Sunday, May 18, 2008

Yes, I'm still here...

Hey there, everyone! Yes, I am alive and well and haven't fallen off the face of the earth! The last two weeks have been very busy for us although this hasn't totally been the reason for my "time of absence." But, I'm here again and posting a huge post to let you know what's been going on in the lives of the Martin family. However, I will forewarn you, that because of my lack of posts, there's a lot to write about, which will require some time to read. But also know, it's not an article either, so no worries.

As you know, we visited grandparents two weeks ago and had a relaxing time. They live about two hours away in a small country town. We had an extensive amount of rain during our visit, but it did let up for most of the day, which allowed us to be outside and enjoy the weather.

The following Friday, we celebrated Griff's birthday. Bek fixed enchildas for supper and a chocolate torte for dessert. We talked, sang "Happy Birthday" to the birthday boy, and watched him open up his gifts. I might add a small sidenote, too...Griff got "25" birthay spankings!! Yea! *smile*

The next day, we drove over to some friends' house for a graduation celebration. After eating and opening gifts, we went over to the bowling alley and played a couple games. Originally, we planned on playing miniature golf, but since the weather was a little "uncooperative," we opted for the bowling.

For Mother's Day, we attended church and then came home for lunch. Dad grilled chicken for us, which we served along with salad, vegetables, baked potatoes and rolls. Griff & Bek also came over and joined us.

Last Monday night, we cheered on our softball team as they played their very first game of the season. For those of you who aren't familiar with this, a group of men and young men from our church play softball each week at a nearby park against other local teams. This will be Tanner's first year to play. They did pretty good considering it was the first game! We're all looking forward to showing up again tomorrow evening for our next game...and hopefully, a win!!

If you've visited Ab's Spot, lately, you will have noticed that we are babysitting a neighbor's little girl. Her name is Annika, she's 2 and very cute. She enjoys doing multiple things, such as: bouncing on the trampoline, picking flowers (a.k.a. dandelions), playing with playdough, playing on the swingset and enjoying herself with whatever. As I was leaving her room to let her nap, she said, "Happy Easter Bunny!" *grin*

Over the weekend, my friend Christie, became Mrs. Ryan Kriegshauser. (Yes, it is a mouthfull!) *smile* I had the privilege of being one of her bridesmaids, along with four other friends and the groom's sister, who was the matron of honor. We arrived at the church around eight o' clock Saturday morning to begin getting ready. Bek, her sister Liz, and our pastor's daughter, Deana, helped fix the girls' hair for the big day. I had planned on doing my own hair simply because I knew what I wanted and have fixed it this particular way before. But my friend Megan, also a bridesmaid, helped me out once I got my hair in place with bobby pins, and curled my hair for me. Around mid morning, we arrived at the Nelson-Atkins Art Museum in KC to take pictures. We had the best day to take pictures! It was just great outside and there was almost NO wind!! (A great thing for the hair!) If you've never visited the Nelson, it's quite a place. Although I have never been inside, the lawn was very nice and the building was grand.
After arriving back at the church, we enjoyed a great lunch provided by some friends...as well as complimentary coffee by a friend who works for Starbucks. A little bit after that, we walked into the sanctuary to get some more pictures with the bride & groom, as well as getting some snapshots of our own.
Finally, the big moment arrived! Six young ladies proceeded down the aisle while being accompanied by music performed by a couple singing and playing the guitar and violin. After the ceremony ended and the recessional was over, the guests were dismissed by the couple.
Everyone soon made their way to the reception hall where a wedding cake, a groom's cake, cheesecakes, fruit, punch, and coffee were served. The bouquet and garter were tossed, and it soon came time for the couple to make their grand exit amid an atmosphere of bubbles. A white, stretched limo awaited the newly-wedded couple and whisked them away from their family and guests.
I will try to post pictures VERY soon. Unfortunately, I don't have one of the entire wedding party, but, you will at least be able to see the bride, bridesmaid's dresses, etc.

Around mid-morning today, Dad, Mom, Griff, and Abby arrived home from their trip to South Carolina for my cousin's wedding, which also took place yesterday. I'm sure Ab will be posting pictures on her blog soon, so be sure to stop by and take a look.

Well, I think I'll sign off for now. Can you believe you got that much out of me?! I guess that's the good thing about taking so long in posting, because when you finally do, there's so much to write, show and tell!

**Pictures coming soon**

6 comments:

Tori said...

Wow! You have been busy!

Your church has a softball team as well? So does ours! We play on Tuesday nights....sometime I will have to take some pictures and post them! :-)

I cannot wait to see pictures of the weddings! Please post them soon! I am anxiously awaiting!

Thanks for the update on your life! I had been wondering where you were. :-D

Anonymous said...

How nice to hear a little about Christie's wedding! I was so excited to hear about her engagement several months ago. She is such a special young lady.

Looking forward to pictures!

My Bright Corner said...

Thanks for the update! It was good to hear about everything going on in your life. Can't wait to see pics! ~Rebecca~

Anonymous said...

It was great to read all you wrote. I will write a little. May 1st Nikola had her second violin recital which went very well although she did say her hand was shaking. Most of the music was not my style as it was not classical.

I was sad to learn that stamps went up in price. I think it is a real shame but with gas prices on the rise I do not blame them.

Sounds like you are all well. We are and busy.

May 4th we celebrated my fathers birthday with a chocolate store theme since he just loves chocolate! Lunch was a very good sandwich which my mother made. It had ham, cheese and a sauce on rye bread with a fried egg over top. In the afternoon since it was wonderful weather we all played out side. I gave him socks, chocolate and an air freshener for his car. What did you give your brother for his birthday.

I will close now and write more when I have time.
Valerie

Lacey said...

Hey girls! Thanks for leaving a comment!! I always like getting them. I thought I would answer you all individually, so just look where your name is and start reading!

Tori~ Yes! Quite busy. When does your church start playing softball? Does your dad join in on the fun? I will (hopefully!) post the pictures from the wedding VERY soon. I've got most of them saved in a post already. What are you guys doing for Memorial Day? We don't have any neat plans. I think Mom and I might go into town. I'll try and leave a comment on Deanna's graduation before long.

Bryant~ Yes, Christie is a sweet young lady. How did you meet her or where? Did you meet her at church one time? How are things going for you? Do you go and play the harp for different events? That's what I'm desiring to do...except with the piano. :-)

Rebecca~ Hey! I know, I've been so bad about updating my blog that it should be entitled "Blah" just because it's been so neglected. :-) I told Tori that I will try to post pictures VERY soon, so hopefully you will be able to view them before long. Do you have any special plans for the summer?

Valerie~ Hey! How long has Nikola been playing? What song did she play? Yes, e-mail will probably be the cheapest form of communication, right now. I love chocolate, too! Everyone in my family is a big fan. Do you like chocolate, Valerie? For Griff's birthday, I gave him a Michael Buble cd. Have you ever heard him? He's a singer and kind of does stuff along the lines of Frank Sinatra/big band. What did you guys do for Memorial Day?

Tori said...

This is the second year our church has played softball, and we've played about 4 games so far. We're not very good (I'm not going to lie...), and have lost all four! :-) Oh well, they're having fun! Both my mom and dad played last year but this year it's a men's team only (so obviously that knocks Mom out) and it was just too hard on dad's body last year. He's getting too old! :-D

We had a wonderful Memorial Day - we had our pastor's family up for graduation open house leftovers and games. Then that night we went to their house and had a bonfire and played more games. So it was very fun!