Margaux's Bachelorette Weekend

I have been getting over a cold for the last two weeks and here I sit on the eve of a major girls weekend extravaganza in Santa Barbara.

Miss Margaux is getting married next month and she invited me to join she and her girlfriends for a bachelorette weekend, which is a real honor.  I have come to think of Margaux as part of my own family and the other longstanding girlfriend in Sam's family to share in the limo between being a part of the family du jure and being part of the family de facto.

Margaux is far more patient that I am, she waited 17 years for Pete to propose to her.

In charge of our weekend festivities is one of Margaux's dearest friends whom I enjoy immensely- Ingrid.  She is a UCSB graduate along with her husband, Sam, so I know we're going to do be in great hands.  It will also be interesting to see a mature bachelorette party, since I think this is more in line with how I'd like to celebrate next year.

It should be a great weekend, especially since it will be a long weekend vacation.  We're all taking tomorrow off to travel up in the morning and hanging out by the pool in the afternoon.  I just hope I can keep up with these ladies and not relapse with my head cold.

I also can't wait to get back home on Sunday and see Sam!  He gets back from Thailand on Saturday night and will get a warm welcome from Hunter before being on call on Sunday.  Hopefully it will be a quiet night and he'll be able to spend some time at home after I get here.

Not All Compliments Are Created Equal

I got home from work today and did my weigh lifting routine before heading to the gym.  I was a little later than usual (someone had to take a walk and do his business, Hunter!) but I figured it wouldn't be a big deal because our usual teacher wasn't out today.  Man, was I wrong.

I got to class and every single bike against the back wall was taken.  Every. Single. One.

Are you kidding me?  The one day I wear a snug-fitting Lululemon top to spin instead of a baggy t-shirt I am going to be on display to the people behind me.  Cue the self-consciousness.

I did what any girl would do- I immediately texted my girlfriends for support.  The responses were priceless.

My Texts:
Showed up late to spin today and couldn't get a back row bike- it's the first day I have worn a tight Lululemon (muffin top exposing) shirt.  FML.

Nobody stares at the ass in front of them... except me... right?

Turns out I am not the only one with a muffin top, thank God I have a nice rack.

Responses:
From Amy- "You have such great form that if anyone looks at your ass it's going to be because they are checking out your stance"

From Carina- "LOL ur all good.  Gym judgement is silly!!!"

From Sam- "That's what you get for having a muffin top!"

So what did I do?  I spun my little heart out!  I figured if I was going to be the chunky girl on the bike I could at least get a helluva workout in and have people respect me for that.  Our sub, who I've had before and I am convinced is a little nuts, is forevermore to be known as The Spin Nazi.  (Seinfeld shout-out!)  She is seriously hard work, but not as fun as Jen.

Well, about 10 minutes before class was over, I was sweating all over myself and prepping for an awesome finish to my workout.  I looked up and The Spin Nazi is totally grinning at me and mouthing something that seemed encouraging although I couldn't tell what she was saying.  The next thing I knew, she called me out for having great form.

Wow.  There is no higher compliment when you are working your butt off than to have the group fitness instructor acknowledge your amazingness in front of the entire class.  Yes, it's pretty damn rewarding.  And honestly, I worked even harder that last 10 minutes after she recognized my effort.

Airoso Wedding Weekend

Wedding Weekend Recaps are so challenging- there is so much time to condense into one post!  And on top of that, I have so many photos to share!  So without further adieu, here we go!  

Couldn't miss an opporunity to snap a photo of my alma mater as I passed through Davis on my way to the hotel in Old Sacramento.  So many wonderful memories on that campus... so many wonderful friendships forged... so many wonderful people I was able to collaborate with.  I wish everyone well!

 Here we are in Sam and my hotel room, but Sam didn't come into town until Friday night.  So on Thursday, Marlena and I split the room.  We got ready for the rehearsal dinner, relaxed a little after our long travel days, and caught up on how life has been going for each of us lately.  It made me really wish that we live closer... Orange County to Chicago is just such a long way and long time to travel.  After the rehearsal, we went down to the hotel bar and had a drink while we watched the end of the Golden State Warriors victory- go Bay Area!  It was really fun spending some time with Lena.

Sam missed his flight to Sacramento and flew into San Francisco at 11:15pm instead.  Papa offered to pick him up for me and meet me in Vacaville... what a life savor!  So we didn't get back to the hotel until about 1:40 AM the morning of Jackie and Joe's wedding.  I think I was running mostly on adrenaline that day because I know I didn't get as much sleep as I needed!

Joe's sister, Emily

Luckily the wedding was great- we were running a little behind with hair and makeup, but I think the wedding was only about 15 minutes later than it should have been.  Jackie looked absolutely gorgeous (as always) and it was really fun to hang out with her mom and her sister and all of the ladies who are most important to her and Joe.  After the ceremony we took what felt like a million photos and it was a little chaotic because we all wanted to get to the wedding PARTY as fast as we could... but I think that we got some great shots, especially with such amazingly photogenic bridesmaids and groomsmen!  

I was totally blown away by the centerpieces on the tables at dinner.  They were really pretty and so simple and kind of perfect for a backyard wedding reception.  Joe's parents did an amazing job on their yard and it was really impressive to see the transformation from Thursday's rehearsal to the real deal on Saturday night.  It was a lot of work, but everything paid off and everyone survived!

I really loved getting to know Joe's sister, Emily, and his brother's fiancee, Shannon.  (Emily is in purple in the photo below)  They are both pretty loud but in a great way and they treated all of us like we were family all weekend long.  Shannon was especially helpful on the day of the wedding when we were sequestered in Joe's grandma's trailer and it was swelteringly hot outside.  She ran and got us drinks, food, etc. Pretty much anything we needed!  I am really happy that Jackie is marrying into such a wonderful family that will have her back and Joe's throughout their lives. 

 Our table was bridesmaids and dates, and the hair and makeup team.  We had a great time!  It was especially nice to see Katy and Emily Nester who I haven't seen in ages.  I guess that's the most fun part of a wedding weekend; catching up with all the people you are connected with throughout the bride and groom's lives.  It is really something magical and the wedding itself was not enough time to see all of those wonderful people I am connected to through Jackie.  I hope that soon we'll be able to catch up without the wedding madness, but I doubt that.  We have spread so far across the country.

 And here is the beautiful bride, Jackie.  One of my dearest friends.  One of my college roommates.  One of the girls I know will always be there for me no matter what I need.  I am blessed to have friends who are as supportive as Jackie and it was an extreme honor to stand up with she and Joe on their day.

And then there is my date... my wonderful, handsome boyfriend who took a late night fight to be able to be there with everyone on Saturday night.  Who caught a ride to the wedding with Megan whom he'd never met because he know I was committed to bridal party stuff the day of the wedding.  

Spending time with Sam was great.  We don't have as much time to spend together as we would like now that he's deep into his second year of residency.  Luckily we have 3rd year on the horizon and hopefully that will be significantly better in terms of hours spent at the hospital, time spent sleeping and ability to enjoy his free time.  I know I am personally hopeful for a little more responsibility shouldered at home but that's a topic for another blog post... so let me refocus on the wedding weekend.

Boy, don't I look great with that cigar?

It was also really nice for Lena and Sam to get to spend some quality time together - I don't think they have really gotten to know each other over the years because Sam was out of town when Jackie and Marlena came down to visit Southern California and he hasn't been able to go up to NorCal with me when I've traveled to visit the girls at Jackie's house.  Obviously, he wasn't invited on our girls trip to Chicago two summers ago when Jackie and I flew out to visit Marlena and see her skit at Second City.

And seeing Heidi and Jared is always a good time.  I can't wait for Heidi to start her wedding planning and hear about all their details.  I mean let's face it, I love this stuff!  Putting on big events is stressful but it requires organization, logistical strategy and lots of planning which are three of my strengths.  

One of our next couples tying the knot!  Dan and Tina came and met us for breakfast before we headed back to the airport on Sunday morning.  We had a great time catching up and we hope to get together again soon... though we will probably see them next on their big day in July.  

Wedding Season 2013

Wedding Season 2013 kicks off this weekend with the Kishmirian-Airoso nuptials.  I am flying up to Oakland tomorrow morning and will get to see Nonna and Papa on the way home from the airport to pick up the MDX to take up to Sacramento for the weekend.

Thursday night will be the rehearsal dinner and I'm so excited to see all my college girlfriends and the ladies from the bachelorette party again.  I think after dinner we're going to head into downtown Sac to do a little celebrating.  Lena, Heidi and I are sharing a hotel room that night so it will be quite the college sleepover!

Friday we'll be spending the day decorating Joe's parents' house and making our bouquets.  I think Jackie has appointments set up for us to have our nails done that evening as well.  She wants to do a bit of a girl's night out (GNO) at the hotel on her last night as Ms. Kishmirian so I think we'll all head back to relax after the mani-pedi experience.  Who knows, we might all need to get to bed earlier than expected after all our setting up!

Thanks to 2nd Year of Residency, Sam flies in late Friday night (he arrives in Sacramento at 11:40 PM) and my guess is I may need to skip some of the festivities that evening so I can take a nap before picking him up.  Hopefully he'll nap on the plane so he is a little bit rested before the big day arrives.

Saturday morning will be interesting.  I think we're going to head over to Joe's parents house around 9:30 or 10 so we can finish setting the tables and putting out the center pieces.  I'm a little nervous about getting all of that done the day of the wedding but that's why Jackie's the bride and not me!  She's so cool, calm and collected about the whole thing!

Anyway, the wedding will be Saturday evening after our hair and makeup team concludes the beautification process.  I was able to see Jackie's dress when I was in town for the bachelorette party and it's absolutely stunning.  She is going to be freaking gorgeous- although that would have been true regardless of the dress she had chosen!

In any case, here is the beginning of the 2013 Wedding Season!

Showering Miss Jackie

I have some really amazing girlfriends.  No, really.  I know lots of girls want to believe their girlfriends are the best girlfriends but really, I mean it.

This weekend I flew home to attend my college roommate's bridal shower- woot woot UC Davis!  Jackie is that friend who embodies all the personality traits I wish I had.  She is so mellow, thoughtful, calm and does such a wonderful job of talking me down from my emotional panic states.  I love her.

And let me tell you, all the stress of traveling was 100% worth it.  Heidi, our other college roommate and maid of honor, did a FANTASTIC job.  I mean seriously, Heidi deserves a lot of kudos for this party.  It makes me so thankful for my time at UC Davis and that I got to befriend such wonderful ladies.  

So wbrought the great camera with me and took care of business. So without further adieu here are some of the photos I took at the shower:

Ladies Weekend

It might not be a big surprise, but I don't get too many evenings Girls Night Out opportunities.  Yes, Sam is on call all the time (or so it feels), but many of those nights I am busy with Hunter or doing errands or housework.  On Fridays I am frequently too hired from the work-week to bother going out, and often times my girlfriends are busy with their boyfriends on Saturdays.

That was not the case this weekend.  Sam went to Las Vegas with Ryan, Steve, Nick, Mason and Kirellos when the stars aligned and all the boys were off at the same time.  Dan and Tina had been planning a March Madness trip which happened to coincide with the boys' time off.

I couldn't make it due to Jackie's upcoming wedding events, budgeting for our 10-year High School Reunion trip to San Francisco, and wedding/birthday madness in July.  I guess it's part of being a mature, financially minded adult to say 'no' to some trips.  :-)  Besides, I am really looking forward to all my upcoming weekend celebrations and this turned out to be a bit of a UCI med school reunion for Sam's group of guy friends.

So anyway, Sam left me here with Hunter for the weekend.  And wow, I have gotten to hang out with lots of great ladies!  Minal, Sam's co-resident, met me at The Melting Pot after I dropped Sam off at the airport on Friday night.  She hadn't ever been there before, so we ordered spinach artichoke cheese fondue and then a pot of milk chocolate & peanut butter fondue.  It was SO fun getting to spend a little one-on-one time with her.  In fact, I think I could REALLY enjoy her company.  The only trouble is that she is from Orange County, and has a very busy social life.  I anticipate it being even more difficult to spend time with her than it is for me to spend time with Sam!

Saturday morning, Amy and I met for the 9:15 spin class at our local LA Fitness.  It was a really rigorous workout this morning; we had a sub and she was way more intense than our usual instructor.  Not that we're not usually working hard, but this girl had me POURING sweat and that is rare even for me- I feel like I sweat an unusual amount.

After spin, I came home to shower and pick up Hunter before heading down to Corona del Mar to meet up with Amy for lunch and a little Newport Coast walk.  We spent a while hanging out on Nick's patio enjoying the sunshine.  It wasn't hot, hot, but it was definitely better than the over-cast, fog situation that was going on earlier in the morning.

When I left Amy, I went by Ralph's and picked up the Rug Doctor carpet cleaning machine and decided to shampoo our carpets.  After last weekend's Spring Cleaning, it was just looking foul that our carpets had dark stains and spots.  So anyway, I cleaned the carpets for about 2 hours and made very sure to go back over the whole floor with just plain water after I had finished with the soap.  I then made extra passes JUST sucking up water from the fibers.  My hope was that the carpet would be drier than it was last time I did this (June '12) and that it would be dry by the time Sam got home if not Sunday morning.

Hunter and I settled down on the couch to watch The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring and wait for the carpets to dry.  I wanted to call Jen, but she has a BIG exam (her last one) next Saturday and I didn't want to be a distraction for her.  Around 8:45, she texted me and asked me what I was up to.  Since I wasn't doing anything too important, and I had been hoping to see her, I decided to go over and have some wine.  Three and a half hours later (WooHoo for ringing in St Patty's Day 2013), after we finished a bottle of wine and played copious amounts of Guitar Hero, I finally headed home to Hunter.  While I was out, I left the heat on to try to help dry the carpets.  As soon as I got home I turned off the heat and opened back up our balcony slider and bedroom windows to help air out the apartment and speed up the drying process.

Jen texted me a 9 to see what I was up to.  She was getting burnt out studying for her big exam next Saturday and wanted to share some wine.  A bottle of Pino Noir and a few hours of guitar hero later, we rang in St. Patrick's Day.  When I got home I wasn't especially sleepy, so I decided to watch a bit more of The Fellowship of the Ring (which I was midway through when Jen texted).  I ended up going to bed around 2:30.

Sunday morning Any and I had planned to go to spin class... but she wasn't feeling up to it.  I, with only 5.5 hours of sleep, managed to get myself there and survived back-to-back spin days with LITTLE serious damage.  Nothing like last weekend when I did a poor job of working my hamstrings and quads equally... I couldn't wear heels all week and had to roll out my legs for three days straight.

After spin, I started putting things back in order as the carpet began to dry.  I also sat down to do some serious work- four hours of intense website analysis.  I am trying to work on our pages with high bounce rates so I looked at 26 pages: key term phrases, content, meta description, title, etc.  I was able to make changes to most of the pages, and there were a few I don't know how to improve upon so I will send those to our SEO guys and see if they have advice.  I also sent some weird URLs to our web design girl so she can check out what they are and if I can just delete the pages off the site or if she can make some edits so the pages function more successfully.

Now, I'm relaxing with Sam and Hunter on the couch, just hanging out and watching The Return of the King.  (LOVE THESE MOVIES!)  I watched the first two earlier today and I probably won't be able to finish this one tonight.  Oh well, I'll have to handle the conclusion tomorrow.

Bachelorette Party 101

Breaking News: I get to plan Jackie's bachelorette party!  I am so excited!

This is my first ever bachelorette party because I missed Molly's when she got married a few years ago. Jackie and I decided the best thing to do is to have the party in Tahoe so we can use the Santi family condo at Northstar to save everyone money.  Unfortunately, we are having it the weekend of April 20-21 and the resort will be shut down that weekend.  It looks like we may need to go all the way to Jason's for dinner Saturday night... but that's ok.  :-)

I've got the invitations ordered and I am waiting for the proof to approve printing.  Heidi is planning the Bridal Shower for 2 weeks ahead of the Bachelorette and I don't really want to step on her toes and send out my invites before she sends out hers... but I am asking for RSVPs back one month ahead of the Bachelorette so we can get the transportation, goodies, and refreshments figured out ahead of time.  That means I should probably send them out the first weekend of March so that people have between 2-3 weeks until the RSVP deadline.

It's going to be fun to be a bridesmaid again, even if I am a little nervous about the logistics being gone for the Shower, Bachelorette, and Wedding (kicking off my 2013 wedding season) every other weekend starting the first weekend in April.  I hope Sam is off at least one of the weekends I have bridesmaid stuff going on because otherwise Hunter is going to have to spend a lot of time with Dr. Kali and his amazing vet staff.  Not that I have a problem with that, but it does get a bit expensive!

NorCal Trip

Sunday Sam and I are road tripping to Northern California with Hunter for a week-long vacation.  It will be his second trip to our hometown and our first big trip home of 2012.  We'll be up North for the longest time since residency started.  It will be good to getaway from Orange County and get some perspective on what's important- loved ones!

I am really looking forward to seeing my family, especially my Mom's side.  I haven't seen my Auntie Annie, Aunt Kathy, or cousin Alicia since we had my grandfather's memorial in July 2010.  Wednesday I'm meeting up with the three of them for lunch and I'm looking forward to catching up!  I'm also really looking forward to them meeting Hunter since I named him after my grandparents on that side of the family. 

I'm also looking forward to having some free time to catch up on reading.  I am deep into the Game of Thrones books and I need to get motivated to ready book 4, which I've started twice and keep getting distracted from.  I also have a Facebook marketing book that Raleigh lent me months ago which I need to finish or give back to her, and about 20 marketing podcasts I would like to listen to while I'm driving around visitng friends or walking the dog.  

I will also get to see some girlfriends I haven't seen in ages.  Reunion time!  I haven't seen Lindsay in so long I forget when we were last together- she's never met Hunter so it's been at least a year.  In addition to that I'm going to see the Seto family and Jackie on Wednesday... depending on how the evening goes I may even be crashing at Jackie & Joe's place.  Exciting news: Jackie and Heidi were in San Francisco last weekend and picked out my bridesmaid dress.  I will get to try it on for the first time when I see her on Wednesday afternoon!

I plan on doing some work while we're vacationing- mostly just maintaining our social media sites and drafting future blogs, but I will also be on-call in case something happens.  Thank goodness I am very mobile as long as I have my cell phone, laptop and internet service.

Sunday can't come soon enough...

Wedding Season 2012

I have T-minus 3 weeks until I am done with my marketing class... which is great because I have taken on more and more responsibilities at work.  I am so thankful to have amazing opportunities to grow professionally and be a part of the success at my company.  On top of work, I have a lot of fun weekends coming up.

In a few hours I will be hopping on a flight to SFO where I will join Carina and we'll meet our grandparents.  Nonna & Papa are taking us to dinner in the city before we head home for the big unveiling of the Santi "Kitchen" Remodel of 2012.  What started as a kitchen addition, turned into quite the home project- affecting our living room, dining room, guest bathroom, and hallway in addition to the kitchen addition. 

Tomorrow morning, Carina and I will head up to Lake Tahoe for a wedding.  Mom and Dad are arriving at the Hunter Lake House sometime early this afternoon with the Wards (who have kids my and Carina's age) to relax before college friend Dominic's daughter, Katie's, wedding tomorrow.  I haven't met her soon-to-be-husband yet, but I am really excited to do so.  Katie and Rick have been together since college, and I was not surprised when he proposed.

The Wards' son will be getting married next month, and I'll be heading home the second weekend in September to attend that.  Their son, Matt, is marrying a really wonderful girl, Whitney, who I was able to meet at the 49er games this fall.  Matt and I have kept in touch since high school through tailgating during football games.  I am really happy for he and Whitney, and really excited to celebrate their nuptials.

Bring up the end of the 2012 wedding season, Allison is getting married the first weekend in October.  I am so, so happy for her.  Allison was a huge role model for me in junior high school and high school when she paved the road for me into water polo.  She and her mom convinced my mom and I that I should get involved in the sport, she had me join her summer club team for the Junior Olympics, and she drove me to practice when I was a sophomore on the our High School Varsity Team. 

The only bummer about all these great trips is having to leave little Hunter Puppy at home.  Sam's got call tomorrow and won't be home until Sunday afternoon some time.  So I am leaving here shortly to drop Hunter off at our vet's office where he will be boarded until Sam comes home on Sunday.  This is Hunter's LONGEST stretch at the vet's office- we have boarded him overnight before, but never two nights in a row.  I am honestly a little nervous for him!  At least I can be an overbearing mom and call the vet to check in on him.  LOL.

Obstacles

Grrrr.  I am annoyed.

 

I thought I'd check out the menu at Lucille's BBQ where I am meeting a girlfriend who I haven't seen in almost a year (I think) for Happy Hour tomorrow.  Ugh.  No nutritional information listed, and based on my internet digging, none of the options are going to be great.  I called the restaurant to inquire as to what the nutritional info on their BBQ Salad is, because it looks mighty delicious and doesn't come with tempting sides like the Half BBQ Chicken (which is looking like my best option so far).  The hostess offered to find out the info for me, but returned without an answer.  It seems they just don't have that information on file.  

REALLY?

How the heck am I supposed to keep making good choices when I get answers like that.  Now I'm debating if I try to be good with the BBQ Chicken Plate, test my luck with the BBQ Chicken, or get something completely boring and unoriginal like the Chicken Cesar Salad with dressing on the side (my go-to WW dinner out).  Honestly, my inclination is to suggest we meet somewhere else... but it's kind of embarassing to bring up. 

Why must losing weight be so difficult?!?

Out of Town Guests

Some stars aligned this past weekend.  Sam has been in Spain with his family since Tuesday, Nonna & Papa had to be at LAX on Saturday afternoon, Dad had plans for his annual boys golfing trip at Northstar, and Mom was off work (almost) for the summer.  Time for a (partial) Family Roadtrip! 

My paternal grandparents and mom came down to visit on Friday.  Nonna & Papa hadn't been down to visit since Sam and I moved off-campus last June, so they were overdue to see our new living situation.  I was really happy they arrived early in the afternoon on Friday, and lucky that I was able to take the afternoon off and spend time with them.  We spent a lot of time relaxing and playing with Hunter, and just enjoying each other's company.  On Saturday, they got to watch some of Hunter's obedience class before heading up to LAX to pick up my cousin Ali.  She was moving into her new housing at UCSB where she is transfering in as a sophomore. 

Mom bought some new hanging plants for our patio after we finished up at Petsmart, and then she treated us to pedicures at this relaxing little nail salon I found with Amy in the fall.  She and I continued our time together meeting her good friend, Lori, for dinner.  They hadn't seen eachother in at least 6 years and it was really fun hanging out.

Sunday we drove up to Manhattan Beach and met Margaux for lunch at The Strand House- OMG it was an AMAZING view and the food was excellent.  (Note: I had, and really enjoyed, my first ever lobster roll.)  After lunch, we met up with Carrie who was fresh of the plane from her adventures in Europe and it was so good to see her.  Obviously with today's technology we'd been able to see eachother via video chatting, but we hadn't done it as often as either of us would have liked and I was love overdue for a hug.  That evening we Skyped Dad and Max, and stayed up late talking about life lessons and being the person you set out to be when you're young over a bottle of lovely Wente wine.

Monday I took the day off of work and we shopped and lunched at Fashion Island.  It felt a little like we were pretending that we were wealthy Newport Beach socialites, and there were plenty of them out and about!  After lunch we ran a couple of errands and then headed home to do the last of the cleaning and packing.  Sam and Justin were able to FaceTime us from Sam's new iPad and I'm very happy to report they are having a grand time in Mallorca.  Then, the weekend was over.  Hunter and I dropped Mom off at the airport, called Dad to let him know she was on her way, and then went home and didn't quite know what to do with ourselves.  In no way am I projecting my emotions onto my dog, but Hunter was pretty subdued and bummed that our house guests were gone. 

Thankfully, Ryan arrived last night for his weekly 2-night visit and he will be with us until Sam gets home Thursday night.  I am really glad we've been able to see him so much these last couple of weeks, it is almost like being back at UCSB senior year... only now we head off to work instead of class, and our afternoons aren't filled with beachtime.  I suppose we're officially grown-ups now.  :-)

Congrats J&J

Earlier this week, my dear friend and college roommate stopped by during a road trip she and her boyfriend were taking from their home in Northern California out to Nevada and Arizona. Her boyfriend suggested they come down and stay with Sam and I for an evening before heading home.

Little did she or I know, he was planning on proposing during their vacation. He thought that she might like to share the news with me in person rather than over the phone or via text message. 

While I wasn't completely shocked, I was overwhelmed with happiness. The bride-to-be is one of the most caring, compassionate women I know. I admire her intellect, her poise, and her ability to remain calm and collected in tumultuous situations. When I am feeling ready to explode, I often ask myself, "What would Friend do?"

Obviously this guy isn't too shabby either- I am incredibly touched that he would take into account that she and I would want to celebrate in person. And long before the proposal and this trip I knew he was The One. I knew it when he welcomed all of us crazy girls into his life as if we had always been a part of it. I knew it when I watched him braided her hair for her.

I am so excited to watch them create a life together and I am honored to be a part of the wonderful things to come in their future!