St. Lucia Honeymoon

Hello!

Well, once a month seems to by my limit on the blog. I'll get it together at some point!

I'm only about 2 months behind... :)

So, here's a quick run down of our honeymoon.

We had an incredible time in St. Lucia. We were of course the gross couple, but we ate it up. We couldn't believe we were actually married (sometimes it is still hard to believe!) and we loved every minute of it.

We stayed in Austin for the first full day and rested up before being at the airport the next morning around 4:30 a.m...yikes!

We had a full week in St. Lucia with lots of rest and lots of fun. Here are a few of my faves from the week. SO ready to go back.

Poolside in Utopia :)

Dinner at our favorite restaurant, La Toc.

Zip lining in the rain forest.

Another yummy dinner! We didn't stop eating!!

Mud bath in volcano ash.

Sight seeing day

Beachside at the Grand.

:)

Love!

We can't wait to go back :)

More soon!

Wedding!

Hello!

I hope this finds each of you well and soaking up the last bit of summer!

To say that the last few weeks have been crazy is an understatement, and they might be that way for just a bit longer, but I think Rob and I are headed to a little slice of normalcy coming really soon! (All fingers crossed on that one!)

The last time I wrote to you was right before the wedding. It was "go time" and we were so ready! We have since then: 1) gotten married (whoop!) 2) gone on our honeymoon to St. Lucia 3) settled into our apartment in Houston 4) started back to work...yowza.

However, for the sake of time, I'll just cover one topic here :)

Our wedding weekend was simply... a blast. We often find ourselves just talking about all of the fun and memories that we will hold in our minds forever. To be surrounded by such a wonderful group of people that loved us both and supported us in our relationship with each other was a truly wonderful gift.

We had a full weekend, of course, but I will just hit on the high parts. On Friday night we had our rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. The rehearsal was a little chaotic (or felt like it) but it was the beginning of such a fun weekend. It was fun for everyone to slowly arrive, and it made us feel like our wedding weekend was actually here.

Our wedding was held at Vista West Ranch in Dripping Springs, TX and it was our dream venue for our ceremony and reception. We found it right at the beginning of our wedding planning. Our weekend was one of 2 weekends for the entire year that were open, so we snatched it up!!! The grounds were just gorgeous; very warm and very relaxed - exactly what we wanted.

If I'm really honest with myself, this is why I wanted VWR as our venue. I loved that this gorgeous spot is where I said my vows to Rob.

This is the front entrance of the main room. So hill country-esque. Love it!

And this is the inside. It is technically a "party barn." The two words they use to describe the venue are "rustic elegance." This is after everything was set up for our reception. It was the perfect venue for us!

And here are a few pics from Friday evening.

My posse :) I was SO blessed to have each of these girls there with me that weekend!

Practice makes perfect!

We had our rehearsal dinner at Jack Allen's kitchen in Austin, and we had a wonderful time. What a wonderful night with lots of laughter, good stories, and yummy food. I don't have a ton of pictures from the dinner, but here is one...about to be husband and wife!!!

And finally, the big day arrived! I cannot put into words just how perfect our day was. The entire day was covered in such a peace. Mine started out early with a morning jog with my bridesmaids. It was perfect and I wouldn't have started out such an important day any other way. After that, we got ready and headed to a bridesmaids' brunch. Teri Cober was in my mom's wedding and she was so sweet to throw it for us.

My wonderful mom :)

A few of my besties!

The whole crew. So glad everyone was there!

After the brunch we headed back to Vista West Ranch to have our hair and makeup done. I have very pics of our getting ready process, and I cannot wait to get our official pics back from our wonderful photographer, Nikki Peterson! We had a relaxed afternoon, which was a huge blessing. I really felt wonderful the entire time we were getting ready. I had some wonderful company with all of my closest girls with me, and it was such a blast. After finishing getting ready and taking pictures, we were all ready! The only time I cried all day was when my little (heh) brother came and knocked on the door to the bridal suite to kiss my forehead...and I lost it...

Here are a few before the wedding. So ready!

Here are a few of my favorite pics from the wedding so far. More to come!

What a fun night! Just looking back at them makes me want to do that night all over again! So thankful for all of the friends and family that were there to support us on our big day. I'll post official ones when they come in!

Honeymoon pics soon!

Much love,

Catching Up

Who told me it was a good idea to update while doing all of this wedding business?!?! Whew! It's been a crazy few weeks! I have been SO bad about updating lately; I'm actually embarrased. I'll try to fill you in on our last few events.

Here goes:

Shortly after our last blog (which was literally a month ago) I headed to Austin and Rob to Houston to pack up our things. Who doesn't LOVE cardboard boxes??? All in all, I can say it was the easiest packing experience I have had to date. I had several days to do it, and my wonderful roommates were there to keep me company. Rob had a pretty busy week, so his packing was a little more rushed, but he got it done!

Friday, we headed back to Kerrville (we can do these drives in our sleep now!) for a couples shower at Courtney and Amos Barton's house. We had such a nice time! Lots of my childhood "parents" were there and I was so glad that Rob got another chance to see everyone before the big day. We had several friends there, and again, it was so wonderful to be surrounded with people who love and support Rob and I in this stage in our lives. Our wonderful families were there as well and have been such troopers traveling all over for us. Here are a few pics from that evening.

Two of our lovely hostesses.

So glad they came!

Two of my favorite boys :)

Love these! Such a great idea!

Can't wait to marry this guy!

Family. Thanks for being troopers and coming to all of these!

The next day, Rob and I left my mom's house around 9:30 in the morning and headed to Austin. We packed up ALL of my things (including all of my classroom boxes...thanks babe!!) in a U-haul and headed to Houston. After much reorganizing on Rob's part, we packed all of HIS stuff in the U-haul and called it a night. Our rock-star family members and family members-to-be helped us unload and started setting up our things in the apartment the next morning. A huge thanks to Holly, Russ, and Memommie...you guys are wonderful! Although I do have a few pics of our place, I will wait to post any because the ones I have are pretty "cluttery." I will post some when we get back from the honeymoon...it's looking like a home!

The next day I headed back to Kerrville to spend some time with my family. Austin and Laura were in for just a little bit, so we got to spend some good time together before they left for Florida.

Friday, Rob and I both headed to Austin from our separate cities for a wedding. Rob arrived just in time and we had a great time that evening. Congrats Kathleen and Ryan! It was beautiful!

Saturday, we hopped in the car again and headed to our last shower in Boerne. Some of the most precious women from Rob's childhood threw a shower for me (us). We had a sweet time together. Almost all of Rob's female family members were there as well, and that was a big treat. I am very blessed to inherit such wonderful women into my life! Here are a few pics from that shower.

That next day was a little tough, as it was my first Father's Day without Dad. I was pretty emotional that morning, but I think I realized that day what a gift it was to have such an incredible dad in my life for the 25 years that I did. Many, many people don't have a father figure in their lives at all, and I am so blessed to have walked through my childhood with a dad that loved me the way he did. He also set such wonderful examples for all of us in how to walk in this world as someone who loves the Lord and puts family first. I am also so happy to be gaining such a wonderful father-in-law. Rob's dad, Ted, is such a Godly man and one who values family the way Dad did. What a blessing he is.

The next week, my mom and I went to Austin to have meetings galore with the florist, the wedding planner, etc. We got SO many of the little details all hammered out! I felt so much better after that week.

That next weekend I headed to Galveston for my bachelorette weekend with some of my favorite girls. What a fun weekend! Johnna, Lauren, Sarah, and I got there Friday afternoon and hung out at the beach for the afternoon. Davis came shortly after and we just enjoyed being by the water. We ordered pizza in that night and had a great time staying in, listening to music, and enjoying fun company. Cindy and Holly came right before we went to bed. The next morning we enjoyed a nice breakfast and then hit the beach pretty early. After a nice long walk, we enjoyed the water and laid out. We grabbed some lunch and then went down to the water again. We stayed down there pretty much for the entire day playing volleyball and paddleball, reading, chatting, and thumbing through magazines. It was so nice to just do mindless things with the girls all day...so relaxing! Around 5:30 or so, we went into the condo to shower and get ready for the evening. After a few activities, we headed out for dinner. After dinner we headed to a fun bar and danced the night away. We slept in the next morning, enjoyed one more run at the beach and then all headed home. Thanks so much to my lovely ladies for planning and carrying it out. I am so blessed to have you all in my life! (I will post more pics from that weekend after I get back from the wedding...my computer cord to download pics from my camera is in Houston :( I stole these 2 pics from Lauren's blog...thanks Lo!

The girls minus Lo before we went out for dinner.

2 of my faves! Love you girls!

After that weekend, I stayed in Houston for a few days to get some last minute things done in the apartment and pack up my life for then next 3 weeks...yuck! If the packing was for something other than a few of the most important events of my life to date, I might not have gotten through it. After hair appointments, hair and makeup trials, etc. in Austin on Wednesday, I headed to Kerrville. My mom and I headed to San Antonio the next day to purchase some last minute wedding items and shop for some fun honeymoon outfits. Shopping is something my mom and I really enjoy doing together, so we had a wonderful time. Thanks for coming Mom!

That FINALLY brings us to this past weekend. Rob and I met each other in San Antonio on Friday and had a fun dinner with our friends Sarah and Bill Woolsey. We love getting to spend time with them and will miss not being able to see them as much when we are in Houston permanently. Saturday Rob and I grabbed some brunch with his parents and then spent the day doing wedding errands and such. We met up with Sarah and Bill (and Johnna for a while) again and headed to the Riverwalk that night. Fun, fun :)

On the 4th, we headed to Kerrville for the afternoon. Mama Max fixed a killer ribs dinner and then we headed downtown to enjoy the fireworks show. July 4th was always one of my fondest holidays when I was younger and tonight was no different. Hope everyone had a wonderful 4th!!!

It's hard to believe that one week from today everything will be finished and Rob and I will be in St. Lucia. Wow. This time has absolutely flown by. Although this has been one of the busiest and craziest times of my life, I have had an absolute blast. I think I will miss it, believe it or not!

Not sure if I will be able to post again before the wedding. If not, see you on the flip side!

4 days!!! Woohoo!!

More soon!

Another One for the Books

Rob and I had another incredible weekend. We are getting so spoiled seeing all of our favorites several weekends in a row!! Again, lots of friends, lots of family, and loads of fun memories.

After a fun night in Austin Friday night with our friends Chase and Lauren Clement, Rob and I headed to Kerrville on Saturday. Shortly after arriving, Austin and Laura (my older brother and sister-in-law) got in from California. We hadn't seen them since Christmas, so it was wonderful to get to spend a little time hanging out.

A few hours later, we headed to a shower that a few of my wonderful bridesmaids and Howell and Debbie Ridout were throwing us. What a fun event! Their property is absolutely gorgeous, so just hanging out there and catching up with good friends was enough of a good time. Throw in some great food, great drinks, and games on top...and we had a blast! We were so grateful that many people came from out of town to enjoy the evening with us. What an incredible group of people we have in our lives.

Here are some of my favorite pics from that evening. There were so many good ones it was hard to choose!

Rob and I with the river in the background. The perfect setting for such a wonderful night!

Our wonderful hostesses. Thank you so much! We love you guys!

The Maxwell clan + the soon-to-be Williams clan. :)

The great game they had Rob and I play. We each had one of each other's shoe in one hand and our own shoe in the other. When a question was read, we had to hold up the shoe of the person that question applied to. By the look on Rob's face, this must have been, "Who spends more money??"

Some of my favorite girls! So thankful you all came!!!

What a great night!

On Sunday, we had some sweet time as a family in the morning. Mom made an incredible Sunday lunch and then we headed to the river. Soon-to-be cousins, Crockett and Jonah had a great time playing with each other in the water. Hopefully this is their first of many play dates!

The boys and their pups.

We tried to get a decent pic of all 6 of us...maybe next time!!!

This week Rob and I pack up our separate lives in our own cities. We have loved the time that we have gotten to grow separately as singles, but we are ready to be in the same city. No one loves packing...except when you are packing so you can go begin a life with your best friend! :) Next week, or new lease begins and we can start taking things over to our new apartment. We are excited to start setting up, but are even more excited about living under the same roof after our honeymoon! We can't wait!

More soon!