america:twin sister's wedding, meeting jackson, everything else, & a day in paris.

last week i got back from a 9 day trip to america. when you factor out the 2 days for travel, i was actually there for one week. i arrived on a tuesday night and was greeted by my parents, brother, 2 sisters, and NEPHEW jackson!!!

i immediately grabbed jackson and started kissing and hugging him. i think i may have startled him but i was sooo happy to be holding him for the first time. he was right at 5 or 5 1/2 months.. seeing him on skype and talking to him was so much different than meeting him for the first time. it was amazing... and then i started hugging the rest of my family.... it was great to see them all after having been gone for a year... they greeted me with signs, flowers, a lei from hawaii, brownies, and taco bell. they know me well.

that night i went home with brooke since i planned to spend as much time with jackson (and her) as i could and help her finish up all of the wedding planning....

while i was in america i baked 2 pies, 2 batches of brownies. 5 dozen cookies. biscotti. 2 dozen muffins. raspberry bars. i went to target about 5 times. taco bell 3 times. sonic twice. central bbq one. cafe ole once. macaroni grill once. starbucks once. i had dinner with a friend. i had coffee with a friend. i spoke at my church. i had lunch with a group of people (some friends, some new friends).

i went to (and hosted) a bridal shower. went to a rehearsal dinner. went to a bachelorette/lingerie party. went to (hosted) a bridal brunch. went to my twin sister's WEDDING. i have to say it's got to be one of (if not the) funnest weddings i have been to. i loved it. it also helped that it was my twin sister who i had not seen in a year. and my nephew was wearing an adorable baby tux.

oh, and on my sister's wedding day, on the way to the wedding, with her in the back seat in her dress, jackson in his adorable baby tux, & me in my bridesmaid's dress, i got a TICKET! brooke's car had expired tags... but STILL!!!!!!! her wedding DAY! haha.. to make it even better, on the way home from the reception, in the middle of nowhere, at 1:30 am, i was driving her car and it ran out of gad and broke down.. oh the fun of driving a car.. haha.. i'll stick with public transportation, thanks.

i hung out with my family a lot. more specifically, jackson a lot. i shot family portraits/6 month pictures for my sister. i shot senior pics for my cousin. i laughed a lot. i cried a lot. i was refreshed.

leaving was a lot harder this time because of my adorable nephew... (and honestly, he's one of the coolest and most well behaved babies i've been around.) i cried a lot when i left. but... 9 1/2 months and i will most likely be back in memphis spending a LOT of time with him (and my family and new neice/nephew).... it was a really great trip.

oh, and i stopped through paris for a few hours on the way back to istanbul...... :)

thanks to those of you who made it special. and i wish i had more time to spend hanging out with more of you. see hundreds (literally) more pics on facebook if you are interested....