Gary and Katie's Wedding

Here's what I learned on my recent trip to Delaware: when you rent a car, don't be cheap- get the GPS. Owen, Sarah, and I almost missed the wedding because we couldn't find the church. Fortunately, we made it on time, but we had to sit in the last row. Sitting on the last row was great for monitoring Owen's behavior, but it was also bad because I only saw Olivia when she walked in. The ceremony was just like I like them- short and sweet. Once it was over, we took pictures and then drove to the Dover Downs Hotel for the reception. This time I made sure that I was clear on how to get to the reception. I wouldn't want to get lost and miss that!

The reception was super-nice. I had heard about weddings where a full meal is served, but I had never actually been to one. Usually, there is just a spread of finger-food. Gary and Katie's reception had a full meal including bread, salad, and filet mignon (yummy). Seated at our table were many of our favorite people- including Barb, Brian's dad and brothers, Sarah, and my Aunt Connie and Uncle Mike.

For Olivia and Owen, the main attrations at the reception were the DJ and dance floor. Those kids were out there dancing long before anyone else, and they stayed out there until they were too tired to move anymore. Olivia went back and forth between swaying (so that she could watch her dress move) and spinning around on the floor (those are her break-dancing moves). Owen pretty much stuck to his one move- the spin. Olivia really wanted to dance with Owen, but Owen wasn't having that. Uncle Mike stepped in and obliged. Later I spotted Olivia dancing with the ring bearer. I don't know how that happened, but I've got them dancing on video. I'm going to post that, too. Anyway, the wedding and reception were nice. I didn't get to stay until the end because the kids were getting tired, but I hear that the party lasted well into the night. I want to say once more how thrilled I am for Gary and Katie. They are two wonderful people, and they deserve all of the happiness in the world.

Get Down, Olivia!

As promised- this is the video of Olivia dancing with the ring-bearer. I totally ruined it by shouting "Olivia- get down, baby" in the middle of it, but I'm still going to post the it because it's so cute. Enjoy.

The Rehearsal and Dinner

When our airplane landed in Baltimore last Friday, we had very little time to kill. We caught a shuttle to the car rental place, got a car, and drove to Dover. We made it in time for Brian to pick up his tux and for the kids to get dressed up for the wedding rehearsal and dinner. Both Brian and Olivia were in the wedding, and since this was Olivia's first go as a flower girl, she really needed the practice. Before leaving the house, I was able to get a picture of all of the Sanders brothers and their dad. This opportunity doesn't present itself often, so I took several pictures of them throughout the weekend.




Gary and Katie got married at a church in downtown Dover. It was a really old Methodist church, and it was beautiful. Olivia took her flower girl duty seriously and walked down the aisle without any prompting. Once the rehearsal ceremony was underway, though, she sat down. I had a talk with her about this, but I guess that it didn't do the trick because she ended up doing the same thing during the wedding. Oh well. At least she wasn't loud.

After the rehearsal, we drove to the Pizzadili Winery for the rehearsal dinner. It was a very nice dinner, and we all enjoyed socializing with the rest of the wedding party. Olivia has always adored Katie, and she also took a shine to Katie's sister Ashlee. She clung to those two all night. I actually started to feel bad- like Olivia was ruining their night by clinging to them too much. I tried to pry Olivia away from the Miller sisters several times, but she'd go right back to them. I asked, and they said that she wasn't bothering them.

Since Olivia's birthday was on the day of the wedding, Barb (Nana) had gotten a huge tinkerbell cake for Olivia, and had arranged for everyone to sing Happy Birthday to her at the rehearsal dinner. It was such a wonderful gesture. Aunt Katie also had surprises for Olivia and Owen. According to Katie, she had had "too much fun in the Disney Store". Owen got figures from the movie "Cars", and Olivia received a princess movie, crown, and wand. That Aunt Katie really knows her stuff!

Toward the end of the evening, the bride and groom (and others) made speeches about their families and members of the wedding party. I believe that everyone in attendance was truly touched by the love that these two have for each other and for their friends and family. It was the most wonderful evening, and it certainly set the right tone for the next day's events.

First Flight

This weekend was a big one for the Sanders family. Brian's brother, Gary, tied the knot with his long-time girlfriend, Katie. This was truly a happy and long-anticipated occasion. The wedding took place in Dover, Delaware, and both Brian and Olivia were members of the wedding party. Since the rehearsal was taking place Friday afternoon, we flew out of Jacksonville early Friday morning. The flight was kind of a big deal for Owen and Olivia because it was their first trip on a plane. Actually, flying is kind of a big deal for Brian and I too because we don't do it that often. The kids saw a few planes taking off and landing as we approached the airport, and they started to get excited because they knew that they were soon going to be on a plane themselves. Well, Olivia got excited. I don't think that Owen really knew what was going on. When we reached our departure gate, we could see the plane through the window. The excitement continued to build. Finally, we boarded the plane and found our seats. The flight went off without a hitch. The kids were well behaved on the plane, and the time really "flew" by. Both kids got the opportunity to look out of the window, but Olivia was the one who really understood what she was seeing. She was amazed by the view and had lots of fun looking for rivers, forrests, fields, and houses. I was happy with the flight because two hours in a plane beats a 13 hour drive anyday. Maybe we should do this more often.

Olivia's Princess Party

My little princess is turning 4 next week, and this evening we celebrated her birthday with a small party at her Aunt Hannah's house. The theme of the party was "princesses". Of course this had to be the theme becasue Olivia is obsessed with the Disney Princesses. She talks about them constantly and has even told me that when she grows up, SHE is going to be a princess.

Anyway, Olivia could not have been more excited about her party. She has been talking about it all week long, so she was absolutely ecstatic that it was finally here. Since it was a "princess" party, she let me know that she wanted to wear a pretty dress and crown so that she could look like a princess. She even went through her closet herself to find the perfect dress.





















I thought that the party turned out great. I was a little bit worried about how the cake was going to look because I ordered it from Walmart. Well, I was pleasantly surprised. Not only did it look nice and taste good, but it was also relatively inexpensive. Olivia definitely liked it, and when we sang "Happy Birthday" to her she had a look of pure joy on her face that I will never forget.


















Olivia received so many nice gifts from everyone. The "big gifts" that her daddy and I got for her were two "Princess and Me" dolls. Brian says that these are going to be hot items this Christmas season.



















Even though the party is over, the actual birthday is next week. So, we are probably still going to have another day of celebration as the acutal birthday arrives. Until then, Olivia will continue to sleep on her "Happy Birthday" pillow case that her Aunt Connie sent her and dream sweet princess dreams in her pink princess room. (Have I mentioned that Olivia loves princesses?)

Bear Down 5K and 1 Mile Fun Run

Okay, I'm going to have to brag a bit on Olivia. She did such a great job at the Bear Down fun run this morning. This is only the third 1-miler that she has done, and she just keeps on impressing me. As you can probably see in this first picture- she was the youngest (by far) to enter the race. She didn't push her way to the starting line, and when the horn sounded, she didn't take off at break-neck speed. I just knew that she was going to finish last...







..but she didn't. She actually finished 24th (of about 40 entrants). These are not little kids we're talking about either. As she was coming down the home stretch, she was running ahead of two older kids and an adult (Not counting Brian- who was running backwards to give her some last minute encouragment). She ran the entire distance herself. Brian said that she doesn't run fast, but she keeps an even pace and keeps going when others give out. Officially, Olivia was competing in the 10 and under age division, so she didn't really have a chance to receive an award. I think that she was a little bummed not to get a medal, but I ended up getting one in the 5K and gave mine to her.

Olivia wasn't the only one who ran today. I finally talked Quincy into running a 5K with me. She ran well and finished second in her age division. I ended up being the only competitor in my age group, so I got first. My time was 28.48, which is slower than I ran two weeks ago. I'm not upset, though, because it was a lot hotter this morning than it has been.

Summer Running

I don't run much during the summers because it is too hot. Actually, there aren't many races to enter because nobody wants to run in the sweltering heat. I do try to hit the treadmill at the Y a couple of times a week during the summer, but I can only run about two miles. I don't want to hog the treadmill for long periods of time while there are other people wanting to get on it. To be honest, I haven't been in top form since the Swamp Run last March. Lately, though, I've been feeling the need to go ahead and start conditioning because there are a lot of awesome races that I want to run in this year. So, I have participated in two 5Ks in these last days of summer. The first one was a brand new race called "Ready, Set, Glow". It took place on July 31st and began at midnight. It was really dark, but they gave you glow bracelets to wear so that you could be seen. I really didn't do that well. My time was 29:10. At least I made it in under 30 minutes. Although the race was hot and tough, it was a lot of fun. I've never run that late at night before, but it was pretty awesome. The race was sponsored by the Y, so my brother Sam and my friend Krystial ran in it (because they work there). My dad also showed up (at midnight) to watch the race. If he's there, then you know that that's the place to be. The pictures from the Glow Run turned out pretty good because we took pictures before the race. My running buddies and I decided that we were going to start doing this because we looked like death in all of our pictures last year....

...And just as soon as I say this, I totally forget to take pictures before running my second race of the summer. Therefore, I look terrible in the picture from the Harvest Run 5K. Although I look bad, I actually ran well (26:58) and placed second in my age division. I was awarded a trophy that- like all of my other running trophies- was immediately confiscated by Olivia. This is not a bad start to the new running season, and I am looking forward to cooler weather and more races.