Hello, 2010!

On our drive back from MS on Tuesday, we had the opportunity to stop in Memphis to see Richie's good friend John O'Bryan, who lives in L.A. and was home to visit family for the holidays. Richie gets to see John maybe once a year, so we were excited to have a chance to see him, his wife Samantha, and their adorable son August. Richie and John have been friends since their days at Mississippi College. Some of the funniest stories I've ever heard are Richie's adventures with John. John stories are legendary, really. We met the O'Bryans, John's sister and her two kids, and his mom at Bosco's in the Cooper-Young neighborhood. It was a very welcome break from our long day in the car and a really delicious meal--gourmet pizza beats a cold Sub anyday! The kids all hit it off so well. I know Owen enjoyed burning some energy with other little people after being strapped into his car seat since 9:30 a.m.

August (2 years old), Owen (4), Dilyn (6), Eli (2)

Big boys, little boys

After dinner, we reluctantly loaded back into the car and finished our long trip home. I don't think I've spent that much time in a car in one day since my youth camp/mission trip days. Whew! The 30th was supposed to be our recovery day. Supposed to be. We took Owen to preschool, as planned. Then Richie made some delicious Cafe duMonde beignets for breakfast. Thennnnn we spent the entire rest of the day car shopping. It's something we've been talking about and looking into for quite a while now. With another baby on the way, we knew we needed a larger vehicle. I think our 14 hours crammed in the car the day before was the clincher. We needed a van. And we got a van! It was an exhausting and slightly stressful process, but we're really excited with what we got. And we got it just in time!

The next day, the O'Bryans decided to come spend New Year's Eve with us here in Nashville! They had mentioned maybe coming over for a night, but we didn't know for sure if or when it would work out. They arrived just in time for a pizza dinner, snacks, and New Year's Rockin Eve. The Conrans came over with Liam, and Tom stopped by for a bit too. It was pretty much the most low-key New Year's Eve ever, but I think that's what we were all hoping for. Funny how things change as you get older!

Friday morning, we loaded everyone (EVERYONE!) into the van and headed to Nashville's legendary Pancake Pantry for a late breakfast/early lunch. We met our great Mississippi friend Alan there. He, Richie, and John were all at MC together, so it was a very rare reunion for these 3 friends.

The O'Bryans went back to Memphis that afternoon and I spent the evening at the movies with my good friend Abra. All in all, it was the perfect start to the new year, spent with old friends, new friends, good food, a minivan, and lots of love and laughter.

I'm dreaming of a Pike Christmas

Pike County, that is...which is where Gran and Pop call home. We loaded up and rolled out of Nashville the afternoon of December 23rd on our way to McComb for Christmas, Minor's birthday, and Miriam's wedding! We spent the Christmas Eve relaxing after our long drive the night before. Then we headed to the Christmas Eve service at Gran and Pop's church. Owen did okay for a good bit of the service but he started feeling antsy and spent the second half hanging out with Richie in the men's dressing room. We got to see so many old friends and got to introduce Owen to a lot of special people. After a lovely Mexican dinner, we wrapped up our night by preparing a plate of goodies for Santa. Owen made sure to give him a lot of options: 3 orange balls, an apple, an orange, and a Kashi bar. We also left a nice cold glass of soy milk--something Santa has never had at Gran and Pop's before!

We ran downstairs Christmas morning to find that Santa had been there the night before!

After celebrating Uncle Minor's birthday, we cruised over to Tylertown to check out the Christmas lights:

The next morning, we packed up and went to New Orleans to kick of Miriam's wedding weekend. The wedding and reception were held at the Hotel Monteleone right in the French Quarter. It is a gorgeous historic hotel and we reallllly hated to leave! The night of the 26th, Owen practiced his very important role of ring bearer:

Then we went to the rehearsal dinner at the fabulous Tujague's. It goes without saying that the food was to die for--shrimp salad with remoulade dressing, gumbo, crawfish risotto, fried drum fish. It was all so good! As the toasts and merriment kicked off, sweet Owen made himself comfortable and just took a little nap:

Sunday the 27th was Miriam and Will's big day! We met Gran, Pop, and Uncle Minor for a big brunch at Le Cafe' in the hotel. After getting nice and full, we all got ready for the main event. The wedding went off without a hitch! Miriam looked so beautiful--she wore our mother's wedding dress and mantilla. Owen did a fantastic job as the ring bearer! He started walking down the wrong aisle and then tried to cut through a row of people before Keith, the wedding coordinator, steered him in the right direction. He made it up to the front and waited patiently for Pop and Aunt Mimi to come down the aisle. During the opening prayer, he squatted down, the started holding the pillow by the strings, and looked up at me to ask, "Is this the wedding?" Luckily, that was the point in the ceremony when he was supposed to go sit down, so I sent him to sit by Gran. Apparently, he laid his head in her lap and then decided to go sit with Richie, who was an honorary groomsman. He provided just the right amount of comic relief to keep us all from getting too emotional, I think. I decided not to post many wedding pictures until the "real" ones come out. I can't wait to see them! But I had to show a couple of cute Owen pictures. Doesn't he look so handsome in his little tux!

Owen had a ball at the reception! At one point, I looked up from eating to see him on the stage playing tambourine with the band! He danced his little heart out and did cartwheels all over the dance floor. He tasted and approved of all the food and both cakes. When we asked him what his favorite part of the wedding was, he said "the dancing."

In the end, all of my mom's hard work and planning paid off--everything went just perfectly, and the new Mr. and Mrs. Bond seemed to have the time of their lives. I think we all did, actually!

Over the river and through the woods

to Gi Gi and Granddaddy's house Owen went...for a WEEK! Owen's Christmas vacation got started off with a bang, for sure. Gi Gi had a present for him each day he was there. He came home with so many goodies! Some of the highlights of his trip were:

Visiting the cows and seeing Santa at "Chick-a-let":

Decorating a Transformer cookie:

Opening his "Pick a Present" gifts:

Playing with the ice skaters in the Snow Village:

Playing with Uncle Jon, the cousins, Nana, Papa, Gi Gi and Granddaddy and just being his usual adorable self:

What a fun start to the holidays for our little guy! Thank you, Anderson Listers, for treating Owen to such a fun week!