Holiday Cocktails!

The Morris-Walker-Byrd Bunch invaded the Gorrie's home for a Holiday Engagement Soiree for William and Frances Ellen this past weekend. 

And when I say invaded, I mean took over!

Both the Bride and the Groom have big families (and really close friends who are as good as family), and everyone was so excited to get together and celebrate the happy couple. 

It was a pretty dressy function, and it was fun to see the men put a festive twist on the dress code with fun Christmas ties. 

And the ladies were decked out in their Holiday finest as well!

With only two weeks to go until the big day, there was plenty to discuss and get excited about.  

Such as rehearsal dinner toasts, getaway cars, honeymoon plans, and of course... Bowl Games!

I finally got to wear my winter white dress, which made me feel a bit like Jackie-O :)

It was fun to visit with out of town relatives,

and hear what little we could about the bachelor party in Peridido!

The Bride and the Groom looked so happy!

(And super sexy too)

And then came the obligatory fam shots by the Christmas tree.

Ginny and Bubba (above)

 Mom and Dad (below)

Below: Frances Ellen's fam, minus the three stepsisters.  

Then, as things are just beginning to slow down, we notice a few people are missing from the group, notably all men.  We soon found them playing golf in the basement...

Quite a way to end a great night!

The culprits.  

Candlyland at the Club

Thursday night the Wise's had the whole clan to the Club for a Candyland party and dinner.  

I believe there were 14 adults and 1 child present for the event.  

We all had so much fun watching Raughley run through the scavenger hunt, eating sweets like there was no tomorrow. 

The night started with cocktails and coloring (cocktails for the adults, coloring for the kids, obviously)

Then we headed over the enchanted bridge into the Candyland wonderland.

There was so much to take in, and different stations to stop at and create, play and eat.  

Of course, R found a girl to hit on.  Typical. 

We got his picture by Gloppy, who don't you know the last bad guy before you finish the game... If you get stuck in Gloppy's chocolate goo swamp, you have to go back to the beginning and start over!

I don't think this guy would have minded being stuck in the chocolate swamp one bit!

This and That

While this little person uses his brain to experiment with his toys, 

This person has been VERY jealous.  He's all up in everyone's business, and howling anytime I even pick up my purse.   NOT happy when we leave the house. He lets us know it too, by finding something he can chew.  This morning I discovered he had somehow opened two doors, one being a sliding door, into the closet to find where his stocking stuffers were being stored.  Once rawhide bone is now no more.  

Then he pouts.  But who can't adore this face!  I don't blame him, I wouldn't want to be left alone at Christmas either!

But back to this guy.  Here's outfit number one for the wedding- I think he looks like such a buster brown don't you?  loving it!

He's quite the fashionista, because he won't take this hat off ever.  It goes with him everywhere he goes.  He even took the time to color coordinate his shoes with his hat!  

And he's off!  Just when I had you worried talking about fashion and my toddler, here he is proving that he's all boy.  Loving anything with a steering wheel.  I had to pry his fingers off this one when it was time to leave the store.  

One Track Mind

The train seems to be a recurring image in our lives right now.  I've had to go to Irondale almost once a week for the past month, and every time I go I'm enamored by the trains that drive by.  Yesterday, the flatbed cars were covered in snow!  I wondered where they had been, and where they were going- of course you can tell a little bit by the graffiti that slides by or the by signs on the side of the cars.  If only we still traveled this way:

Wouldn't life be better if we rode around in diner cars and sang to each other?

While in Irondale I managed to score the fabric for my dining room tables- I am so excited!  It's vintage, and reversable, so get ready for updates as I get started with that project.  

but back to trains.  Little man is seriously in love. Our Den is covered in Thomas Trains.  His Mickey train is like a part of his body, going with him where ever he goes, and the Polar Express around the Christmas tree has become a part of his morning routine.  He sits on the air vent (I guess so the warm air keeps his little bottom from getting cold on the hard wood floor), and watches the train go around and around the tree.  I guess it's soothing, plus it has wheels and makes noise, so he's obviously obsessed.  Which is why I'm so excited about this coming in the mail any day now!

 I can't wait to see his face when he opens it.  

And speaking of trains, and elephants... I can't wait for this movie, coming in April:

Brotherly Love

Yes, this is Raughley with hairspray trying to give Bryant a- what?  A haircut?  A blowdry and style  I'm not sure what he thinks it is, but he's definitely doing it to Bryant while patting him on the head.  And last night, Chase had to administer some "ear medicine" to Bryant,(hound dogs get ear infections quite frequently due to the largeness of their ears) which requires straddling him to keep Bryant from moving, meanwhile Raughley cleaned Bryant with a napkin.  After Chase was through, R man kept trying to straddle Bryant himself, which just resulted in Raughley being "bucked" off like a bull rider.  It was too funny, and don't worry, no one was hurt in the process.  But someone has some serious love for their big brother, and it makes me smile to see them interact together.  

PS- once again my subjects are blurry because of the shutter speed.  Any suggestions for how to solve this delimma??

Paper, Packages, Boxes and Bags!

Last night we were asked to come watch Frances Ellen and William open all of their wedding gifts that they had received up to this point.  

I was amazed at all the wonderful things people had given them.

Raughley was invited as well, and spent most of the night eating crackers and playing trains, in between trips to FE's brother William's room to ooh and aah at his big boy things.

I was reminded of the time about 3 1/2 years ago when Chase and I were opening all of our wedding gifts.  Time really flies by!

There is much more to opening gifts than just ripping into paper and packaging, like tagging each gift and writing down who, where, when...

It was most certainly a family affair.

It is cracking me up in these pictures, however, that only one person is blurry.  Because of the low lighting, I had to use a slower shutter speed, which is fine for those of us who sit still, but someone kept moving!!

Can you spot the blurry figure?

After the gifts were opened we enjoyed some yummy chili and dessert, and commented how their house would probably be filled all over again with more gifts in about 3 days.  

And only three weeks to go until the big day!