After returning from Roanoke (much more rested and tanned- well, Ryan doesn't really tan but he got a little color for a short while...) we began getting responses back from the invitations. The mailman has become my new best friend! So far, 29 people are coming to our wedding. And in case some of you did not notice, on the backside of the invitation is the Vietnamese wording. We wanted to make sure you noticed because that was the most difficult part of the invitations!

Ryan's parents just came for a little visit and we did a tasting for our rehearsal dinner. Yum! The rehearsal dinner will be at the Mansion House Restaurant at the Leesburg Holiday Inn for the people who are participating in the wedding ceremony. I guess it means we are getting pretty close if we are doing rehearsal dinner stuff!

Ryan and his dad just got measured for tuxes today- woohoo! I finally get him in a fancy suit :) Ryan's mom is just as excited for an excuse to get Mac-Daddy in a tux again. You would think men would enjoy looking exceptionally good and getting more attention from females every chance they get. Men- who can figure 'em?

I scheduled a meeting with the church organist, Dr. Cooksey this week. He was very nice and told us we had plenty of time. The funny thing was after we set up a time, he told me to call him a day before to remind him of the appointment (signs of a brilliant artist or genius professor! I know he also works at a university and it definitely reminded me of some professors I've known.) We'll be calling Ryan's Aunt Nancy pretty soon after talking with Dr. Cooksey so we can make sure her vocal cords will be in tip top condition on September 1.

Please keep checking back on our registry section because we will be adding a few more items to it this week. Unfortunately, we have not had a recent opportunity to go play with those scanner guns again. I'll have to remedy that.

That's it for now. Keep mailing back those little response cards and let us know if you need any help with accomodations.

We haven't decided for sure whether or not to go with this particular store, but from what I understand tux shopping is more about being comfortable with the company and trusting them to be on time with everything than it is about the actual cost (which, from what I can tell, tend to be similar).

-I finally finished writing all the bios on the attendants (sorry it was so long in coming, Thi and John!)

-Our flower girl, Juliana's dress is finished (beautifully sewn by Mrs. MacMichael)

-I am nearly done addressing outer envelopes

-All the parts for the centerpieces have been purchased and are ready to go.

-Ryan and I have finally chosen our readings for the ceremony- we'll be going over the ceremony details with Father John tomorrow morning

And as an aside: I went to a friend's bachlorette party this past weekend (my first) and it was a blast! I actually left before they went out (I left at midnight) but the food, games, and chick talk were excellent. It was fun and relaxing even if I did get lost in D.C. and I only knew Ellen, the bachelorette of honor. I'll be seeing her get married this Saturday.

Well, Ryan and I went into town on Sunday and took a couple of friends, Catherine and Jason, to see our reception site. We were speechless for a moment when we saw a huge branch the size of a tree resting on the roof of the Thomas Birkby House. It was tied down until the tree people could come clear it. The massive tree in the yard had been struck by lightning. We'll try to get a picture of the poor tree. On the drive home we noticed at least 10 other trees that had been struck and were cut down or their branches trimmed. The curbs are still littered with tree limbs.

Jason told us that his mom always told him the Angels were bowling when it thundered and lightninged like that. Isn't that a wonderful thought?