The Big Wedding!!

Once again I am running a few months behind! 

I finally am blogging about our "Big" wedding last month.

The wedding was perfect in every way and absolutely beautiful.

We are so blessed to have Ashley officially in our family!

Here are the pictures from the big weekend.

Get ready there are tons!

Friday was the Bridesmaid's luncheon.  

The bride, Aunt Hashie with my girls.

Ashley and her mom, Nancy.

Ashley and her wedding party at her luncheon.

Friday night at the rehearsal dinner.

Isn't this barn beautiful??

After we practiced walking down the isle, they moved the tables 

that are on the side to the middle of the room.

And that is where we ate.

Drew and the Groomsmen doing what they do best. 

The little flower girl.  

Mary Richard had smartie candy in her basket instead of flowers.

Thanks to Papa, that is the only way we could get her to hold 

her basket and walk down the isle!

Look at this cute little man!

This is my cousin's little boy.. Reed.

Him and Mary Richard had a great time together.

Reece, Maelee, and Maddie

GA cousins

Enjoying the speeches of the night

The DRESS

 Saturday morning..

Wedding DAY

That Saturday morning we did a little gathering for her at the 

Pratt Place Inn.

This is where the parents and the bride and groom where staying. 

The Beautiful house is on the same property with the barn where the wedding was. 

 We got ready and ate lunch here and  also did a little lingerie gifts for the 

the big wedding night.

 Ash getting her hair did.

And trying to eat a salad!

Mouth full... she is going to kill me on this one.

My sweet little Mary Richard.

She was all ready but putting her dress on. 

Since her dress was white I decided to wait and 

put that on at the last  minute.

She really did great that day.  Better than I ever expected!!

Whose kid is this??

Oh my... it is mine.

Yes that is my Maddie.  She looks like she is 13 years old.

And she really liked looking older! 

Too bad she is only 7 years old and when she is 13 years old I will

have to lock her in her room forever!!!!

So the reason I posted this pic of the groom was because 

Maelee is making the same face in the next picture.

We have always said that she is him made over!

Besides for the face, doesn't he look handsome.

Look how beautiful my MaeMae looks.

So proud of all my sweet girls.

Someone brought Marshmallows?? Needless to say by the end of the day they were gone.

Mary Richard, Mital (Bridesmaid), and Maelee ate them all!!

Daddy and his little one right before we went down the isle.

I was so nervous that she was going to scream the whole way down.

But she didn't.  She did stop mid way down and I bent over (in 4 inch heels.. with flowers) 

picked her up and went on down the isle.

It all worked out better than expected!

One proud Daddy after the ceremony!

You don't see tears in this man's eyes very often but today he let them flow!

The beautiful Bride.

She looks perfect in every way!

Oh, and you see that tea she is drinking in the mason jar, that stuff 

was sinful!  Very Very good! Just a little strong.

The Gardner/Dreher families.

Yes I know I finally made a picture.

I think this is the best picture of the wedding!

Mary Richard wormed her way in between Ashley and Drew at the head table.

At this time Ashley caught her with a handle full of pecan pie cramming it in her mouth!!

Ashley was screaming for me to get her a wet-one so Mary Richard didn't get her

sticky pecan pie hands on her Wedding dress.

After all that pecan pie, Mary Richard decided to take a nap on the dance floor.

She had enough!

Thankfully Brittany caught her head 

And  then Reed decided to join her.

Maelee and Reece letting is loose.

That child danced all  night long!

Maelee and Papa.  

Two peas in a pod!

The twins!

My Mama and her twin sister

As you can tell we all had a great time!

My wonderful husband!

We don't have many pictures of us.

Just the two of us.. no kids...

the only problem with this one is his hat and glass in the pic.

Oh well... can't have it all perfect!

The Winter Months

Our lives have been so busy over the past couple of months!!

This is the time of year that a farmer and his family can travel. 

The other months are so busy and Farmer's never want to leave there crops in the ground, so we travel when there are no crops  and nothing to tend to.

Aside from traveling, the Holiday season was wonderful!!

 Ric and I are so blessed to have a great family and amazing little girls, but WOW where did the 2011 go???  

I do believe now the older I get and the more kids I have my life just passes me by.  Its seems like yesterday I had my first baby girl Maddie and now she is 7!!

Anyways.... here is a update on where we have been and what has been going on. 

This little girl really grew up over the past couple of months.

This is what I have to deal with.  You can't contain her anywhere.

She just climbs out.

  

My Grandmother tells me a story about my mom and her twin. My Grandmother was a preachers wife and one day these ladies from the church came over to eat lunch with her.  She says they all flipped out when the very young twins (my mom and her sister) were walking around on the counter tops in the kitchen to get food out of the cabinets.  She said she didn't really notice them doing it because they did it so much 

(plus she had 3 other kids), but to her it was no big deal.

Well, now that is me.  

Mary Richard can climb out or on anything. 

 Ironic that it now gives my Mother ( the one that used to climb) a heart attack when she does it and I am so used to seeing her it is no big deal to me.  

She wanted to light on!

During Thanksgiving we went to Georgia to see Family.

We had a great time and the girls always love seeing their Nana Leisa and Papa Richard.

Being 28 hrs. away from family gets hard.

A few weeks later, Ric and I went with some friends to National Rodeo Finals in Las Vegas.

Had a wonderful time.

Plus it was our first time in Vegas. And yes... we will go back!!

Me and My cowboy.

Aww the girls would have loved the Rodeo!

Here are our Friends that went with us.

Funny that some older lady offered to take the picture and I guess she wasn't tall 

enough to fit Ric in it!

We started the Christmas Season Off by going to Lubbock for the 

Polar Express Train Ride with Santa.

The girls loved it again, but this year little Miss Mary Richard was not

very friendly with Santa. She loved to call him "Ho Ho" but as soon as he came close she flipped out!

The week before Christmas we got our first big snow.

So, yes we did have a white Christmas.

Mary Richard in our front yard loving this snow day with her sisters.

Yes the 3rd child has NO FEAR!

She is ready!

Christmas Eve at Nana's House.

 Nana and Papa got them all jacked up on Candy!

Can you tell??

Here is what Santa brought us. 

 I literally didn't see the big girls for days.  

They lived out there until they needed food or the bathroom.

Also for Christmas Ric and I got them a trip to Disney World.

We went in January and the girls had the best time.

It really worn down us, but the girls loved it.

Tea Cups

This picture sums up how Mary Richard was the whole trip.

We chased a pacifier, a juice cup, and a blankie the entire time!

I know we left a few of those items in the Disney Parks. 

When did Maddie get so tall? WOW!!

Ric held up a lot better than I ever expected!  

Normally long lines and crowds are not his thing, but he was strong and didn't complain the whole time.

The entire trip Mary Richard said "Minnie Mouse.... Minnie Mouse"

And the second Minnie Mouse gets close to us her hands go in her mouth and she is terrified.

This picture explains it all.

This trip was not complete with out a spa day at Cinderella's Castle

Leave it up to Maelee for the crazy hair.

I wonder sometimes where this kid came from??

Dinner at Cinderella's Castle

Last but not least.. Our great Aunt Carla was brought to Disney with us.

We couldn't have kept up with all the girls with out her!

We all had a great tired time! 

I am still cooking on TV just haven't got caught up on my recipe blogs.

Sorry!

Promise to get better with that.

As of today we have 3 weeks until the "Big Wedding".

And we are all ready to celebrate and welcome Ashley into our family! 

The since 2012 we have been celebrating with wedding showers and lots of planning.

I will keep you updated on the wedding and promise to post tons of pictures of it.

Harvest

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!  We sure did.

It was a long trip to Georgia, but so worth seeing all the family and friends so far away. 

I wanted to post this blog before Thanksgiving, but that didn't happen.  

So, here it is now!

This is my families favorite corn casserole.  We make it quite often and it is more like a cornbread casserole than a corn casserole. This casserole also reminds me of harvest time.  Which Harvest is one of those things we (farmers wives) love to see it come and

 we love to see it go. 

And thank GOD our harvest is over!!!!

Some people wonder what I mean when I say "hauling food to the field".  

My Mom, Ashley, and I literally take turns cooking "home cooked foods" and deliver them to the guys in the field during harvest when they are working late and can't leave for lunch. 

So I also enclosed a sneak peak of me feeding the guys in the field during harvest this year.

Start off with 1 box Jiffy corn muffin mix, 1 can drained kernel corn, 

1 can creamed corn, 2 eggs, 

1 cup sour cream,  1/2 stick melted butter

 Mix all ingredients in a bowl

Mix well!

Pour it into a greased 9x13 baking dish

Bake for 40 minutes on 350 degrees 

Now it is time to pack the car.  All the food is in the oven and baking.

You have to pack plates, cups, trash bag, napkins, silverware, salt/pepper,

ice, tea, serving spoons, etc., etc., etc.

There is no kitchen in the field. You have to make one in the back of the car!!

I just had to share this.  Isn't it precious.

These are the little things that make my life easier!!

Ketchup in a dipping packet

Perfect

I cooked the peas on the stove and then transferred them to a crock pot so I can plug it in my car and they will stay warm for the guys.

We have a 45 minute drive to the farm and I have to keep it all warm.

I made my sweet hard working husband a little snack to take in the tractor.

Sausage Balls.... His favorite 

They get lunch at 12:00 and will not eat again until they get home at night which is usually around 10 pm or later...

Here is the corn casserole 

Baked and ready to load up!

Now I load the car with food, kids, and truck it out to the field.

When I get there I lay it all out in the back and make a buffet line.  

I have to keep it all covered up so it will stay warm. 

Especially when it is windy you can't just leave the pans open for all the sand to blow in it.

My buffet line

WOW Looks like a tin foil commercial

Mary Richard lost her pants.. 

Cutting corn and eating corn casserole...

Ironic?? 

Make shift table

Or would you call this a Redneck table???

They don't care where they eat 

they are some hungry men!! 

Plate full of goodies

 All she wanted was ice cream.  

I know....... all that food I cooked and she wants ice cream!!!

After they all eat

I throw the dirty pans in the car, take the trash, give kisses bye, and drive fast back to town to pick up the other kid from school!  Yes it takes almost all day to do this.

And this is what happens on the way home.

I had to pull over to capture this but I think this is one of my 

priceless moments.

Both girls sacked out

Here is the link to me cooking the corn casserole on Studio 4

Hope you enjoy!!

http://myhighplains.com/fulltext?nxd_id=226537