important stuff

I have yet to blog about Kevan's and my trip to California last month. The trip where we witnessed two dear friends vow to love and cherish each other forever (all the while being serenaded by my very own good-looking husband), but I felt that I needed to update on more important things first: 

recent celebrity sightings.

Now, I try to have some sympathy for "celebrities". They are, afterall, just normal people. (Well, mostly...or they used to be...or something.) But it still intrigues me to see one in person, especially out doing "normal" people things. Kevan and I have had quite a string of celebrity sightings lately.

It all started a couple of months ago when we saw Ben Folds while eating lunch in a local bakery here in Franklin.

That was pretty cool. We have both been fans of his music since high school. I smiled at him, and he returned the favor. Neat!

Going to LA, we figured we might see a familiar face or two. In fact, we saw two. The first might have been one of the most exciting for me, although I may be alone in this. I have loved the movie Selena since it first came out. I have seen it 5, 487 times and never get tired of it. (No, we didn't see J-Lo.)

So, imagine my excitement when waiting for our baggage at LAX, I see this man:

Edward James Olmos! I actually just learned his real name a few minutes ago when searching for his pic...I know him as Abraham or better yet, SELENA'S DADDY! He has aged a bit since he made that movie, so I wasn't quite sure it was him at first. Then, he answered his phone and I heard his voice and knew for sure. Exciting!

The next day we ate a fun little place close to Beverly Hills called Kings Road Cafe. 
It was yummy (Kevan, I am talking strictly about the food).

Sitting in the corner by the window was none other than Eric Dane.

I also didn't know his real name until 2 seconds ago because I only know him as McSteamy from Grey's Anatomy. I don't really watch that show anymore, so this wasn't a huge deal to me, but fun to see him nonetheless.

I have saved the best for last. No, seriously this one is good.

Ever since moving to Nashville, there has been one person who I really wanted to see. I always figured it was a long shot, but I just wanted to be able to say that I had seen her. Well, last Saturday, Kevan and I not only saw these people, but we MET them...

Believe it. We had been invited to a birthday party for a friend's two-year-old daughter. We arrived a bit late and walked into their house, joining a big group of people. Merit immediately headed for the corner and hugged the leg of a lady sitting in a chair. I followed her, looked at the lady whom she had just hugged and thought, "That is Nicole Kidman." Not, "Oh, that lady looks like Nicole Kidman", but "Undeniably, I am standing in the same room as Nicole Kidman, what is going on. " Everyone was introducing themselves to us and she looked at me and said, "Hi, I'm Nicole and this is Sunday (her daughter)." There is no telling what my face was like at this point, but I stepped over to her, shook her hand, and calmy said my name. I stepped back over by Kevan when ole Keith came out of the bathroom and Kevan introduced us to him. It was one of the most surreal moments I've had in a while. I mean, yes, it was cool to meet Keith Urban, but I couldn't get over how I had just had NICOLE KIDMAN introduce herself to me. The rest of the party, including our friends who we came to see, were in the backyard so we headed that way after that. I pinched Kevan's back all the way out the back door because I couldn't squeal like a teenage girl like I wanted. They left shortly after, but we found out later that they had been there a while and Sunday had been playing in the back with all of the kids. (By the way, they were there because the birthday girl's mama is Nicole's masseuse.)

This, my friends, is why you should always be on time to parties.

last month, part 1

My third Mama's Day was, overall, really good. Kevan had to work all day, so I was home with Merit who was in rare form. At first I was kind of bummed, but then I thought it was pretty fitting...I spent Mother's Day doing a LOT of mothering. 

This picture sums up my morning and afternoon.

But there were good times, too! Roses from my parents and lilies from Kevan and Merit helped brighten things up a bit.

And that cute card is my first homemade (well, bible class-made) Mother's Day card from Merit. Oh, how I love that card and the cute dimpled hands that colored on it.

That evening we went to Jackson to have dinner with Kevan's parents and grandparents.

Merit with her Grammie and Great-Grandma

The next day Kevan took Merit and I to meet my parents in Texarkana so that we could go back to Texas with them for a bit. Thank you Kevan, PaPa, and Nina for all the driving you did. That night we stopped in Arlington at our dear friends, the Strugesses' house to break up the trip to Abilene, and Kasey came to see me! And I finally got to meet THE Nathan. (For the record, I approve!)

I have so many memories at this house. Growing up we would come stay with the Sturgesses on our Six Flags trips, Ranger games trips, school clothes and prom dress shopping trips, even my wedding dress shopping trip. Sharon (the lovely lady whom I was named after) and Gaylord are some of the most kind and giving people you'll ever meet, and I am so thankful that Merit got to spend a little time at their house.

For a little girl, it is Paradise.

By that afternoon, we were finally in Abilene, where cousins, popsicles, and non-stop fun abound.

Macy, Merit, and Nina at bible class at Burkett...attendance was up that day! :)

One of the most important events of the trip. My strawberries and cream Cajun Cone. I won't get to go back until October when the stand has closed for the season, so I enjoyed every last bite of this baby.

Before we headed back to Tennessee, we had a little photo shoot in my parents' backyard. 

I really like this one.

This one's blurry, but I like it...Merit was giving me a flower and baby sister got in the pic! 

Taking these pictures reminded me of when I did the same thing last May when we were in Abilene. Although it's hard to recognize this little baby girl from last time...

Sigh.