5 Years Ago Today

May 30, 2003. My wedding day. I looked forward to that day for more than 14 months. The day was much like today is, sunny and warm outside. We had a night wedding, so I had all day to be nervous. I spent the day with my bridesmaids, getting our hair and makeup done, eating lunch, getting dressed. Ben spent the day with his guys, having a bbq at his parents house and hanging out by the pool.

Our ceremony was long, but beautiful. I don't remember too much of it, I just remember how excited I was to finally be there, in that moment. Our reception was so much fun, we danced, talked to friends and family, had a great time. We left around midnight in a limo my aunt and uncle rented for us. In the five short years we have been married, they are both gone now. They did so much for us on our special day and were so happy for us. I can't believe they are forever gone now...

We headed to New Orleans where we spent the night at The Sheraton, before heading to the airport for our 6:00 a.m. flight to Mexico. I say spent the night, but we were only there for about 4 hours. Then we spent 5 wonderful days in Mexico at the Aventura Spa Palace.

It was a wonderful day, a wonderful week, and a wonderful 5 years. Thank you to my parents for giving me (us) such a wonderful day. They fulfilled my dreams, as well as theirs. It was a day that I will never forget and will always be grateful for. Our friends and family did so much for us and have continued to be there for us. There is only one person in our 15 member bridal party that we have lost touch with. We remain very close to most all of our friends, even asking one of them to be Allie's godfather.



Our first dance.


Ben with his best man, Kerry.


Our first kiss.

Our entire bridal party. 6 bridesmaids, 6 groomsmen, 2 ushers and a flower girl.

Memorial Day

Poor hubby had to work on Memorial Day, so it was just me and Allie. The in-laws invited us over for a bbq and to swim in their huge in-ground pool.

Starting off with a cute photo of Allie:)


She loved jumping off the side.


Kick those legs!


My sister-in-law, affectionately known as JuJu. Ain't she pretty?

In other news, Operation: Potty Train Allie isn't going so well. We have spent countless hours in the bathroom with no results. I'm getting frustrated...

Hoping that reading a book will help.

I thought for sure something was happening here..but nope.

This is Allie the morning after her big swim at the in-laws house. She was exhausted. I moved her from her bed to mine, in hopes of her waking up on her own. No luck. It was a whiney morning for all involved.

Memorial Day Weekend

It's so hot outside. I have to keep reminding myself why I live in Louisiana. And it's only May. Warmer weather is sure to come. Sunday was Ben's only day off work this week, so he used it to get some important things done. Like washing his truck and letting Allie SWIM!

Keeping the gas guzzler clean, good thing it never goes too far.


Of course she wanted to help in any way possible.


It sure was hot, ain't he cute?


Finally getting to swim. She was "running experiments", as Pop would say.

She wanted me to fill up her water gun.

While they were washing and swimming, I picked some basil from my herb garden.

And made this delicious pesto pasta!

Later in the day, Jennie, James and Abby came over to play and for dinner.

She would kill me if she knew this was on here!

I gave the girls a bath.

That's over 50 pounds in my arms. They were HEAVY together!

It was a great day. I served up some jambalaya for dinner and the girls had a blast playing together!

American Idol Finale Night

As always, starting off with a cute photo of Allie!


Daddy is so proud of his LSU National Championship football...


Dancing


We both LOVE David Archuleta

Come on daddy, dance with me !

Getting down

He would kill me if he knew these were on here...

Daddy has some moves too!

Unfortunately, David Archuleta did not win. We were both pretty sad:(

Happy Birthday Uncle Shaun

May 21st is a busy day for us. It's my brother-in-law's birthday, as well as my father-in-law's birthday. We celebrated Uncle Shaun's birthday last night at T.J. Ribs.

Of course we start off with a cute photo of Allie.


The whole gang which included me, Ben, Allie, Brooke, Shaun, mom, Dad, Pallas and Brent.


Our lovely waitress, Rachel.


My dad, there are no words for this.

Helping Uncle Shaun open his presents. It wasn't really Doritos, but a piece of paper with a photo of his new BBQ grill!

Allie and her NeeNee.

Cake!

He lets her get away with anything...

Again, no words for this either. I do think red and pink are his colors.

What a weekend.

Hubby is in the middle of a shutdown, which means 16 hour days alllll weekend. It sucked. And I was sick. Friday night we didn't do much of anything.

Saturday morning Allie woke up at 6:00 a.m., she NEVER wakes up that early. We did the Cystic Fibrosis Walk around the LSU Lakes and I was miserable.

At Mellow Mushroom after the walk. I felt like poo.


Luckily my wonderful sister and brother-in-law took Allie for a few hours so I could be miserable by myself. I took a long nap, then a long bath before I drug myself over to their house to get my child.

Sunday Allie and I went to Babies R Us to get a shower gift for one of my co-workers who is having TWINS! How awesome is that? A boy and a girl! And of course Allie got a few new nightgowns and a Dora the Explorer plate.

After a quick nap


We played outside in the pool and ate popsicles

NeNe and Pop came over for a little while to watch

It was hot outside though

We blew some bubbles, and called it a day.

Allie loved her new Dora the Exlporer nightgown so much that she wouldn't take it off this morning

I hate to put it back on over her clothes...

Then she was happy again!

Travel

I would love to travel more. I can honestly say that I have been many places in my lifetime, but there is so much more I want to see.

My parents took us camping a lot when we were kids. I have visited must of the Southeast United States including Texas, Missouri, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Georgia. My first time on a plane was May of 1994 when I went to Washington, D.C. for my 8th grade graduation. My second time on a plane was in May of 2002 when I went to The Bahama's on my sister-in-law's High School Graduation trip.

Ben and I went to Mexico for our honeymoon, a cruise to Jamacia, Cozumel and The Cayman Islands in 2004, Pennsylvania and New York City in 2007 and another cruise earlier this year. Oh, and for our 1st anniversary we went to a cabin the Blue Ridge Mountains.

My absolute favorite trip was New York. I have wanted to go for YEARS and never thought I'd make it to be honest. Some friends of ours were living outside of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and we wanted to go for a visit. In three days we managed to visit Lancaster and Hershey, Pennsylvania for Amish buggy rides and a tour of the Hershey factory. Then we spent a wonderful, amazing, magnificent two days in New York City. And of course, Allie came with us. We rode the double decker buses around the city and saw as much as we could. We walked around Central Park, visited Ground Zero, drooled over the shops in Rockefeller Plaza and ate a few very expensive dinners. We stayed at a lovely hotel in Times Square. It was just an amazing trip. Allie behaved like an angel and did so good on the plane ride! She hung in there with us when we dragged her all over the place.

Me, Wendi and Allie in Amish Country


Ben, Me, Allie, Wendi and Shaun in the Hershey Factory


New York City!


Statue of Liberty

Ground Zero

Ready to go eat an overpriced dinner mommy!

Central Park

Rockerfeller Center