Weddings Galore...

I know it seems all I do in the summer is go to weddings, and that may be true but I LOVE weddings so I'm totally OK with it. Weddings are a great reason for friends to get together, catch up and always have a good time! I love seeing each couples personalities come out in their decorations, locations, colors, vows, etc. I also love reliving my own wedding day thru the memories the ceremony, no doubt, stirs up. And of course I love being able to witness the commitment the couple is making to one another, and be a part of their special day.

Jackie and Matt's wedding was no exception. They got married at a beautiful new venue here in Spokane. I cant remember the exact name of it but it was somewhere off of bigelow gulch tucked into a hillside. I seriously loved everything about this wedding, the colors, the gown, the suits, the surprise live band, the food (David's Pizza-YUMM!), and of course the couple! They are just the cutest :)

 Matt and His Mom

Jackie and her dad

LOVE this pic!

Jim and Jackie

A candid moment

Smile

Nick doing his best impersonation of a creepy Italian...he pulls it off well. 

Maybe a little too well :)

The Mason's and the McCollum's

 The surprise live band, courtesy of Matt's Dad

Congrats Matt and Jackie we are so happy for you both!

And on another wedding note I just have to say I have some of the best looking friends ever! No joke- take a look at pictures from both of the weddings I attended this summer...both couples are gorgeous and both so happy!

Matt and Jackie

 Landis and Matt

Pretty Pretty...

The day after the birthday we were invited up to Jenah's parents lake house for the 4th. It was an absolutely perfect day! The weather, the company, the food, the view, literally EVERYTHING!  

First things first, we started off the day at the Eatonville Independence Day Parade. This place was straight out of Norman Rockwell Picture. Loved it!

And Matt really Liked the tractors :)

I saw this sign on the way to the lake and it seemed fitting

After a short drive from Eatonville we made it to Clear Lake. I am officially obsessed with this lake. Its the perfect size, the houses are spectacular, the view is stunning and it was the best place for fireworks!

 After a tour of the lake the boys got down to business and started their bocce ball tournament...things got competitive quickly...

After the tournament it was time to eat, drink, relax and wait for the show to start

 Despite my bad camera pics, the fireworks did not disappoint!

Thanks Mahan and Williams Families, Jim and I had a great time and cant wait to see you all again!

Off to the races...

As I said it has been a busy summer, and I cant believe it is already August. I could have sworn summer only started a week ago! After Landis' wedding I flew into Seattle, from Charlotte, just in time to celebrate my 31st birthday and the 4th of July! Since Jim had to drive to seattle to pick me up we decided to extend my vacation by another day or two and spend some time celebrating with our friends.

My birthday, is a tough one to get people together for since its the day before the 4th so I wanted to do something simple like an M's game and get drinks for whoever could make it. Instead we decided to expand our horizon's a bit and try something new. So off to the races we went!

Stone and I got to Emerald Downs a little earlier than Jim, Matt and Jenah so we got a basic betting tutorial and placed our bets while we waited for the others. Even after the lesson I was a little unsure of myself so I just went with my gut, the colors the horse was wearing and its name. And it worked...I won on my first ever bet (Must have been my lucky day)!

Jim and Matt and Jenah showed up shortly after the first race and when they did out went my luck. I think I may have gotten a little overconfident and tried to get too crazy with my bets. If I would have stuck to my simple bets I think I could have broke even. 

I still think Jim missed his calling as a horse race announcer :)

Love the bugle player!

And down the stretch they come!

And They're OFF!

My best shot out of the chutes. Matt didn't think I got it in time, but I would say I did pretty well :)

It was SO much fun and I will definitely be back! Thanks for such a great Birthday Jim, Stone, Matt and Jenah! What do you say we make it a yearly tradition :)