One year and counting.. :)

I’ve never felt so conflicted with TIME, as I do right now. It’s ALREADY been a year since my first date with Chad….yet… it’s BARELY been a year! How can that be? It feels like we JUST started dating and it’s already been a YEAR?!?! A whole year??! Impossible! Yet, right now, we are a little over five months to our WEDDING DAY and I’ve never felt closer to him. Isn’t that the makings of a couple at least 4 or 5 years into a long lasting relationship??! I’m so confused… yet with Chad, everything feels so RIGHT. Lol..
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LONE STAR PARK-Grand Prairie, Texas

In honor of our ONE YEAR anniversary, Chad and I hit our first date spot again this Memorial Day in hopes of scoring a win. True to our first date winnings, we came back with a little less money in our pocket... HOWEVER, we realized that we had won the jack pot with each other so we accepted defeat at the races and had a laugh at our TERRIBLE luck gambling. :)

Arriving at the park...

Lone Star Park, Grand Prairie, Texas

Watching the races from the Silks Dining Room... :)

The Executive Chef sent out a couple of tasty treats for us to try... Yummy FRIED GOODNESS!

Doing a little research before the races began...

And they're OFF!

Having a little bubbly... :)

Awww....

Boooooooo... So close... yet SO FAR!

Front row seats to the last race...

Heading to our hotel to freshen up before dinner..

Hot date with my love at Charlie Palmers at the Joule...

Because Chad knew the chef, they didn't hold back on giving us the star treatment. By dessert time, they graciously sent out the most RIDICULOUSLY DELICIOUS selection of desserts I had ever had in front of me...

Seriously? All this for just us two?? We accepted the challenge willingly...

Now THIS was by far the BEST dessert of the night.. It was a simply HEAVEN! Chocolate peanut butter pie... like you've never had before. We couldn't move much after all of this... :)

We were defeated.

Ending the night with a little Brut Bubbly...

California Dreamin'

It didn't take us long to settle into a day of total and complete relaxation after the craziness of the wedding had passed. We took advantage of the Califonia sun and beautiful views by sitting out on the deck of the restaurant at our hotel. A little sun, good friends and a few cocktails were all we needed for this relaxing Sunday.

This was the view from our hotel room... Laguna Beach in the morning..

Chad and I waiting for his friends Dave, Buffy and Mitch to show...

Chad's high school buddy Dave and I... good eats and good friends at the Hotel Laguna..

After a long day of NOTHINGNESS, we took a stroll along the beach..

We got there just in time to see the sun set...It was sooooo incredibly beautiful...

Wish we were still here... :(

Introducing... the newest Mr. & Mrs!!! :)

The whole time we were in California, Chad and I kept trying to imagine what OUR own wedding weekend will be like. Would we be ready? Would we be too wound up to just sit back and enjoy the day? Would it fly by too fast to even take it all in?? Just thinking about it brought tiny butterflies to our stomachs… but despite the chaos of her very own wedding day, Christy was surprisingly calm. After a somewhat easy morning with the kids, she left her moms place to head to the beach house to start her wedding day pampering.

Looking Suuuupa Sexy!!

Getting dolled up!

Even my love got his DO did! ;) He looks scared... lol..

Now Chad's asking for his OWN HOT IRON!!! lol.. I think he enjoyed this experience a little TOO much! :)

Here I am with Chad's mama and his cousin Jeff's wife Angela...

Sweet Kenzie looking angelic before the ceremony..

Chad and I posing with the bride to be :) Looking HOT Christy!

Ryan...looking nervous and excited... Awww...

YEAH!! it's a done deal now... :)

Congratulations Mr. & Mrs. Ryan Schmidt!!

The Schmidt & Platt kiddos looking cute... :)

Set at the Pacific Edge Hotel, the ceremony, dinner and dancing was to take place off the back porch of this beautiful rental house overlooking the ocean. Although overcast, the day ran smoothly and turned out to be the wedding day I'm sure Christy and Ryan had always dreamt about.

The happy Bride and Groom...

Aww... we're NEXT!! I can't WAIT!! A little over six month to go!

I love him soooooo MUCH!!

My "soon to be" sister-in-law and I being silly... (she's showing me her BOOBS!!) lol...

Chad and I with his cousin Jeff and Angela...

Christy with her infamous BURRITO!... (she had been talking about these things for DAYS and she finally got it...thanks to Chad and Jeff who went across the street to Taco Bell! :)

Jeff, showing us his smooth moves.... :)

Day before the Schmidt-Kelley Wedding!!

Because the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner was done on Thursday to accommodate for Christy’s working friends, we had a pretty relaxing “day before the wedding”. After spending a few hours shopping for last minute wedding day things… i.e. Chad’s super cool black low top groomsmen Converse, we met up with Chad’s fam. for a family bbq at Aunt Denise and Uncle Bob’s house. It was a great time hanging out with everyone again.. getting re-acquainted with my “soon to be” family. I can’t wait to be a part of this crazy clan. They are the BEST!

Hey look! It's my future Sister in Law and Bride to Be, Christy!

Chad's "Mini Me".. his nephew Logan... They are IDENTICAL as babies.. :)

My future Uncle Bob and Boo tending the fire..

Mmmmmmmm......

Easily entertained with Nemo...

Awww...giving Angela hugs..

Kenzie girl having a ball with that cake..

Chad showing Ryan how to hold the cake RIGHT BEFORE he's supposed to shove it in Christy's face tomorrow.. ;) hehehehehehe... Don't practice too much love.. We're NEXT!!

Christy and Kenzie saying goodnight...

Next stop.. Orange County!

This long awaited "mini vacation/wedding weekend" had finally come and we were finally in California for Chad’s sister Christy’s wedding! Right from the get go, we had things to do and people to see. Our flight landed around 1pm and after a quick run thru the In and Out drive thru, we settled in for a yummy belly filling meal of burgers and fries. (Our diet stopped the minute we stepped on that plane.. ;)

Awww... SMOOOCHIES!! (taking a rest at Chad's mom's place)

Chad and I being silly with the kids toys while we waited to head to the rehearsal. :)

We are such goofballs! Just like the good old days..

Showing his stealth skills...

Taking in Laguna Beach right before the rehearsal started...

20 years later... LITERALLY!

It's funny how so much time can go by between events... and when you think back on them, it seems like you were just there.... at that same place, just the day before. The last time I saw Vikki Villarreal, now Vikki V. Rowe, was almost two years ago... and although that may seem like a lot to some, the last time I had seen her before that, was 1989!!! Now I'm no mathmetician, but that's damn near 20 years!! Talk about having a lot to catch up on! :) If it wasn't for modern technology, namely Myspace, Vikki and I would have left our pasts in the past forever, but sometime around the time that I first moved up to Dallas, Vikki found me. Not long after that, we planned for a VERY, VERY long awaited lunch date to catch up on the last 20 years. I had never felt so OLD in my life! It took us two years, one wedding, 1 one year anniversary of wedded bliss, and one engagement later to finally meet up again. lol.. This past Friday, on one of Chad's extremely unusual Friday's off, we went on a double date with Vikki and her husband Grant. It was a great time of catching up, pizza and Pete's Dueling Piano's... and we can't wait to hang out again! (This time at least hopefully before our WEDDING!) ;)

I SWEAR she looks EXACTLY the same! :)

Don't you love those weird "Hold and Pose" looks? lol..

Not a flattering face shot Yvette! Oh well! :)