Garage Sale for Ryker....

What an amazing turnout the garage sale was. We had tons of people who donated items as well as money to raise money for the Carr family. I also thought it would be a good time to teach Jase about helping others so he had a lemonade stand as well as hot dog and chips. He had so much fun and I believe he felt good as he saw his money jar fill up. We had tons of people who dropped by just to donate money which was so awesome to see given they didn't even know Ryker or the Carr family. I would like to use this posting to thank those that did help. Joyce Bertoch, Michelle and Jamie Bilton, Sheila and Jeremy Haines,  Laura  Lee Crandall,  Jill St. John, Janna Beth LaFever, all donated items to the garage sale. Thank you so much.My aunt Brenda helped in such a big way. She used her vacation time to help me with the garage sale as well as with Jase and Joel. I totally could not have done this with out her help. We were able to raise $720. We sold most things and what we did not sale I am donating to the National Children's Cancer Society, so their items will go to help out another great cause. Below are a few photos I was able to take, we were consistently busy so there are only a few....

Celebrating 8 years.....

Our 8th Wedding Anniversary!! We spent the evening at Sullivans in Leawood. A fabulous meal and a great atmosphere with soft lighting and a piano player for the background music. We enjoyed a meal with out any interruptions and nice conversations.

The moment I met Andrew I knew he was a catch. Our connection was unlike any other connection I had ever had. I knew way before Andrew that we would be married someday. Our wedding day was fabulous. Unlike most girls I didn't have a dream about what kind of wedding I wanted I just knew I wanted to marry someone that cared about me and helped me be a better person. Our wedding was perfect! Our honeymoon was spent in Niagara Falls Canada. We stayed in a fabulous penthouse overlooking the Falls. Then we explored Canada and stayed at a fabulous Bed and Breakfast.

These years together have been fabulous. Yes some hard times but defiantly not as many as the best times.

Below are photos of these past 11 years together.

When our romance began....my high school graduation party. Andrew surprised me by driving from K-State to come.

Andrew's College Graduation 2001

Peppercorn Duck Club dinner July 2002

Moments before Andrew purposed November 2002

After wedding rehearsal Aug. 8th 2003

Our wedding day Aug. 9th 2003

Our first Christmas as husband and wife 2003

K-State Bowl Game 2003 Tempe, AZ. We drove straight thru from KS-AZ. Our first road trip!

Celebrating our 5th Wedding Anniversary in Mexico

K-State Football 2008

Easter 2011

Celebrating our 8th Wedding Anniversary

Historic Downtown Overland Park

Sunday night I took a stroll to downtown Overland Park to take photos for my new business, Image Marketing Photography. I have visited before but never took in all the great little boutiques. I especially liked the Kansas City Culinary Center and if you love to cook I think you would appreciate it as well. I loved the historic atmosphere as I walked down Sante Fe Drive. Most of all I found Papa Kino's Pizzeria. A fabulous, family friendly pizzeria.If you have never visited I recommend taking a visit, they have several restaurants, boutiques and a pretty neat coffee shop, as well as a couple cupcake shops. And lets not forget the Farmers Market.

Below are my photos...

Part 2....New Jersey

 Galloway NJ was our next stop in our trip. Andrew's pledge brother Kevin was getting married. Our stay in Galloway was amazing. Our stay was at Dolce Seaview Golf Resort  The resort was an elegant, turn-of-the century resort. This resort was a stay of many famous and past presidents. The weekend before our stay the LPGA had their golf tournament at this resort. It was amazing to learn about the history of this hotel. Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, President Harding, The Rolling Stones, and Dwight Eisenhower are just a few of the famous guests here. I highly recommend this hotel if traveling to NJ....it was about 8 miles from Atlantic City, NJ.

The wedding was nothing short of spectacular. Kevin and Maria were stunning and were glowing with happiness as their event unfold. It was an amazing weekend and we were so blessed to be there to witness this journey of their beginning lives as husband and wife. Congrats to you both and thanks for letting us be apart of your special day.

Rehearsal Dinner at a cute little town of Smithville, NJ

The "welcome party" at JD's pub...great time and good laughs



The walk down the aisle as husband and wife. The ceremony was a beautiful,traditional Catholic ceremony. 



Rolls Royce was pretty sweet..

Cocktail Hour before the reception

The boys playing the family recreational room

Inside the resort these chandeliers were hanging everywhere so I had to take a picture

Cocktail hour was pretty amazing...

This ice sculpture was designed by Maria (the brides brother) it was beautiful. It was the center of the 'cocktail hour'

Cocktail hour had some amazing food and drinks in fact it was so amazing I even tried lobster which I dislike seafood very much but it wasn't bad...I prefer other things but I didn't hate it.

He sweeps me off my feet despite the fact he has no moves...sorry Andrew

Greg and Trevor.....they stole my camera

Brian Frazier

We both had a great time dancing...The live band was amazing...they played everything from Frank Sinatra to Lady GAGA

Singing the Beta Song

Treavor and Leah McKeeman...its always fun seeing them swing dance...their little boy Finn was just adorable





Showing off their dance lessons...they were amazing....loved seeing Kevin so happy.

Outside the golf shop

Seaview

                                       

Our next stop was Ocean City, NJ were we spent a much needed day at the beach, unfortunatly the water was freezing but we walked the boardwalk and ate some amazing pizza at Mack and Mancos I have to say it was almost better if not tied with Lombardi's Pizza in NYC. It was so nice to have the day where we were not rushed for time. We sat on the boardwalk benches just taking in the beautiful day and were able to see a family of dolphins swimming in the ocean. Ocean City was a nice family friendly place. Here are our pics of our day

The next day we drove to Philadelphia to catch our flight home. We had some time to kill so we took a visit downtown, again some beautiful architecture as well as some amazing history.

By the time our trip had ended I was almost in tears because I missed my boys so much. We had a fabulous time and loved taking pics of our travels.