The Day Auntie Lockett Allbritton Became Auntie Lockett Taylor

Once upon a time, there was a Yogi, who married a Rock Star at the Columbia Gorge Hotel. And on the day of the wedding it snowed. And snowed. And snowed. It could not have been more romantic.














We were all cozy inside the hotel...

































Everything was in place. Everyone was ready.




















Except Chase. She refused to wear the GORGEOUS dress her Nee Nee Kar Kar made for her - we finally got her into it - kicking and screaming - and crossed our fingers she would stay in it. Her apparent mastery of flower girl responsibilities was a ruse.




















But besides that, everyone was in fine spirits...




















The mother of the bride was seated...













The Maid-of-Honor and bridesmaid looked so glam...







































The gentlemen were dashing in custom suits...




















They wore shiny boots...




















Tildy, the older flower girl, made it down the aisle with no problem...













The ring bearer made his way down the aisle...













All the details were gorgeous...








































And then the father of the bride walked his daughter down the aisle...













And gave her away...



















And Lockett Allbritton became Lockett Taylor...




















And then my darling Chase had a major meltdown. And I didn't have any stickers, or pens, or anything to distract/amuse her. And Brian had to run her down the aisle in the middle of the ceremony. But everyone could hear her screaming, "ma ma," so after three minutes, which seemed like three hours, I followed my husband and daughter - running down the aisle toward the back of the room, in an effort to silence her.




















And although we missed the end of the ceremony, we're pretty sure they got married. Here is the lovely Lockett Taylor with her father.



















The wedding party...














A reception followed...














And Lockett caught up with old friends from Vassar...














And people celebrated...













And Lockett was happy and absolutely stunning...




















And then there was the reception line...



























And dinner...



























































































And a very tired mother-of-the-bride...














And toasts...














About how you know when you've found "the one" ...














About how lucky Courtney was to have found Lockett...














About time, love and commitment...














And many eyes misted...



















And then there was cake...



























































And then the Taylors waltzed...
































And they lived happily ever after...



























Welcome to the family, Uncle Courtney!

The Wedding: Rehearsal Dinner

The place...













The bride and groom (to be)...













Jack (Groom's father)...



















The rehearsal (Lockett & Joe)...













Karla and Chase...













The dinner (Courtney with his mom, Marilyn)...













Courtney's brother, Kevin...














Friends...





















































The wine...

































The toasts...
































The lovely Lockett (with Maid-Of-Honor, Abigail)...






































The dashing groom (center - flanked by Brent and Pete)...













Us :)...




















And my darling Chase...

Merry Christmas!

Wish I could post a picture, but that's not going to happen today.

Our trip to Portland has been a bit hectic - balancing family, friends and the wedding (which was gorgeous - pics to come) has proven to be a bit more difficult than I expected.

I went on a rant yesterday. Not pleasant. It just happens when I (a) don't get enough sleep and (b) get really annoyed. It's not pretty. Hubs was tired and annoyed as well, so we decided it was best to spend a quiet evening chez nous.

More to come at a later date. I was mostly going through blogging withdrawl and had to write something.

Sleep

I've come to realize that the holidays - motherhood for that matter - wouldn't be so tough if we didn't need to sleep.

Chase, bless her, has recently decided she doesn't need as much sleep. So, instead of going to bed at 7:30 p.m., she has elected to retire at 9 p.m. - for the past two nights. And I just don't have it in me to correct her, especially because we're headed to Portland tomorrow for a whirlwind trip.

Lots going on. Besides the usual family activities, we also have my sister-in-law's wedding to attend. Chase will be a flower girl. So lots of pictures (assuming I receive approval to post them) will be up at the end of the month.

Couple quick notes on Chase before we go... today marks 21-months!

- She now sings along to songs. It's incredible. Her favorites are: ABCs, One was Johnny, A-alligators all around, Baba black sheep, twinkle twinkle little star and Happy Birthday (which we still sing to all of her animals every night).
- She has learned the word "no" - thanks to our dog - and says it all-the-time.
- She loves to color, paint, play with stickers, water and gets frustrated by puzzles - she can actually draw circles, lines or dots, when asked.
- She also loves dressing her stuffed animals in her clothes
- She still eats yogurt all-the-time (doctored-up with wheat germ, fish oil and jam)

Measure This!

This afternoon we went to get Hubs measured for a tux for his sister's wedding.

Chase LOVED the full-length mirrors.
First she started dancing and twirling.

Then she started making sudden movements, just to see if she could outsmart her reflection.
It was HILARIOUS.

And then she'd look to the right, to see if her reflection on the right was keeping up.
And then to the left.

And then she decided to measure herself.
She then decided to march around the store, holding the tape measure on her belly.

Oh, and she wears her tutu everywhere.
Dress it up, dress it down.

Spare Time

So not that I have any, but I was seriously considering joining up with a candidate and doing some PR for them. But then I realized I just couldn't decide who to support.

And then Oprah joined the Obama campaign.

And I must admit, I am fascinated by Oprah. By her ability to sway public opinion. From a PR perspective, she is GOLD. And so I wait, to see how she will influence voters, polls, and what Hillary Clinton will do in an effort to secure her lead for good.

Ni Hao

I'm so happy.

We found Chase a Mandarin tutor.
She came by today and played with Chase for an hour - and Chase loved her.
Chase even said Xie xie and Zaijain (thank you and goodbye) when her Laosha (teacher) left.

Super fabulous.

And even more fabulous?
We found a baby sitter!
Yes, that's right.
Last night, Brian and I enjoyed our third night out in Denver.

On another note, our little puppy got snipped, chipped and had his little bump (on his cheek) removed and sent off for a biopsy today.

Christmas Is Coming: Cookies

Yesterday we made Christmas cookies, a paper garland and sledded in the snow. It has been snowing here for the past three days - we've had about 8 inches in all! Totally crazy.

Definitely a white Christmas here!

Christmas Is Coming: Nativity

Chase helped decorate a nativity scene today.

Christmas Is Coming: Ornaments

So the Nutcracker looks a bit like he's been gored by the King of Mice, but Chase did her best!

Party Girl

So we didn't have our act together tonight.

We attended a fabulous, one-of-the-best-Christmas-parties-of-all-time, and Chase was all-dolled-up. I mean, SUPER cute. And we didn't get a picture.

Chase was really funny at the party. It was at a posh restaurant and after she got over the initial fear of the man in the red suit and excessive facial hair (not that I blame her), and warmed-up to the lady who made the most complex balloon figurines ever, she decided the bathroom was her favorite room. Not only was it quiet and a perfect echo chamber, it also had water - lots of water - that came out of a sink with a sensor. Chase became totally and completely transfixed.

So I spent half the party in the bathroom. And when I realized we would not be leaving the bathroom anytime soon, I decided it was time to go home.

So we left the party - at like 7:47 p.m. - and both agreed it felt like 11 p.m. - we're SO old!