yes, yes, I've been back from California for over a week... =P

I know, I've been home for a while now so I should write about our California adventure. And I will...watch this spot :)

I'm starting to get pictures up on our web site. You can check them out (here).

the agony of defeat

Last night was the playoffs for flag football and it wasn't pretty. We were playing the same team as last week, the winless I MC HAMMER, and we were confident that we could handle them as easily as last week. I guess we were saving too much energy for the following games (playing for the championship would have taken three games in a row) and we weren't in sync, and we lost. It was pretty embarrassing. Also, the refs did everything in their power to screw us, but honestly, we didn't deserve the win (although we might well have gotten it if the refs had been paying attention). So instead of our anticipated rematch against McLovin' for the title, we were done before eight o'clock. I had a cooler full of water and Gatorade in preparation for the long night, and it was untouched. I gave it away to the team that had just beaten us because they were NOT expecting to have another game to play after ours. I don't know what happened after our game, because we all went home. :( The only bright spot was that I had two good catches, and Matt had an amazing deep ball catch (along with some other catches). Oh, and Mom, Dad, Susie, and Luke came to the game, and it's always fun to have them come, even though we didn't put on a good show for them.

In more fun news, I am going to California tomorrow! Mom, Aunt Lisa, Cousin Katie and I leave tomorrow morning and get back late on Wednesday night. It should be fun (the cool weather won't be bad either!).

Lisa's visit with Miles was a fun highlight of the week. She got into town mid-day Tuesday and brought Carolyn over to the house for an afternoon of chatting (while Miles napped). Then we headed over to Mom and Dad's for Amore dinner, where Matt was able to join us. Miles amused himself playing with the Mardi Gras beads. On Wednesday, Lisa and I took Miles over to Carolyn's for lunch - we picked up potato soup from Cisco, yum! - and Susie was able to come and eat and chat with us. She's an honorary great aunt for Miles ever since she helped take care of him last August when Carolyn was sick. And Carolyn loves her (who doesn't love Susie though?) and so she was thrilled and tickled that Susie came. After lunch, Lisa and I took Miles swimming in Carolyn's pool, which was extra special when one considers that both Lisa and I swam in that pool in our childhood. Lisa headed back to Austin on Wednesday afternoon, so it was a short but sweet visit. Miles is getting to be such a little boy now! He walks with much more confidence and gets much more interesting all the time. He followed Piper all around the house - she would walk temptingly in front of him, keeping about 18 inches between them most of the time. Pene and Miles were very interested in each other, but the size difference is still too great (and Pene too enthusiastic) so they had to observe each other with a door or crate between them. Otherwise Pene might have found out how many licks it takes to get to the center of a Miles.

okay okay, you win

We won too. 33-6 tonight, but it was against the worst team in the league, I MC HAMMER, who made it through the season without a single win. But that meant that we had a LOT of fun, different people got to play, more girls got catches, because we didn't have to worry. I did feel sorry for the other team though: they had a double header tonight and almost had their first win of the season in the game before ours but blew it in the last minute. Then they had to face us, #2 team in the league. Not so fun for them. And yeah, we're #2 now, not #1, because we lost to McLovin' last week 14-12. Next week is the playoffs.

I guess my last post was right before Mike and Eve's wedding. Well, obviously we've had a lot between then and now. Wedding #1, aka Mike and Eve's, was fabulous. Amazing cool spring weather, lots of family. I got to spend a lot of time with Leslie and Bryan, which was a huge treat. We played with every ball in the ranch's possession (softball, football, soccer, ping pong), had two nights of karaoke, boated with Mike Shannon, had two bonfires...it was great. Mom and Dad have put a whole album up on their picture website (marcandsusan.overt.org).

Memorial Day weekend was wedding #2, aka Emily and Rick's. It was also fabulous. We started the weekend hosting the kids (wedding party and some close friends) at our house on Friday night. We played Rock Band, Super Smash, Mario Kart, ate food - including some wonderful homemade brownies by Emily and Liz - drank beer, and got to know one another. It was just what we hoped it would be: an opportunity for the rather diverse wedding party to get to know each other. And Rick reprised Timmy and the Lords of the Underworld, which would have made the night awesome alone. Matt and I also had the fortune to host Rick for the weekend in our guest room, and that made us feel pretty cool. On Saturday we had afternoon rehearsal and then the dinner at Blue Mesa. The food was excellent. Then Sunday morning was the bridesmaids brunch at Cisco. Matt and Rick took Pene for a walk right before I got home (Rick had some pre-wedding energy to blow off) and we followed that up with some Mario Kart. Then it was time for us to start getting ready, and let me tell you, nothing says "I'm a groom and it's my wedding day" like coming out of the bathroom with 20 (okay, 5) pieces of toilet paper stuck to one's face because of shaving mishaps. Rick fought through the blood loss to help Matt and I try and figure out how to tie Matt's bagpiping outfit's bow tie (we watched a YouTube video but still didn't get it right).

The wedding itself was beautiful and perfect. Matt piped before the ceremony, while I was locked up with the bride and maids. The church (Royal Lane Baptist) was lovely and fit the size of the wedding really well. Emily looked gorgeous and sweet and demure and entirely like a bride. (Pictures are at randallstewart.com). Rick looked handsome and nervous and entirely like a groom. The reception was at Northwood Country Club and it was pretty great too. I had to give a toast, which had me quite nervous, but it seemed to go over well. I had a great time getting to know Rick's groomsmen over the course of the weekend, particularly my partner, Best Man Matt. They were a really nice group of young men, and Matt was really fun to be around. Well, they were all pretty hilarious when they were three sheets to the wind at the reception. I'm sure I have some good stories tucked away in my head, but I can't recall them right now. I'm kind of worn out from my awesome game tonight. =D

We're heading to the ranch this weekend for some fun and relaxation (Pene is super excited). Then we have our last team practice and dinner at Peggy Sue on Sunday. I think Cousin Lisa and Miles are coming to Dallas for a couple days next week, we have the playoffs on Thursday, and I leave for my California trip with Mom, Aunt Lisa, and Cousin Katie on Saturday. Isn't summer supposed to be lazy? ;)