Cinderella

Is there any question who's daughter she is?? Give this girl a baby wipe or a towel and she'll go to town cleaning the nearest flat surface for a good fifteen minutes.

Grandma and Uncle Mike found this pretty party dress at TJ Maxx. What a great find! Shelby just loved wearing it and dancing at the reception!

And, yes, Cinderella was allowed to go to the party! Instead of glass slippers, she has pretty, pink shoes (see previous post).

Family Picture

I finally had time to sit and relax. So, I'm trying to catch up on the blog (besides a weekly menu, of course!) I realized there is no recent picture of the three of us...the last one I can find is from Shelby's first birthday! We were able to get this one while we were in Cleveland at the Fritz & Alison Wedding Extravaganza.

Even though it was a thousand degrees, we clean up pretty well!

Vacation: Part Three

Saturday:
The marathon wedding day started at 8:30 for Scott. He headed to Mama & Papa Streiff's new house to get ready for the wedding.

Grandma, Grandpa, Mikey, Shelby and I got to the church at 11:00. The Church of the Saviour was just gorgeous - an old Gothic church with a LOOOOOONG aisle! Even Shelby signed the guestbook! Since music is such a big part of Fritz's life, his gift to Alison was the beautiful music played during the ceremony. There was a trumpet voluntary and organ music before the processional. Then, alumni from Fritz's classes sang some wonderful choral arrangements Fritz picked out. When Alison walked down the aisle with her dad, Fritz had the biggest smile on his face. It was so cute!!

Shelby saw her dad up front and said, "Dada" every 10 seconds. And, during the 90-minute ceremony, it got to be a bit much! Grandpa walked up and down the side aisle with her. They stood in the narthex, and had the coolest seat in the house with the cross breeze! They checked out the playground and outdoors, too. The groomsmen released each pew to go through a receiving line of the bride, groom, and their immediate families. With 450 guest, it took over an hour to release the whole church!!!

The FIRST reception was in the church's new (air-conditioned!) Great Hall. There was a live band, dancing, six-tiered cake, and a wonderful lunch spread. Poor Shelby (having been kept up late by her party animal grandparents the night before*) was starting to poop out. She got to enjoy the food and the music for a while. But, she was sent home with the grandparents to nap.

Scott and the bridal party left for portraits in the sanctuary, and soon left for more pictures at the country club thereafter. Sarah Kaplan - my wedding widow friend - and I helped deconstruct the reception hall. Then we headed to Beechwood Mall to kill some time before the next reception. Sarah and I were dressed up in our pretty wedding clothes and jewelry and heels. I tell you the truth: I have never gotten as much attention from sales staff as I have on that afternoon! We were stalked and doted on in every store we went in! It was crazy!

In the evening, we went to the SECOND reception (an intimate 250 people) at Manakiki Country Club. It was fantastic: wine, gin and tonics, cheese, and crackers for the appetizer. We had a chance to talk to the Streiffs and our other friends. The "young people" (Fritz's definition: 33 years and younger) sat outside. It was a bit stifling at first. But, we finally got a breeze. The cake was a delicious cassata cake from an Italian bakery in Cleveland's Little Italy. You can't go wrong with strawberries and cream inside the cake.

Vacation: Part Two

While on vacation, Friday brought even more fun!!

Shelby took Grandpa to the lake to throw rocks in. She points toward the lake and says, "Wa wa!"



Then, Scott and I went on a lunch date to Nordstrom Cafe at Beechwood!
Trivia: Nordstrom Cafe was our first date when we went to a wedding in Minneapolis!

Grandma and Uncle Mike entertained Shelby with a $3 swimsuit, turtle sprinkler, and Little Tykes slide!




Later that evening, Scott and I went to Fritz and Alison's rehearsal dinner at Church of the Saviour in Cleveland Heights. It's a beautiful, Gothic church with one problem: no air conditioning. The weather forecast called for ninety-degree weather, and the wedding forecast called for 450 guests. Yikes!

Scott was a groomsman. So, I sat in the "wedding widows" pew with another Ohio friend: Sarah Kaplan. Sarah's husband Phil was another groomsman in the wedding.
Trivia: Fritz met Sarah and Phil on an airplane on the way down to our wedding in January, 2007! They have been friends ever since!

The rehearsal dinner had 80 people!....Ummm, the same size as our wedding reception! The dinner was catered by Fritz's friends. They are IT people by day, and foodies by night. This dinner was their first professional catering dinner. It was fabulous!!! My favorite was basil ice cream with balsamic strawberries.

Family Portrait

Silly Hijinks with the Lawrences and Streiffs!


Video courtesy of Scott Lawrence Photography

Vacation: Part One!

Scott, Shelby, and I went to Cleveland last week for Fritz's wedding and, of course, to visit with the Lawrences!!!!!! The vacation will be split into several posts as SO MUCH fun was had during the trip!
You may not know it to look at them, but Grandma and Grandpa Lawrence (AKA Bappa and Abappa) are party animals!! Let me elaborate:

Wednesday:
Dave picked us up at the airport at 4. By 6:30, the house was filled with Streiffs*, Streiffs-to-be, Streiff-in-laws, and Connavinos for burgers on the grill!

Nancy had originally invited Beth (Streiff) & her husband John to dinner because they were driving Uncle Mike home. Then, Mom and Dad Streiff came after picking Gretchen up at the airport. Peter and his girlfriend came over when they drove in from Nashville. Even the Groom and Bride-to-be came over after getting back into town after a pre-wedding getaway! Oy!

I've known Fritz for several years now, and enjoy catching up with him when we're back in Ohio. I have heard about Beth and Gretchen from Scott and Mike, but I had never met them. I had my chance, and they are so awesome! I'm sad it's taken so long to get to know them! They are the type of girls I would have been best friends with in high school and college.

Thursday:
Barbecue #2! This one had the usual cast of characters: Lawrences, Connavinos, Mary Jane, Michael, Jerri. Michelle and Karen made mojitos. Yum!! Emily brought the twins. Shelby was enthralled with them! She just kept pointing and quietly saying, "bebe....bebe...." She loved them until Nancy or I would pick one up. then, she would get upset and demand to be held in the other arm. Nancy got her a plastic container to hold Goldfish Crackers (it's shaped like a Goldfish, conveniently). She loved it and would eat out of it. Once it was given to the babies as a rattle toy, Shelby would have nothing else to do with it. She may be little, but, man, is she territorial!!




*The Streiffs are Methodist ministers who serve in Ohio. They are longtime family friends of the Lawrences. Their son Fritz was the one getting married.