A Joyous Homecoming

My two brothers are the youngest in the family. Both are strong, diligent, and faithful members of the Church and chose to serve missions two years ago. By some crazy luck/coincidence, they both left on April 15th, 2009, and both served in Mexico {in different missions}. This week they returned with honor; One on Wednesday, one on Thursday.

Unfortunately, my sister and I were running SO late we had to RUN through the airport to make sure we were there to see Stuart get in on Wednesday so I didn't have my camera with me.

Luckily, we had a do-over the next day and I grabbed pictures and even had time to make some signs for Ken. We had signs for Stu but I didn't get any pictures of them.

Here are some great pictures of their arrivals - one at lunch with everyone and one at the airport.


Stu picked Chili's for lunch.
Ellie was exhausted from all the excitement an hour earlier.

{Stuart is so handsome, isn't he?!}

Thursday was Ken's arrival.

Waiting at the airport.

{Callie is crazy-pants}

The littlest Divis
Here he is!

{this one is best when you click to enlarge. I got pictures almost frame by frame!}

The two brothers after two years!

Aunt Kayleigh took something from Jack and he cried. Boo Aunt Kayleigh.{hehe}

Welcome home, little brothers.

My 3.1 Mile Pay-off

"Finally!" you say. "A new picture of Chelsea."

Wait, who was waiting? You were?

Creepers.

Kidding!

I'm thinking my running is paying off. Well, that and new clothes. Always makes a girl feel pretty, right?

Either way, I showered and looked schuper schexy for church.

Any new Easter outfits for you?


P.S. Sneak-attack picture! My family is so grown up!

Also, I want to note my tallest sister is 5'11.5" and is wearing 4" heels, which means we're all {the girls} wearing ridiculously tall shoes. We're a bunch of crazies.

Hairbow Headband Tutorial - Coming Soon!

I decided to remove it until I could get a shorter video. HA! Sorry for the tease, girls.

Check back next week for the tutorial!

In the meantime...

well, I have nothing. I'm sitting in the airport waiting for my flight to AZ. My brothers are getting home from their missions this week! Hooray!

{Cute bow I made last night in the tutorial}

{view from the top - sorta}

Bowties & Pearls Dinner Party

{click on the pictures for a larger, more clear image}

Happy Birthday my dear, sweet husband.

Thank you for always taking care of me.

{I was going to break up the party into a few posts but have since decided to bombard the interwebs with the whole kit & caboodle at once}

Here are a ton of pictures of the party!

{Setting the Table}

{puttin' on the ritz}

the boys each received a custom, handmade bowtie

the girls had their choice from a rainbow of handmade hairbow headbands

{the guests}

{the food}fettuccine alfredo with grilled chicken and tomato relish & sauteed summer squashes

rosemary peach lemonade {which was DELICIOUS}

caprese salad

roasted asparagus{let the merriment begin!}



{the sweetest ending}
we sang first for Ryan
then removed a couple candles and sang for Ashley, whose birthday was the day before

surprise!

What I think is most satisfying are all the hours upon hours of work and thought coming together almost just as I imagined. From the 12-15 hours I spent making the chandelier to the day devoted to cooking, each aspect was a do-it-yourself effort that I'm proud of.

I must thank Jane for taking almost all of these pictures while I was scrambling around trying to finish everything {I was running about 30 minutes behind schedule. Of course.}, Casey and Taran for showing up on time and immediately asking what they could do to help, and ESPECIALLY Bobby for helping me with the bowties and cooking and cleaning. There's no way I could have pulled everything together without him playing sous chef. Seriously. He's awesome.

Aaaaannnnndddd a huge thanks for everyone for coming and helping my husband feel special. I'm so glad everyone had a great night!

{Questions about this party or any elements? Ask away!}