Friday: The Last Full Day at the Beach

The last day at the beach was like many of the others.  I wish I remembered all the details of every day but, alas, my poor brain! :)

The only pictures I took that day were of some of my siblings and relatives in the pool:

Lydia normally doesn't like big bodies of water (she doesn't like getting splashed and she likes to have someone hold her) but the floats in the pool helped her be less demanding. :)

Weedels swimming around...

Justus trying out a float.

My cousins, Cadence and Justus, loved having me watch them jump into the pool with just their floaties.  It was cute to watch them go under water and come up smiling. :)

Yep, Hannah's a baby magnet. :)

Na-naw teaching Lydia to swim (which she wasn't too thrilled about! :).

Later that night everyone, but our family, went out to eat.  My family and I stayed home, got dressed up, and went down to the beach for our annual pictures!  I would show them all to you right here, but I've posted them here, so I won't. 

Well, here's just one picture of all of our footprints.

We took our pictures under the nearby pier...Daddy was a big help in setting up the tripod for me (so I could be in some of the photos :) and doing whatever I asked. 

After pictures were over we ate dinner together around the huge table (Mama had dinner cooking in the oven during picture-time..she always thinks ahead! :).  After dinner, everyone else came back from their dinners and we spent our last day at the beautiful beach!

The next morning (Saturday) everybody packed up and left...our family was the last to leave.  :)  We were used to 6 full days at the beach (instead of the 4 we had this year) so we couldn't bring ourselves to leave before 10 A.M. that morning.  So we packed up the car and went back down to the beach for another hour or two.  

Eventually we did have to leave, so we piled in and drove on home.  We did stop in Williamsburg for a rare and yummy meal at Olive Garden!  I think most of us wouldn't mind eating their breadsticks and salad every day!

When we got home, the electricity was on (woo-hoo! :) so we didn't sweat to death and have to lug in water from outside for the toilets.  (Ah, things we take for granted!)

I have to say a thank you to Mr. Jon who watched over the house for us, while we were gone.  He fed and cared for all our various animals, alternated plugging fridges/freezers to the generator, and slept here where there was no A.C.  Thanks Dowy! :)

So, the beach posts come to an end.  I loved posting the pictures, but, quite frankly, I'm glad I'm done with these posts.  Now I can post about everyday things (and post on my forlorn photo blog more often...)!

Til next time,

Kimber :)

Father Daughter Retreat 2011- at Callaway Gardens!

Last weekend daddy and I (Lexi) went to the Father Daughter Retreat hosted by Vision Forum at Callaway Gardens in Pine Mt. Georgia! (whew! That was a run-on sentence! :)  We left at 1:00 AM on Friday the 25th and arrived around 10:30 AM the same day.  I had been looking forward to this special time with daddy for a long time! :D  We had lots of fun together and I can't wait to share some of the wonderful pictures that daddy and I took!  Kimber surprised me by packing her camera and accessories in the truck the night before we left, and we also got yummy food from various members of the family that we usually only receive on special occasions and the like!  Thank you family for all of your blessings~ We love y'all!  Anyway- I was going to try and edit all the pictures before posting but I had a request to post right away!  So here goes!  

~ The First Day ~ Friday March 25, 2011 ~

Time- approx. 7:00 pm (Thursday)~  Daddy goes to bed and I check over all the "last minute things" before also retiring to bed.

Time- approx. 1:00 am (Friday)~  Daddy is up!  I wake up to mommy's gentle rubbies and she tells me it's time to go!  Daddy makes a coffee and Mommy makes me a Coco-Pure which really is good by-the-way :). Daddy and I pray with mommy before heading outside to leave (everything was packed when I woke up).  We got on the road and I had mixed emotions of "YEA!! We are finally ~after months of waiting~ on our way!!" And, "I'm going to miss everyone.."  Once we were "on the road" we called a friend of ours who was also going to the Father Daughter Retreat with his twin daughters!  No, we didn't just randomly call him, he had left us a text-message that told us to call them when we got on the road..and so we did!  When we called they told us they were stopping at a hotel for the night in Spartanburg, SC!

While taking a picture of the passing cars, the slow shutter speed on the camera (because of little light) made the various lights on the road show up in this interesting formation!

  After that I looked at the food everyone packed and found a note from Hannah and Kimber!  Hannah told me to enjoy my time and the yummy food and Kimber told me that she packed her camera and bag!!  Of course I was shocked, then I was thankful deep down though on the outside I was nervous that I would lose something ;) ! I fell asleep after awhile and then woke up and talked with daddy and then fell asleep and woke up and talked and.....you get the point!  I told daddy to tell me when we neared the "Welcome to Georgia" sign so that I could get a picture of it.  We (well Daddy) saw the "Georgia sign" at 7:11 approx.  I was taking pictures of the water underneath the bridge that the sign was on and daddy was like, "There it is, there it is!" and was pointing ahead so I thought I had a couple seconds to take a picture of the water...and well I missed it!  So.. I took a picture of the "Visitors Center" sign instead!

 :D

There you have it!  The "Georgia Visitor Information Center" sign...just pretend it's the real deal, ok :) ??

 

 A beautiful Georgian Sunrise!

 

 Another Picture of the Sunrise!

Now before I show you the next 2 pictures I'll tell you what happened. (no peeking. ;)  While daddy and I neared Atlanta, GA the traffic got worse and worse.   There was a single HOV lane that had a sign stating 2+ only.  So we were contemplating whether that meant "More than 2 people" or "Two or more".  We decided upon the "Two or more" option ;)! It was SO amazing to see how many people were driving single!  There were very little cars on the HOV lane and SO MANY on the normal high-way!  Well, I won't make you wait any longer...here are the pictures!

 

 In front of our "Noble Chariot"....

 

And behind our "Noble Chariot".

 By-the-way the "Noble Chariot" was dad's name for his truck once we got it all polished up inside and out!  He likes to have everything nice and spotless (pretty much ;) when he takes his daughters out! :) Such a caring daddy ~ I love him!  

 

 Atlanta Skyline

 

I loved the shapes of some of these buildings! They were so unique!

 

Perhaps when they built this they were trying to go for the "peach" shape? I know it is a blurry photo but I liked the structure! :)

 

 A Fathers Hand of Protection and Guidance  is necessary in a girls life...I would never choose to try and figure it out on my own!  I am so glad that my daddy is willing and caring enough to be involved in my life; it is such a blessing from my heavenly father!  I'm glad HE (the Heavenly He) is in my life too!  I'd never go without either one!

I don't want to make this post too long so I'll leave you on this note- 

We DID get there...see the flag?

We SAW the sign....

...And got lost...

All coming up on my next post about the Father Daughter Retreat 2011 in Pine Mt,GA!

Hope you enjoyed!

His Princess,

Alexis ♥

Nash-Bishop Wedding!!!

For years all of Uncle's Sean nieces have waited for the day he would get married.  He had promised that we would be in his wedding when he did get married and we couldn't wait!  Years came and went and we wondered if he was going to get married.  Then along came Amanda and she was perfect for Uncle Sean!  The day came last year when we learned that Uncle Sean had proposed to Aunt Amanda and the wedding was being planned!  We were so excited and it seemed like November would never come!

Yet, it did, and throughout those long months waiting for "the big day", we heard all about the details being planned.  The date was set for November 13th, the bridesmaids would wear wine-colored dresses, the wedding would be held at Bon Air Methodist Church, etc.  Uncle Sean called us one day and talked to each one of us, asking us to be a part of his wedding.  Hannah and I (Kimber) would be 2 of the 7 candle lighters, Alexis would be at the guest book (along with my cousin, Claire), Caleb, Seth and Josiah would be door openers and Eden would be a flower girl!  Judah and Lydia were obviously too young, so they were the observers! :)

I was also asked to take pictures! :) :)  Altogether there were 3 photographers that day:  The professional photographer, and then Mr. Andy and I!  (By the way, whenever I have a link it is to pictures the professional photographer took that I wasn't able to take pictures of also! :) 

Saturday morning we arrived at Bon Air United Methodist Church around 11 A.M.  It was a beautiful, sunny day - perfect for a wedding!

Seth ready to open the doors! :)

Before I continue, I must add that I was slightly obsessed with all the flowers. :)  They were all so pretty and I absolutely love fresh flowers.  Add to that my micro lens and the result is lots of flower pictures, so bear with me! :)  [On another quick note, I tried to take pictures that I thought other people might not catch, that way Uncle Sean would have a good variety of photos.  I don't think anyone else had a micro lens so I used this lens all day. :)]  And one more thing...you will get a small view into our family because I have lots of pictures of them! :)

 I love roses! :)

Up in the ladies' room everyone was as busy as a bee! 

The soon-to-be-aunt Amanda pinning on her mother's corsage.

 Gracie (my cousin) getting her hair done.

Alexis did Gracie and Eden's hair.  She did a great job! :)

Aunt T.C. getting her necklace on with Aunt Steph's help!

Eden...ready for action!

Eden, Gracie, and Claire.  (Claire and Gracie are sisters.)

Judah stayed in the background before the ceremony, but he was so cute that I had to get a picture before the service started! :)

The Lawhorn Family!

 Left to right:  Kaitlyn, Rachel, Aunt Stacey, Uncle Mike, and Sarah.

(I love how they all matched their outfits!  Isn't that so neat!?)

After all the ladies were done preparing we went down to the sanctuary to get some pictures done.

The three flower girls waiting for their turn!

Aunt Amanda and her bridesmaids.

Aunt Amanda, the bridesmaids and the flower girls!

For some reason, I really love this series of pictures.  The sun was coming through some of the windows so beautifully and it was so picturesque...I was loving it!

Cadence, one of my cousins! :)

Gracie.

What a cute group of girls!

 Na-naw, Aunt Amanda and Paw-paw! :)

Justus, another cousin! :)

The beautiful bride!!!

More flowers!

Aunt Amanda with her soon-to-be sisters-in-law.  Left to right:  Aunt T.C., Aunt Steph, *Aunt* Amanda, Aunt Stacey, Mama, and Aunt Megan.

Aren't the flower girls dresses so pretty?

Collin (Aunt T.C.'s son and another cousin of mine!).

Josiah, Justus, and Mason (Collin's brother).  My cousins (and brother) are so handsome!

Pretty Cadence.

After the girls were finished with their pictures, it was the guys' turn.

Uncle Sean couldn't get by without a few silly pictures! :)

My handsome uncle! :)

Uncle Sean and all his siblings (5 sisters! :).

After Uncle Sean's pictures were done, it was time to disappear because guests started to arrive.  (The wedding was at 2 P.M.)  We grabbed a quick lunch and then lined up! Hannah was standing right beside me and 5 more of my cousins behind me!  We were the "candle lighting group!"

Before we knew it, it was time to light the candles!  Hannah and I were in the very front so we walked down the aisle first.  The candle lighting went rather smoothly.  There were two candelabras and Hannah and I were to light our wick-thing at the front table and then light one candle and then let our cousins light the rest.  Soon we were done and I think I walked out of the sanctuary a little too fast! :)

The ceremony was beautiful!  I didn't take my camera with me into the service because I was taking care of Lydia but I wish I had.  Uncle Sean's face as Aunt Amanda came down the aisle was priceless.  The ceremony went really well...I could tell Uncle Sean was joking the whole way through!  I was watching Aunt Amanda's face and she was constantly smiling and quietly laughing throughout the service.  It was fun to watch!

After the ceremony we took more pictures, but this time with the new married couple:

  Mr. and Mrs. Sean Nash!!!!

It looks like Cadence is getting tired of all these pictures! :)

 Uncle Sean telling a story...

 Aunt Amanda with Uncle Sean, his parents and siblings.

I can't let our big family picture go without notice either.  Altogether there are over 30 of us and it made for a nice, big family photo!

I won't try and explain who every person in the photo is, because it would take too long, but just understand that all those people are related to us! :)

[Personally, our family doesn't look that big to me - in my head it's normal and I wouldn't trade it for anything! :)]

After pictures were over and we were about to leave my Great-Grandma (a.k.a. G.G.) took me by the hand and had me read the plaques on the side of some of the pews.  When I reached this pew plaque:

She stopped me.  She had given this pew to the church, a few years ago, in memory of her late husband!  G.G. had attended Bon Air Methodist Church for over 50 years!

The beautiful sanctuary and stained glass.

The bride and groom's escort to the reception.

My great-uncle Reggie restores old cars as his hobby.  He has been the "limo" so to speak for just about every Nash wedding.  In fact, the car Uncle Sean and Aunt Amanda rode away in was the same that Mama and Daddy rode away in at their marriage 18 years ago!

Car details!

Waiting for Uncle Sean and Aunt Amanda!

My great-uncle Reggie is between Uncle Sean and Aunt Amanda.  He even gets dressed up and looks like a taxi driver!

Inside the car!

Off to the reception.

Lexi and her fall fluffs.

The reception was held at the Westwood Club and it was beautiful!  You walked into the reception area and the cake met your eyes:

Like I said, I'm a bit obsessed with the flowers! :)

One of the tables.

Before you walked into the reception area there was a little candy bar!  Uncle Sean has always been the candy uncle...bringing tons of yummy candy to the beach every year.  Of course, his nieces and nephews love him for that (and many other reasons as well!), so it was neat to see that he thought of making a candy bar! 

 There were even bags to take some candy home with you!

When everyone had arrived, the wedding party was announced and then Uncle Sean and Aunt Amanda danced together for the first time.

Love is so sweet.

Uncle Sean and Aunt Amanda were so happy together and it was so easy to see how much they love each other! 

A kiss ended the dance and then it was time for the h'ordourves. 

The cake topper.

(Credit for this picture goes to my cousin, K.K...I let her take some photos and she did a great job!)

Two hearts entwined on Uncle Sean and Aunt Amanda's glasses.

Alexis and Sarah (a cousin) eating dinner.

Eden must like her roll!

After dinner the dance floor opened up and the dancing began!!  Our family has danced very little so most of the time we were just hopping around with our cousins but it was fun anyways!  We even danced with Paw-paw! :)

 Yee May dancing with her son, Alex.  Yee May was one of the bridesmaids and is married to Uncle Sean's best man, Sean!  (Funny I know...actually, 2 of Uncle Sean's 3 groomsmen were named Sean!)  Uncle Sean has known the other Sean (his best man) for most of his life.  (Did that confuse anyone?!)

After a little fun dancing it was time for the toasts.

 

Sean, the best man, reading his note.

Samantha, the maid of honor and Aunt Amanda's sister, giving her toast.

Sister love! :)

After the toasts it was cake time!

 They were both very nice to each other with the cake stuffing! :)

After the cake it was the Father/Daughter dance (and then the Mother/Son).

 Aunt Amanda and her daddy.

Uncle Sean and his Mama.

After those dances, the dance floor really opened up!

Aunt T.C. dancing away.

Go, Aunt Steph, go! :)

Allie (a cousin).

Aunt Mae-Mae.

Erika dancing with Kaitlyn.

Cadence and Lydia dancing with Paw-paw.

 The flower girls dancing with each other.

Lydia and Paw-paw.

Aunt T.C. and Rachel.

Hannah and Cadence.

 Gracie having fun...

Sarah and Rachel.

 Lots of smiles...

Uncle Sean and Aunt Amanda dancing again:

Sometime through all this dancing, I set the camera down so I could dance for a little while and Caleb took over photography for me!

Eden.

Lexi going at it.

Sarah and I dancing.

Lexi found this red couch that matched her dress perfectly!  She said people were amazed that she matched the couch that well and were taking lots of pictures of her! :)

We danced to lots of different things:  YMCA, the cha-cha, etc.  I wasn't quite sure how to "cha cha" so I just walked in circles and pretended that I knew what I was doing.  I'm sure I looked silly, but I was having fun!  Hannah and I also got to do one of our favorite things:  hold babies! :)  I got Asher and Hannah had Judah! :)

The couples dance:

Paw-paw and Na-naw.

 Uncle Mike and Aunt Stacey.

Daddy and Mama.

 Uncle Matt and Aunt Steph.

The couples dance being over, people just danced as they liked.

 Uncle Mike and his daughter, Sarah, sharing a sweet Daddy/daughter dance.

(Seeing them dance together made me start to cry, it was so precious.)

Lexi dancing with Rachel.

Justus just ran around in circles, as people danced, because he wasn't sure what to do!  

Before we knew it, it was time for Uncle Sean and Aunt Amanda to dance one last time before leaving for their honeymoon.

This is what Aunt Amanda does half of the time she's with Uncle Sean! :)

Time to say goodbye...

 Some of the goodbyes were hard to say...

After the bride and groom said goodbye, the walked through a barrage of bubbles to their awaiting car.

Saying bye.

So, that was my uncle's wedding!  If you want to see more pictures of their big day, go this website.  It has lots more photos!

As to the verse for this post:

"Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.” 

Mark 10:9 

 

Kimber :)