jam-packed weekend!

This past weekend, we had a lot going on. 2 engagement parties, Tilly's consultation and Easter! Friday night was the engagement party for our dear friends Lauren and Matt at my parent's house! It was so beautiful and so much fun! With Denise Sikes' help, my parents house was lookin' awesome! They tented the back patio with some tables and filtered lights to illuminate branches onto the top of the tent! You can't see that in these pics because I took them in the daylight, but it was so pretty!

Here are some of the tables all set up on the patio.

And again...
Beautiful centerpiece in the dining room!

And most importantly, the beautiful soon-to-wed couple eating their southern supper!

The party was so much fun and we were the last ones to leave. This wasn't even because it was my parent's house, but because we had so much fun and it was such a great group of people. Graham said he was just shocked at how long I wanted to stay since I have been such a stick in the mud lately, but just shows how much we enjoyed celebrating Matt and Lauren and catching up with so many fun people!

Well, after going to bed late Friday, we were up at the crack of dawn Saturday to get ready to drive to Fairview for 'Lil Til's consultation at Greymont Kennels. After some homemade pancakes (yum...) we were off on a 45 minute drive. On the way there, we talked about if we thought they would keep her or if we would meet and plan a time for her to come back or how it would work. I could tell I was going to be teary if we had to leave her, but decided to put it all in the back of my mind and see what they had to say. When we got there, Jim Sawyer called us into his office. We took Miss Tilly back there and he basically was like so you ready to leave her? I proceeded to ask many questions about their training program and what her days would be like etc. I mean it's amazing how much dogs are like children these days! After he went over everything, I asked if we just come back to get her in 2 weeks. He said you come back to get her when I think she is ready and I call you to come get her. That could be 2 weeks, it could be more! (Good news is you only pay for 2 weeks no matter what!) After we agreed to it all, we all went back and saw the runs where they sleep and the training room where they work. It is all really nice and Graham and I felt great about it! I really think Tilly will enjoy it because the Portuguese Water Dog needs a job! They are smart, energetic and busy and like constant activity which she will get. So at this point, they took her off on a leash down the hall...away from us. She kept looking back like 'hmm, I think you have the wrong dog. My parents are back there!!!' Amazingly, I held it together! I thought to myself 'wow, I am going to make it all the way to car before I cry!!!' As we were walking out, they were telling us how we can call anytime to check on her and then she dropped the bomb when we were only a few feet from the car. She said, and I quote, "I know this is hard for you since you are leaving your baby." I mean at this point the dam broke. I think I would have been teary pregnant or not, but this was a breakdown. I mean the noises coming out of me were noises like I was heaving for my last breath! It was horrifying to all parties involved I'm pretty sure! I know it was for Graham because he immediately looked at her and said "she is pregnant!" and the lady was so nice about it, but I am sure was shocked by my massive display of emotion. At this point, I hurried to the car so no one else would witness the come apart and finished up on the way home. After letting it all out, I composed myself and felt really good about our decision! I think Tilly is going to come back the wonderful puppy she has the potential to be and we will finally understand why people swear by this breed. I love Tilly so so much and will miss her dearly, but it was time to get her whipped into shape before the baby comes! Will keep you updated on how all this pans out!

**Sidenote for anyone keeping tabs on the Obama puppy story, we got ours before we knew they were even considering it! It is funny, though, because I saw the pics of theirs and it looks identical to Tilly...the difference is that theirs came trained! I hope this doesn't all of a sudden make the PWD a trendy dog. I picked the breed because it didn't shed and because of how rarely you see them around here. Guess we will see if that changes...

Also, for anyone wondering how Shammi is doing back in her role as solo dog, she is sleeping non stop. It is like she feels 1o months behind on sleep due to Tilly. That or she is sad. I like to think just catchin up on sleep. But Graham and I can tell she looks for her from time to time so we know she will be ready for her to come back! In the meantime, we are all going to enjoy some peace and quiet for the next 2 weeks!

Anyways, Saturday night we had another engagement party for Lauren and Neely which was also very fun, but we were pooped at the end of it and so relieved that we were not woken up by Tilly bright and early on Sunday!!

For Easter, we went to church with the rents then onto lunch at Aunt Allison and Uncle Franks which has been tradition for years. We had a nice lunch there and then went home to lay on the couch and enjoy the Masters. It was a great final round, but (no offense to any Cabrera fans) I was not pleased with the way it ended! Oh well!

It was such a fun weekend and we have many more coming up with lots of parties and weddings on the horizon! More fun to come...