brett and claire's wedding :: the big day!!

Saturday July 13th dawned beautiful and sunny. A perfect day for a wedding!

We had a "family" breakfast at a café close to the hotel before everyone headed out to get beautiful for the big event.

More pics to come... :)

brett and claire's wedding :: rehearsal dinner

Mom and Dad hosted a beautiful rehearsal dinner at Bistro 31 in the Highland Park Village. We had delicious salmon and steak, sweet and funny stories were shared about Brett and Claire, and the evening ended with a fun DVD presentation of pics of the couple throughout the years. There was plenty of laughter, some tears, and lots of encouragement!

 the sibs!

 cousins waiting in the lobby

 Kristen, me, Dan, Mom

 we're approaching our 13th anniversary ;)

 the boys were so excited to get on the bus to head to the rehearsal!

 the groom with his ring bearers

 gorgeous centerpieces at the tables for the rehearsal dinner

 Dad greeted all the guests

 the original Buchanan five with Claire

what a sweet evening celebrating a really sweet couple! :)

brett and claire's wedding :: bridal lunch

We just celebrated Brett and Claire's wedding with an action-packed weekend in Dallas. First things first... a lovely bridal lunch hosted by Mom's good friends took place on Friday morning.

 the hostesses: Miss Kay, Jennifer, Paige, Stephanie, Debbie, Mom, Suzy

 we were discussing our hair and going to the "dry bar" -- so fun!!

 the beautiful tables with Claire's pottery and flower napkin rings on a burlap table runner -- so festive!

What a beautiful morning and a great way to start off the wedding weekend!

a fantastic 4th {friends and family}

Our sweet friends, Brian and Kim, and their cute girls, Aubrey and Abby, joined us for dinner on the 4th. Mom, Dad, and AL all came over as well, and we had a wonderful time together! We ate a yummy dinner, did fireworks on the driveway, watched BIG fireworks at Bradley Fair, and then came home to shoot a few more ourselves. All in all, it was a fantastic evening!

 the four kids did a fireworks show for us on the driveway after dinner

 

 

 Roman Candles -- woohoo!!

at Bradley Fair with glow sticks -- waiting on the fireworks to start

Happy Birthday, USA!

a fantastic 4th {hair dye}

Nana bought the boys some fun hair dye for the Fourth of July. They looked like little firecrackers!

 Grayson had the great idea to dye their hair the color of their shirts... so he chose blue and Carter chose red.

 (cue the music for Home Alone -- Grayson reminds me of Kevin so much right here...)

 Carter gets started with his red spikes

 Aaaauuugggghhhh!!

 the finished product!

Getting ready to celebrate with fireworks, family, and friends!

happy birthday, america!

The boys were super excited to decorate their bikes for a 4th of July parade. We went to my parents' old neighborhood for the festivities.

 crepe paper, flags, lights, and streamers were everywhere :)

 getting ready to start!

 here they come!

Happy 4th of July!

google reader's gone and other thoughts...

It's July 1st and supposedly Google Reader will magically disappear when the clock strikes midnight. I'll miss good ol' Reader... it has been a loyal friend. I think I've used it daily for who knows how many years now. I've looked at Bloglovin' and Feedly, and Feedly seems to be the best fit for me and my daily blog-browsing. Hope so!

Other random thoughts...

• Grayson's swim team season is sadly coming to a close. He has had a ball this summer, and has improved so much... especially with his butterfly and breaststroke. He loves the competitive part of the swim meets and we do, too!
• Carter is dying to play on a soccer team this fall. :) This is the same age Grayson was when he started playing. Wow!
• Carter's big feat this summer is being totally self-sufficient in the pool. He can swim in the shallow or deep end, and be totally fine. And he can dive now!
• We have had such a nice, mild summer to date. Only one 100 degree day! Today the high was only 82, so after swim team, we headed to the zoo. Crazy for Kansas in July!!
• It has been so fun watching the boys play together, but they can also go after each other. Currently they're into making fart noises by squeaking a hand in their armpits. Apparently it's really cool.
• We've been doing some long bike rides in the mornings, and Grayson loves to bring his Nerf bow and arrow, and shoot whatever we see. He has successfully shot rabbits, geese, and ducks so far.
• We (the boys and I) have been watching The Brady Bunch re-runs this summer, and it so reminds me of my childhood. We loved the Bradys! :)
• The boys have both been sleeping late this summer, which I LOVE! This morning they both slept until 9:05! Woo-hoo!
• But, that means that Carter is pretty much done with afternoon naps. He has maybe taken 2 naps since May. Will he really be in Pre-K in August?!?

That's all for now... Happy July!!