Wedding Weekend

My pretty nieces! Marissa, Talia, and Tristan.
The newlyweds, my nephew Justin and his wife Allie with their flower girls and groom's munchkins- which also happen to be most of my nieces and nephews (3 are missing, and 1 little girl is no relation)
Mom, Lucas James (LOVE the bow tie), me
Jon and me.

Birthday

He may be a cardboard cut-out, but I certainly do not mind.

Baseball

I went to a National's game with friends and we actually WON!
AND I filled out a survey and got a free shirt. Woot. L to R: Jenny, Shanna, Jimmy, me, Andrew
(Not pictured: Jon and Keith)

Harses Harses Harses

It is really hard to take a picture with a horse and have you and the horse both look good (or not blurry!)
Thor is a jousting horse in training.

Las Vegas

While in Vegas for work last week I was lucky enough to see Alyse and family TWICE! Here are a few of us. It was so great to spend time with them and I can't wait to see them and the rest of the family in less than a week!

Pie-tastic!

I've been on a pie kick lately... and not just any pies, STRAWBERRY! I decided to make a strawberry pie (or FIVE) because it was my friend Scott's birthday. And he likes strawberry desserts on his birthday (I hope this is true, as for two years in a row we've gotten him strawberry, but it just occurred to me that I may have made this up...). Anywho, bring on Pie number 1!

Berry Truffle Pie
Almost entirely homemade (minus the crust) this pie features a layer of chocolate cream cheese covered in whole strawberries and topped with fresh raspberries and blueberries, then coated with melted red currant jelly. Serve with homemade whipped cream. Happy Birthday Scott!
(I know you think you see a cool whip container, but that just happened to be the vehicle for the 100% homemade whole whipping cream)

Pie number 2.... Which also happens to be a crowd favorite...

Strawberry Chiffon Pie
This pie takes the longest to make, but it's well worth the wait! Starting with crushed juicy strawberries, then add to a sugary gellatin mixture, cooled and eventually folding in homemade whipped cream and served cold, this pie is divine. Fluffy, light and sweet. I wish I had some right now, yum!

Pie number 3 was the prettiest, in my opinion, and probably the funnest to make. The lighting for this picture was not so good, I had to bring the pie over to the window cause our power went out in a lightning storm!

Strawberry Meringue Pie
This pie features a meringue siding and bottom. The meringue is VERY delicious, especially before it gets cooked :) and the strawberries get coated in lemon curd (it's like sweet lemon jelly) which makes this pie quite tasty. The only downside? It doesn't last long- it will taste pretty good for a day or two after it's made, but it starts to look real ugly and gray after just 12 hours. This is definitely an "Eat immediately" creation. And I'm alright with that! :)

Enjoy!

PB Wars

Who would win in a fist fight?
The jury is in.
JIF. Preferred by 5 out of 5 of Ashley's friends.

Pirates!

I saw Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides last night, and it was fantastic!! I really loved it. I hope they come out with another couple films, it was really good! It might even have been my favorite of the entire series. I saw it in IMAX 3D, which is so fun, with my friends Stacy and Erin. :)

Country Strong

I've been on a movie kick lately or something... Here's another flick I saw and liked. I downloaded the music, it's pretty fun. Plus I really like Country music a lot in general.
Shelby, I think you would like this movie. Interesting story, I think the acting is pretty good too. It's a little sad, but also fun.

Making the Most of a Sunday Afternoon

With church at the bright and early hours of 8am-11am, I find that all I have is TIME come Sunday afternoon. This Sunday it was kinda muggy and overcast, so I made the most of the day by dedicating several hours to the following entertainment.

I started out with a little bit of this... and I really liked it...
Then I thought, maybe some of this would be good too! It was. :)

I followed that with a nap...

And followed the nap with this... cute movie, but not the Gulliver's Travels I remember! I kept waiting for the horse island/Yahoo's! But no dice. It did make me chuckle though, and I do love Amanda Peet and Jack Black, so that was a plus.

After that, I decided I needed THIS. Again! I really liked this movie. If you haven't seen it, it's a good one!

X-Men: First Class

This was a great movie! I highly recommend it. :)

And hello, this is one sexy man.
Probably thanks in part to my memory of his playing this brooding complicated man in Jane Eyre... either way, I'm smitten.

Friends

A few of my friends and I grabbed dinner the other night, when one of my friends noticed that we are just like the gal's from Sex and the City! It was hilariously accurate.
L to R: Me, Erin, Robyn, Jill Me- Carrie: Loves to discuss her dating experiences and especially chatting with friends.
Erin- Samantha: Bold in her pursuit of men, power woman who knows what she wants.
Robyn- Charlotte: The most laid back of the four, still looking for love, rule follower.
Jill- Miranda: Woman power! Successful lady who won't take crap from anyone.

Of course, we're the conservative versions of these ladies... :)