Mr. & Mrs. Smith

No, not the movie.

My cousin Brooke got married to Jay on October 2nd! I got to be one of the lucky bridesmaids (matron just doesn't have the same ring...). Here are some highlights from the shower, rehearsal and finally the big day =)

This is the beautiful France-themed bridal shower. Complete with a crepe bar =) Anyway, I didn't take my camera, so I don't have many pictures of the day. But this picture gives you a little snippet. I love the white lights in the fireplace! And there were those gorgeous red roses everywhere.

My sister-in-law and me at the rehearsal... accidentally matching =)

The bride and groom, sneaking a little sugar at the castle.

Speaking of the castle - check that out!!! This was probably the most beautiful setting for a wedding that I've ever been to.

My cousin, Beau, and me, at the rehearsal dinner.

The big day! I got to walk with my cousin, Chris, the bride's brother.

Here comes the elegant bride!!!

The perfect day for an outdoor wedding. Wow.

My hunny & me... =)

My eyes look real wide... thanks, eyeliner. Haha! Anywho, this is Daniel and me with my brother and sister-in-law. We had SO much fun at the reception! Great music, lots of dancing =)

love.

i love the office.

i just keep watching seasons 1-5 over and over. once i finish the last episode, i start over with the pilot. i like to have the TV on when i'm at home by myself, even if i'm not really watching it. anyway, daniel is away on a school field trip, so there's been a whole lot of the office going on here =)

and i love it.

Picture Post - Third Installment

At the beginning of the summer, Daniel and I went to the US Botanic Garden in D.C. with our friends Mary and Craig and their brother, Eric. My new main photo of Daniel and me on my blog is from that day.

Daniel and I made a stop on our way from our parking spot to the Garden for this lovely photo op:


Walking past the Capitol Building...


The Fadels and the Clarks, taking a load off.


So fun!


At the end of June, we headed up to Michigan for a family reunion of my dad's side of the family. Daniel got to meet a few relatives for the first time, which was great. Now he's met them all on that side =) And it only took two and half years. I also got to cook paella for 18 people! Quite a feat (though I had plenty of help)!

On our way north, we made a pitstop on our roadtrip in this BEAUTIFUL little town on the Great Lakes. I can't remember the name of it, but we loved it!


Oddly enough, there were these little statues of dogs wearing costumes all over the town... strange, but somewhat endearing.


Cousins...


More of the cousins... (plus "Silly Uncle Scott")


Even more of the cousins...


SO many wonderful games of CARDS!! We are a bit fanatical.


It's official: "Onken Family Reunion - Lounge"


A rare non-card game...


Already completely in sync with the family, Daniel instituted the first ever Onkens' Got Talent show. It was a blast. Here's one of my cousins, rapping about our family, with her mom beat-boxing in the background. I still think she should've won...


Before heading home, we drove west to say "hi" to a friend from college who we hadn't seen since our wedding! He happened to be home from CA at the same time that found ourselves in the midwest.


And NOW I am caught up on pictures I've been meaning to post, at long last! =) Hope you've enjoyed seeing them as much as I've enjoyed sharing them!

Picture Post - Second Installment

While we were visiting Jeff and Lauren over Easter Break, we made the two hour trip up to Chicago - my favorite U.S. city - for a day. Daniel had never been, and I had a great time showing him around, to the best of my limited abilities (I'd only been there once before, for a week).

What a view! You can't see it here, but the lake is just off to the left of the frame.


It was a sunny, but CHILLY day in Chicago.


There was a big film production going on. Pretty cool =)


Because of that, the space around "The Bean" was completely open and cleared of pedestrians. Made for a great picture, by Daniel.


We said "hi" to our friend Craig's favorite building, the John Hancock building, for him.


One of the things I enjoy most about Chicago is seeing the old buildings juxtaposed against the new ones. Love. It.


We were SPENT after walking around all day. Thankfully, there was Gino's East Pizza to revive our weary souls.

See this??? Best. Pizza. Ever.


There was writing COVERING the walls!

We wrote on top of some white paint-marker, so that it would show up. See it?

"H + D '10"

And, finally, we found a Caribou Coffee. We love Caribou, and when I was in Chicago before, they seemed to be on every corner. Of course I told Daniel this, and he was very excited. But we didn't see one ALL DAY! At last, we found one on our way back to our car =) We were very happy to have Caribou for the ride home.


One more installment to come! Hope you're having as much fun catching up as I am =)

Picture Post - First Installment

Let's start with some LONG overdue pictures of our Easter in Indiana with my brother and my sister-in-law!

We dyed some eggs...















And Lauren made me an awesome, gluten-free Easter basket =)



















We went to the Children's Museum in Indianapolis one day. This is a blown-glass sculpture that was several stories high!





























There was a fabulous dinosaur exhibit (above), and a sweet Star Wars movie exhibit (below). Mmm. It's fun being kiddos at heart. =)



















I have a crush on him. And it looks like the feeling is mutual...















Just a couple of couch potatoes in the nutrition exhibit.















An Indy 500 car! Daniel is psyched!















And the REAL reason we went to the Children's Museum... drum roll... the BARBIE exhibit! Yup, that's right.















Goofin' in the Egypt exhibit...















Most mornings, Daniel and I had coffee at this awesome find in the little historic downtown district.



















If you're gonna be a rocket scientist, why not go to school where Neil Armstrong went to school, right?















Lauren, following in Neil Armstrong's footsteps...















Neil & Daniel. Two peas in a pod.















And, of course, plenty of Chipotle.