Sophie decides to be cute and we attempt to get the heck out of Dodge (Denton)

This is a rare moment for Miss Sophie and I. Not only am I home and able to cuddle, but she's being friendly enough to do so! If that makes her sound like a grumpy old sourpuss, it's only half true. She's very sweet when she wants to be, but it usually has to be her idea. So, I take what I can get and am typing over and around a plump little kitty while she purrs and looks cute. :)

And please excuse the wildness that is my hair, apparently I ate something no bueno last night and spent the majority of my usual sleepy time being very sick. Totally lame, but after about 5 hours of being sick (that Brendon somehow managed to sleep through) I finally was able to snooze off, and thankfully I got to sleep in this morning. So I am semi-rested and ready for the move-a-thon.

In other news, my left shift key isn't working properly! What a pain! Seriously though, we're just about all packed up (like no silverware for breakfast this morning because it's in a box) and ready to head to Austin. We're loading up the uhaul tomorrow and heading down Wednesday morning. Ahhh! So crazy! Yesterday was my last shift at work, after 4 years at one company it's surreal to say the least. I was ready to leave but it's definitely going to take some getting used to. Can't believe it's all really happening!

One more week

We are so busy! I thought we'd be able to relax some before we move, but dang, we're going nonstop! Any free time at home we get we pack or glue ourselves to the couch and watch tv. I think it might be more tv than packing but whatever.

This is our sweet new couch! Our old couch gave us many years of good relaxation, but it was falling apart and due for retirement. Sophie and Greg had literally pulled a side of it off, plus it was a sleeper sofa and the bed part of it was busted. It was just a hot mess, and we didn't feel it was worth it to move it. We were planning on just waiting until we got to Austin to get a new couch, but we came into some Macy's gift cards after the wedding and got a sweet deal on a floor model at a Macy's up here on clearance, so we decided we couldn't pass the deal up and got one before we moved. Moving the old couch down the stairs and the new one up was an experience, but I am very proud to say that Brendon and I did it all by ourselves! I don't mean to brag, but for me that's pretty impressive. Now we have to just do it again next week. Plus a bunch of other stuff.

This craziness is what our living room looks like right now. CHAOS! But on the bright side, we've packed a bunch of stuff! We still have a whole lot left to go, but we're making progress! It's exciting but sad. We were packing up photos and knickknacks from the living room and I started crying! We have had so many happy memories in this apartment, it's been so good to us. If I could live here forever I think I might (well... only if the kitchen were bigger. It's a giant apartment with a tiny tiny kitchen! Makes no sense.). But we will have many new memories to make in our new place and our new city! Just need to keep telling myself that.

Last night we went to Babe's with a bunch of our friends (who are aaaaamazing and I am going to miss so much!) for a going away feast, and a feast it was! I have seriously never been so full in my entire life. It was so good, I couldn't stop eating. The chicken fried steak, the potatoes, the BISCUITS! All covered in gravy.... mmmm..... Why does my life feel like it often revolves around food?

Rehearsal Fiesta Recap

Instead of having a traditional rehearsal "dinner", we just had a big fiesta in my dad's back yard. Since almost everyone was coming from out of town we thought it was silly to just invite the wedding party, so everyone was invited! It was fiesta themed in honor of San Antonio and the week of fiesta that occurs annually in SA. We had some truly fantastic Mexican food made by a friend of Bren's mom. I'm drooling just thinking of it... the beans, the fajitas! So good. And of course too much cerveza was consumed, but that's just how it is in my family. And when we're all together we're pretty unstoppable.

Calm before the storm

My dad surprised us with these AWESOME koozies, on one side it says "Marie & Brendon" and has brushes and paint for me...

and on the other it says "Brendon & Marie" and it has a pharmacy, Rx thingy for Brendon!

Of course there were animals aplenty. My step mom's mini-donkeys were loving all the attention.

The newest additions to the Brooks-farm, baby turkeys!

The long horned neighbors stopped by

Our fiesta hats!

Bren and little bro AJ

My sister and my neice!

Pinata time! Yes, that is our officiant, and very good friend, Derek waiting in line for a chance to smack the pinata.

Derek didn't stand a chance, AJ knocked that sucker out.

Brendon got dunked in the pool with help from his friends and a little assistance from me.

So of course, I was next.

No better way to end the night than with a little pre-wedding man love.

In other news, we have been back home for almost a week and things are just starting to feel normal, but it wont be for long! Our living room is full of boxes waiting to be packed. Booo packing is the worst. Not looking forward to it, but it needs to be done. We move two weeks from tomorrow, ahhhh! Exciting stuff!

We did it!

We are officially a Mr. and Mrs.! BEST DAY EVER! There are not enough words in the world to describe how absolutely perfect our wedding day was. I've never been so happy in my life, it was so wonderful. It was surreal to see everything we'd been working on for over a year come together into more than we could have ever imagined. It was just so beautiful and there were so many sweet people to celebrate with us. Plus we had a great wedding crew behind the scenes making it happen! Hats off to our fantastic venue the Vineyards and their rockstar staff (Lindsey is wedding goddess, she makes miracles happen), the Vineyards' amazing florist (most beautiful flowers I've ever seen) and kitchen (ummm best wedding food ever?), our talented photographer (can't wait to see all the pictures!), rockstar DJ (seriously keeps a party going), and my fabulous supportive family (love youuuu). Couldn't have done it without you all!

My favorite part was definitely the ceremony. I lost my cool and cried all the way down the aisle, happy, happy tears. It was just so amazing to walk with my parents by my side towards the man I love more than anything, surrounded by all of our friends and family! I know it sounds corny but I seriously had tunnel vision, all I saw was Brendon. Our good friend Derek wrote the ceremony, and it was pretty unbelievable. He has skills, if you need an officiant, I'd talk to Derek, he's a matrimonial genius. Brendon and I wrote our own vows, which I was super nervous about but it ended up being the best thing ever. Everyone should write their own vows, I can't explain how wonderful it was hearing his and reading mine to him. It makes me tear up thinking about it.

It was just such a perfect day full of love, and towards the end of the night, craziness! We had SO much fun at the reception. It was a dance party for sure, I don't think I've ever seen so many awesome moves busted. We danced so much I literally wore the soles of my shoes off and my feet were super swollen for the next two days. Totally worth it. My family and friends are badasses and they sure know how to have a good time. We are so lucky to have such great people in our lives.

Can't believe how incredible it was. If I could relive that day over and over and over I would. I wouldn't change one thing.

I'm sure I'll bombard you with more details later, plus the honeymoon! So much goodness!