Catherine, Louie, Kinsley, Aubrey and Cade: June 2008

Friday, June 20, 2008

Wedding link update

John and Sarah have some preview shots of their wedding and they are amazing.

Click on the link below and scroll down to find the wedding photos. :)

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

After a short 5 day stay back in Rochester for the last week of school, I was back in Texas the following Saturday by 10:30 in the morning for Victoria's graduation events. She and her friend Rachelle held a luncheon at a quaint little bakery called Apple Annie's. The food was good and everyone had a fun time visiting and taking pictures. Here are a couple pictures:

That evening, Dad, Leigh Ann, Andrew and I went to a Missions game (a San Antonio minor league baseball team). The highlight of the evening was watching Andrew try and get autographs from various mascots. He was a determined little boy. He got an autograph from the Ballapeno (a giant jalapeno), a sports water bottle from a large dog, and a picture with the Puffy Taco, my personal favorite.

There were some empty seats below ours which Andrew thought were better, so he sat down there when he was not chasing the various mascots around. There was a "super fan" that sat just behind Andrew who had a blow horn which he used quite a bit. Every time he blew on that thing it was pretty much aimed at the back of Andrew's head and he would jump about 3 feet into the air. We laughed every time.

Andrew and the Puffy Taco... nice tights.

Every game, between the 8th and the 9th inning, the Puffy Taco is chased around the bases by a kid. Puffy gets a head start as he begins at 2nd base and the child begins at home plate. Just after third base the child always "catches up" with Puffy and ....

... slams into him with all his might. It never grows old.

The following day I went to church with my mom and Marcus and then to Canyon Cafe to have lunch with the two new married couples. Luke and Emily were settling into their new apartment after being home for a week from their honeymoon. John and Sarah had returned home the day before and had one day in town before catching a plane to Germany to begin their new life together. We spent most of the time looking at both couples' honeymoon pictures and discussing the weddings. It was a fun lunch.

That afternoon, Andrew and I went to the pool for some sibling bonding time. We had fun playing in the water and I taught Andrew how to do a back dive. He was so proud of himself that he had to get Mom and Dad down to the pool to show them. Here is a video clip of his achievement:

Victoria's graduation was Monday night. We were/are so proud of her! She graduated Magna Cum Laude and earned two scholarships. She rocks! Here are a couple of pictures from the evening:

Victoria's entrance... my digital zoom did not zoom very well.

Where's Waldo... I mean, Victoria?? Dead center looking for us.

As you can see the ceremony was very long. After my dad and I did a name hunt through the program to see which middle name was more prominent for the class of 2008 (Marie won, but Lee was a close second), Dad and Andrew decided to rest their eyes a bit. Don't worry, they're not really asleep, just hamming it up for the camera.

The moment we had all been waiting for...

This was Andrew's favorite part. He could not wait for them to throw their hats. I think it might have been our favorite part too because this meant the ceremony was over. :)

Andrew really was obsessed with the hat.

Victoria and Leigh Ann are currently in Canada celebrating Victoria's graduation. They are spending a few days in Quebec and another couple in Montreal. It sounds like they are having fun on their mother/daughter trip.

My dad and the family are driving up to visit Louie and me at the end of June. It will be a long road trip but I am so excited for them to see where we live. No doubt, there will be many more pictures to post. :)

The last night I was there, I had dinner with some of my girlfriends at LaHacienda. We enjoyed sangria swirl margaritas and fought over who would hold Baby Lewis next. He is such a happy baby.

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Texas Trip #1

Louie and I, finally made it back to Texas... TOGETHER. Although I have made it back to Texas on multiple occasions, Louie had not been able to take a trip South since we made the 18 hour move up here last June. His goal was to eat more Mexican food then any man has ever consumed before. We definitely gave it a valiant effort. My tummy did not not appreciate the adventure.

The weekend of the 24th, we flew into San Antonio and headed straight to Round Rock for Luke and Emily's wedding. Unfortunately, we could not make it in for the rehearsal dinner but the wedding was gorgeous, complete with cowboy hats and plenty of tears. The cermony took place outside and the pastor, Luke, and Emily stood under an arbor that Luke and his uncle made. It was made from wood carved to look like branches crawling up four posts. The arbor is the correct dimensions for a queen size bed and will serve as the bed frame for their master bed. The bride, Emily, truly looked like something out of Bridal Vogue.

Here is a link to a picture of the two of them under the arbor.

(Click on the zoom out sign under the picture to see the whole picture.)

Steve Armstrong Photography

There are more wedding pictures below

On Monday, Louie and I headed to Houston to visit his family. We had a wonderful visit with Garvin, Carol, Stephen, Sarah, and JoAnna. It was so great to catch up with them and I know Louie enjoyed every minute. He especially had fun helping JoAnna show off the gigantic bubbles she was blowing out on the porch. She would blow a large bubble and then yell "open it, open it!!" so Louie (or Garvin) would open the porch door to show everyone inside. This would have been fine every couple of minutes, but it turned out that JoAnna thought every bubble was bigger than the last so Louie was opening the door about every 3-7 seconds. It was too cute!

Louie's parents are in the process of moving into a fabulous condo near downtown Houston. We were able to take a tour on Tuesday morning and can see why they are so excited about their new place. We can't wait to see it once they've officially moved in and made it their own.

Tuesday afternoon, we were able to visit my old school and enjoy happy hour with some of my teacher friends. It's always nice to visit with them and catch up, although a little bittersweet. I really miss seeing them everyday, and visiting them reminds me how lucky I was to be a small part of their lives.

Dawn, Donna, Sandy, Rachel, Baby Georgia, and Me

After our Houston trip, we headed back to San Antonio to continue our Texas Tour. My grandmother, Grommie, came in on Thursday and we were able to have dinner with her that evening. It was really nice getting to visit with her.

Sarah, Me, Mom, and Grommie

That Friday, the John and Sarah Wedding Events began. Everything was beautiful and just as Sarah wanted it to be. To keep our two Sarah Owens' apart, we've started calling the newest Sarah - Sarah Caroline (her middle name). It helps us keep things straight. See the wedding pictures below for the rest of the inside scoop.

The wedding pictures will soon be posted at:

Now & Then Photography

Click on "View Event." Username: Owens Password: 15676

Random Striper Video

I've been meaning to post this for some time. It is a silly clip of Striper flipping out over a cardboard tube. The clip is a little long, but the funniest part is at the very end. :)

Rehearsal and Getting Ready

May 30, 2008

Practicing for the big day...

Andrew was so excited to be a groomsman. He even got the same gift as the other groomsmen, a personalized knife. He did a great job at the wedding even if he was a foot and half shorter then the bridesmaid he escorted. :)

The rehearsal dinner was at La Fogata. This is the same restaurant that Louie and I had our rehearsal dinner at... excellent food and a fun atmosphere. We had a great time!

John getting a little misty over a heart-felt letter from Mom.

Followed up by a hug. :)

Dad's toast

Marcus' toast

What a cute couple!

Oooh... and another one. :)

The bride getting ready for her big day.

The ladies decided we should join in too.

Here comes the scary one....

You ready?

Say hello to the Lion King!

This was not the final look, the lady pulled it half up, but it wasn't much better. Turns out the receptionist did my hair. They were overbooked. Oh well, this was not my day so I just went with it, although Louie did not let me hear the end of it. He likened it to a bird's nest. Fun! :)