Memorial Day Weekend--Hello, Summer!

Memorial Day weekend has historically been anti-climactic for me. This year, however, the holiday lived up to the hype surrounding it. It started with a unique opportunity. As most of you know, my incredibly talented best friends, Becky and Jenn, own a successful photography company, Hoyle Cunningham Photography. (Oh, you noticed my maiden name? That's because my dear friend Becky married my dear brother, Randy. :) Through a series of events, Becky and Jenn asked me if I would help them shoot a swanky wedding in downtown Chicago. While it was a long, grueling day, I loved every second of it! It was a throwback to the days when we used to shoot events for our high school yearbook and newspaper. Not only did I get to hang out with two of my lifelong friends, I also gained a new appreciation for what they do. I had no idea just how physically and mentally taxing their profession is. By the time I got home fourteen hours later, I was wiped. 


Somehow I recovered in time for us to head over to Mike's sister's house for a cookout. After the torrential downpour and tornado sirens, it actually shaped up to be a pretty nice day. Here's a photo recap. 

Jen & Keith, our always accommodating hosts

Ashley, Jake, & me-Being their aunt was one of the greatest parts of marrying Mike

Geoff & Ashley-They've been together almost as long as Mike & me!

Look at how tall Jake is! He's certainly catching up to Uncle Mike

The two Mikes enjoying the perfect weather!

Jen & Mono!

Me & Jen-Love her!

After recovering a bit from yesterday's activities, Mike and I got going on some projects. On a whim, I bought a Topsy-Turvy planter while we were checking out of the Home Depot this morning. I figured I should probably take this garden thing nice and easy. In the midst of preparing my first "garden," Mike came into the back yard and said, "Um. I have some bad news. Some of your china broke. A shelf in the garage fell." 


The good news: My coveted wedding china did NOT break. 
The bad news: The shelf that fell in the garage held ALL of the leftover paint from our house. 
The God-is-so-good news: Our recently paid-off Charger was NOT in its usual spot in the garage, so it was NOT covered in paint. 
When all was said and done, it took us approximately 2 hours to clean up the paint, but there were so many blessings in the crisis, that neither of us really cared.


Once the paint was cleaned up (sorry no picture--we went into crazy cleaning mode as soon as it happened), I finished assembling my planter. Here are the before pictures. Here's hoping my heirloom tomatoes, basil, oregano, and parsley come in. 

This "little" project took WAY more time, energy & money than I thought it would...

Please, tomato plant, make this worth it! :)