and so it begins... Lakai is a kindergartener.

This morning Lleyton woke up extra early, sobbing in his crib. As I went to grab him, I saw Lakai strolling out of his room with groggy eyes. He came right over with a smile on his face and said, "It's okay buddy," and gave him a little smooch. Then we all went and cuddled up daddy in bed. If that wasn't Heaven on Earth then I don't know what is.

Fast forward a couple hours and Lakai is sitting at the table, shoveling pancakes in his mouth to make sure he doesn't miss the bus (which doesn't happen to leave for another 45 minutes). He woke up with so much enthusiasm. I woke up dreading this day.

Lakai is in Kindergarten. Is this real life. How did this happen so quickly? It was just yesterday that I was trying to soak up every once of his swollen, fresh little face at the hospital. I felt so ready for him to go, up until early this morning. I feel like this is the first step towards independence and I just don't feel ready for it. I know he will be okay. I know he will have friends aplenty. I know he will run into my arms and tell me all about his day. I know he will thirst to learn and go to school with an eager heart.

But I also know kids can sometimes be cruel and he will have a hurt heart. I know the bubble we have him in will slowly shrink and he will be exposed to some of the negativity in the world. I know school may not come easy and learning may be hard. I'm just praying that God will guide Ryan and I as we embark on this new adventure.

Lakai,

Please never forget how smart and kind you are. Keep a hunger for knowledge and embrace everyone around you. Remember we are always thinking of you when you are scared and that we will always be waiting for you with open arms, ready to hear all about your daily adventure. Above all, never forget how loved you are and how much support you have in daddy and me. We love you all around the earth, up to the sky, as many trees as there are planted and as many super heroes as you can imagine.

Momma

hooray for the best day.

In more than eight years I still swoon for this man. He's truly my rock and biggest support. We bicker like mad, but love even deeper. I feel more than blessed to call him my husband and these photos of him make me weak in the knees.

boell wedding decor.

I figure the easiest way to share the wedding is in a series of posts. Today I'll be sharing much of the other décor. You wouldn't believe how hard it is to sort though 750 pictures to find the ones of just the tables, ceremony décor, flowers, banners, antlers, etc. It's nuts!

I will say that I feel truly fortunate that our photographer, Mrs. Aimee McAuley, did an amazing job capturing everything for us. I feel so lucky to be able to look back through our photos and re-live one of the most beautiful days of our lives!

I didn't really have a "theme", just all things lovely! As I was planning I knew I wanted our day to be light, airy and fun. The colors we chose were very neutral, with a few pops to add some vivaciousness. We both have a love affair with the outdoors, so we included antlers, natural textures and lots of wood. It turned out rustic and eclectic, which I loved!

Now, without further ado...

My grandmother grew all different types of succulents for each of our guests! We placed them at the tables so they served as both favors and decor.

Lisa Leonard has the most beautiful and fun hand stamped cake toppers! This was one of my first wedding purchases.

I snagged these gift boxes from Anthropologie! If I could keep a stash on hand at all times I would! They are literally the most adorable, simple gift boxes out there!

It's a close tie between my love for my dress and my love for my necklace. I had my necklace made of vintage brooches, which served as my "something old". Fresh Metal made this custom piece and I swooned as soon as I saw it!

Laura, at VaVa Bloom Floral, did the most beautiful flowers for our day. I literally gasped when I saw them. She did an amazing job and was so easy to work with. She truly listened to me and saw my vision. I'm so glad she was a part of our day.

Covering the chain link fence that greeted guests as they walked in wasn't easy, but I'm most certain the size of these sheds distracted and impressed everyone.

Our cake was so pretty and oh so yummy. Kayla, owner of Sugar Cubed Cake Creations, gave us a whole package of cupcakes to go home and try. Her flavors were soooo good we gobbled them all up that day. She was able to accommodate gluten free and I personally thought it was some of the yummiest GF I've had. Ry and I grossly ate our top layer of cake on our wedding night, at the hotel, with our fingers. We are only slightly ashamed! :)

My dad made two sets of cornhole games that were a hit with the youngin's! It kept them occupied until it got dark! We also had a set of Mega Jenga, which was equally great and now a summer drinking game staple for our family! 

My favorite of all the decor was our ceremony site. I loved how romantic, rustic and whimsical the flowers, lanterns, globes and candles were. The "B" is from Anthropologie and was perfect! We loved this so much we kept it up until all the flowers had gone dead.

All the lanterns and globes are from Pottery Barn. We purchased the globes on sale after the holidays last year. 

There are still plenty more pictures to come! 

xoxo, Trist