A New Orleans Wedding (pt 3...the final day)

First of all, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! Our family just returned from a short getaway to Goodyear, AZ to visit some dear friends of 10 years of ours to ring in 2019. We have been settling in back home, and getting ready to get back into the "school routine". I hope everyone's 2019 is amazing! I am definitely looking forward to a new year here in Arizona!

Finally! Here is the blog post everyone has been waiting for...the actual wedding!!!! Our family got so busy over the holidays, so I didn't get a chance to jump online to blog about my cousin Mark and his WIFE, Lisa's actual wedding day. 

Their wedding was absolutely stunning. It was a formal wedding, and not a single detail was left out. Their wedding ceremony was held at "The Cabildo" in Jackson Square. It was an absolutely breathtaking Spanish Colonial building right next to St. Louis Cathedral. It is a museum by day for local tourists where you can see all kinds of artifacts from old New Orleans, and learn about the history of the town as well. 

The prettiest flower girl I ever did see...

And have you ever seen a ring bearer this cool in your life?!

I think not.

I LOVED my dress...

All the cousins (minus baby Zoe)

Dang...I have a good-looking family.

The groom and the ring bearer!

I call this photo...

"the Matriarch and Her Cubs"

These are the only photos I got of the venue, and they don't do it any justice.

They had kindly asked no one take photos with cell phones during the ceremony, so we are all patiently waiting for the professional photos!

I loved that no one had their cell phones out during the wedding. 

As a guest, I enjoyed being able to watch the ceremony without someone in front of me annoyingly trying to take a cell phone photo, blocking my view.

Everyone got to just enjoy the wedding.

Here are my parents with Nick and me!

It was so nice to see Nick at a formal event in something other than his dress blues.

Look...I LOVE him in his dress blues (because he looks sexy af in them...), but man...he really cleans up nice in a tux too.

 Me and my babe.

The reception was held at "Capulet by the Water". It is a restaurant on the week days, and they host banquets and wedding receptions on the weekends! It is an 1800's warehouse that has been restored to a cool eclectic space. They had an amazing live band, and the appetizers and food was delicious! It was such a neat place, and we really enjoyed everything about it!

The ring bearers and flower girls!

They were so fancy.

Best uncle ever.

Nick asking my niece Lulu to dance.

Cause no trip to the bathroom with a bunch of girls is complete without a bathroom mirror selfie.

These are my gorgeous cousins (in high school) and old me.

My mama and her first son-in-law

Nick dancing with my oldest niece, Lyla.

I'm pretty sure this was the best part of the reception...

An actual ice sculpture of my cousin Mark!!!!

(Note, his body is actually not this disproportionate)

This was a surprise for him from his wife.

It was actually a luge. You could alcohol from his head, and it came out of the bottle of liquor carved into his hand. 

It was great.

We haven't seen too many of the professional photos yet. Once I get a couple, I'll post them! 

A New Orleans Wedding (pt 2)

Here is part 2 of a 3 part series of posts about our family's getaway to New Orleans for my cousin's wedding earlier this month.

One part of weddings that I always stress about is the attire for different events. I never want to be the person that is underdressed, but being the overdressed person can also feel a bit awkward. When I saw that my cousin's wedding rehearsal dinner was at the New Orleans House of Blues, I knew I wanted to wear something festive and sparkly. I was told the attire was "cocktail". As a 34 year old woman who has attended multiple weddings and military functions, I know that "cocktail" means different things to different people. I wanted to make sure I was going to be appropriately dressed. I think I asked my cousin's fiancé a million times about the attire for her wedding festivities. I eventually went to Instagram and did a poll about the outfit I had chosen to wear, and literally 41 out of 42 people told me to rock the outfit I had chosen.

I chose a rose gold, sequined jumpsuit.

I was extra and sparkly.

I got compliments on it ALL night by friends, family, and random strangers in the French Quarter.

The only downside to this outfit was the 4inch heels I wore.

We had to walk from the wedding venue to the rehearsal dinner, and even a short 5 minute walk is horrible in 4 inch heels on cobblestone sidewalks. 

Sweet Dannika rocked her cowgirl boots, of course.

And I always say, no one looks better in a bowtie than Mattis.

I mean, please...

My sweet cousins Michael and Daniel! I can't believe they're grown ups now!

One thing that I love about weddings is that it brings people together.

It's tough for our family to get together because we are so spread out all over the country.

Even holidays are a hit or miss since we have significant others and extended family that we have to split our time with.

It was so nice to have my entire family together!

My mama and me.

My mom's prettier than yours....

The food was amazing.

Their hors d'oeuvres were even better.

I really only came for the food....and wine...

My handsome date and me!

Here we are with the bride and groom!

The boys decided to do some squats...

My sister and me!

I consumed a little more alcohol than I had planned, which made me hungry...

So on our way back to the hotel, we got some boudin off the street from a street vendor.

I honestly don't remember if it was tasty, but I'm going to assume it was.

We had an absolutely blast at the rehearsal dinner mingling with our family and meeting new friends. The food was amazing, and drinks were flowing (a little too much for me...yikes). The House of Blues New Orleans was amazing, and we'll definitely be going back if we find ourselves back in New Orleans!

A New Orleans Wedding (pt 1)

At the beginning of this month, our family took a short getaway to New Orleans, Louisiana to watch my "not so baby anymore" cousin marry his love! His (then) fiancé (now wife) asked for Dannika and Mattis to be a part of their wedding, and we couldn't pass up the opportunity to be a part of their special day! My kids were over the moon that they could be in a wedding, and my sweet Dannika, at 9 years old, finally got asked to be in a wedding.

We were not disappointed about making the trip to New Orleans either. I had been there as a kid with my family, but hadn't been back since, so I was really excited. Nick has only driven through there, so it was cool to get to experience "the birthplace of jazz" as a family. I took over 230 photos during our short stay there, so I decided to break it up into the 3 separate posts from each day that we were there.

Below are photos from day 1.

Here is a photo of some of my cousins and me on a family vacay to Jamaica.

My cousin that got married is the third kid from the left (sitting next to me).

Obviously, this photo has nothing to do with our trip to New Orleans, but just to give you context of who in my family was getting married.

He really was "the baby".

The Mercedes Benz Super Dome where the Saints play.

Are Uber pics obligatory?

And because we were in LSU territory, we had to rep our Fighting' Texas Aggies!

After all, we DID win this year in a historic 7 overtime game!

We met up for lunch with a dear friend of mine at a New Orleans hotspot, Cafe Pontalba (in the French Quarter)

Dannika and I split the most delicious plate of red beans and rice with a side of authentic gumbo.

Nick had a traditional po boy and he gave it a 10 out of 10!

We highly recommend you check it out!

It a small cafe, so seating is tough to get, so prepare for a wait!

My friend Kelley and her son Waylon! 

I met Kelley through a small group at our church when we were all stationed in California.

Thanks to social media, we've managed to stay in touch!

It was such a treat to get to meet up with her and meet her sweet son!

I mean, can you say you've been to New Orleans without listening to some street musicians playing "When the Saints Come Marching In" in the middle of the French Quarter???!!!

Our kids had a blast dancing in the street listening to this awesome band play jazz music.

We popped into a seedy liquor store in the French Quarter because we wanted to show our kids a wholesome good time...

They really enjoyed the festive Mardi Gras masks.

Our kids had a blast there the first day. We got to walk around the French Quarter, dance to jazz music, have authentic New Orleans cuisine, meet up with old friends, and soak in the city. 

My cousin's wedding rehearsal dinner was at the House of Blues. I'll post about that tomorrow!

2017 Highlight Reel

I wanted to blog about our family's Christmas in Nashville, but since it's New Year's Eve,  I figured I'd give y'all my 2017 "highlight reel". 2017 was an amazing year for my family and me. It was a year of change, saying goodbye to the "old", and the start of new beginnings. Here are some of my favorite memories of this year!

We rang in the New Year with our wonderful neighbors!

I FINALLY got to order my Aggie ring in the Spring!

It was such an amazing feeling to get to do something I had waited my entire life to do!

It was definitely a day that will stick out in my mind forever.

Dannika chose to be baptized!

It was so special, because SHE chose to get baptized.

Nick won an award from the city of College Station for his work in our neighborhood!

Nick and Dannika went to their second daddy/daughter dance.

We Spring Breaked in Arizona!

D finished 2nd grade!

Our family did a little getaway to San Antonio!

Nick and I found ourselves back in SoCal in Laguna for our friend's wedding!

Dannika (and Addy) turned 8!

We found ourselves back in Southern California (in the inland empire this time) for ANOTHER wedding!

Dannika went to summer camp at Camp Carolina Creek!

Nick was promoted to MSgt!

 My last day of college!

I FINALLY got my Aggie gold!!!!!!

 Nick and I graduated TOGETHER!

Nick commissioned as a 2ndLt in the Marine Corps.

I dunked my Aggie ring in Michelob Ultra in 52 seconds!

 Our family went on vacation to XCaret, Mexico!

 My sweet boy turned 4!

Thanks to Hurricane Harvey, Dannika and Mattis started school a day late.

D started 3rd grade and Mattis started Pre-k!

 Nick and a couple Aggie Marines got to go down to Houston and help out with Hurricane Harvey relief efforts!

My handsome boy's first school photo!

A rainy Halloween!

The Astros won the world series!

Snow in Texas! Crazy!

I got to finally meet my new niece, Zoe.

Ending the year with my main squeeze!

2017 was full of so much change, and I couldn't imagine doing it any other way. Our family got to do a lot of traveling, and got to spend it with the ones we love most. It's hard to believe that this time, next year, we will be living somewhere completely different! We are up for the challenge and new adventures that await us in 2018. I hope everyone had a wonderful year. For those who had a year of hurt and disappointment, I just wanted to leave you with this...
You are not alone. God sees you. As hard as it may be to be optimistic, I am a firm believer that a good attitude and optimism can change the world.

Happy New Year, y'all!