some photos. lol

taking pics on the hill where my light pink heels turned muddy brown b/c they kept getting stuck in the lawn. lol

the head table: Kevin and I sat up there with his best man, his wife who was also one of my bridesmaids, my maid of honor and her boyfriend (whom Kevin thought I was dating b/c I talking to Dan most of the night...we weren't and we never have, but we became good friends b/c our roommates were dating each other at the time).

 the round tables had a tall centerpiece. I told my florist I wanted something simple: "twigs with just a tiny bit of flowers" and she did exactly what I wanted.

the rectangular tables had a bunch of votives and this in the center...I saw a more complex picture on a wedding magazine and I wanted something simpler. I told the florist I wanted black river rocks, floating candles and flowers. Tammy let me borrow her lucite box and black river rocks. Each place setting also had a small bunch of baby's breath tucked into the napkin (see above the lucite box). 

 

very fitting to have this sign at the bar with our favors: beer koozies

not sure why the bridesmaid's bouquet looks peachy b/c the roses were def pink! 

THE NEW MR AND MRS KEVIN CORBETT!!!

 First dance: Edwin McCain's "I Could Not Ask For More"

One of my FAVORITE pics!

 We can't be serious for too long...besides this was a loooong song and it hurt to look adoringly up at my new husband b/c even with heels on he still towered over me and I felt a little silly putting my head against his chest the whole time. Kevin picked me up and twirled me around a couple of times, we kissed, we laughed, and goofed around until finally our DJ took mercy on us and cut the song a few seconds early. 

 My Daddy and I danced to Heartland's "I Loved Her First". Funny story: I was searching for songs to suggest to my dad and heard this and thought it was perfect. Around July of 2007 I visited my grandpa (my mom's dad) who was very sick. I talked to my dad and he tells me that he's going to sing me a song on my wedding day. Errr...my dad has a great voice, but I wasn't sure about this. I had visions of my dad and Kevin's dad (Jim used to be in a band) going up on stage and doing a duet and starting a big karaoke...Filiponos LOVE karaoke! lol Never mind that there wasn't a stage or a karaoke machine at the reception site, but still this was a vision I had! So then my dad breaks out into song and dance and I start laughing when he starts singing "I Loved Her First". I told him this was the song I wanted us to dance to so that's how it was chosen! 

Kevin and Debbie danced to Rascal Flatt's "My Wish". This was going to be the song I had picked for my dad and me, but then I found our perfect song. Kevin was at a loss as to what to pick. He wasn't sure whether to pick a "fun" song or a "sappy" song. I convinced him to go sappy. lol Debbie, however, in an attempt to not start bawling on the dance floor b/c her last baby was flying the coop (ok he hasn't lived at home in ages, but you know what I mean), started doing her crazy dance. I have a picture of this crazy dancing, but I CANNOT find it. Debbie, is probably saying a quick prayer of thanks! lol And Debbie, I did choose this pic so your face isn't showing b/c I know how you hate being in pics, but I do LOVE this!

 what could be causing me to do this???

or Kevin to do this??? 

oh it would be my brother in law doing his speech. Poor Tim's hands were shaking so bad from nerves that his 3 page speech would rattle in his hand, but he did a great job of making everyone laugh. He talked about everything from Kevin "drowning" him in their pool to hiding JC Penny lingerie catalogs under their bunk bed mattresses (in like middle school!!!) to crazy soccer matches and "the worm" to more serious stuff like being a good big brother and a role model. Sara's speech was short and sweet...it had to be b/c she's deathly afraid of public speaking and I thought she was going to faint when I told her she HAD to do a speech. I think she may have taken a shot right before it was time to do her speech. lol But she did a wonderful job...no quivering voice or shaking hands. She talked about how I finally found my prince charming...and she's right!

After we greeted all of our guests and ate dinner, the fun part started: dancing! The DJ was fantastic! He was the first vendor I booked b/c I absolute LOVED his style! He had everyone up and dancing the whole night and I got so many compliments about him and his assistant (he was training so we had 2 fantastic DJs for the price of one). When I booked Robb I told him that if he could not DJ my wedding then I wasn't going to hire his company (he has many DJs that work for him) b/c the sole reason why I wanted to book his company was b/c of him. He came and did not disappoint. Kevin and I only wanted 2 things out of our reception: we wanted our guests to have a delicious meal (we got A LOT of compliments on dinner, especially the filet mignon) and we wanted them to have a wonderful time. Some people think line dancing is cheesy, but I didn't care b/c I knew that would get a lot of people including the "adults" up and dancing. Filipinos LOVE line dancing! 

 Mom dancing with Sara and Lauren...and she took the baby's breath that was on her napkin and decided to stick it in her hair...looks pretty good, Mom! lol

 Lauren's helping hold my dress up so I could dance. lol I apparently dance with my pointer finger...well pointing.

Lauren and Andie are crazy dancers...Kevin and Andie are dancing fools and like to "cut a rug". I didn't know what that meant until I met Kevin. Apparently it means dancing...crazy dancing. lol 

shaking our bums l

 a break from the crazy dancing...a sweet dance between the new hubby and me!

"THE WORM" dance move! lol I had never seen this crazy dance move before! 

 another crazy dance move...Scott (to the left) was the guy who introduced us (with his then girlfriend and now wife, Amber). We met at Scott's parent's house Nov 2003 while I was still in college (I moved down 1 month later). Then we saw each other again May of 2004 for Amber's college graduation party, but he thought I was dating Dan so nothing really happened. 4th of July 2004 we saw each other at Scott and Amber's party (I was told that he thought I was cute) and started talking, but he still didn't ask for my phone number. July 10, 2004, Scott's bday party we pretty much hung out the whole weekend and he FINALLY asked for my phone number and actually called me when he said he would!!! 

a little salsa dancing???

 Sororities have candlelights for getting lavalieres (when a fraternity boys gives you "his letters" which is a pendant/lavalier), engagements, etc. and Kappa's no different...

 But we like to add a little something to spice it up...we sang "Oh Pat" at the end. It's a great song and one of the first Kappa songs that I learned Freshman year (ok confession...it really wasn't until Sophomore year that I really learned ALL the words. Sorry, the song just goes so fast so I just kinda open/closed my mouth, threw my hands up in the air, and clapped.). Here's Kevin pretending to sing it (he can't...he does't know the words). He had seen it at Lauren's wedding the year before so he knew what was coming...otherwise I think he would have looked like a deer in headlights...maybe like Brian did when we circled him and sang this fun and crazy song!

 time to fetch the garter and the DJ told Kevin to work for it so here he is crawling to me. lol

 laughing my head off b/c what else could I do with my conservative family watching all this???

 hmph! I threw that bouquet with all my might in hopes that one of the single ladies would lunge for it...well it hit the ceiling and fell about 2 feet away from me! I threw it for a second time and same thing happened. Sadly none of my single friends wanted the bouquet...sure sure, there were some of you in serious relationship that I'm sure were hoping for a ring soon! lol Somebody finally pushed Sara to grab it so she "wins" by default.

Kevin tossed that garter like a pro and the single men actually dove for it! John (his girlfriend, Kristen, was one of my co-workers) caught it...he was a great sport...coming to a wedding where he didn't know anyone and it was his birthday!

 if the wedding dress is the star of the ceremony then the wedding cake is certainly the star of the reception...and it certainly was! I had a pic of a cake that I wanted the baker to copy. She suggested I buy fake flowers for the bottom instead of doing sugar flowers which would drive my cake price up or buying fresh flowers. I doubted her at first until my wedding coordinator backed her up and said it would look great. The cake I chose was chocolate cake with a mocha fudge filling. I say that I chose the cake b/c Kevin actually had no say. He was pretty mad about this and we "fought" over it. He couldn't come with me to the baker's to taste test so I brought his sister who LOVES cake and just brought a plate of samples for Kevin. He likes chocolate cake too, but really liked Publix's vanilla with fresh strawberries. I wasn't a fan of this, but was ok I would have just chosen a chocolate cake for another tier...but Publix just did not have a very good filling for their chocolate cake. It just did not compare to the baker's mocha fudge. So I umm, "overruled" and placed an order for ALL chocolate/mocha fudge cake - he wasn't a fan of her vanilla/strawberry cake and liked the chocolate better. 

cake cutting time...see the beautiful view I talked about before???

We had a deal before hand...don't smash cake all over my face and I won't do it to you! The DJ reminded him that he was going first so if he smashed it my face, I would be able to get my retaliation...Dan was egging him on to smash it in though!

 As you can see from my clean and smiling face he was nice and nicely stuffed the piece of cake in my mouth so fed him nicely too!

 smooches!

Before the night was over Robb had us a play a game. I was already familiar with what I call the "Shoe Game" b/c he was also the DJ at my brother in law's wedding and he had them do the same thing. I didn't know he did the game at all of his events, but it's a pretty fun game: Kevin and I take off our shoes and we each held 1 pink heel and 1 black dress shoe. Robb would ask questions like: Who is most likely to get a speeding ticket? Who has the craziest family? Who will wear the pants in this marriage? And we raise that person's shoe if we think he/she is the correct answer. FYI we got 10 out of 10. And the answers to the above questions: Kevin, Kevin, Mae. Although Kevin told me later that he wears the pants, but knew I would raise my heel so he raised my heel too just to get the answer right. Uh-huh, right!

It was so nice to have my step-grandmother there. My grandfather had passed away 6 months before my wedding and she had only ever traveled by plane with him and wasn't ready to do that yet. She changed her mind when she found out I was upset - she's the only grandmother (my mom's mother passed away when she was in college) I have ever known. I have ever known and the only living grandparent I had left - both my grandparents on my dad's side have also passed away. It meant the world to me that she came.

 My sorority sisters and me, plus my cousin who is pretty much like my little sister

a bubble getaway! Look at my uncle (on the left) flicking that bubble wand! You're supposed to blow bubbles at us not soak us in soapy water! haha 

And loooong post/picture overload finally over, folks! Thanks for looking/reading if you've stayed with it thus far! lol

Photos above are a combination of Todd Gilman Photography and my wonderful friends.