Stoked!

Tomorrow, Brook gets sworn in for the Illinois Bar. Since we are in the middle of our monthly Close process at work, I didn't even bother to see if I could take the day off. And Brook was going to go alone, which just didn't seem right. Someone needs to be there to celebrate with him. :) Well, I woke up today, really wanting to go, since I was sick and didn't get to see him sworn in for the MI Bar. I thought I would just take a chance and ask. I have such a great boss! I am heading to Chicago tonight to see Brook become an attorney in the state of Illinois!

I Did It!

I finally attended a wedding and got pictures of the bride and groom! Jennifer Zolner became Jennifer King on Saturday at a gorgeous ceremony and reception at the Amway Grand. It was an intimate affair with only 60 people in attendance, but extremely fun! Congratulations Jennifer and Tyler - we wish you nothing but joy and happiness. Thank-you for including us in your special day.

Stacie, Malia, Jennifer and I

Gannon and Nicholas really tore it up on the dance floor


Kathy and Karen with their girls

Brook was proud of this candid photo that he took

Happy Halloween!

We had fun on Friday, making the rounds to see our nieces and nephew, dressed up in their costumes. I went over to Wes and Jaime's before heading to GR and spent some QT with Maria and Connor.

Connor was more interested in the pumpkin than posing for me

Tigger and Sleeping Beauty

When I arrived in GR, we went over to Trent and April's to see Anna and Livia in their costumes, as well. Brook actually went trick or treating with the girls. I decided to stay inside with the pizza and the wine and keep Cindy company as she handed out candy.

A Little Pumpkin and Cheerleader
(enjoying the candy bracelets I gave them!)

Who would've thought that Halloween is almost, if not more, fun for adults than kids? I am amazed at the time and effort that goes into planning costumes. Can you guess what more people were dressed up as than anything else? I will give you a hint . . . lots of guys in Speedos, with gold medals around their necks. Yeah, it was Michael Phelps. Gross. We had an interesting and fun night out with Brook's roommates at McFaddens and got lots of ideas for next year!

Brook, as one of the guys from "Anchorman"
and me as a Go-Go Girl
(Thanks for the costume, Hannah!)

Brook and the rest of the Anchormen


Kendra, as Deal or No Deal model, me and Jen, as Sarah Palin

TGIF

It has been a loonnggg & emotionally draining week, with me being sick and funeral arrangements, due to a death in my family. I am looking forward to this weekend and being with Brook. Unfortunately, it will not be a relaxing weekend! We will be in Grand Rapids for part of it . . . celebrating Halloween tonight at McFadden's and attending Jennifer and Tyler's wedding at the Amway Grand with so many of our close friends Saturday. Sunday, we head back to Jackson for our required 4 week class "Overview of the Catholic Church." (Poor Brook . . . so much driving back and forth lately.) We have to take this course to get married. I love being Catholic, but come on . . . I have been a strong Catholic my whole life and Brook is going thru the RCIA classes to become Catholic. Oh well, it is only 4 weeks and is worth it to get married in the Church. Maybe we will learn something this weekend?

Anyway, my goal for the weekend: get some pictures of the BRIDE & GROOM! Since there will only be 50 people at the wedding, this shouldn't be difficult. Wish me luck!

Home Sick

I have been feeling under the weather for the last few days and decided to stay home from work today, instead of spreading my germs around the office. And since I am incredibly bored, I thought I would do a little blogging.

Last weekend, we went to Kelly Hull and Melissa Ott's wedding. (Kelly is Brook's cousin on his mom's side.) The wedding was beautiful and we had a great time with the Bildner side of the family. Once again, I did not get any pics of the bride and groom (I really need to work on that!), but here are some of the moments I did capture . . .

Trent, Brook and Carey

Brook's parentsApril (Trent's wife) and I

Blessing of the Pets

In honor of the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi, our church did its annual blessing of the pets today. Brady and Prince (Veronica's dog), along with about 8 other dogs showed up in the parking lot of Queens for the blessing, accompanied by their owners. The dogs received a short blessing and (their favorite part) animal cracker treats.

Engagement Pictures

As promised, here is the slide show of our engagement pictures. As a side note, if anyone is looking for a good photographer, we would highly recommend ours! His name is Barry Tilson - he is very reasonably priced, great to work with and does awesome work.