see ya later houston!

if you've followed this blog for any amount of time, you should know by now there is never a dull moment in the chastain household.  bub-hub, raider and i are leaving the beautiful city of Houston and making our new home in Grapevine. 

we are excited to be close to our family and sweet friends,

but we are sad to say "see ya later" to the fantastic life and memories we've made here.

here's to new adventures! 

forever honeymooners

bub-hub and i were fortunate enough to celebrate our anniversary in beautiful(ish) cancun!

i only say "ish" because our visit occured in the middle of tropical storm.
we didn't even bother to check the forecast before we left.

mexico always has perfect beach weather right??

so needless to say, we were surprised to be greeted with dark stormy rain clouds instead of clear blue skies.

despite the rain, we were so spoiled all week.

when we arrived at our room, we were welcomed with a fun anniversary banner on our door!

each evening, we came back from dinner to find our room was decorated with towel animals and rose petals and they even gave us a special "romantic" dinner. #awwwshucks

we spent our rainy days drinking lots of coca-cola light,

eating yummy yummy food,

playing mexican animal bingo,

trying new drinks at the martini bar,

getting fantastic massages,

and learning how to play chess.

#youknowyourejealous

 our last full day in mexico, we were blessed with blue skies and sunshine.

more sunshine than our sunscreen could block,

but we soaked up every minute we could!

i can't wait to go back again.

i loved getting to spend the week being lazy with my bub-hub.

 

a lovely weekend for a wedding! :)

4 flights,

2 3-hour car rides, 

1252 miles.

the last 36 hours, yes, only 36 hours, have been nutso! 

we started out bright dark and early on saturday morning and headed to the airport to begin our trek to eureka springs, arkansas.  as i was moaning and groaning and threatening my alarm clock, i had a reality check. some people wake up at 6 am on a regular basis...bless your hearts.

two flights and 1 1/2 hazelnut lattes later (thanks for your sacrifice bub-hub!), we met the rest of my family in tulsa for the last leg of our road trip.  nothing gets the abs rolling more than a car full of family members. :)

after a long day of traveling, we finally arrived at the cabin we were going to be staying at for the night. we unloaded, recharged our batteries freshened up, and headed to town to grab some dinner before the festivities began.

side note:

in case you're ever in a life or death trivia match and need to know where the world's largest wind chime is located, it's in eureka springs. you're welcome! :)

after a yummy dinner, we headed over to the world's most beautiful wedding venue:

the thornhill chapel. 

before we headed into the chapel for the ceremony, we had a mini-reunion in the parking lot! :) after lots of hug (but never really enough) from grandparents, we were ready for a wedding!

the chapel itself was beyond beautiful and didn't need any additional decorations. however, at the front of the church, the bride placed a lovely backdrop made of strands of lace. it was the perfect touch. 

after the ceremony, we headed over to the reception at castle rogue manor.  the only way to describe this place is the word fairy tale.  

when we first arrived, we were greeted with a hot chocolate bar, apple cider and yummy coffee! 

there was also a lovely pie bar set up. everything was homemade and so yummy. 

and yes, the groom's cake is an armadillo. 

the groom is from amarillo, a town in west texas, so the little guy fit in perfectly. and luckily, it wasn't red velvet. :)

each place setting was set with a piece of antique sheet music, china, and silver wear. each guest was also given a lovely tea cup to visit the hot chocolate bar! there were also beautiful paper cranes spread out around the room. so lovely.

i know i say this a lot, but i really love my family. 

they are so fun,

they love to dance and laugh and celebrate together, and i absolutely adore every moment i get to spend with them.

and just when you thought the evening couldn't get any better, 

the paper lanterns came out.

yes, paper lanterns! just like in tangled! 

they were so beautiful floating floating off over the pitch black lake. 

i really felt like i was in a fairy tale. 

it was the perfect way to end the night.

after the bride and groom left, we headed back out to the cabin to pass out get some sleep, before we said goodbye to the beautiful weather and headed back home the next morning.

after a reversal of our journey, we finally made it back to hot and steamy h-town.

needless to say, 

bub-hub and i are exhausted.

any family time, however short or busy or chaotic it may be, always fills my heart.

best wishes and congratulations to the newlyweds! :)