Lots of Love (and Sugar)

There aren't moments every day that warm my heart, but this weekend, my heart burned with happiness. I know, it sounds cheesy, but it's true. It was such a good weekend.

On Thursday night, while making Jackson's birthday cookies (more on that subject in a bit) I got a very happy (and not at all unexpected) phone call. My best friend is engaged to marry my husband's best friend! Waaahoooooo! We are so excited for Rachel and Cliff and cannot think of a couple more deserving of the unique and unconditional love that marriage brings. Their wedding will be a beautiful display of happiness, family, and grace, and we cannot wait for the big day (whenever that may be). Did I mention that I was excited? Happy? ECSTATIC?!!? I am so lucky that they were already planning to come to Houston to stay with us this weekend, before leaving on their family cruise, so Rachel and I could talk weddings and get the wheels turnin'.

Friday morning went by quickly. I left work at noon and when I got home from work, I started decorating the cookies I made for Jackson's first birthday party the next day. They turned out SO CUTE, if I do say so myself. I did royal-iced sugar cookies, using the sugar cookie recipe I posted on SSH, which I absolutely swear by. I made tigers, lions, giraffes, hippos, rhinos, elephants, and monkeys for the safari-themed event, and although they required a lot of time (sugar) and concentration, they were totally worth it. Check em out for yourself:



Later that evening, we met Lindsey, Taylor, and Jackson for the little guy's actual birthday dinner and then we headed home to finish the cookies and wait for Cliff and Rachel to get into town. Once they got there, the wedding talk began (of course) and we chatted in the kitchen till the wee hours of the morning as I frosted cookies and the guys watched the movie Star Trek. It was so relaxing, so much fun, so us :) I missed our friends and I wish we could have had more time with them.


Saturday was a BIG day. Jackson was having his very first birthday and there was a lot to do! Matt and Jordan flew in from Florida and met us at the house that morning so the guys could get some golf in and us girls could get mani-pedis and catch up. We headed over to the Johnston's (a little later than planned, hehe) to celebrate Jackson's big day and spend time with family and friends. Big animal tracks led us to the front door where we stepped into the best little safari-themed birthday party ever! Lindsey completely outdid herself. The food, decorations, games, cake, party favors - it was perfect. Absolutely perfect. And Jackson had a blast; we all did. His party was without a doubt the best first birthday party I have ever been to (or Googled, or read about in Martha Stewart Living, or skimmed through on Blogspot).

It was great to celebrate such a wonderful day with our family and friends, and to see people that we don't get to visit with often. Matt, Jordan, Cliff and Rachel stayed with us Saturday night, and you know what that means - fajitas and drinks at the house, playing Balderdash, telling jokes and laughing until our stomachs hurt. We use to do those things, and much more (wakeboarding, camping, Joe T Garcia's...), all of the time, and have really come to cherish the times that we do get together now, since we are all so far apart. It was another late night and good-byes came too soon the next morning, but we were left with full hearts and so much happiness for getting to spend some much-needed quality time with our good friends.

Needless to say, we are completely exhausted now and all but conked out on the couch, watching the Masters and nibbling on leftover cookies. We wish all the best for Cliff and Rach as they begin the wedding planning process (God have mercy on them), hope little Jackson is recovered from his mind-blowing birthday party, and that all of our friends and family have safe travels as they return home...or head out to sea (Cliff and Rach). Have a great week y'all!