Two Quick Takes

Here are a few quick takes that probably deserve posts of their own but things have been a little crazy around here so I figured I would summarize :).

- Ben's younger brother, Philip, got married at the end of July, to the sweetest girl, Amanda. Ben and I were honored to be in their wedding party and even got to walk down the aisle together. Their wedding was one of the sweetest and most personal weddings we have been to. We had a lot of fun traveling to Amanda's home town of Three Rivers (which isn't too far from our home town) and hanging out with Ben's side of the family all weekend. We certainly got our dancing in, with the live band and huge dance floor they had,  I have scars from blisters on my feet to prove it.  I don't think I have ever seen two people more meant to be together then these two. You could definitely see God's hand in their relationship and I cannot wait to see where He leads them. We love them so much!

They are so cute!

Her beautiful dress! Excuse the iPhone quality.

A quick shot before the wedding.

The second thing I wanted to catch you up on was our nephew, Jackson's 1st Birthday.

Jackson had a Dr. Seuss Party and it was the cutest thing. The cupcakes were decorated like Thing 1 and Thing 2, topped with blue cotton candy for the "hair". Everything on the food table had whimsical names and labels. His shirt that he wore even says "One I Am" on it. There was also a banner across their fireplace that had a picture on his "birthday" from each month from birth- 12 months.  It was fun to see how much he has changed in just one short year. There were many other cute decorations to match the theme and Dr. Seuss party favors too. His Mama is so creative, I might have to hire her to do my kids party someday :)

 Ben and I love this little boy so much. We got him first real A&M baseball hat and loved watching him wear it backwards...such a big guy. We cannot believe it has been a whole year. His personality is bigger then ever and I just love that he knows who we are and smiles when he sees us. When he reaches for you it just melts your heart. He's not walking quite yet, but when he does I am sure we are going to have so much chasing him around.

Brian & Kayla's Wedding

We always love attending weddings for good friends, especially Corps Buddies. This past weekend Ben and I drove to College Station to celebrate our friends, Brian and Kayla's, wedding. Brian was in Ben's class and outfit in the Corps at A&M. He was a groomsman in our wedding so it is fitting for Ben to be a groomsman in his :)

Kayla and I met attending all of the Corps events a good girlfriend goes to... football games, ceremonies, dances etc. I have to say she was/is so beautiful, quiet possibly one of the most photogenic people I know, excuse the blurry pictures but she looked stunning... Brian didn't look too bad himself ;-)

We had a great time catching up with old friends that came into town for the wedding. We hit up The Chicken and the rest of Northgate after the rehearsal dinner, it was so much fun being back in College Station. The wedding was beautiful and we were so sad to be heading home when it was all over. Here are a few pictures from the day!

The Beautiful Couple

Excited to be MARRIED!

After the Ceremony with my handsome groomsman

The significant others :)

With the Bride and Groom

The Corps Buddies

We are so happy for them, and can't wait to hear all about their Honeymoon Cruise :) 

Congrats to Mr. & Mrs. Dobiyanski!

Tyler's T-Ball

On Saturday, Ben and I headed down to Richmond to watch our oldest nephew, Tyler, play T-Ball. It was honestly one of the cutest things I have ever seen. His team was made up for 4-6 year-old kids (he will turn 6 next week), and this was their second game. He played first base and pitcher and was an awesome first baseman :) They were so much fun to watch. Here are some pictures of Tyler playing first and up to bat!

They all just look so little :)

Action Shot

Got a grounder.

Calling for the ball

He got the runner out.

He takes this game very seriously, reminds me of his uncle Ben.

Tyler's Up to Bat!

Mid Swing

He hits it!

Off to First Base

He's Safe!

Scoring his run!

Good job Tyler, Uncle Ben and Aunt Jenn can't wait to come to more of your games and watch you become a great baseball player someday :)

Fredericksburg- Family Reunion

A weekend in Fredericksburg for a family reunion was the last stop on our Tour of Texas.

We drove in Friday afternoon to Fredericksburg and stayed at these cute cabins with Hollis, Jessica, Jackson and my cousin Monica and her fiance, Brian. It was a three bedroom two bath place that was a little small with the three dogs but perfect for what we needed. There was a nice patio outside that had a fire pit and it overlooked a couple of acres of land that had deer and elk. It was nice to just relax, listen to the cicadas, and visit with family. 

The next morning we got up, grabbed our breakfast vouchers and headed to Fredericksburg Gourmet Coffee and Tea. We both had breakfast tacos that were pretty good. After breakfast we went back to the cabins to change and we were on our way to the Reunion which was on the other side of town (5 min, so nice). We have been having the reunion at Lady Bird Johnson State Park since before I was born. It is just so nice and familiar. We had a good lunch catching up with my grandparents, aunt, uncle, cousins, second cousins etc.  That afternoon we went into town for some blue bell ice cream at a little scoop shop on the main drag and not too long after headed back to our cabins to get ready for dinner.

Went to dinner at a Mexican food place that had a Cheesecake Factory kiosk...yum. After dinner we repeated our first night of sitting outside around the fire, relaxing and soaking in the last night of our mini vacation.

Sunday we went back to the same place for breakfast and I had a big waffle this time. Equally as good as the breakfast taco and headed out of town after that.


We decided that we will probably book the same place next year, maybe just a different cabin it's called The Country Inn & Cottages in case you want a unique place to stay if you are ever in the area.

Weekend in the Hometown

Trip two of three we headed down to Portland to celebrate our nephew Mason's 3rd birthday and to attend a wedding shower for Amanda and Philip.

We drove in Friday night, and didn't stay up to late. That drive right after work is exhausting.
Saturday afternoon we went and ate lunch with the family at a new place in Corpus on the beach. It was so nice to be able to soak up a little gulf air.  There were games in the sand that the restaurant had set up so it was nice to watch the boys play while we waited for our food.

After lunch we went back to Ben's parents house where we attempted to clean out the closet in Ben's old room. Just as I was feeling accomplished in cleaning out the junk room in our house upstairs we bring home another four boxes of stuff. Oh well, I think Ben's Mom was happy to see it go.

Later that evening we headed to the Barnett's for some cake, ice cream, and presents for Mason's 3rd Birthday! I cannot believe he is three! He was such a talker at his birthday party. Some things I want to remember are playing legos with him and watching him proudly carry around his new Cookie Monster stuffed animal. We would ask what Cookie Monster eats and he would say "Cooookkkkkiiiieeees" like you crazy people, what else would Cookie Monster eat? We had so much fun teasing him and asking what about cake? veggies? pizza? etc. and he would say "Nooo, Cookieeees". Three is so much fun!

On Sunday, the women of the family joined Philip and Amanda for a wedding shower. It was a lot of fun to see them open their gifts and get excited about their upcoming wedding in July. Philip enjoyed his "guy" gift from Ben and I (a drill). I was thinking as I was sitting next to my sister-in-law Holly, watching my future sister-in-law open the rest of their beautiful gifts that I have been truly blessed with the best sisters-in-law. I cannot imagine life without Jessica, Holly and Amanda. They are so much fun and are such good role models. I am so blessed.

One of my favorite parts of the shower was when all of the married women there were able to share a piece of advice with the soon to be newly weds. It was so sweet hearing from everyone whose relationships ranged from only a few years to many years together. Everyone had something unique to share but the advice all tied to the same thing. Keep God at the center of your marriage and look past the little things, because life is really to short to spend time upset with each other.

It was a short, but great family weekend. On we definitely need to try and recreate more often, no need for birthdays or showers to spend great time with family.