Officially FRUSTRATED!!!

I am officially frustrated. I have been trying for a week to create a beautiful slideshow of the fabulous Doss Wedding, but can not find a program that I love. They all crop the pictures or just in general irritate me :-)!!! So, if you would like to see all of the fun memories we made go to The 4 Sullivans very reliable, consumer friendly Picasa Web Albums.

Road Trip

Why are road trips such a challenge for parents??? Even with 2 boxes of toys, a DVD with lots of movie options and loads of snacks, there was still lots of fighting and I was completely exhausted after being confined with them for 9 hours!!!

There was lots of laughter, even more fighting and occasional threats...

And even a few moments of silence, but millions of unforgettable memories!!!!!!

The Main Event!

The Wedding was beautiful and so much fun! Leslie was gorgeous, so relaxed and so happy!!! After the outdoor ceremony, there was dinner and dancing, including fondue...the strawberries dipped in dark chocolate were my favorite...at one point my entire face and hands were covered in chocolate, I loved it sooo much!!!

And, I did have a part in the Wedding!!! I helped Gideon, the pillow holder, and ME, the flower thrower, complete their tasks, by dragging them down the isle!!! Gideon was so nervous, the entire day, up until the music began, he kept asking, "Mommy, will you be right behind me?" and would demonstrate that he meant it literally!!! All of this discussion also made ME doubt her abilities to also walk down the isle without me. So, as we started down the isle, I tried to fade into the background (as if that is even possible). Gideon quickly realized that I was MIA and stopped the processional and began looking for me!!! Which then distracted ME from her job of carefull and individually placing flower down the isle and they both began a major investigation with an all points bulliten, "Mommy come on!!!" What is a totally embarrassed mother to do when looking into the terrified eyes of her children...grab their hands, smile and march proudly down the isle, thinking the entire time, "I am glad I am wearing this totally cute pink dress!!!" Thanks agian Brianna!!! Leslie and Cody, I am so happy for you!!! We love you!!!

Gideon Swam!!!

After 2 trips to the pool, remaining in the Hot Tub, playing with things outside the pool, or trying to kill me by clinging to me so tightly I felt as if I would choke, when I would finally relent to holding him, Gideon put on a life jacket and arm floaties and actually got into the water by himself! This is huge for Gid. Way to go Gid!!! We are sooo proud of you!!!

Fun At The City Park...

Talking to a frog.

Riding on a frog.

Apologizing to the goose for eating all of the breakfast.

Daddy, ME and Gideon.



A train ride with Aunt Kelli.

Do I really look like that!?!

The Rehearsal & Dinner

ME contemplating the importance of her roll as the Flower Girl

Aunt Kelli, the mother of the groom

Gideon refused to practice walking down the isle with ME. He is so shy! He spent the majority of the afternoon hiding out on the balcony and only perked up when he knew the Rehearsal was over!

Leslie & her dad

We topped off a fun afternoon with dinner at Outback! I have not been to Outback in years and it was fabulous! Their Blue Cheese Chopped Salad is now my all time favorite salad!!! I am now dreaming about my next visit down under!!!

Gideon and Aunt Karen

Granny & I

The Silver Grill Cafe

After our convoy drove around in circles, I suggested the obvious..."Stop and ask for directions!!!" Keith suggested an alternative restaurant, while I began contemplating just how mad I would be if we did eat at IHOP and once again suggested stopping for directions. We finally had a fabulous breakfast at the Silver Grill!!! Thanks Keith for stopping for directions!!!

Wedding Fun Kick-Off!!!

The Sullivan Gang! (Not pictured...Gideon, because he was too shy and stubborn to join the picture; Michael, who was back in Burnett working; and me!)


The Sullivan family has gathered to see Cody and Leslie tie-the-knot and we are thrilled to welcome Leslie into the family! We love you guys!

Lots of Surprises!!!

Our road trip started out uneventful and fun. Since we separated the kids into different cars, I was able to read, flip through new magazines and relax with my MP3 player.


Our first surprise occurred at our second stop, when we unexpectedly ran into Kelli, Alan and Kyle!!! I was totally surprised, even though the other car had been communicating with them and planned to meet when they discovered that they were only a few miles apart!!!

Our second surprise was not as fun...we had a blow-out in downtown Denver at 5 pm!!! Thankfully, the problem happened when we were in the midst of rush hour going 20 MPH instead of 80 MPH just minute earlier and the guys were able to quickly fix it!!!

Dress Crisis

Today, we leave for Fort Collins, Colorado for the Wedding of Cody and Leslie, Keith's nephew and future niece-in-law! 3 months ago, I began contemplating what I would wear (not that it matters or anyone will notice, but dress is required!) When we arrived in the states, I tried on a cute, little black dress...that I wore 13 years ago to my mother's funeral!!! OK, I am not a pack rat, but this is a really cute, classic dress with lots of memories. To my amazement...IT FIT!!! Not exactly like it did before I got married and had 2 kids, but I did manage to squeeze into it...2 months ago. As I was packing yesterday, I thought I better try the dress on again. This time it was even tighter, but with some (OK, a great deal) effort, the zipper went up! I did run buy JCPenny's, on my way home from a fabulous Mexican feast I had indulged in with a friend, to buy a girdle...THAT THEY HAD TO ANNOUNCE OVER THE LOUD SPEAKER FOR A PRICE CHECK!!! I kept suggesting that I would go verify the price for her, but she was having so much fun totally humiliating me, that she did not want to inconvenience me, by asking my to walk 20 steps to find the information out for her!!! My new, sweet friend, who lives on the farm, came to town, without the kiddos and invited me to meet her for coffee. I jumped at the chance to get out of the house to go have an adult conversation while drinking a hot Mocha Madness!!! During the non-stop discussion of very important issues :-), we began to discuss what I was wearing to the Wedding. I guess my sweet friend did not think a 13 year old dress that I wore to a funeral would be too cute to wear to a totally fun, outdoor Wedding and offered to let me borrow a brand new dress she had just bought. I, of course, politely declined and changed the subject. Before we had finished our coffee, we had moved to another table to borrow a complete strangers laptop, so that she could show me the totally cute, pink dress!!! We finished our coffee, said good-bye to our new friend (who also thought the dress was perfect!) and concluded that I would go home and talk it over with Keith. I came home bursting with the excitement of getting to wear a totally cute pink dress to the Wedding. It is almost 14 miles to the farm and gas is now $4 a gallon!!! So, the conclusion was that the black dress would look fine, since it was already packed and required no additional effort. So, the discussion continued, now involving the entire family and resulted in me re-trying the black dress on. I put it on and asked Keith to zip it up...it wouldn't go. I called for Granny, who successfully managed to zip the dress up just a few hours earlier...this time, she cut her finger and still the zipper would not budge. I took the dress off and the zipper went up; put it on and it would not budge!!! Of course, it was not because I was to big for the size 6 dress! So, after 30 minutes of taking the dress on and off and doing everything possible to get the zipper to go up...not to mention several heated discussions about other options I could wear to the Wedding that did not require the 28 mile trip to the farm (one including the $5 skirt and t-shirt I bought at Wal-Mart!), since "it didn't really matter what I wore, since I wasn't in the Wedding!" Finally, we all piled into the car and headed to the farm and the dress fits perfectly...no girdle needed!!!

Thank you Brianna!!! It was so sweet of you to let me borrow your dress!!! You saved the day and solved the Wedding Dress Crisis! You're the BEST!!!