Wedding in Indiana weekend!

I went to Indiana with limited battery power in my camera, so I suppose I used it all up taking pics of the boys, Tyler and Kyle, as they looked the handsomest at the wedding! (Next to the groom, my cousin Caleb, of course.) My camera was flat dead by the time we got the reception, so no pics of the fun dance that followed, either! The first picture is of Kyle and Tyler in the airport on Friday. Kyle is not just putting on that uncomfortable face, although he does have a knack for ruining pictures with his ridiculous expressions. He's laying on his skateboard, which was strapped to his backpack. This is the first of four airports we had the pleasure of visiting in three short days! Our flights were one mishap after another, but we all got to Indiana and back to Oklahoma together and safe, so that's really all that matters. If I have to go through the American Airlines automated phone system ever again, it will be too soon.

Anyway, we traded the 50 mph winds sweeping down the plains for freezing rain and temps! However, the pleasure of seeing our cousin Caleb marry the beautiful Theresa, and see Uncle Danny, Aunt Neila, and Allie during their last weekend to all be living in Indiana, AND of course see Lissa, Elliott, and adorable Emma, made it more than worth it. Kyle got to be a groomsman for the first time, and Tyler got to serve as a ringbearer for the second time, and both looked very handsome doing it! Caleb and Theresa are a beautiful couple, and the wedding was beautiful and fun! See Cousin Lissa's pics here.

The reception was at a Purdue U hall, and had music and a dance. I love dancing, but I know with my big basketball-belly (am getting more and more of these comparisons), I would look awkward, and would be highly likely to fall on my face, should the music move me to try any sudden movements. I did however manage to do the electric slide a time or two. It's fun enough just watching your family flail their arms and sway to the beats wildly.

Jay stayed home and held down the fort, and really had a great bachelor weekend playing pool, celebrating Grandma's 80th birthday at a fun family party (we hated to miss), and going to a Mavs game! He had the good fortune of getting seats right behind the cheerleaders, and he said he asked them to move so he could see the game, but alas, he just had to deal with it. Poor guy!

Monday Monday

Well J and I have cris-crossed the country this weekend, a whirlwind of the sort we will not be seeing much of after Little Miss Mauck graces us with her presence. Friday we took off to Jones, Okla. (just NE of OKC) to watch the son of some family friends play basketball. This family, the McKays, met Jay simply through watching him play at OC, and they really took him in, inviting him to their home for dinners, to play in golf tournaments, etc. Their oldest son is a senior, so we watched him play in the first round of Districts. What a great family they were, and I was happy to finally meet them. I gotta say though, as the only person who looked at a bracket for the tournament before we just took off, I was getting a little nervous driving the 10 miles NE of OKC--wondering if maybe this seemingly abondoned stretch of highway wasn't going to lead us to a very wrong place indeed.

Saturday, J got a lot of work done on our new backyard fence! That's right, we are now officially responsible pet owners! The boys will roam free no more. I feel so much better about their situation now--I was constantly in limbo, not wanting to lock them up in the shop or the house, but not wanting to let them roam the streets to cause trouble/get hurt/bring shame upon our name. They definitely miss their buddies though--there are several pet owners who let their dogs roam in our area, and we saw a pack of them yesterday. Shadow and Ranger barked their regrets for not being able to join them through the chain link fence.

After a morning of working on the fence and another new addition to our yard--a fire pit (J is a pyro at heart)--we headed to Calera to load up with Paul and Diane and head down to Mineral Wells, Tex., for a 50th wedding anniversary of some camping-at-Lake-Texoma friends. They've been friends with the Maucks ever since they first started camping out at the lake about 25 years ago. Diane made them a really cute camping scrapbook.

When we got home at about 7:30 that evening, we still weren't done! We all went to the SOSU basketball game that night. Check it out, we're now 22-2, and first in our conference!

Other family news:

• Childbirth classes at the hospital started last week, so we learned the basics of labor, some about last trimester pregnancy discomforts, and checked out the delivery rooms and the nursery. Being around a pack of pregnant girls was a little weird, like being back in Kansas for Thanksgiving!
• I take a comprehensive exam for my Master's program in two weeks--Yikes! I think I've taken maybe one comprehensive exam in my life, let alone one over an entire degree program! I'm studying hard.
• Looking forward to heading to Indy this weekend!! Hoping everyone here is well and able to go--Kyle has been sick for about a week now, can't seem to kick this flu-like stuff.

Happy (belated) Valentine's Day!

Hooray for love! Jay and I had a wonderful Valentine's Day: First, I had my first teacher job interview, which I think went pretty well. When I got home, I frosted and decorated sugar cookies for Hubby and I, put the chocolates I made in these cute lil heart boxes, and set up a little Valentine's sweet feast for us.

Then we got to get dressed up to go to a cute little downtown antique shop/tea house for a sweetheart dinner, provided by Jay's thoughtful parents, Paul and Diane. The food was great (especially the chocolate lava cake!), and the atmosphere was different and special. Next we went to church, where after Bible study and devo, we hung out at the Valentine's Reception, which Diane did a great job organizing. It was so neat--lots of people brought their wedding pictures and set them on a table, and then we all tried to guess who these happy, handsome people were in the black-and-white pictures. Everything from 1950s prom pic to 1980s white tux! However, the sight of more cookies about made me sick! Our faithful song leader, Virgil, decided we should all sing "Let Me Call You Sweetheart" while holding hands with our sweethearts, which was the cheesiest, but sweetest, thing I've ever seen! Who knew Virge was so sentimental? That's what V-day can do to a guy, I guess.

28wks Bump!

Whoa, check out that basketball! Little Miss Mauck is really starting to take over, and her little bumps are now getting so strong it sometimes feels like she's playing basketball in there! She only weighs a little over two pounds, but that equals 20lbs for me. Yikes! Most women gain 11lbs during their last trimester, which starts this week.

Jay and I are still in name talks, and the frontrunner is still Ava Claire (calling her Ava), mostly because it's the only one we both like. He also likes Laurel, although I say it might be too much of a tongue-twister, and my new fave is Emilia Jayne (nn Emi), although it's very close to my new cousin's name, Amelia LiJin. Permission will be asked, Indiana Pannells, should that name move to frontrunner status!

We're also in the midst of nursery preparations: Jay is laying laminate flooring in the guest room, while the elliptical waits for a new home in the hallway. Where in our little house that thing is going to go, we're still not sure. The nursery is going to be shabby chic, with white furniture, a mixture of pink prints, and antique accessories, like hatboxes and plates. See my inspiration pic below. The bedding we got is pink toile and white chenille--so cute!!

Find your naming profile!

Hey, someone posted a neat naming site on the BabyCenter Girls' Name bulletin boards. We're definitely Classic Unusual. All the boys' names I like (Lucas, Ethan, Isaac, and Jesse), and the majority of the girls' names (You've heard them already), are on that list.

Which categories did you fall into?