this post is a little belated, but it’s better to announce it now that they’ve SET A DATE!

our good friend jon and his girlfriend maria got engaged last month after a whirlwind six-month courtship that began with a “wink” on match.com :)

they’ll tie the knot on may 28th of next year in a real-life big fat greek wedding … and guess who’s the flower girl? :D

congratulations, guys! the lacks love you!

yes, another wedding! ryan’s uncle bob’s stepdaughter crystal (did you follow all that?) and her fiancee-now-husband anthony got married on saturday in a catholic ceremony at st. bede’s church in hayward. happiness was written all over their faces as they exchanged vows in front of a large crowd of friends and family.

despite the long ceremony (nearly an hour and a half – whew!) ellie was amazingly well-behaved and we never had to take her outside. we had plenty of snacks handy and she was even fascinated by the spanish bible for a little while. gloria a dios en las alturas! ;)

the reception was held at the newark community center, and we felt like VIPs because uncle bob kept delivering bottles of wine to our table. score! :D dinner was delicious … there was even an entire roasted pig, which … i declined to eat. i’m sure it tasted good, i just don’t like seeing what my dinner used to be :\ ignorance is bliss.

one of the best things about the day was that ellie’s auntie danielle flew up from southern california to be there. we haven’t seen her since christmas and ellie loves her, so it was nice for them to reconnect <3

ellie had a bit of a breakdown near the end … it was a long day and she took an early nap, so i don’t blame her. we came home and let her run around for a bit, and when we put her down she fell right to sleep.

a very big congratulations to crystal and anthony. we wish them a long and happy life together :)

ten years ago we met, went on our first date and shared our first kiss. three years ago we walked down the aisle, made a promise and shared another kiss. today we sometimes forget to kiss, but we do when we remember! :)

happy anniversary(ies) to us <3

big event #1 : the wedding rehearsal
st. mary’s chapel, moraga

ryan, ellie and i left the house at 3:15 on friday afternoon to make matt & alyssa’s 4:15 wedding rehearsal in moraga. had we anticipated the horrendous traffic jam that was 580, we would have left at least 30 minutes earlier … we didn’t arrive at the chapel until nearly 5 o’clock. luckily we weren’t the only ones who found ourselves stuck in traffic, so the rehearsal was just starting as we walked in. phew.

big event #2 : the rehearsal dinner
piatti ristorante & bar, danville

after a quick run-through of the ceremony (ellie did great), we drove to a really cute italian restaurant in danville for the rehearsal dinner. leroy and bunny, matt’s parents, rented a private dining room behind the bar with four round tables and our very own wine & food server named doug :) all of us in the wedding party were in attendance (minus the tiniest ring bearer and flower girl who went home to bed), as well as all of the bride and groom’s parents and grandparents. everything about the evening was lovely, from the company to the conversation and the capellini pomodoro to the tiramisu. it was the perfect way to start the weekend.

big event #3 : the ceremony
st. mary’s chapel, moraga

there was NO WAY we were going to be late to the chapel again, especially when it mattered most. i got up early on saturday morning, went to the salon and got my hair done, came home and did my makeup and met the rest of the girls at st. mary’s at 11 o’clock sharp. ryan followed in a separate car with ellie when she woke up from her nap – yes, she went down for a morning nap, hooray! – and they got to the chapel about a half hour later. the ceremony didn’t start until 12:30, but there were pictures to be taken :)

everything about the procession went as planned. the groomsmen escorted the parents and grandparents, the bridesmaids followed, and then came the ring bearers and the flower girls. ellie walked down the aisle holding hands with kate, a super cute red-headed 6-year-old alyssa used to babysit. ryan ran as fast as he could from the vestibule to the front of the pews so ellie would see him and keep walking toward the altar. she did great! and she *even* sat through the ceremony with daddy, armed with all the ritz crackers she could eat :)

the ceremony was really beautiful. it wasn’t a full mass, so no one had a chance to get bored ;) the officiant, an irishman named father paul, gave a lovely homily about how saying “i do” really means saying “i will,” among other thoughtful words about love and marriage <3

big event #4 : the reception
shannon community center, dublin

the party, like most wedding receptions, was filled with friends and fun. we ate, we drank, we danced … and, need it be said? ellie was a perfect dream child. all she wanted to do was talk, laugh and run around. we left around 6:30, brought her home and she went right to sleep. nothing about the day could have gone any smoother.

the happy couple is now enjoying their honeymoon in paris <3 congratulations, matt & alyssa! it was a truly memorable weekend for all of us :)

[matt + alyssa = love]

this week is a whirlwind of appointments and errands and preparations for the events of this coming friday and saturday … and i’m not even the bride, ha! turns out it’s a lot more work being a bridesmaid AND the mother of a flower girl.

i spent sunday and monday at the mall in search of something to wear to the rehearsal dinner. today i went looking for a new pair of dress shoes for ellie (no luck, so i’ll have to go again on wednesday), and tomorrow i need to get a mani/pedi and my eyebrows done before i swing by matt’s mom’s house to pick up ellie’s dress. add all that to the usual mix of gymboree, naps and mealtimes, and you’ve got one busy momma.

the festivities commence friday afternoon at 4:15 when we meet at st. mary’s chapel in moraga for the rehearsal. then matt’s parents are hosting what is sure to be a lovely dinner at an italian restaurant in danville called piatti. ellie will be joining us at the chapel, but grandma shirley will be picking her up from the restaurant because her bedtime is promptly at 7 p.m. (thank you, grandma)!

saturday will be an early morning for me, as i need to be at victoria’s salon at 8:00 for my hair appointment. alyssa wants the bridesmaids to meet at her house and leave for the chapel by 10:15, but i might opt to finish getting ready at home and meet them there with ellie and ryan at 11.

i’m a little anxious (ok, VERY anxious) about how ellie might behave during the ceremony because it’s scheduled to begin at 12:30, the exact time she typically goes down for her nap. but i have faith in ryan that once she makes it down the aisle, he can appease her with snacks (and possibly a new toy) until matt and alyssa’s big kiss seals the deal :) and then, assuming she sleeps in the car on the way to the reception, she should be good to go until the end … or … almost the end … i hope. please?

and there will be photographs aplenty!

happy wedding week, matt & alyssa <3 we’re so excited for what’s to come!

the central reason for the timing of our big texas trip, our wonderful friends eric and tessa got married on march 6, 2010. when they first chose a date last year, it felt like it was soooo far away. but 100 days quickly turned into two weeks and all of a sudden there we were, just hours before the ceremony, watching tessa come down the stairs wearing her beautiful ivory dress, carrying a lavender bouquet.

the ceremony was held at a small park in houston and the reception at an old firehouse nearby. leave it to eric and tessa to have a wedding full of character and charm <3 it was beautiful! the weather was perfect and the ceremony went off without a hitch. even the KIDS did what they were supposed to do! ok, ellie wouldn't hold her pretty basket and jaden walked at a much faster pace, but if it weren't for such a gorgeous bride, they would have stolen the show :)

the reception was fun, too. lots of dancing and good times continued. we all decided we’d stay as long as the kids’ behavior allowed us, since it was an evening reception scheduled to go past their bedtimes. i think we managed to keep them pretty happy until around 8:30 or 9, and they fell asleep in the car on the way home.

congratulations, eric and tessa, and thank you for letting us all be a part of your special day. we love you!

after three days and three nights in austin, we packed up the kids and headed southeast to houston. the drive was a little rough because both ellie and jaden needed naps, but neither one of them slept. jaden had come down with a pretty bad cough, so he was doing lots of that and ellie would cry at the drop of a hat. stopping at sonic for lunch helped, but we were all pretty happy to get out of the car once we arrived at eric and tessa’s house.

thursday night was the bachelor-slash-bachelorette (or what eric’s parents called the “stag and doe”) party where we got to meet lots of eric and tessa’s friends and family. there was an amazing spread of appetizers and plenty of alcohol to be had, so everyone really enjoyed themselves.

we had a few hours to hang out with eric on friday while tessa spent some quality time with her bridesmaids, so he showed us around this super cool shopping center called the woodlands mall. then we had lunch at a place called berryhill. it was delish, and it was nice to spend some time with the groom.

friday evening was the wedding rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. ellie and jaden were so funny – they wouldn’t walk straight down the aisle at the same time for the life of them! i think we had them try it at least three times, but nope! so, of course, no one had any idea how they’d do the next day at the wedding, when it really mattered. but we’ll save the rest of that story for the next post…

dinner was hosted by eric’s adorable parents, chuck and christina, and was held in a private room at the very lovely chatter’s cafe & bistro in the heights neighborhood of houston. dinner, drinks and good company were aplenty, and both ellie and jaden were incredibly well-behaved despite being out past their bedtimes.

and saturday, of course, was the big day … which i will write about later in the week!