Matt and Courtney: April 2011

March Madness is a little bit of a play on words. The basketball tournament was exciting this year as Indianapolis' own, the Butler Bulldogs made it to the championship for the second year in a row. As a side note, people say or rather write "Go Dawgs" up here too......I'm thinking maybe they copied that saying and spelling from my beloved Georgia Bulldawgs.....because they definitely don't have the southern twang to get the pronunciation right up here! But, it is fun just the same to see Go Dawgs everywhere.

The last two weeks of March truly were "madness" for me. The most wonderful kind of madness! I spent two weeks with my family split between Atlanta and Asheville. I drove down (wow, the luxury of being able to drive home rather than having no choice but to fly!), and stopped halfway in Nashville, TN with our good friends the Radbills. Andy and Rachel were good friends from Boston who moved to Nashville for Andy's new job as an attending at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital. They have two lovely kids Jack and Kate, and it was just a blast catching up with their family! They were gracious and welcoming hosts!

Then the second day I was in Atlanta my sister and I threw a wedding shower for our future sister-in-law Melissa. It was so fun to be a part of her very first wedding shower and to meet those special in her life, as well as catch up with some of our good family friends. It was also so fun to spend time with my family including my sweet nieces, the oldest of which were very eager to serve every one their desserts and refill their drinks during the shower!

Then I spent a few low key days hanging out with my mom. One highlight of those few days was getting lunch with the mom of my sweet friend Jennifer who passed away when we were in 8th grade. Mrs. Dailey is so sweet and it was such a blessing to see her! I also joined my mom, sister, and nieces on a little photoshoot that my sister had set up for my nieces. They were so cute and it was a joy to watch them smiling for the camera!

The following weekend was quite busy and so fun! One of my best friend's, Kristen Polstra (now Vestal), got married!!! The festivities began Thursday night with a little bachelorette party at a mexican restaurant, then Friday we had the bridesmaid's luncheon and the rehearsal/rehearsal dinner. And then all day Saturday I was busy with the wedding! It was such an honor to be a part of this special weekend for Kristen. She was an absolutely BEAUTIFUL bride and I am just so happy for her! It was a great chance to catch up with an old college roommate and see a few other college friends as well as meet new people! After the wedding, a large group from the wedding and then some of Matt and I's friends from Atlanta came down Virginia Highlands to hang out for a bit. I was so glad to see everyone and that Matt was able to fly down for the weekend.

On that Sunday I had my first baby shower!! It was so much fun and I am so thankful for my sister, Emily C, Lauren D, Emily L, and Ashley S for all of the hard work they put into making it a very special afternoon for me. It was again a great time to see people dear to me and get even more excited about this little one on the way! Speaking of the little one, I am almost 30 weeks!!! It is crazy how fast this is going, but also very very exciting!!!

Then I spent the last few days of my trip up in Asheville, NC with my sister's family. It was so fun to be there and celebrate my littlest niece Molly Ryan's first birthday!!

Enjoy the pictures!!!!