Congratulations, Mary & Ryan!

Well, it's all said & done...Mary & Ryan are married and that does it for the college girls...we're all married off. It's been fun being able to look forward to each other's weddings, and now a lot of us are having babies, so we'll be planning the next round of trips.

The wedding was held in Mary's hometown of Madison, WI. It was a beautiful day to match a beautiful wedding - and, as you would expect, Mary was a beautiful bride!! The reception site was gorgeous - it was held at a country club set high on a hill overlooking a lake. We danced the night away and all of us Taylor folk closed down the reception :-) Catching up with Taylor friends is always one of my favorite things, and since Dave stayed home with Will, I was able to stay up into the wee hours of the night/morning and not have to worry about getting up at the crack the next a.m. (thanks, babe)!

After dancing all night we were quite hungry when the party was over, so me and Nikki, Kate & Virgil ordered pizza and hung out in our hotel room until 2 a.m. After Kate & Virg retired for the evening, Niks and I stayed up talking until 3:30...just like the good ol' college days...not sure how we ever kept up with those hours!!

The following morning we all went to Ryan's parents' house for brunch. It was nice being able to spend a little more time with the bride and groom, as the wedding day is always so crazy.

Spiders, spiders everywhere!!!

Just in case some of you were unaware, I have a severe dislike for spiders, or anything even RESEMBLING a spider!! I may be extreme, but I don't even like watching crabs crawl on the beach because their movements so closely emulate a spider's! I have a keen eye for those creepy crawlers...I can spot them a mile away!

I don't know if I'm becoming increasingly more sensitive to them, or if they really are more prevalent this year, but I have seen a lot of them around lately. I often run early in the morning with Will in the jogging stroller and am a little apprehensive about jogging on the sidewalks in our neighborhood because of all the big trees - I've run through some webs before and it freaks me out! I'm not sure what kind of spiders these are, but here are a few photos of one I spotted in our front yard the other day...these are the kind I've seen a lot of lately and I think they're ICKY looking!

Giggle Machine

This video is from earlier this summer while up in Minnesota, but Will's giggle is contagious...i just couldn't resist putting it on here for all to see :-) Dave's dad was sure making him laugh!!

Anniversary #6...is it really possible?!

I'll start this blog with a simple question: At what point do you finally come to the realization you're getting old? Is it when people ask how old you are and you hesitate because you honestly can't remember? Or is it when someone asks how long you've been out of college and you respond, "Not that long...two or three, oh wait...umm."?! It's so true what people say - time flies! I remember our wedding day as if it were yesterday and now we're inching closer to a decade!

Dave and my 6th year anniversary was this past Sunday, September 7th. It truly does not seem possible, but I think it really hit me this weekend when we attended the wedding of a friend on the 6th. Many people asked us, "How long have you guys been married now?" Gulp...6 years!

I remember thinking I had life pretty well figured out the moment we walked down that aisle (HA!). Funny how life goes by and you realize how much more you have to learn. I love being a full-time wife and mom, and am so thankful the Lord has blessed me with such a wonderful, fun, supportive, God-fearing husband.

It's amazing to look back and think about all we've experienced together since we started dating at Taylor back in February of 2001; and equally exciting to think what the Lord might have in store for our futures. We pray that he gives us many more years together!

1st Birthday Party (Labor Day weekend)

We had a great Labor Day weekend celebrating Will's first birthday. My parents drove (yes, drove!) up from Florida, and Dave's sister also drove up from Kansas. Everyone came over to our house on Saturday evening to eat dinner and open presents. We kept the event simple and low-key, which was perfect. We grilled salmon and for dessert...cake, of course! My mom even put together treat bags :-)

Will shared his celebration with the Huskers...it was their first game of the season (as well as Bo's debut as Head Coach) and they swept Western Michigan 47-24, so Dave was a happy camper ;-) I'm sure Dave is beaming with pride that I added this info to the blog :-)
Unfortunately we started the cake & present-opening festivities a little too late...Will was quite tired once we finally got around to it. I've never heard of a kid not liking birthday cake, but to say Will didn't like it wouldn't do his reaction justice. We're thinking he'll probably be a neat freak because he hated the fact that he got frosting on his hands and couldn't get it off. In fact, he practically panicked! He started flailing his arms and frosting got on the walls and everything. Poor little guy was so tired and upset but we couldn't stop laughing, which probably exacerbated the situation. We do have video, but I'm apparently doing something wrong, 'cause I can't figure out how to get it uploaded to this darn blog. I would love some pointers from any readers!!!

Here are some photos of the evening (the first being my personal favorite that Kristin captured of Will with his cake)...that expression is priceless!