Wheels up!!!!

And we're off..... on our way to the west coast for D and Little sister's wedding and a little catching up with old friends on the side!  Here is a preview of some of the sights we'll see!!

SF

Monterey

Napa

These of course aren't my images, you'll see those later, but I had to give you a visual taste!  I'm headed to the airport!  See you soon!

Little sister's wedding shower!

So, regardless of how much she said she didn't want one, and despite the fact that she said she didn't want any gifts - being a second wedding and all.  We were able to talk her into it!  Her good friend K who lives near her and who used to work with her offered to co-host it with me!  Co-host ha!  She put my name on it and let me pay for part of it, but bless her heart, she did ALL the work AND she did an amazing job at that!  Since the wedding is in Napa, she chose a wine and cheese theme and it was really nice!  She had several cheeses and wines for people to taste as well as a generous choice of finger foods and desserts!  

Little sister gets all sorts of embarrassed opening gifts in front of people!  It was really cute!

We weren't allowed to play any silly games, but we did get several pictures from our mom and put them on this easel and had people guess little sister's age in each of them - there were prizes for the top two - little sister and I did not win any prizes -we sucked!  In our defense, mom got several of the dates wrong but the rules were that we had to go with the ages mom put on the back.  It was rigged I tell you!!!

Here's me (of course I hate the picture), friend L and little sister - towards the end of the shower!

friends L & M with my co-hostess and little sister

Good food, good friends, good times!  It was a nice afternoon and got everyone really excited for the big day!!

Where have I been??

I wish I had a good excuse other than I've just been super busy with life!  Little Sister's wedding is in 11 days, but we are heading to sunny CA in less than 48 hours and there has been ALOT to do to get the 5 of us ready!  There are 4-5 dinners that we need outfits for that are church appropriate at the very least and cocktail dressy (but not tux dressy thank goodness) on the far end!  Lots of running around town coordinating outfits - hubby's ties had to go with our outfits for 2 nights, one night he doesn't have to wear a tie, but still has to coordinate with us, plus another dressy dinner or two, plus a day of wine tasting!  You know I am planning the outfits so we can get some good family pictures!!  I'm exhausted just thinking about it but SUPER EXCITED!!  D & Little Sister are a great couple and will have a wonderful life together!  The wedding events are all well planned elegant events that everyone will enjoy a great deal - I can hardly wait to post pictures when I get back!!  Another bonus is that we will get to see some old friends from when we lived out west several years ago!!  Stay tuned!

I'm going to be a SIL!!!!

It's true!!  I'm going to be a SIL!!  My darling little sister got engaged last night to a wonderful man and we are all very excited!!  Little sister deserves a great man and a great life, things haven't always been easy - not that they are for any of us, but I'm a protective big sister and I want the best for her - even though I'm still not over the whole "The Rose" thing!!  That one exclusion made, they are great together and I wish them a lifetime of happiness together!!  My darling nephew was in on the whole thing and he was so incredibly excited - there's nothing cuter!!  He will have 3 new brothers along with his soon to be step-dad - they are all older than him, so I'm certain there are some good blogging stories to come with 4 boys in the family!  Anyway, on to what everyone really cares about..... the ring!  I haven't seen it since they live half the country away, so I am going to do some speculation of my own!

It could look like this, but I don't think so...

Perhaps he went with the classic cut like this...

Perhaps he tried something a little different like this... tho purple isn't her color...

There is this more classic, yet modern design that he may have gone for....

and who doesn't like the ever popular cutsey cut.....

Dubai is the new "greatest place on earth" they know how to do it up right there, but this may have been a little out of his price-range and a little too big for her finger....

I'm guessing that it is more along these lines.....

Any guesses?  I am hoping to see a picture of the real deal soon, in the mean time, I have a lot of work to do as Matron of Honor - I'd like to change the name, Matron sound so... matronly!  I'm thinking of something grander like "supreme assistant to the bride" or perhaps "favorite bridesmaid".  I'm still working on the new title - I'll let you know when find the right one!  The best part is that I am in charge - OK, little sister is in charge, but I'm second in command!!  I have 2 bridesmaids, a junior bridesmaid (Big S) and 2 flower girls (Little S and Little G) to boss around!!  We all know how much I love to be in charge!  I've already got a list of things that I can make them do!  Fun, fun, fun!!

The big day is July 31st so I, I mean Little Sister, has a lot to do!!  Let the countdown begin.....

Congrats to the happy couple!