Carnival de Connell 2009

You know how us Connells love a good country fair? One can't beat the excitement, fried food, and mullets around a southern fair! We like to be right in the middle of it.

What is even better than going to the fair? Bringing it home with you! We had our first annual "CARNIVAL de CONNELL," and in true southern flare, we invited the cousins. At least the cousins on my side... Oh if only Chris' lived close by! Not everyone was able to come and some only for a minute, but we had a blast. Thank you to Beth for all your great ideas and all the food you&Will brought! You are the most fabulous sister in the world with the most stellar plans...

Anna, this post is in your honor! :) Hope you all enjoy!

Here is the evening in pictures:

Two beautiful ladies you can't help but love!

Dinner in the dining room. Chris, Jason, Anna, Will, and Beth.

This was our spread... corn dogs, pizza, nachos, popcorn, cheese sticks... you can't have a fair without the delicious, probably-not-good-for-you-at-all, chow!

This is his thoughtful look. :) I think he's saying "take my picture" with his eyes.

What you don't get to see in these pictures is Yegi and Chris stopped in for a visit. They breezed in for some lovely dinner time conversation. For some reason, I don't think the corn dog sounded appetizing for the perfectly pregnant Yegi! {PS: They just found out the gender of their baby... BOY!}

Will and Beth. Enjoying the glider. (Granted, a glider sounds totally senior citizenish, but we love it! You can't beat it on a night evening like we had for the CARNIVAL de CONNELL.)

Do you see all the votive candles? Used AFTER the Backyard Wedding Shower. They looked so pretty around the porch!

Yay for fun back porches! We had it set up to BOB for apples and with drinks on ice. Check out that large "cooler" (can't think of a better name) that is holding the drinks. Jeff and Emily gave that to us as our host/hostess gift! We LOVE it!

Macy girl was definitely apart of the celebration. She doesn't always know what do to with all the people, but she had a great night! Obviously, she wasn't having too much fun in this picture as she looks pretty sad, but trust me... Macy did have fun too!

Anna and Jason.

Johnny, Jenny, J. and Addalee also stopped in for a while! They missed dinner, but were there for the bobbing for apples game. Johnny and J. Can you tell J. was trying to figure out what was about to happen? So serious!

Chris, our hero, was the first to step up to the plate! Studying his strategy... Unfortunately, he is tall and the "barrel" was a little low...

...But it didn't hold him back!

SUCCESS!

Anna and Addalee watched on. How sweet!

Will was next. He dove right in...

Definitely came out of there super fast! (I had put ice in with the apples to keep them crisp. It also made the water SUPER cold! No one stayed in there too long!) Check out the water in this picture:

Yay for Will!

J. thought he wanted a try. When Johnny took him over there, he laughed and decided against it... He'll be back though!

Beautiful Jenny...

Chris and Will - eating their prize. Waiting for Jason to score his apple...

And he's in there!

It's a red delicious! Great job, Jason!

Addalee watching.

{Yeah, I know... gorgeous already! Johnny is totally in for it...}

Next was my turn! Had to pull the hair back or it would be wet all night.

Gorgeous child again... picture taken while my face was submerged in ice water searching for an apple.

Like this:

Beth went next. J. was helping her pick her apple.

[Beth went in for the stem and didn't even get her face wet.]

"Well played, Beth Jean, well played!

J. was totally interested.

Here goes Jenny!

Then J. moved in and said HE wanted to do it!

So, in J. went...

Look at those eyes! He was very proud of that apple and definitely didn't waste any time biting down.

Next activity? A great back porch game of CATCH PHRASE!

Evidently, we bought the "old school" version. That just means we didn't buy the digital one. Oh well? What can you say? We are old school.

Isn't she just the prettiest little thang?

Everyone was pumped to play!

Last, but not least, was caramel cake! (We had it brought to the office the Friday before... I know, that sounds gross, but it was soooo good!) Here is Beth, bringer of said CAR-A-MEL cake:

That's it for our very fun and very first "CARNIVAL de CONNELL!" Thanks for viewing... If you would like an invite to the next one, just let us know. This one was such a success we may have to charge for next year!

Love you fam!

Backyard Wedding Shower

Jeff and Emily are gettin' hitched! So, of course, there had to be a celebration.


{*NOTE* - by the time you read this, they will already be Mr. and Mrs. - that's okay, you still need to see their shower pictures. I just can't wait to see their uber gorgeous wedding pictures! The wedding was picture perfect...}



Invitations were sent and the party planning was on. Chris and I, this cutie patootie couple (AKA: Cam and Andy), and new friends Sarah and Collin went in together to throw Jeff and Emily a super fun and we're-hoping-they-think-beautiful backyard wedding shower.


Since most people don't have parking for 25+ in their driveway, a sign directed people to a church parking lot close by.




We thought about having Chris or Andy stand outside and direct traffic, but then they would miss so much of the fun! We decided against that idea. So the sign it was! It is super easy to make with two pieces of plywood, three small hinges, some crazy sticky gorilla glue, and paint. {Watch out for that glue! It will expand about 4xs the amount you squeeze out. But it will hold like magic stuff once it is dry!} Inspiration was from one of my favorite blogs here. They used it for their backyard wedding, but a wedding shower is close enough... right?

Below is the lovely home of Andy and Cameron. It was their great backyard where the party took place! A&C, thank you for opening up your home! {And for all the party planning and preparation!} You have a beautiful house and it made for an awesome wedding shower venue. ;)

So that guests would know where the par-tay was we lined the walk to the backyard with mason jars, candles, and tiki torches. Granted, it was light outside when everyone arrived,

so, as you can see from the picture, not everyone knew where to go, but we tried and it looked really cute when it got dark.

Sarah brought to the table her amazing baking skills and whipped up this lovely cake:

Gorgeous right? Do you see how it perfectly matches the invitation? We thought it turned out awesome and perfect for the backyard wedding shower. PS: Sarah didn't really make this cake - Rita's Bakery did. Didn't they do a wonderful job?

Bride-to-be Emily, hostess Cam, and hostess Julie

Mrs. Broome to the rescue (IE: help pull together the last minute party decorations, which we totally appreciated), BTB, and Cam (Also, daughter-in-law of Mrs. Broome)

Partiers on the back porch. We had lots of stations for drinks and appetizers. [Photographer's note: You can "catch flare" in your picture by pointing your camera towards the sun. I was just trying it out.]

My Darling and me. With Dave in the background. Chris came right from class and I was so glad to see him! Luckily, he brought some more ice.

Allison and Drew. They love a good backyard shower and we love them! So glad you guys came!

Drew and Chris. With the football season fast approaching, they were most definitely talking something Alabama. (D&A, we cannot WAIT for the road trip! The four of us are going to the Tennessee/Alabama game in October.)

Adam, Brooke, Jennifer, and Dave - Can you tell that Adam and Jennifer are married?? Look at those hands on their hips... Same body language. Too cute!

Seth and Kate, enjoying each other's company. The husband in the background.

A celebrity coach also showed up at the shower! Dave and Brooke were lucky enought to have their picture taken with Coach Lane Kiffin.

Dinner time! Tables with pink overlays, flowers in mason jars, and votive candles set the mood.

The guests of honor loving the delicious meal Cam made.


Brooke became the party photographer and Allison and Jennifer her subjects. They loved it!

Food table. Full of yummy things like chicken tettrazini (sp??), watermelon, fruit kabobs, chips and dip, and rolls.

Lemonade with cut lemons and limes, sweet tea, a vase full of the extra lemons and limes, the cake, and the thumb print cookies. We found out that the BTB loves thumb print cookies, so they made a perfect addition of dessert. Not to mention, totally delicious!

Cutting the cake. The happy couple didn't even need any practicing - they did a great job!

Of course, we needed to open up presents! Here they are, set up in front of their audience.

A spider came to visit... It was huge and floated down from the tree above them.

Opening up presents. Jeff: "Here! Take a picture of us holding a picture of us!"
They were GREAT entertainment!

Giving the thank you speech, which was super good! It's not easy doing impromptu "thank you for coming... it means a lot to us that you would celebrate with us..." But they rocked it.


In bug prevention, we lit lots of tiki torches around the yard. Not only did they help keep pesky bugs away, they also looked beautiful and helped set a great atmosphere.


Collin and Sarah. New friends and the other party hosts.


Chris, Andy, and Seth. Hanging in the house.

Jeff and Emily. We can't wait for the wedding and for you to officially be married!


Andy and Cam. House hosts. Love this picture of you two!


This was the back of the sign. Too bad people couldn't see it because it was in the dark when they left!!!

To all who came, thanks for coming! We were so glad to be apart of that celebration for J&Em. To Jeff and Emily - we wish you all of the love and happiness!