Not Such a Samo Wedding!!

As I mentioned in my previous blog Stephanie, Dad and I were on our way to our Cousin Wade's wedding. This was just a quick "night trip" to Iowa but it was well worth the trip!

I have tons of pictures so let me take you through the wedding! Here we go.....


First, let me set the stage. The wedding was held at the Bride Tia's parent's house. It is beautiful!! This is a photo of the barn that the reception was held in after the wedding. Pretty barn I have ever been in!!!

Here is the alter that Wade and Tia got married under. I loved it!!

Here is the pond off to the right of the alter. It was so beautiful and the weather was amazing! They couldn't have asked for a better evening! Mother Nature much like Wade and Tia!!
For my fellow ATWT watchers this is what I imagined the Snyder Pond to look like......

Steph and Dad waiting for the wedding to start. I was mingling with others so I missed being in the photo. Thanks guys for not waiting for me.

Wade walking his Grandma Lois down the aisle. She looked great!

All the Samo boys helping Grandpa Shorty to his seat. It meant a lot to everyone to have him there. He even had his own special chair to sit in! : )

The beautiful Mother of Groom hugging her boy. Tacy looked AMAZING!! She was such a proud Mom!!

Waiting for the Bride.......

Here comes the Bride.....she looked beautiful!

After all the vows and the formal stuff they finally got to do what they had been waiting for....sealing the deal with a kiss!!!

Introducing Tia and Wade Samo!!!!!

After dinner the reception began and this is when everyone let loose and had fun. It was time for us to go hang out with our Iowa family that we don't get to see very often.

Here is Dad with his Uncle Shorty. Notice Uncle Shorty still has his special chair!! : )

Michelle and Stephanie with Uncle Shorty

Uncle Shorty and me. Gosh, I love this guy. He is so cute and funny!

The Bride and Groom grabbing a quick drink before being introduced to the crowd.

Erica and Ashley doing some Cousin bonding. Wade dancing with his Mom. It was really sweet!

It's not a wedding with out some YMCA!!!

Dad with his Cousin Tacy! She was so excited that we came out for the wedding she cried when she saw us! It was really sweet. BTW if you look at Tacy's eyes yes she had a few drinks/shots before this picture!!

More Cousin bonding!!!!

Dad bonding with his Cousin's as well....BTW it got REALLY freaking cold so that is why people are in sweatshirts now!

Steph and I grabbed a quick photo with Wade before we left. Such a handsome groom!

A little Soulja Boy action.....with Grant of course in the middle leading the crowd! I swear he could dance all night!!! His poor pregnant wife was not feeling it!! Run and hide Krystal! : )

The wedding was AMAZING!! It was a beautiful, elegant, and simple. I LOVED it!! Congratulations again to Wade and Tia. You guys make a cute couple. Here is wishing you happy moments in all your days to come!!!

And you know I had to capture Grant doing his Soulja Boy on video. Enjoy

More to come

xoxo

QT witth Daddy

My Dad, sister and I all decided at the last minute to fly out to Iowa for the Samo wedding. Since we didn't have much time we decided to make it a turn-around trip. That meant that we flew out Saturday morning at 8am and flew home Sunday morning at 6am!! Yes, it sounds like a lot to do but we really wanted to go to the wedding and this worked for everyone's schedule. Plus it was some fun Quality Time with Dad!!

We flew into Omaha, NE and we had to drive to Iowa City, IA. This is about a 4 hour drive one way! Now we flew in on the day of the wedding so we were working against the clock. Our flight landed at around 1:45pm. We all hurried to the rental car place got the car and we were off! Oh wait, after our soda pit stop. US Airways didn't have Dr. Pepper which makes for a sad Dad!! : (

Soda in our hands and we were on the road. It was 2pm. I pressured Dad to speed as often as I could without pissing him off!! He kept saying "I am speeding!" Which he was but I'm a bit of a speed demon so it wasn't quite fast enough for me. : )

Here is Dad trying to zone me out!!! Nice try Daddy!! I'm still here!!!
Steph enjoying some time to read and just relax.
The drive was very beautiful. All the fields, trees and farm houses. It was a very nice drive. Plus it was nice to have some QT time with my Dad. Now that I don't live with him anymore I don't get to see him as often as I would like and whenever I try to move back in he says no......not sure why????

Now, most of the Iowa family didn't know we were coming so as we arrived (with 30 minutes to spare) it was quite a shock for them to see us! I will blog more about the wedding in a separate entry. On the way home Dad was tired (we were all tired but he is older so we let him sleep) so I drove most of the way home. Yeah, that was interesting. I had no idea where I was going so I had my co-pilot Stephanie navigating me back to the airport. We were so tired I kind of think we were slightly delirious but we got to the airport safely and I couldn't have been more excited to stop driving!!!

In the end the trip was quick but AWESOME!! Not sure how soon we will be doing it again but it was fun!

Thanks Daddy for hanging out with your girls!! We had fun!!

More to come

xoxo

Danger!!

This morning I got up like most other mornings.......late!

I realized I needed to hurry up so I grabbed Charlie took him outside so he could do his business. He was quick about it so it was back inside for his treat and then I needed to jump in the shower. Before I did this I opened his dog door so he could go out while I showered. Now, it may sound silly to others but I don't like having his dog door open at night or when I'm gone for fear someone will crawl through. Yes, it's silly but with all the scary movies I have seen that is how I think now.

Anyways, I am now in the shower and I'm washing my hair when Charlie comes and barks at me. Now he does bark at me if we are playing or if he wants to go outside but the dog door was open so not sure why he was barking so I ignored him. I mean this dog doesn't just bark. Then he starts barking like crazy and he is getting louder and louder!! Now, I'm starting to get worried. What if he is trying to warn me of some danger or something. Did someone sneak in through the dog door??? OMG what do I do??? I had to go look. So here I am with conditioner now in my hair and soap on my legs because I was trying to shave and I was going to go look for an intruder in my house. Nice!

I step out of the shower and immediately Charlie jumps at my feet!! I ask him what is going on (not like I expected an answer) and I look down the hall. He is still jumping at my feet. I walk down the hall, wet and naked to see if I can find the killer in my home with Charlie jumping at my feet. I find nothing. Just Charlie who was still jumping at my feet and licking the water off my toes!! What a punk! He just wanted me to play with him! He was barking his playful bark and I took it as a Lassie danger bark! Needless to say I felt like a total ASS! I went back to my shower and hurried up since I was running late and this little "game" didn't help. Charlie stopped barking now and decided to go outside. Yeah, thanks buddy! I thought he was trying to save my life instead he was just mad he couldn't play with me while I was in the shower. Next time Charlie I will take you in the shower but I don't think you will like it!!! : )

I guess if I ever fall down a well I can't expect Charlie to get me help. If anything he will jump in to play with me. Charlie is cute but he is definitely no Lassie!!

More to come
xoxo

We Made It On TV!!!!

See how great we look on TV! Family Feud has to pick us!! Here we are on our local TV station!!!! They were there filming the auditions. Exciting!!!

More to come

xoxo

My Puppy Is Now A Dog!!

Yep, it's official Charlie is growing up!! He is now using the dog door 100% of the time. He goes out and does his business and then comes back in and sits in the kitchen and waits for me to give him his good boy treat!

I am SOOOOO excited that I no longer have to sit out there with him but kind of sad because I guess he is over having me go everywhere with him. However, I still have to watch him out the window (yes, like a stalker) because he still likes to eat his poop! I guess if I think about it that can be a good thing. Now I never have to clean up dog poop in my yard!! I'm totally kidding!! I run outside once I see him sniff around for his poop spot!

I guess now once I get the poop eating under control I can stop locking him up and he can be free like a big boy!! Well maybe......not sure what he will do to my house if he has free run of it.......

Baby steps!!! I will start with small amounts of time and assess the damage and go from there. I am just a proud Mom at this moment. I think I owe it to the Fab Five (and Adam) for being here Friday and all the practice we did for FF causing me to "ignore" Charlie so he used his own door for the first time!! Thanks guys!

Good Boy Charlie!!! Keep up the good work!!

More to come
xoxo

Survey Says.......

Today was our audition for Family Feud and can I just say how nervous and excited I am!!! It's weird because it's such a long shot that we would even get picked but still there is a small chance. Friday night we all got together to watch old shows and play along to the game. We worked on our buzzer reflects and we all took turns doing Fast Money!! It was a very productive night! I felt ready after our "training" session. : )

Here are the girls in the backseat on the way to the audition. I mean who wouldn't want to see these girls on TV????
Steph is jammin to our Cousin Day Anathem here! Thanks Black Eyed Peas!! Oh, and yes, she is doing the robot while she drives!!

We got to the Hyatt Hotel early per the request of Family Feud because a local TV stations wanted footage of the local families that were there to audition. We coordinated our outfits and we were camera ready. We saw the camera guys and we did our best to look excited and happy without looking like dorks! I think we did a great job.

After about 20 minutes the line started to move and I got SOOOO nervous!! We checked in and and got our name tags and an application. Even John the host was there to greet us!!!

We decided to sit in the front row so we didn't look shy! Plus you know teachers like when students sit in the front so I figured maybe game show executives think the same way........I mean it doesn't hurt right????

The application was a bit long but we got it filled out and then we waited. The Executive Producer of Family Feud came and in she was ready to play the feud. She randomly selected families from the applications that were turned in and the game began. The first families went and they appeared to be trying too hard but hey I was going to be judgemental as they are my competition plus that is just my nature!! We were the third group of families and I think we did great!!! We hit the buzzer first both times, we got most of the answers right, we smiled, we had great stories about ourselves, and we were loud and excited!!! Everything they are looking for right????

After our turn the people behind us and next to us told us how great we were and mentioned that the lady seemed to like us. I can only hope the Executive Producer felt the same way! We stayed and watched a few more families play and then we decided to leave. One the way out we wanted to take a quick photo to capture this AWESOME moment!!

Now, the auditions went until 9pm so they have quite a bit of local families to pick from but I felt good about our audition and I couldn't ask for more from my family!! You girls did great!!! No matter what happens!!!

If we did get selected we will be mailed a post card in two weeks!!! I am checking my mail daily even though I hate it! I usually go a few days before I check my mail but for the family I am looking more often. : )

Stay tuned and keep your fingers crossed!!!

More to come

xoxo

Rollin With The Homies!

Thanks to Grammie, Charlie has a new booster seat that does strap him down but does give him the freedom to feel like he is sitting up high like a big boy!
If you have been in the car (or on the phone) with me and Charlie while he was in his carrier you know how much he HATED it!! Now he can see out the window and he is pretty much eye level with me!! He loves!

It nice to have someone in the car that I look over and see!! Do you think this qualifies me for the carpool lane now??? I wonder????? I mean he is like a person to me.......

However, Charlie does still enjoy a ride in his Momma's lap and occasionally I let him steer!! Only in parking lots though!! : )

Thanks again Mom/Grammie!! Your daughter and grandpuppy love the new booster!!

More to come

xoxo

It's Time For The Feud!!!

ARE YOU READY TO PLAY THE FEUD????!!!!!

Yes, it is a dream come true for me!!! The Fab Five are auditioning for Family Feud this Saturday!! I'm so excited!! I have always wanted to be on this show and I'm very excited about the opportunity! Even if we don't make it I have heard the tryouts are FUN!! I decided it would be the Fab Five that audition since we do pretty much everything else together!! : )

The practice begins ASAP! We have so much planning and game playing to get through to prepare for Saturday! I'm so excited I really can't contain myself!!!

Wish us luck!!

P.S. This was my exciting news I spoke of in my last blog!

More to come

xoxo

Exciting News!!

Well, I just got some amazing news and I'm so excited!! I wish I could share it with you right now but I can't. I have to wait just a little bit longer (until after my first trimester j/k). I promise to provide a full blog about it once I'm able to discuss it in more detail! I just wanted to dangle it out there so everyone is trying to guess what is it?? A man??? A woman??? A new job??? A new car??? She found her real parents?? She is moving?? She won the lotto???

Keep guessing guys cause you will NEVER get it!!!

More to come
xoxo

As Requested

Here you go Alyssa. Up close of Charlie and that darn tongue!! So dang cute!!

More to come

xoxo

Baby On Board

Today was Mindi's Baby Shower and it was at this really cute place called Arcadia Farms.
Here is the Brown table!

I had never been to Arcadia Farms before but I can say I would love to go back! If you live in AZ and you have never been I recommend that you go as they have great food, a wonderful staff, and it's just dang cute!!
I mean look at this yummy salad that I ate!!

The Baby Shower was a small gathering of all of Mindi's family and friends. She got lots of great stuff for little Cecelia!!! Check out all the presents!!

Here is Mindi's yummy cake and her special cookies that Alyssa got for everyone!

They are almost too cute to eat...but no worries we ate them!!!

Now, this is Shawn's daughter so she will be born a Sun Devil fan!!! Now she has something to wear to the games!! Go Devils!!

Look at this cute blanket Mindi's Mom made for Cecelia! I have placed my order for one as well!! I need a king size one for my bed!!

Now, like all good baby showers we had some tears......all good though!!!

And we had some laughs.......it says "BOOB it's what's for dinner"

Here is Mindi with her Sister in-laws and Mother in-law. They all can't wait to meet baby Cecelia!!

Here is Mindi with her creative Mom!!!

Here we are with Mindi!! Cousin In-Laws and Sister In-Laws........or otherwise know as babysitters!!!

Ayssa and her helpers did a great job with the shower!! We all had a wonderful time!! Thanks!

Now we just have to wait for baby!!!

We can't wait to meet you Cecelia!!

See ya in September!!

P.S. can you please weigh 8lbs 10oz!!!! : )

More to come

xoxo