Life By The Pool. . .it's just BETTER!: Hunter and Miranda's Wedding

My oldest nephew Hunter and his fiancee Miranda were married the weekend before Christmas in Lake Charles, LA. Warning!!! There are lots of photos. Now is your chance to opt out!

#esthayalltheway

The hubs and I went in a few days early so he could work a couple of claims and also so we could have time to visit with his mom. Our travel day was gorgeous and a bit chilly but you won't hear any complaints from me. I prefer colder weather for so many reasons. You get to wear different clothes (sweaters), boots and there is less humidity!!! Humidity is good for a lot of things like your skin but not for your hair. :( It just kinks up and goes totally flat! Yeah, not pretty at all.

We moved over to the Golden Nugget on Friday afternoon before the rehearsal dinner. The rooms are really nice and large. More than enough room for two people.

#goldennugget

Our view was of the L'auberge Casino and the lake. I don't know if you can see how muggy it was outside. The cold weather was gone and the humidity was in full force. Ugh!!! The weather is the only thing that could have made the entire weekend perfect.

#laubergecasino

I spy a little cutie in the mirror. :) He was checking out the faucet to make sure it worked. He and Ms. A came with us to check in to the hotel while his mom and Sweet P went to the rehearsal.

He is so sweet in his big sis's light up lights.

Can you guess who is hiding behind the curtains?

The pool area was beautiful.

We only had a few minutes to check it out before it started raining. Fortunately Ms. A and I were close enough to run for cover. Mr. W and Paw Paw had gone over to see the fire so they got caught in the rain.

Ms. A is crazy for a red corvette. She couldn't believe that it has always been a dream of mine to own one.

Mr. W preferred the white BMW. Something tells me he may change his mind as he gets older. He looks way older than 3 years old in this pic.

Here is a pic of my SIL and her sweet friends. They helped her decorate for the rehearsal supper.

My brother and SIL had this built just in time for the dinner. It is beautiful. It is going to be an outdoor kitchen.

Can you believe my SIL made these centerpieces? She was so proud of herself. She found the idea on Pinterest. I was so proud of her. I think she did a great job.

The tree was very pretty. She said she found the decorations at the

Dollar Store.

Here's a view of the back of the house. You can see the lights reflecting in the pool. There were lights strung all across the front of the house. It looked very pretty.

Everybody had a great time.

Such a beautiful couple!!! You can't even tell how sick Miranda was. She had a fever and wasn't feeling well. Fortunately she was able to see the doctor and he gave her shots and a prescription.

You may recognize this guy. He is my nephew, Kameron Esthay, that we go to see play baseball in Waco. He plays for the Baylor Bears baseball team. Here he is with his girlfriend Emory. They both graduate from college in May. Emory played on the girls soccer team.

#baylorbearsbaseball

This is my brother Karl.

My SIL is ALWAYS pulling out her phone taking selfies. :) Can you see how kinky and flat my hair is? Ugh!!! It was bad!

There was a lot of karaoke singing going on.

A little serenading.

Hunter and Kameron did an awesome job with the fireworks.

Here is Mr. W enjoying his cupcake.

Here's a cute pic of Debbie and Sweet P after they had their hair and makeup done.

My grandkids are very well behaved. Having said that, Mr. W is very loud. He only knows one level of volume. All through the service he was incredibly quiet. Afterwards I asked his mom what she did to get him to be so quiet. She smiled and said "I promised him two pieces of cake." He was as quiet as a mouse.

#idbequietforcaketoo

#weddingcakeisthebest

The church looked pretty with all of the Christmas decorations and poinsettias.

It's time for the wedding. Hunter looks so handsome in his tux.

My SIL looked beautiful in her dress. Not to mention my brother and nephew looked very handsome in their tuxes. I was getting so choked up. The hubs said he was getting all teary eyed, too. So many emotions all at once.

Debbie's hair looked so pretty.

Sweet P and Miranda's nephews did a great job.

Sweet P was so serious about her duties as the flower girl.

Miranda and her mom looked so pretty. We were so happy Miranda was feeling so much better.

Miranda made a beautiful bride.

I love this pic. You can see Hunter looking over at his mom and dad.

The reception was decorated so beautifully. Here are photos of loved ones that are no longer with us. The one to the back on the right is my dad. There is no doubt in my mind he was there watching over all of us. I know he is so proud of all of his grandkids and great grandkids.

My SIL's mom is in the photo on the left side in the back. Her name is Darlene. I am quite sure she was there making sure everything went okay. She was such a special woman. I ALWAYS told my SIL how lucky she was to have a mom like her. Darlene had a huge heart and was so loving. She cared for everyone. I will never forget her helping me make 750 meatballs for our wedding reception. I can see it like it was yesterday. She made it so much fun. I miss her so. She was loud and so much fun.

Two of Miranda's closest friends did the decorating. They are incredibly talented.

The center pieces were beautiful. I loved the shimmer and shine of the table cloths.

Everything was so pretty! I love all the little details. I believe the details are the finishing touch.

The wedding cake was beautiful and tasted awesome.

I loved the topper.

Hunter and Miranda's table. I never saw them sitting down.

I loved Hunter's grooms' cake. It tasted good, too.

Once again, I loved all of the details.

I'm sorry but I don't have any pics of the food. I can tell you what I did eat was delicious. I was so busy visiting with family I hadn't seen in so long. It was like a family reunion. :) A good family reunion. I loved visiting with everyone.

Here's a pic of my dad's side of the family. The man standing in the background, next to my brother, is my Uncle Terry (dad's brother) with his wife Bessie standing next to him. The man standing on the front row, right hand side, is my Uncle Durphy (dad's brother) with his wife Lillian. The sweet lady I am standing next to is my cousin Doris. Oh the good times we had growing up and going out when we were old enough. So many good times I will treasure forever.

It was so awesome seeing my family. Love them all!!! It was so nice being with them. I felt like my dad was there.

This sweet girl had so much fun. She was on the dance floor most of the night.

And her sidekick was right behind her.

Here is the hubs dancing with Sweet P. She LOVES her Paw Paw.

Can you tell the feeling is mutual?

I snapped a few sweet pics of my Uncle Terry and Aunt Bessie dancing together.

Miranda's dress was gorgeous!

Here is a sweet pic of Tiffani and Mr. W dancing together.

Sweet P got in a dance with Hunter.

Her sidekick snuck in on the action.

My brother and SIL did such a great job on raising these two young men. They are so big hearted, kind and so patient with their nieces and nephew. It is so nice to see them interact together.

We, too, are blessed with two beautiful girls. They both have huge hearts and are kind hearted. I am so grateful for all of our family. We have truly been blessed. Miranda is a perfect fit to our family. She is as beautiful inside as she is out. She is overflowing with love for everyone. Welcome to our crazy family Miranda!

My SIL Debbie with Kameron and Emory.

A proud Paw Paw with his two sweet girls.

Here's a sweet pic of our little party animals after they got home after the wedding. Tiffani said Sweet P didn't fall over until the last curve before arriving home. We got this pic just as we were getting ready to go to the after party. (I have videos of them dancing that I need to upload. Hopefully I'll get that done soon.)

After the reception we went to the Golden Nugget. We were sitting outside near the fire pit. This is the only pic, of all the ones I had taken, that came out. :(

My brother won $1,200 on the blackjack tables while we were dancing away in the Rush Lounge. We had so much fun. After this, we went up to my room (the hubs had gone to bed around 2 a.m.) to get Kam's suitcase. The guys had left their bags in our room earlier that day until they could check into their own rooms. Unbeknownst to us, Kam had already gotten his bag earlier that evening. If you know my brother and SIL you know they are loud. :) Add alcohol and excitement of Karl winning and they were pretty loud going down the hallway to our room. I kept telling them to Shush. :) Right before I opened the door I told both of them to be quiet so they wouldn't wake up Kevin. My brother walks right in and shouts "hey brother-in-law!!!" My poor hubs was woke up from a sound sleep at 4 a.m. all for nothing. Good thing he is such a good sport!

Every time I looked at him in this shirt I thought of "where's Waldo". :)

#whereswaldo