Oh, Happy Day!

My daughter's wedding in Portland, OR was the most beautiful setting for a ceremony I've ever witnessed. Yes, some things went wrong, but there are so many moments we'll be laughing at later. Like the judge who was late because he was stopped for speeding; then his iPad died while he read the script my daughter had so carefully written. However, my daughter--planner extraordinaire--made two hard copies just in case.

Our connecting flight home was missed because Alaska Airlines had a mechanical malfunction in Portland. The first two days home I slept more than I've ever slept in my life. So here are the only two photos I've been able to edit. Hope you enjoy!

Jason and Autumn - 9/5/2015

Trillium Lake near Mt. Hood - 9/6/2015

A HUGE "THANK YOU" to my dear friend, Bridget for watching our precious Izzy and spoiling her rotten while we were gone. This was an image that B made up for Autumn's wedding day, along with a blessing. Sweetest thing I've seen in a long time. I am so happy to have a creative and caring friend like B!

I'll be 'round to make the rounds soon!

Goin' to the Chapel...

This is my last scheduled post until I return from Oregon around the 8th of September. MY DAUGHTER IS GETTING MARRIED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

God truly blessed me with Autumn. She is the perfect daughter, always carrying herself with grace and dignity. She has her father's blue eyes and intelligence, and my mother's gracious personality. I thought I couldn't be prouder when she graduated Cum Laude from college in 2004. Now, I find myself marveling at her life choices and achievements, feeling incredibly proud, and happier than I could've imagined. She simply excels at everything she does. Jason is a warm, loving person and has fit in beautifully with our family. It's a beautiful thing, man.

Hope you enjoy these engagement photos from the talented Haley Lovett. Location is Crystal Springs Rhododendron Gardens in Portland.

See you all in a few weeks with lots of Portland/wedding photos to share!

Vacajun on the Water

For an explanation of Vacajun, see this post. None of the events of our vacajun will be posted in order, but who cares? I have so many photos and I might get around to them before the end of the year and I might not.

This was our adventure kayaking with my daughter, Autumn, and her fiance, Jason. First timers!

Autumn got into the kayak just fine. She was a little tentative at first, but she got the hang of it pretty quickly.

Is this a Neotropic Cormorant? It looks different from our Double-crested Cormorants.

8'-10' Alligator. I asked the kids if they were scared and both said 'No.'
We had our kayaks in a semicircle around him and just watched.

Jason was all smiles from the moment he entered the kayak.

After a few minutes, already like a pro!

Thanks to the lovely Anni for the link-up!

A Joyous Vacajun

Autumn (my daughter) thought Jason said he was looking forward to their "vacajun" in Louisiana. She misheard him, but a new word was created and we love it!

Oh, y'all...I am drained. In a good way. The visit with my daughter and her fiance could not have been more perfect. This is what Autumn wrote on Twitter on the third day: "Amazing visit so far with @gailadixon. We saw a guitar god [Gregg Wright], found my wedding dress, kayaked and saw lots of family." 

Jason and Autumn both LOVED kayaking. My daughter kept saying she could see why we love it so much. And that was after paddling pretty close to an 8'-10' gator resting on a log.

Every moment was special. Bridal shopping was a priority, and by gosh, she said Yes to a Dress!

This dress was a contender. Of course I can't post the real dress just in case Jason decides to get nosy. :)

Here are snippets of the real thing. A deeply discounted Lazaro gown. She looks like a princess in it. When she stepped out of the dressing room I cried. 

After the kids left I had some problems getting my blood pressure under control. When one of the readings was 171/111 I admit I was a little scared. Double D wanted to at least call the doctor, but I am stubborn. I rested a lot and resumed taking my b/p pills and that is helping. I guess I had too much fun with the kids. 

Thanks for sticking with me. I promise to get to everyone's blogs today, though it might take a few days to get through them. I looked at my Feedly roll and y'all have been busy! Hope everyone has a great week.

Bayou Brothers

These are my sweet second cousins. Brody is almost 6 and Eric is 16. We spent over 2 hours on the party barge and had a blast, zipping all over Lake Des Allemands. The boys know when I'm around that a camera will be pointed at them, but they didn't seem to mind. Well, maybe a little. I took 207 photos of these hams; it was difficult choosing a handful to show. Hope you enjoy!

Sharing with
Our World Tuesday

Owl Bayou Canal

This post wraps up our July 4th afternoon. You can thank me now for not taking photos of the alligator that had to be "disposed of" because it was hanging around the canals. *shivers* I felt sorry for him, but we just couldn't risk the safety of the youngsters. Besides, it wasn't my call to make. Anyway! These are random shots of the day.

This is the highway marker for a community of camps situated along the bayou.
A "camp" in Louisiana is a modestly built home, usually elevated on tall posts due to frequent flooding.
Most are accessible only by boat. Many people have them as a weekend get-away for family and friends.

My uncle's party barge--wish it wasn't blurred.

Dragonflies were everywhere and they seemed particularly smitten with Uncle Bubba.

YUM. Simply angel food cake, whipped cream and berries.

Double D was mighty proud that he was the first person Cowgirl allowed to pick up and pet.
Look at her winking at me like, "Haha, stole him from you." Saucy little tart!

She soon warmed up to me too.
Look at those eyes! Have you ever seen a chihuahua with such blue eyes and a blue merle coat?

She appointed herself Patrol Captain of the bayou, barking at all the watercraft that went by.

That's my aunt and uncle's camp in the background. Two bedroom, two baths and two huge living areas. Very spacious.
This photo was taken because the people on the boat unknowingly left their little yorkie on the dock.
As they obliviously zoomed away, several of us were yelling and waving at them to come back.
Finally, they realized what they had done and were so grateful to us for rescuing their little dog.

One of the hosts with her granddaughter walking onto my Uncle Bubba's deck.
This will have to do for Tex's Good Fences meme. Sorry, I know I've been stretching the rules lately!

Can you believe I went a whole week without posting a bird photo? I can't either!

Have a good weekend everyone. Catch you next week.