Wedding bells!

After Thanksgiving we went to stay in Dallas for our friends, Drew and Leslie's wedding. Drew is a great friend of ours who works with JD and also an old roomie of his. Friday the men played a golf tournament so Sara and I met up with all the kiddos and went to breakfast at Cafe Brazil, great food, and then I took the girls to the Dallas World Aquarium. It was a great idea, but I have no pictures because it was so crowded I couldn't get the camera out without getting run over or having thoughts of cussing at somebody. Like I said, it was a good idea, maybe for some other time?

On the way to the wedding

dah dah da da...

First dance

Father-daughter dance.

Brian and Beth

The newlyweds and us

Sara and I

I took this picture specifically for you, Heidi! Remember how we were talking about Houston being so fashion-forward? This was the first encounter I had seeing some unusual style! I saw these rare beauties and had to get a picture! Ha!

The band was fantastic to say the least. They played a great variety of music and kept everyone going. They were so much fun.

Flower girls

Sara and Samantha

A serenade from sigma chi...it was orchestrated so lovely ;-)

David, Corey, BV and Derek

Head table

yummy

Drew and JD

The Howards

One thing I have learned from being in Texas is that these Texans take their
Whataburger very seriously. Up until now, I may have seen one here or there on a road trip, but there is one on every corner here. So as we're leaving the reception I notice what appears to be a gift table...or something...on further inspection, it turned out to be wedding favors, Whataburger combo meals!? Yes, you read that right, fast food for wedding favors! As strange as it was, it was perfect timing after dancing so much and working up an appetite. A unique idea for sure.

Eric enjoying his goods

The getaway car

SmOOches, Emily

Gobble til' you wobble

Thanksgiving was spent at Mam-ma and Pap-pa's house with JD's mom's family. It had been almost two years since we had seen all of his family, so it was really nice to catch up with everyone. The meal, of course, was filling and delicious. And Pap-pa's jalepeno quiche was, again, another favorite.

Pap-pa and JD

Grandma Grier and the girls just making small talk

Lucy, JD, Mam-ma, Pap-pa and Grandma Grier

Afterwards, we went to Dallas to get ready for a wedding!

smOOches, Emily

Getzendaner Park

Wednesday before Thanksgiving we drove north to JD's hometown, Waxahachie. We picked up Grandma Grier and spent some time at the local park. The leaves were changing and the trees were just gorgeous!




smOOches, Emily

The fun never ends...

We (meaning JD) have finally finished the swing set Grandpa and Grandma Dowd got for the girls' birthdays. Before it was just the swings, so when the girls went outside to play they had a delightful surprise to find the slide and see-saw. It was like a brand new present!

smOOches, Emily

Good ole' Texas BBQ

So....this is the infamous great BBQ place I keep talking about, Rudy's. I love it for it's pure simplicity. It really is good old' home cooked or smoked BBQ. And they have the best chocolate pudding I've come across in 28 years. Basically, it's a gas station, country store and BBQ. But, believe me, it's not like when you pull up to the Circle K and run in to grab an old, who knows when or where it was prepared taquito or something, this is the real deal. They serve sort of like the cafeteria line in middle school. You grab your drink, side items and then they cut you off a slice of meat and put it in your crate (there are no plates, only wax paper) and you go find a seat at the picnic table. Only, there's not the fear of middle school cafeteria like, who am I going to sit with? Is it cool to sit in this corner or will I get food thrown at me? Ha! Anyhoo, I'm not quite brave enough yet to snap pictures of random people chowing down on potato salad in a public restaurant yet, so there are no pics to get a feel for the inside. I was afraid of being accused of the papparazzi! And isn't the sign catchy? Sausage, get it? Ha! And check out those fuel prices, wow! Not that fuel signs are that interesting, but I'm really in disbelief of the price these days and I feel like I have to have the pictures to prove it!

smOOches, Emily

Just another day at the office...

Lucy got to go to work with Daddy this morning for a little while. She was really excited about getting to draw at Daddy's office. I had sent her with some crayons for something to do while Daddy was busy working. Edy and I later met up with them and went to lunch. When I found Lucy she was in heaven, marker in hand, eraser in the other going to town. I could tell she was having a ball because when I walked in she could of cared less that I was there. All she said was, "I'm drawing a pretty picture, Momma!" I'm pretty sure they had a good time together.

smOOches, Emily