Leigh and Galen

Middle school soccer - that's when I first met these amazing ladies.  We've been best friends ever since.   There are some things in life I take for granted; this friendship is not one of them.  It's rare that you make it through middle school, high school, college, careers, and three weddings with the same best friends.  We've been through a lot together.  I am so thankful for these girls.

Last weekend we were all together for the most wonderful wedding.  Leigh married her very best friend, Galen.  He's an amazing man and has been so wonderful to Leigh.

Here are the photos from that very special day.  At the end of the night, I checked out my photo total - 449.  Yup, between the 6 of us, we took 449 photos.  Number of photos that are in focus...um...about 20.  In our defense, it was dark in that room and the flash wasn't on.  I couldn't care less whether they are in focus or not, I love each and every picture.

ps. Not all of these photos were taken by me (as you can tell because I'm in some of them).  The camera was passed around that night - photo creds go to everyone :)

Since you've already met the bride and groom, allow me to introduce the rest of the gang.  Here's what you need to know a) they are amazing b) they are hilarious c) Kristin and Ryan are married d) Katie and Andy are engaged e) Teen is married to Brett (wish you could have been there Brett!) and f) I love these kids.

Ok, now to the fun stuff - 

 The photo taking began before the ceremony.  Of all the photos I took, this is one of my favorites.  This photo completely sums up who we are as a group: fun loving goofs to the end.

Seriously, how gorgeous is she? I love this girl. You'll never meat a nicer, more genuine person in your whole life.

This picture makes me laugh.  I was taking a picture of the flower and Teen, thinking I was snapping a photo of her, smiled for the photo.  Adorable.  I love it.

I love this photo of Katie and Andy.  There's something about seeing this girl with the right man that makes my heart so happy.

And she's definitely with the right man.

I made them take another photo because Andy's smile was so fake in the first one. haha

Candid photos don't always come out right.  You don't always catch people at their best. This photo caught Teen's sweetness.  I love it.

In case you haven't figured it out - I'm going to say "I love it" a lot in this post.

Katie's caption for this photo is pretty hilarious.  Don't worry Kate, I won't share it here, but I think you're wrong.  Also, this photo makes me laugh.

I got this look after I tried to take a photo of her without her knowing.  She wasn't happy about it - so she gave me her mom face.  I was in trouble.  Sorry to break it to you Kate, but this face won't scare your future children into obedience - it's still too sweet.  Even your mom face is gorgeous!

The cocktail hour flew by and before we knew it - the bride and groom were back!  Seriously, how gorgeous does Leigh look in this photo?  Look at the joy on that face - on both of their faces!

Every time I look at this photo, I wonder who Leigh is looking at.  The excitement on her face is absolutely wonderful.  Love it!

ps. Leigh, your vows had us all in tears - they were amazing.

And then it was time for their first dance as man and wife.  This is such a fun tradition.  And nice song choice Leigh!

The first dance brought joy to some and tears to others.

The toasts began and we were totally not ready!  We hadn't opened the champagne! We made Christine do it...and then we all ducked.

There's something about this picture of Kristin that is just perfect.  I think it's the look on her face - she's focused on taking her own photo, but knew I was taking a photo of her.  Not gonna lie, I have some pretty hot friends.  Just sticking to the truth here people!

Best photo ever.  The look on Katie's face practically makes me cry it's so full of love...and then you see Andy's face.  Best photo ever.

As soon as the music started, Kristin had us all on the dance floor.  Literally, we were the first ones and we were there all night!  I'd bet you $10 that Katie is fist-pumping to Livin' on a Prayer in this photo.  It's our song.

Not that we weren't already too crazy for the wedding crowd, but when the music started it just got worse.

We get a little crazy when we are all together - but who really wants to see the same boring photo of us all smiling for the camera over and over?  Not me!

Dashboard Confessional came on and for some reason we decided this was a group dance.  We swayed in a circle singing screaming along with You Have Stolen My Heart.  I'm sure Leigh didn't mind that we hijacker her romantic moment with her new husband.

The dj made the mistake of taking a potty break.

This is why Andy and Ryan are perfect for us - they are as crazy as we are.  Yes, I said "us".  When you marry one of these girls you sort of marry all of us.  That's just the way it is.  We are a package deal.

Chaos.  Utter and complete chaos.

Ha! I love this photo bomb!  Nicely done, Ryan!  Just another reason that you were made for Kristin.

You know that we love to dance, but I bet you didn't know that we are awesome at it.

This guy married an amazing woman.  He's one lucky guy.

Also, this girl married an amazing man.  She is one lucky woman.  #perfectcouple

Bros.

Ok, what is even happening in this photo?

Needless to say, we had an amazing night.  Our best friend got married, we all got to hang out together (hasn't happened in years, literally) and we had so much fun.  Can we do this every weekend?

Finally Moving In...Sort of

On Sunday afternoon, my mom, Charlie and I started unpacking a few things at my house.  We can't do too much because we still need to leave room for the electrician.  But we did at least get started.

The original plan in the bedroom was to put the bed up against the wall with the small window, but thats where the ac unit will be.  So instead, the bed will be in front of the big window. Charlie is loving this decision.

She didn't totally love the whole unpacking part of this process, though.  She was stuck on the bed for awhile, but at least she got to look outside.  I have a feeling this will be where she spends her days. 

We were going to move some stuff into the craft room, but we forgot the drill and the screws to attach the legs to the desk.  The desk is warped because I came with just one leg and my computer is quite heavy.  I added the second leg, but it was too late for the desk.

Like I said, we were going to do more, but we need to leave access to all the outlets.  Strangely enough, this house has a ton of outlets! What a blessing!  Normally older homes have one or two outlets per room - mine has at least one on every wall, if not more.  It's great (just not right now). 

A few weeks ago, I posted this photo to Instgram - The tree in our yard is beautiful, except for when it leaves petals ALL OVER my car.  They stay there for days.  When I was in high school, I got in a car accident and I remember being so embarrassed that I had to stand next to my car covered in petals.  My mom's response to that story was "That was more embarrassing than getting in an accident?"

Guess what, it happens at my new house too.  When I left the wedding, it looked like I was the bride!  So not cool.

The only time I love the petals is when they fall and completely cover the ground.  It really is beautiful...as long as they don't fall on my car.

ps. there were SO many typos in this post.  I'm sorry if you read this before I fixed them.  Sheesh.  That should teach me not to blog at 11:30pm...though I'm sure I won't change my ways. 

Saturday Fun

On Saturday, I got to hang out with these cool kids.  We have been friends since middle school and are still very close.  We were together on Saturday for Leigh's wedding.  Any reason to see these ladies and their men is a good one, but getting together for Leigh's wedding is the best one.

I seem to have left my laptop charger at work and my battery is draining fast. For now, I'll show you a few good photos to sum up the night and I'll save the best ones for a longer post.

This photo pretty much sums up the entire night.  We start off totally normal, but as soon as the dancing begins we go all out.

Congratulations Leigh and Galen! You're life together has been amazing and exciting - I can't wait to see what happens next!