We had another one of our annual Around the World dinners last night just like the summers of 2011 and 2012. Last night's dinner was from Thailand. I made Thai lettuce wraps, Pad Thai and Thai tea.
Mamie made this sign for the kitchen.
Thai Lettuce Wraps with Peanut Sauce - recipe here
After dinner the kids did a presentation of their Thailand research. Mamie gave a factual report about Thailand.
Margaret made Thailand's flag and a picture of some Thai food.
Griffin made a lego model of Phra Chedi Suriyothai. It is a memorial that was built for a queen of Thailand. (He just googled Thai landmarks and randomly chose one that he thought he could replicate!)
This is one of our favorite summer traditions. It is a way to learn and to get the kids to try new and different foods. Everyone loved the lettuce wraps, and with the exception of Margaret everyone loved the pad Thai and tea too!
Margaret graduated from Senior Kindergarten on Wednesday. I can't believe we have two graduates this year. I also can't believe that we no longer have any preschoolers...sniff! Margaret has had a great kindergarten year. She loved her class and especially her sweet teachers. She is so excited to go to first grade next year too.
My younger brother David got married this weekend! The wedding was in Oxford, MS, and it was such a fun time. Here are some pictures from the weekend. (Please be warned that there are a LOT! There are even more on my Flickr photostream if you are interested...link on the right side of the page.)
On Friday evening we had the rehearsal followed by the rehearsal dinner. The site of the wedding was The Colonel's Quarters at Castle Hill. The dinner was at City Grocery. The food was delicious and the friends and stories were sweet and hilarious!
On Saturday morning we enjoyed hanging out with family and friends at our hotel for a little while. Then mom and I went to Lauren's bridesmaid's brunch at Castle Hill. Lauren gave us all comfy robes that we had to try on immediately! The men all went to a groomsmen's lunch at Proud Larry's.
After the brunch/lunch we started getting ready for the wedding and taking pictures. The original wedding site was outside on the lawn, but it had to be moved under the tent since it rained all morning in Oxford. It ended up working out perfectly and was absolutely beautiful! Lauren was a beautiful bride, and she wore her family's wedding dress that has been worn by 7 women in their family. Richie performed the ceremony, and our kids passed out programs. It was so special to have everyone involved in the ceremony.
The reception was also at Castle Hill. David's groom's cake was a cookie cake with a Chicago Cubs logo. It was so popular that we didn't even get a piece...and yes Margaret wept. The kids had never been to a reception and were so excited to be able to stay up late to eat cake and dance. Griffin literally danced to every song and even requested Gangnam Style while the band was on a break. He was dripping with sweat and had the time of his life. He was completely uninhibited, and it was hilarious. Half of the time he was on the dance floor by himself. I will never forget it! Griffin broke the ice, and Margaret joined in to dance shortly after. It took Mamie a little longer, but she finally danced for a few songs with her daddy, Doc and her Uncle David. They were absolutely exhausted that night and slept in late the following morning.
Here are a couple of videos from the reception. The quality is not great, but I had to include them!
I have such wonderful memories from this weekend! It was so much fun to visit with our extended family that we don't see very often and to get to know Lauren's family and friends. I regret that even though I took over 300 pictures, and I don't have one with the bride or my family or any of my extended family! I learned a lesson that I should have made a list of things I wanted to photograph because in the excitement of the moment you just don't think about it. It also made me miss Mark so much. It just didn't seem right without him there. We are so excited to welcome Lauren into our family, and the kids are thrilled to have her as their aunt. We are so happy for you both, and we love you!
