Finally the feeling

has arrived. What feeling? The I think this is the dress for me feeling. Last weekend after Little B's birthday we stopped by another wedding dress shop. This time I had mom, Abby, and Little Bear with me. We had a great time trying on dresses. It was funny to see Little Bear pick what she did and did not like on each dress; some where not puffy enough, others not sparkly enough. She was pretty cute.


We managed to get through about 6 or so dresses. However, there was one we liked best. Sadly in the middle of trying them all on mom had to head out for her flight. She did get to see the dress we liked best which makes me very happy. Abby, Little Bear, and I continued to try on other dress to confirm we loved that one best.

Therefore, I was stuck...I mean I had found a dress the week prior here in Dallas that I liked pretty good. Again keep in mind I like them all...non are like "PICK ME, PICK ME". I tried to describe to Abby and mom what the other was like to see if they would think it was better than this one. Now it was time to rally the GIRLS.

Friday, I called the Arlington store to see if they could pull up my information from my Houston visit. The lady assured me that they had my information and the 2 dresses I liked best. I then set up a late afternoon appointment for Saturday (this way I could drug sweet Winston and then drive home). Once I finally got back to Fort Worth the girls and I drove to Arlington. I was so excited to show them this dress. I mean they saw the first dress so could help me compare the two.

When we arrived at the store they pulled up my information. Then there was a long pause.........."Well we only have one of your dresses in the store today." WHAT!!! DEEP BREATH, DEEP BREATH, DEEP BREATH!!! I kindly stepped back and thought about how I would approach this without sounding like a BRIDZILA.

1. I had called to confirm that they did have my information and dresses the day prior
2. I just drove all the way from Houston to try this dress on for my friends.
3. The sale on my dress was ending the next day...and if it is not here how can I confirm and by this dress prior to the sale ending!
4. Were there any other stores close with the dress?

The wonderful manager lady got on the phone and began to make calls. The sad news about this is that both of the other stores are FOREVER away, in Frisco and Garland. That would require at least an hour more of driving and it was almost closing time. I stood and waited to see if any of the other stores had MY DRESS!
(The store I am at is a new one, only open now 3 weeks...so they are still waiting on some of their dresses to arrive.)

YES!!! The Frisco store had it...so that is when I told the lady well I could never make it there to try it on. How are we going to fix this problem? I said, "Can you maybe borrow it just for an hour or so?" The sales associates all looked at me like I was CRAZY! I think one actually laughed. Apparently the stores do not "share" with each other. The manager asked that I try on the other dress while she worked this out. I did...but it was not the one I like best. The girls really didn't like it either.

Back to waiting......finally there was a solution. The manager is actually good friends with the Frisco manager and they worked out a swap. The Frisco store had this dress in 2 sizes and was willing to share one with her. Therefore I made another appointment for Sunday. I asked my girls if by any chance I could borrow them one more time. They were okay with it. WHAT SUPER GIRLS I HAVE!!! YOUR THE BEST FRIENDS EVER!!

SUNDAY!
Up and ready to go...we are off for the store again. Alison and I both wondering if they really will have the dress when we arrive. Sure enough I walk in and they say, "Your dress is waiting." YES!! IT IS HERE!!!
I go in and get all set. Then I walk out to show the girls....they all LOVE IT!! Now for the real question. Compared to the other dress (from 2 weeks ago), which one do they like best? Alison had seen both and liked this one best. Wiggs had only seen this one and like it. Polly had seen both and said this one for sure! I too LOVED IT best. I mean I really loved it secretly prior to showing them...but I feel better knowing that others love it to.

Of course I had to wear the dress for a little bit to confirm that I LOVED IT! It was funny. Then Alison is so stinking cute, she made me say on video the 5 reasons I loved this dress. She claims that this will help me remember in my older years why I picked my dress. Here are my reasons: (of course without giving away details...Sorry Chris you will have to wait)
I hope I can remember what I said:

1. That I loved both the top and the bottom of this dress...it was not to flat.
2. The train is not too long, thus creating a sand dun as I walk down the isle.
3. That is is not too heavy for the beach, it is just right and a real dress.
4. That the sweet manager met in a parking lot to make the "trade" so I could try it on. (Who else gets that story?)
5. I actually feel like a bride in it.

There you have it...I can now CHECK wedding dress off the list. My mom and sister both very happy I went with the choice I did too. I know it is not suppose to be about how others feel...but I love knowing that others love it too, not just me! YEAH I am so jazzed. Now I just have to wait 13 weeks to put it back on again.

210 Days

Well lets see there are only 210 days til the big WEDDING! Man oh man still so much to do. I have accomplished majority of the major things. However, you know there are a few BIG things still to do.

1. Being oh um the DRESS!! I know I really need to just find the one I love. The girls and I are off to look again today!
2. Invitations, well I think I know which style I like. However it is really a matter of narrowing it down and picking.
3. Bridesmaids dresses, I think I still have a little time on this one. I will get serious around Feb. or March on this one.
4. Cute beach wear. Of course I have to have some super cute beach wear for the wedding and honey moon.

Okay I think those are the big ones...I mean thankfully between mom, Abby, and I we have all the ceremony and reception details done! That was the best trip ever! If you guys come up with any great ideas or things I missed let me know. I would love the extra help. As of for now I must find the dress! YIKES!!

P.S. the wedding website is up to date with pictures from the trip (you can see the link on my sidebar). Also I hope to have resort rates and booking information on there by the end of next week. Keep checking back so you can book your room. What fun!

Happy 1st Birthday!!

Today is Winston's 1st birthday. Wow, wow, wow!! I can not believe his is no longer a puppy. It is hard to imagine...since I still call him a puppy. I remember the day Chris and I drove ALL the way to PLANO to pick out our sweet boy. (You can read about my first blog on Winston here)We really had gone to look at another little guy that was 1 years old. However, Winston stole our heart. Also the other dog was sick!



We have been pretty blessed with this sweet guy. He seemed to have picked up on all things quickly. I don't really remember too many potty stresses! He loved going to training and school. I mean minus the whole "car sick" issue he is AMAZING! We have gotten that taken care of with some wonderful drugs. Little Winston we are so happy to have you be a part of our family.




My favorite things to with Winston are:

• cuddle up on the couch and watch t.v.
• go for walks around the neighborhood
• just play

My favorite things Winston has done for Chris and I are:

• shown that we can work together when raising something (that is a big step)
• given us something to love besides each other
• allowed us to have wonderful patience

Here are a few of my favorite pics of Winston!! From the beginning til now...look how much he has grown.

Jan. 10, 2009 the day we got him!!

Our new sweet puppy! Feb 09

sleeping with daddy

Easter 09

Riley and Winston; May 09

Supporting the Yankees too!

July 09

Advanced Graduation

His favorite spot!

Done...what a day!

You know when you begin your day at 3 am you feel much more accomplished. So as I stated very early this morning we were up an at them looking for the deals. Last night Abby, Brian, and I really didn't think we "needed" anything. However, I did have a few things I wanted to pick up at Target and they wanted to hit up Best Buy.

Off we were ready to SHOP, SHOP, SHOP! We dropped Brian off at Best Buy so he could walk in right at 5 am. Then Abs and I hit the Target line. We were in line right before 5 am and the line was 7 stores long....crazy! Normally we would hit up the line a little earlier if there was an item WE REALLY needed. But since we could live without the things we were going for we got there at opening time. We were a little sad we didn't get the super cute reusable shopping bag they passed out though.

Anyhow we made it in and took off for the items we wanted (not to be named due to the fact that they are GIFTS!!!) I hit my corner, Abby hit hers, then we met at luggage. I wanted to grab some new 4 wheeled bags for the wedding. I think it will be much easier to push a bag and carry a huge wedding dress. Then drag my 8 year old luggage behind me. Well we were sad...IT WAS GONE! Oh well we tried. Then we went to get some Christmas lights they had one sale. YES! We got all we needed. Now it was a matter of just waiting to check out.

After Target and Best Buy we were off to Home Depot. I needed to grab a few gifts for this really nice boy I know. But while there we found some great deals. Poinsettias for 99 cents....very pretty ones. Also some selves for the garage that are very needed! Now the problem was to load the car up. We had already bought so much...Poor Brian was having to find the best way to pack. Of course he did it like a pro! It was only 6:45 and we had achieved so much. I love it!!!

Next stop were the smaller stores....just for the few little things. Plus they are stores that open a little later so you can hit the big ones and those! We got the ornament from World Market, which is super cute! I got all the items I needed at Tuesday Morning, probably one of my favorite ones. I got an electric throw blanket so when Chris FREEZES me out I will have a nice warm spot. My list was COMPLETE!! Also we hit Toys R Us for a few small non door buster things. YES, check off everything I needed!!!

The rest of the day was spent at the Galleria shopping and making some returns that Abby needed to do. Brian, Abby, and I had the best good time like always. We got to enjoy watching all the people. I think that is a fun part of Back Friday! You can see all the people running around grabbing things. It is a blast. Finally at about oh 4 pm we arrived home to the little ones. They were out playing on B's new play set! I am pretty sure by the looks of my dog.....they played outside all day long! He was just a bit muddy, but I know he had a blast. As I type he is passed out in my lap...those kids sure can wear him out! NOW TO BED!!!

Black Friday

Oh how I love this fun and exciting day. We use to be at our destination in 10 or 20 minutes....but now black Friday has a whole new meaning. Since Abby and Brian live 1 hour from the major shopping spots early has a new life. We are up and driving to town for the 5 am openings. Therefore we wake up at 345 just to drive to then wait in line. Let's hope there are some amazing deals! Happy black Friday to all!!


- Posted from my iPhone

Happy TURKEY DAY!

Happy Thanksgiving to all! I really like Thanksgiving. Not sure why really...but maybe it is the fact that you have a million reasons to eat as much as you want. Maybe it is the wonderful "TURKEY COMA" that causes you too need a nap. Also I love to do thankful things with my kids at school. It is so fun to hear all the reason they are thankful. This year has had its ups and downs for me. Through it all I am still very thankful.

I am thankful for:

• My amazing family. This year we suffered a loss together; and then an engagement. I am very lucky to have such a STRONG support system.
• My soon to be HUSBAND!! Chris Roberts I am very thankful to have found such a wonderful man like you.
• My soon to be In-Laws. I love Chris' family so much. I feel very blessed that they are allowing me to join in. You are all so amazing
• My sweet niece and nephew. Little Bear and Monkey you make my world complete without you who would I hug and kiss on. (oh and spoil to death)
• My amazing friends. Oh my where to begin on you all. I mean who else has such great friends that they are willing to give up many a Saturday for wedding stuff. You guys keep me very grounded and true to my self. Thank you doesn't cover all that I am thankful for.
• My job and the sweet 24 faces I look at each day. I am very happy to still be working at such a wonderful school. (even though I don't speak Spanish) I love my kiddos they make each day a new adventure!

I know that you all will have a splendid Thanksgiving. Enjoy the time with your family and friends. Oh and enjoy the TURKEY COMA too!

How did you know?

Okay so I guess this post is for only a select few people, but here it is anyways. I have been having some wedding dress stress. What do I mean by this? Well lets see, I think my friends may soon jump ship if I make them look at one more dress. They have been so sweet in the fact that they are always willing to come. However, I think after 4 or so stores they may be a bit fed up with me.

Why so many spots? I like them all!! What do I mean? Well I will put on a dress and say, "oh yes I like it." Then I ask the group and they help me find all the pros and cons. However, I still have only liked them. I have heard from many, many former brides. "You will know when it is the one!" What is wrong with me? I mean I have yet to put on a dress and feel that.

I am beginning to think I am not a good bride. I mean what bride can not find her dress. The dress, I thought would be the easiest part. Little did I know it would be my hardest. Plus the fact that the past week I have been having horrible nightmares about dress shopping. I guess this is when I reach out to all you former brides.....How did you know?

Old McBrooks had a Farm....

and on his farm he had pigs, cows, chickens, eggs, and don't for get the bounce house. Okay so there was much more on his farm....but to list is all is crazy. Yesterday was Sweet B's birthday, his is 2! I just can not believe it. I mean wow how time goes so fast...just 2 years ago at this time we were all hanging out in Houston waiting on that little guy to come.

Here we are now watching him LOVE every second of his birthday. My sister as always did an amazing job with the decorations and such. Mom, Winston, and I all arrived to help out late Friday night. Abby had done most of the prep done prior to our arrival...but we still had a few things to work up. Come party time the place had been transformed into a FARM!!!

Although the Farm had suffered much rain the days prior....we had a back up plan. The grand bounce house had to be placed on the driveway but all in all it was AMAZING! B had a blast...that boy was non stop running the whole time. He enjoyed every minute of his birthday from the moment he woke up.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LITTLE MONKEY!

What a great family pic...

B loving on Winston!  They have such love for each other!

For a more detailed look into the big birthday bash you can check out Abby's blog here.  She will have many more pictures I am sure! 

Always a blast when

mom, Abby, and I go on an endeavor.  This one started out funny too!  I picked mom and Abby up on Friday night from the airport.  We were heading out the next day to the Dominican Republic to do a SITE CHECK! (fancy words for checking out the resort for the wedding)  Of course we were hungry and stopped at our old faithful Rosa's!  Then we needed a few last minute items for the trip.  We found a near by Walgreens....oh my what a place.

This seemed to be the hot spot of some INTERESTING people!  There was a man (a special friend about 18-20 years old) walking around asking people to buy him a stuffed toy dog because his mom said no.  There was another army type man who kept trying to sell me his two 12-14 year old boys.  They were not amused at all.  Then an odd couple buying all their party supplies.  We got in line to check out behind the party supply people...  She had a rather large purse and the army man was behind us.  He yells out to the lady....Hey did you pack your suitcase for this purchase?  The lady kinda looks up at him, then at her purse....then pauses!  Next thing you know she is pointing to MOM saying, "well look hers is much larger....and she has carries it in a protective case!"  I just look at Abby and mom and bust out laughing.  Then we try to pay and get on with our night.  Yes, mom has a large purse!  And yes, she had it inside another bag.  However...her reason for having her purse inside the bag was so she could have 2 carry ons for the airplane.  Well, to Abby and I this was a logical thing.  Now to the random stranger I am sure it looked a bit odd!!!

Needless to say that was the be start to a fun trip.  The next day we arrived in Punta Cana at the resort.  We quickly ran to our room and began the "STALKING!"  STALKING of what?  WEDDINGS!!!!  We found one right away that was getting the finishing touches done.  The reception was right by the pool, which is what I wanted to see.  It was great that we just stumbled upon that.

Sunday was WEDDING-PALOZA!  We were all over the resort checking out all the amenities for each room and reception site.  We met with Miguelina many times, but have majority of the wedding planned.  That's right...it is PLANNED, ceremony and reception.  Now don't start me on the honeymoon part! (Christopher get on it please)

After we finished up with Miguelina we took off for the beach.  The bummer part of our trip was it rained off and on the WHOLE time!  But we decided if your in the ocean does rain matter.  Plus this caused for some major crazy waves.  Let me tell you, I believe we were a great comic relief for the other guest.  We had a blast in the ocean jumping waves and messing around.  I think mom fell down oh gosh at least 30 times.  It got to the point that we were all laughing so hard we couldn't stand up.

On Monday we tried out a few of the FREE things there at the resort.  First up was boogie boarding!  Well let me say I have never in my life done this and DO NOT DO IT WITH A YELLOW FLAG!!!  What do I mean?  The resort places up flags based upon the waters roughness (is that the correct wording??)  Green- is what you would like, the waters are pretty calm.  Well RAIN+ROUGH WATERS=Yellow Flag!  The water is a bit rougher; you can get pushed and pulled around a lot more.  Needless to say this did not stop mom....then that meant I had to join in!  Abby, not a huge water sport fan!!! Someone had to make sure mom didn't die out there.  Leaving Abby to sit around and laugh her butt off at us.  We TRIED to boogie board...not very successful at all.  I think I spent more time getting beat up by the board from the waves as I tried to go out deep.  Mom did an okay job.  The huge waves coming at her stood no chance as she would plow through them.  I know for a fact that I got a pretty great workout with this thing!

After boogie boarding it was time for our FREE SNORKELING!  We had signed up the day prior which I strongly recommend.  They can only take 8 out at a time and since it was low season they had only one run a day!  Well we were given our gear then told to push the boat out and jump in.  Juan was our Captain for the trip.  He was a very good one since we were traveling around in YELLOW FLAG water.  Abby and I were a bit concerned, Mom had no worries at all.  (I think she is much braver than we are)  After a 20 minute ride past many resorts we found our area.  Everyone jumped in and began looking.  There were many wonderful fish and Juan brought dinner rolls to help bring the fish up.  There were plenty to see.  After our snorkel we headed home.  Our ride home was great till the end!  Juan yelled up, "Momma, you move to middle!" I had been in the middle and was asked to switch with mom. Then he yelled to the funny british guy behind us to "you hold on to momma!"  We were all like what is going on. Then his wife goes oh crap...I think this is PREPARE FOR LANDING!!  Here we are all holding hands (all 6 of mom, abby, and I  on the front row of the boat and the three behind us)  Juan guns it.....the speed boat goes flying up, Juan is yelling....so people on the beach move out of the way!  We LAND!  Now we all have to pile out...sure enough as mom goes to pile out a wave hits the boat and away she goes.  FALL NUMBER 40 (or something like that)  The guys are all freaking out, but she is fine just lost her footing.  The whole thing was a blast!

Mom, Abby and I had the best time.  You know the three of us really don't take GIRL trips like this!  I am so happy with my wedding resort choice.  I am happy that us girlies got to enjoy the fun of the "site visit".  It was the best, QUICK trip ever.  Plus my whole wedding is practically done, yes less stress there.  Now if only I could pick a dress!

Happy Birthday

Yesterday, would have been my grandpa's birthday. This is our first birthday without him here! However, I am very certain that he had an amazing party yesterday. It was a bit different not calling and singing happy birthday to him. Also I remember all the years Abby and grandpa shared their birthdays! We would do a joint family birthday since they were just a day apart. It has been sometime since we were all together on their big days....but I remember it like yesterday.

Grandpa HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I'm sure it was the most amazing day, and you knew how much we were missing you. I love you!


- Posted from my iPhone

TRICK-OR-DRESS??

Wiggs, Alison, and Julie (not pictured Erin, Polly, and Kat)

Who needs Trick-or-Treating when they have WEDDING DRESS SHOPPING to do? Yes, probably not the most normal thing someone would do on Halloween. However, for me and the girls it sounded like a great plan! I love my sweet friends. They are amazing!!! (as if I haven't said that before)

Julie and I had chatted about needing to look at dresses...and probably sooner rather than later! Well with my semi-busy schedule lately it seemed that this weekend would be great. I am not sure why, but for some reason I have been very excited to do all the wedding planning, except dress shopping. I am going to blame that on the fact that I really just do not like to shop for clothes. I mean TARGET...now I can do some major damage there, but that is about it!

Needless to say my friends are a bit tired of me NOT wedding dress shopping. Therefore, Julie took it upon herself (after checking with me on days and time) to set up an appointment for DRESS SHOPPING! After my early morning tennis match I rushed home to shower for the big event. However, there was a small set back....Alison texted me at about 11 ish to tell me that a power transformer by my apartment had blown. The police were not allowing anyone over to the area and we had NO POWER! Well a small detour and great friends made my "look" work. I then headed to Chris' for a place with power...and Erin and Alison brought me some needed "non tennis" clothes! Then we were off!!!

We had a blast, it was not as painful as I thought! I mean come to find out trying on a wedding dress takes some major skill. Really there is an ART to it. I think that I probably tired on oh about 15 or so dresses...and the girls were great. They took each dress into consideration and spoke up. It was funny because Wendy (my wedding dress wonder woman) and I would chat about the dress prior to my showing the girls. Then when I walked out the girls would have these smiles...and look and say turn and look some more...then the likes and dislikes came out. Wendy and I would then go back in and laugh at them for all there crazy comments. We had a blast! I really could have never accomplished the task with out my girls! Thank you for giving me some of your Halloween. Oh and sweet Kat (Polly's daughter) thank you for coming and helping too. I know for a 2nd grader wedding dress shopping is probably not ideal on Halloween, but you were a trooper. Plus I loved all your input just as much as the others!