My Little Cousin's All Grown Up and Getting Married!

I'll be honest. I like weddings. I like looking at the decor, the centerpieces, the bride's gown, etc... It's my girly side showing through, I guess. I especially love when they are family weddings, so be prepared for a picture overload. Ailene married Alex Kubricky yesterday, and after finding a fantastic fairy princess dress, she decided on a fairytale themed wedding. The gown really was beautiful on her, and she is the ONLY one of us girls in the family that could pull it off. Alex was the prince of course and even wore a sword during the ceremony. Here are some highlights:

The colors were purple and green. Here is one of the centerpieces.

A glass Cinderella coach

One of two sign-in tables

Their card box was a fairytale book

The bride by the castle cake. EJ painted all of the backdrops around the room to look like castle walls. What a nice uncle Ailene has!

My hubby and my sister.

Behind the scenes...the kitchen!

The bride and groom by the duck pond. Ailene collects rubber ducks, and wanted them involved in the wedding. So they had a whole "park" set up with a duck pond, trees, and a bench, where the gifts were placed.

Cutting the cake

They were dancing, and he dropped her. Oops! Way to go Alex.

She forgave him pretty quickly.

Mother & Daughter

My artsy photograph

Aww...

EJ stole a dance with the bride

And so did her brother Ian

I settled for a picture together!

Congrats Ailene & Alex!

Happy Valentine's Day!

It was for us! Josh was a busy man today. He cleaned the living room and the kitchen, and set up this beautiful romantic table for two in the living room!

When I got home he banished me upstairs while he finished cooking dinner. I wasn't allowed to know the menu until it was finished!


Main Course: Homemade chicken cordon bleu, baked potatoes, and apple slices with milk (my favorite drink these days!) served in wine glasses.


Dessert: Chocolate covered strawberries.


He's such a good cook! Here's a picture:

There were candles all around the living room, and of course, Valentine's Day roses for me!

I'm so thankful to have such a wonderful sweet husband! He spoils me rotten. I think I'll keep him!

February is the busiest month...

Sometimes I really think that February is the busiest month of the year for us! (Busier than the holidays? Maybe so!) First, I would like to note that my family typically celebrated everyone's birthdays - though as we grandchildren start to have children of our own that may change! Whose birthday is in February (on my side)? Ailene, Andrea, Darren, Josh, Joshua (on the same day even), and if I remember correctly my sister's boyfriend even has a birthday this month.

Josh's side has also instituted an annual Chinese New Year party, which does not always fall on the Chinese New Year. We will be celebrating that this year. We had lots of fun last year, with Chinese food, fortune cookies, and fireworks! We're looking forward to that this Saturday.

And then there's the wedding. Yes, another one! That makes 4 weddings for my family in the past year. Andrea & Brian, Talon & Angelee, Ian & Victoria - and now Ailene & Alex! We're excited for their wedding, coming up at the end of this month. Ailene even found her fairy princess dress. Here it is BEFORE the alterations (I'm sure it looks even more awesome now!):

She really is the only girl in our family that could pull off a gown like that. But it looks great on her!

As for us? Well, we're just along for the ride these days. Josh is, of course, in school and studying hard. He has also taken over my teaching time at the dojo because morning sickness and karate certainly don't mix! He's a trooper because he has also taken over a lot of the household chores. Baby and I are doing well (aside from the morning sickness). Tomorrow makes 15 weeks, and I am now officially showing. Making a baby has proven to be hard work, so I am really quite proud of my little bump. We heard the heartbeat again last week, and are counting down the days (more like weeks) until we have another ultrasound and find out what we're having.

In other news, there have been some major changes at my office that have placed a huge decision before us: to quit or not to quit? EJ already has, and I've now been demoted back to runner. I don't feel I deserved that, nor did I ask for it. In fact, I kind of feel like it's a slap in the face after 3 1/2 years here. Of course there are bills to pay - so who knows what the near future will hold? Right now I'm just trying to get enough writing assignments to help us pay our extra medical bills.