Monday, May 11, 2009

Congratulations, Aaron!

This weekend was BUSY! Friday was spent preparing for the rehearsal dinner I had been helping to plan for several months. I'm glad to say that everything went off without a hitch. Unfortunately, I managed to get there with no memory card in my camera. Therefore...no pictures! I did the same wheat grass and gerbera daisy arrangements seen here. I added table numbers on wooden sticks to each arrangement. I printed them on red cardstock and cut them into squares. It looked really cute! (you'll just have to trust me on that :)

Saturday we had Field Day at the kids' school. Then at 2:30pm we headed down to Chapel Hill for Aaron's graduation. Three hours later (thanks to the Garmin's illustrious tour of all the nooks and crannies of the North Carolina Research Triangle) we arrived! I was so glad to share this special time with Aaron and all his friends...friends who have become like family to us over the past six years (many of them were high school friends as well). Many of them were also some of Sippycups' first supporters. Saturday night we headed to a pizza place on Franklin Street that the graduates had rented out so their families could enjoy a little celebration. It was such a great idea. We had the entire place packed with friends and familiar faces. Lots of memories in that room, I'm sure!















Of course, the revelry continued after dinner. Everyone headed back to Aaron's apartment. I drove Dr. Daddy and the kids back to the friend's house we were staying at and he got the kids and himself to bed. I then headed back to Aaron's apartment and whipped up some Skinny Girl Margaritas. If you haven't tried one...you must! Just remember to use the good tequila (100% Agave, white tequila). This is my new drink of choice! It's light and refreshing but it definitely packs a punch!
Mimi and I headed to bed pretty early (I think it was about 11:30pm). The "kids" continued the fun well in to the wee hours of the morning, as they should :). Good thing Mimi and I were at Aaron's door at 8:30 Sunday morning to get his lazy bum out of bed. Otherwise, he would have missed the graduation!
We hustled over to the stadium. Seanie boy, feeling the pain of the previous night's fun, was moving at a snail's pace. Tobin, Aaron's adorable boyfriend, was a true mensch and found bottled water and coffee. My dad came through with Krispy Kreme and all was well. Desmond Tutu was the speaker. I have to say, he is an intriguing speaker. Unfortunately, his message was a wonderful one that was somewhat lost when he politicized his speech. Not cool. It's hard to represent yourself as a uniter when you're speech is judgemental and partisan. It was funny, though, trying to construe some of his interpretations of the King's English.




We dashed out a bit early so we could get back to Aaron's apartment and whip up some brunch. And whip up some brunch Tobin did! What a chef!
We then opened presents. Everyone got a litty teary eyed when Aaron was given the greatest gift from my Dad. To make a long story short...before my Mom passed away she was in a quilting group of ladies. They called it the "Stitch and Bitch" group. She had finished a quilt for Seanieboy and started quilts for Aaron and Ryan. Well, my Dad had those same ladies finish Aaron's quilt and that was the gift my Dad gave him yesterday. Definitely an emotional moment, especially given the date of Mother's Day. It's a beautiful quilt and I am so grateful to those ladies who finished it for Aaron.


After the gifting we did an impromptu photo shoot. I think we got some great photos!








21 comments:

linda said...

Wow! What a beautiful family you have- right out of a jcrew catalogue!

sle said...

Congrats to Aaron! We were in Chapel Hill yesterday too! My daughter is a junior and we live nearby. I think there was an hour wait to have a photo made at the Old Well yesterday. Your photos are great and I love that your dad had the quilt finished. I am sure that was his best gift!

Melissa @ I Pick Pretty said...

Fabulous photos, all of them, but I particularly love the one of your daughter & brother. Such a fantastic candid moment.

Sweet Simplicity said...

I have got to buy the ingredients for the skinny girl marg. I've heard great things about it. Sounds like you had a busy, but fun weekend!

Beth Dunn said...

Love all your pictures. I've been meaning to try the skinny girl margarita. I will have to do that at my next party--signature drink fun! xoxo

it is everlasting said...

What a wonderful and fun celebration weekend! It looks like you all had a fab time (and no one looked like they were hurting too badly on Sunday!). The pictures are great and really capture the feeling you were describing.

Oh and of course... Happy (belated) Mother's Day to you!

Prissy Southern Prep said...

Great pictures!! Congrats to the graduate!

EKM said...

the quilt story made me misty and i think your beautiful daughter takes after your brother. Congrats on graduation! Such an accomplishment to graduate from UNC chapel hill!!

Gwennie said...

Those are beautiful pictures, you all look like a J Crew ad! And your brother is adorable!

Grove Gal K said...

what a great family! sounds like a great weekend!

Anonymous said...

You have such a gorgeous family! Congrats to Aaron!

Swamp Sisters: 77 Day Journey said...

Like your blog! We have a great recipe for Slushy Margaritas! Check it out when you have a moment! Have a great Tuesday!

just ask beth said...

Your dad sounds like a wonderful man, what a beautiful and touching gift to his son.

Jules said...

fun fun fun...cute cute cute!

Amy Marie said...

Sounds like a wonderful fun filled weekend. You are a great photographer. What kind of camera, lens, and software are you using?

3 Peanuts said...

SOunds like such a GREAT weekend! Love all the photos and the quilt about made me cry!

News Readin' Wife said...

Sippycups,
I started to cry when I read about the quilt. So sweet.
BTW - Could Aaron be any cuter?!
Um - no.
xoxo

Karen said...

What a great weekend! That quilt is a treasure. What a remarkable gift. I can get teary just thinking about it, and I don't know any of y'all. What a truly special and thoughtful present.

Stacey said...

I randomly, very randomly, just came across your blog somehow but I had to comment that I love Skinny Girl margaritas too! :) Hehe!

Stacey said...

I just randomly... very randomly... stumbled across your blog and had to comment after reading your post that I love Skinny Girl margaritas too! Aren't they the best! :)

Love your blog!

Olivia: (mostly) Happy Homemaker said...

Your mom would be so proud!