more photos!

As promised, here are a few more photos from the weekend. Sadly I didn't bring my camera, so I had to steal these from V & V.

From left to right: Me, Grandma Hilda, Leo, Uncle Carl, Vanessa, Aunt Linda


Leo with his Great Aunt Linda and Great Uncle Carl.. he looks SO happy like he's cheering in this pic, I LOVE IT! :)


Oma Hilda and Leo

the weekend

This past weekend, Josh and I drove to Albuquerque to meet up with Vanessa, Vin, and Leo and visit Grandma Hilda at her new place. We got to hang out with her, Uncle Carl, and Aunt Linda for a good part of the day on Saturday.

Here's us with our adorable, smiley nephew:

More pics to come in the next few days...

Sunday we stopped by Grandma's again to say goodbye before we headed back to Phoenix. The drive took two hours longer than on the way to ABQ, but we stopped for a good lunch at The Ranch Kitchen (which was recommended by Carl & Linda). On the way back we hit a HUGE dust storm on I-40, it was crazy. I read yesterday that the dust storm actually caused a 13-car pile up in Prescott.

Here is a photo of a dust storm (from the outside) for those of you who have never experienced them first hand...

monday update

We got back yesterday afternoon from a great visit to Alexandria! We stayed with the Reilly's and had a lot of fun doing wedding things, and just hanging out.

Sadly we didn't take any photos, although I meant to when we all went out to dinner Saturday night.

We scheduled two cake tastings, a venue "walk-through", and a meeting with the DJ. Everything went well! We're still deciding about the cake but are definitely one step closer. We loved ALL of the cake we tried, so it makes it kind of hard. The DJ is awesome and we're super excited to have him "host" our reception. He's very laid-back, so no cheesy Bat Mitzvah stuff will be happening (yay!).

We love our venue, and even though there was a small snow flurry while we were outdoors in the gardens, I am truly excited about our choice.

My favorite part was the boxwood gardens where our ceremony will be held :) Definitely need to make sure I don't wear pointed heels, though, as they tend to sink into the grass and I don't want to get stuck walking down the aisle.

Josh and I will be joining Vanessa, Vinny, and Leo on a quick trip to visit my Grandma Hilda this upcoming weekend. Kind of bittersweet.

little leo!

Uncle Josh and Aunt Nikki got to spend a great long weekend with our growing nephew, Leo! He is so adorable. We're definitely in love!

Here is a slideshow with a few photos from the weekend:

We enjoyed going to the Botanical Gardens in Phoenix, hanging out at Grandma Pam and Grandpa Danny's house, and touring "Frontier Town" in Cave Creek. We had lots of quality time at the house and are so glad Vanessa, Vinny, and Leo could visit.

As far as wedding planning goes, there isn't a whole lot that is new. Josh told me he didn't love the colors we chose so we chose a new color scheme that will be much more fun. We're going to Virginia this Wednesday for a few days and get to do some cake tastings (yum!) as well as a walk-through of our venue Hollin Hall.

We also chose a wedding officiant to do our ceremony, which is a good check off of our checklist!

The rest of wedding planning is kind of on hold for a little while. Sadly my Grandma Hilda is still sick, so our family has been concentrating on her. She moved from her retirement community to an assisted living facility where she'll be looked after a bit more so that is comforting to know she is being taken care of 24/7. Josh and I may schedule a visit to New Mexico in the next couple of weekends if it works out for us.

Grandma Hilda

Also, my Grandma (Mom's mom) suffered a major heart attack early Sunday morning. Luckily my uncle and aunt live near and were able to call an ambulance. She made it to the hospital and they did angioplasty and put in a stint.

She was released from the hospital Tuesday evening, and is recovering at home. My mom said she is doing well. She is 89 and is an amazing woman. Please keep her in your thoughts. I am so glad she is doing much better now.