the byron family: lots of lovin'

We have been so busy the past month. We have been doing lots of celebrating and spending so much QT with those we love!

05/23/12 - Matt and I celebrated our 3 year anniversary! We went to dinner at a delish restaurant in 5 points, Ocean. It was so good! The traditional gift for 3 years is leather. Matt got me a leather bible with my name engraved - he is so freaking incredible. I got a little creative with the term "leather" and got Matt a Leatherman knife :) He had to give up his knives when he accidentally left them in his backpack after our trip to Colorado and they were confiscated at the airport!

05/25/12 - Ben and I headed to Memphis! My dear friend C5 was graduating from Med school and my other dear friend Kelsey lives there. Kels and her hub Ryan moved into a house over a year ago and I had not seen it yet, so this was the perfect opportunity to see it and celebrate the soon to be mommy, Dr. C5! I was nervous ab the 4 hour drive in the middle of the day by myself with Ben in the back - but he did SO good! He was happy the whole time and we were just like Bonnie and Clyde on the open road! It was like 900 degrees in Memphis that weekend but we had so much fun! Kelsey's house is just so super cute and we did lots of fun things with Ben! Ben loved their dogs and realllly loved Rino (Ryan). Rino and Ben checked out all of the trucks on the street while Kelsey and I zipped around town and talked til we couldn't talk anymore. Friday night we went out to dinner downtown and to Beale Street. Saturday we went to an awesome park, Shelby Farms, and Ben saw some Buffalo! He was in awe! His favorite book right now (and my least favorite!) is Grandfather Buffalo, so he was pretty starstruck. The park also had this insanely awesome playground. We went to Rino's sister's house for a cookout and to let the kiddos play in the pool. Ben and little Lola had so much fun together and played bball for hours! It was a great way to spend the holiday weekend! Poor Matty had to stay home and work, but we came home Sunday afternoon so we could spend Memorial Day all together.

05/28/12 - We enjoyed the great outdoors and went for a hike at Oak Mtn State Park. We also rented a paddle boat which was not quite as fun as it looks. It is hard work and not very rewarding. The faster you pedal the slower you go. I think next time we will do the canoe!

(this is how Ben "hiked" - haha. He had more fun in the water!)

06/02/12 - Matt and I dropped the little guy in Chattanooga and headed to Lebanon for one our friends' weddings! Matt's friend from highschool, Rachael, and her (now) husband dated for like 11 years before getting married! They survived long distance, vet school, med school and her 6 siblings :) The wedding was at her family's farm, Cedar Springs Farm. It was SO gorgeous, intimate and just perfect. Every detail was like something out of a magazine! We had a blast. Racheal was in the same med class as my friend C5 and they have become really close - which is so neat! So, I got to spend time with the Flemings and their precious baby bump, too!

06/08/12- From one celebration of love to another! We spent a few days at home and then headed north again to East TN for Matt's brother Kelly's wedding! This was very special because we got to see almost everyone from Matt's side of the family. It was a great reunion filled with lots of togetherness and love! Kelly's bday was on Friday/Rehearsal day. The boys all played golf at The Virginian and then we had to get ready for the rehearsal. Ben was the star of the show (hehe, not really!) as the Ring Bearer! He didn't even put his feet on the floor at the rehearsal! I was just sure he was not going to make it down the aisle on the big day. Matt and I devised a plan though - and well - we'll get to that in a minute. The rehearsal dinner was at The Olde Farm - it was gorgeous! Outdoor venue, great food, great spirits - it was just awesome!

The day of the wedding was like a whirlwind! Matt went to lunch with Kelly at 10:30 and then Matt and Ben both had to be ready for pictures at the reception site at 2pm. We luckily got Ben to go to bed for nap and then he spent the rest of the day with Matt and the boys. He got to go on his very first limo ride and was in HEAVEN! Ben looked SO precious in his outfit. Our plan was for Ben to not see me before the wedding so he wouldn't want me to hold him. It worked like a charm! He made it down the aisle and it was SO CUTE!!

The reception was phenominal. The Virginian was gorgeous. The Bride & Groom looked so happy all night! One of the groomsmen sang their first song and it was such a special moment.

This was too funny. The flower girls were dancing and Ben wanted to dance, too, but they wouldn't let him in their circle (sad!). So, I took his hands to dance with him, however, that is NOT what he had in mind! He wanted to dance with the girls! So, he LEFT ME (SUPER sad!!) and went back to the girls. One of the groomsmen talked the girls into letting Ben dance with them... happy ever after! haha

Ben LOVED dancing. He went back to the hotel early so Matt and I could enjoy the evening... but he partied hard while he was there! This video was at the end, like almost 8:30... and he was so tired!