Annie and Neil's dream wedding (and our adventure up North)

Early Thursday morning, getting last minute hugs from Sophia before we departed for New York for Annie and Neil's wedding.

After arriving in NY we had a little down time before we needed to get to work. Kate and I helped Annie and Neil get some last minute supplies for the big day, ate a late dinner, and then got to work on the goody bags for the guests. "Team Annie" was a well oiled machine!

Friday morning it was time to pamper the bride! Kate, Annie, and I got to spend a couple of hours just the three of us while we got our manicures and pedicures. It was great being with my girls!

Annie treated her "special ladies" to a wonderful lunch at the Hudson House Friday afternoon. The food was delicious and Mrs. O'Donnell made us all cry with her beautiful toast to the bride.

Back on the home front, Mom, Dad, Granddaddy, and Sophia packed up the car Friday morning and started making their way to NY...

Sophia stretching her legs somewhere in West Virginia.

After being on the road all day, Pop and Sophia took a relaxing dip in the pool.

While Sophia and Pop were swimming, we were rehearsing for the big day!

It's the wedding day!!
Early Saturday morning we are ready to go get beautiful!

Annie, was one of the most beautiful brides I have ever seen. She was radiant!

Kate and I are ready to go!

Mom took this great shot! All married!

The bride and groom.

The reception took place at Osborn Castle. A breathtaking location overlooking the Hudson river.

My girls.

Our Moms.

And, our Dads.

Kate and I giving our toast.

During the wedding, Granddaddy watched Sophia back at the hotel.

Looks like fun!

Mom stayed with Sophia and Granddaddy during the reception while Dad served as my date for a little while. Sophia seems to be enjoying Grammy's big bed.

Sunday, we were up pretty early to make our way back home. We stopped at Cabela's in PA to do some shopping, eat some lunch, and take a break from the car ride.

Sophia loved checking out all of the animal displays. The Polar Bears really caught her eye.

And, the Africa Safari was exciting to see.

Sophia trying on the raccoon hat.

Annie and Neil's wedding was truly magical. I was so honored to be a part of their special day and I loved being with my best friends. Mom, Dad, and Granddaddy were so wonderful to take care of Sophia while I took part in all of the festivities.

My 31st birthday (week)

Having an early birthday celebration at Granddaddy's.

Sophia enjoying some of the amazing Godiva chocolate cheesecake Bridget brought for my birthday. It was soo good!

An early birthday present to get the week started off right.

Mom and Dad came bearing gifts, breakfast, and coffee very early on my birthday. It was a very nice wake-up call.

Granny hosted my birthday dinner at the farm.

She fixed all my favorites for dinner. Yum!

And, she fixed two desserts - a chocolate cake and strawberry pie.

Sophia's first taste of strawberry pie...

I think she likes it!

After dinner we took a walk around the farm. Sophia loved checking out the cows.

And, the garden.

I had a very nice birthday and I really appreciated everyone making me feel so special!

Talking to Daddy

We are on the two week countdown until Raph comes home! Yippee! Until he returns, we talk to Daddy every morning on Skype. When he calls, Sophia climbs up on the chair and tells Daddy all that she has been up to. She also tries to give him hugs which really pulls at my heart strings. This particular morning Sophia wanted to show Daddy how snazzy she looks in her beach hat.

More posts to come on my 31st birthday and Annie and Neil's beautiful wedding...

My future chef...

Wednesday afternoon, Sophia decided to trade in her wooden fruit and plastic pots and pans for some real cooking with me!

Reading Granny Herndon's banana bread recipe...

Let's get cooking!

measuring and pouring...

mashing (and tasting) the bananas...

It's looking good!

Ready for the oven.

the waiting begins...

So...we eat some marshmallows!

It's going to be hot - Sophia is ready!

Yes, we are wearing matching aprons (thanks Grammy!) and that's our masterpiece in the background.

The official taste tester.

Yay! We did it!

Sophia and I had so much fun the kitchen the other day. I couldn't believe how Sophia was so interested in baking process. She took the entire project very seriously and was ready to help at every stage. I'm really excited that I may have someone to cook and bake for me one day... :)

Happy 4th!

Good Morning! This girl is ready to celebrate!

Sophia was so excited to have Aunt Kate visit for the day!

Sophia collecting rocks for Aunt Kate.

Blowing bubbles

Later in the evening, Grammy and Pop picked us up to take us to Graves' Mountain Lodge for fireworks. This would be Sophia's first real fireworks since last year she slept through the festivities in Vermont. We talked a lot about fireworks on the way to Graves' and Sophia loved saying, "BOOM" followed by "oooo" and "ahhh".

Checking out the sites with Pop.

Checking out the treats with Grammy.

Yum!

Sophia was all ready for the fireworks until they actually started. She never cried but kept saying, "Go" and "car" while pointing to the exit. I got the point, so for the remainder of the display we sat in the car. All was well.

Overall, I think Sophia had a great day and she played the part of a firecracker beautifully. :)

Happy Father's Day(s)

Sophia loves her Pop.

"DD" and his girls before church Sunday morning.

We had a nice day celebrating with Pop and "DD" on Father's Day. We went to church (where Sophia stayed in the nursery the entire time all by herself :) and we enjoyed a nice lunch together afterwards. Of course, we missed Raph who was finishing up his last week in Nicaragua but we were so happy to have a short but sweet visit with him the next weekend.

Raph giving Sophia her souvenir airplane from Nicaragua. She loves it!

Walking with Daddy.

Raph's beautiful orchid in his classroom.

Helping Daddy water his plants.

One happy girl!

Raph was only home for about 12 hours in between his trip from Central America to England but it was so wonderful to see him! Sophia and I were happy girls to have Raph back home and we tried to soak up every minute. Raph is attending another summer of the Middlebury Breadloaf program (Oxford campus) working towards a master's degree in English. He returns home in early August but until then we are so grateful to have Skype and a web cam to keep in touch.