Honeymoonin with The Lyon's

After a wonderful wedding, Brandon and I pulled onto the highway and let out the largest sigh of relief in my life! It felt so good to be headed off for a week of vacation with my HUSBAND! First stop, the Peabody in Little Rock. Brandon had reserved the Vice Presidential suite, but we got an upgrade to the Presidential suite since it was unoccupied! The pictures don't do the two-story room justice, but it was large!

This is the view from our bedroom! We felt like royalty! There were trap doors that went directly out to the roof. After getting ready in the beautiful bathrooms, we headed downstairs and had a complimentary breakfast at the Capriccio Grill.

Following breakfast, it was off to Missouri!

BIG CEDAR LODGE

Once we arrived at our destination, we spent hours taking in the scenery, cabins, lodges, and all the sights that Big Cedar had to offer. It was beautiful! Big Cedar also left us a welcome gift that was so cute. We loved our "outdoorsy" private cabin and the beautiful view it had to offer. Oh yes, Brandon also spent a little time cleaning the graffiti off of his truck, but did leave "Just Married".

Our gift from Big Cedar

For two days of the trip we spent the entire day at Big Cedar, as it offered several restaurants, mini-golf, coffee shop, carriage ride to see the Christmas lights, and did I mention the B-E-A-utiful scenery! Several nights we rented DVDs and enjoyed some relaxing time at the cabin, which was much-needed after all the wedding stress. I absolutely loved hanging out, taking a bubble bath, or just watching the cozy fire at night in the cabin.

The beautiful scenery during our game of putt-putt

Having fun in the big fish on the mini-golf course

One night we ate at The Worman House, which was the original house on the Big Cedar property

One night before dinner

In front of the Christmas tree at the lodge. This was while we were waiting on our carriage ride! =)

When we weren't at Big Cedar, we spent time in Branson either shopping or watching "shows". While there, we saw "The Legend of Kung Fu", "Dixie Stampede", and "Pierce Arrow". We also enjoyed Ripley's Believe it or not, as well as the Titanic museum. While in Branson we also enjoyed shopping at the Outlet Malls where we got a few early Christmas gifts. We also shopped at the Appletree Mall which is a craft mall/flea market with very neat items for sale. My only disappointment was that Silver Dollar City was closed the entire week we were there to get ready for the Christmas season...very upsetting.

One day we went to Springfield, MO to visit the infamous Bass Pro Shops. Brandon was more excited than any 12-year-old child, but sadly he was very disappointed. While there, we also stopped by my Aunt Julie's work for a quick visit.

Surprisingly, when it was time to come home, Brandon and I were both ready! We agreed that we had a phenomenal honeymoon, but in the end, we were both ready to go to OUR home. So right before leaving we snapped a few last pictures...

Such beautiful scenery...God's creation is amazing!

Once we headed home, we took an alternate route to pick up our new puppy. We heard of the puppies one night during the honeymoon and decided to get one! SO, we headed home by way of Des Arc, AR, where our puppy was born. Once there, Brandon asked my opinion on which puppy to choose, but he ended up getting THE fattest one against my recommendation and reasoned that the fattest one would also be the healthiest one. So, we exchanged money and papers and were headed on our way to Monticello.....for a few minutes at least. Apparently our precious puppy had just eaten a very large meal, and that, combined with his extreme care sickness, equalled 2 episodes of pooping...in the truck. And to make things worse, the second poo was on MY jeans and shoes..... honeymoon over. So after our second roadside stop and cleanup, during which I changed clothes in the truck, precious puppy got a ride in the back of the truck. Thankfully he stayed up near the front of the truck until we could reach Mack's Prairie Wings in Stuttgart to purchase a kennel for him in which he could ride safely. While at Mack's, puppy and I bonded while we frolicked across the parking lot to some nearby grass. It was at that time that I went through several names we had come up with.....but when I said, "Do you want your name to be Mack?" the puppy barked! So Mack it is!

He is very loved!

First vet appointment

And after a long road trip and an attempt at changing my name at the social security office but the office had already closed we FINALLY arrived to our Home Sweet Home.

Becoming Mrs. Lyon

After all the anticipation, stress, and planning, the BIG DAY had finally arrived. After eating breakfast with my bridesmaids at The Trotter House, we headed to the church to make final preparations. We did a little decorating, including the candy table, gift table, and the foyer, before starting to get ready.

Putting on my make-up

I felt pretty and ready to take on the day!

Taking pictures with the bridesmaids was the most fun and easy since we were all willing to work with Mrs. Terri Willett, my photographer. I had the best bridesmaid's a girl could ask for!

Love my sister!

This is a close-up of the decor in the church. Brandon's cousin, Todd Hall, did my flowers and man does he know what he's doing!

All of Brandon's family!

Brandon and I before saying "I Do". At this point he was being a "butt" for lack of a nicer word... Arkansas football was playing against Vanderbilt away and we were loosing! So all the guys were constantly checking the score and would NOT participate well with the photographer.

Our beautiful wedding party! Amanda Lem, Katie Dillard, Nicki Sessions, Amber Mohr, Leah Williams, Me, Brandon, Chip Patterson, Austin Crain, Derek White, Caleb Lane, Brandon Cruce, Kiley Lane, Marshall Rambin, and Caden Lane

My beautiful mom!

The candy table

I loved my cake!

Despite his threats to smear the cake in my face, we did

well cutting the cake and did not make a mess

Love this picture of Brandon and I after the wedding

Brandon's face is priceless and I am making sure

I have some candy for the road!

All in all we had a wonderful wedding day! It was wonderful to be surrounding by such loving and supportive friends and family as we promised our lives to each other. We are still learning new things about each other every day and look forward to a lifetime of love, laughter, and happiness.

Showers of Blessings

Well, once again I have fallen behind on my blog, and this time for months! Since my last brief posts, my life has completely changed, for the good! I married my dream man, Brandon Lyon, on October 29, 2011 and life has finally settled down a bit into my new "normal". Before giving an update on my life, I first want to back-track and highlight my memories over the last few months.

Prior to the wedding Brandon and I were blessed beyond belief by all the gifts, notes, and encouragement we received. We had five showers in all:

1. First Methodist in Monticello was my first shower and it seemed that the gifts would never end! This group of people really showed an outpouring of love that was overwhelming!

2.The Jacks' Family shower was at Aunt Mary and Uncle Bobby's house on the night of a Razorback football game. We enjoyed watching the game and opened presents at half-time. I sure have a sweet sweet family that gifted us with many of our dishes, silverware, and other kitchen items.

3. Brandon's family shower was at Q&Y in Monticello. We enjoyed a good lunch and then opened presents. We received several household items, such as a push-mower, garden hoses, and television. We were also very gifted with cards, money, and gift cards.

4. Our Razorback Shower was at the home of in Monticello on the golf course. This was more of a back-porch gathering where we enjoyed seafood that was catered by Cowboy's. We also received some very nice gifts, including a razorback door hanger and several razorback items.

5. Center Church shower was another big one! I have been a member and faithful attendee of this church since 1998 and have made many wonderful relationships in those years. The people there are so sweet and gifted us tremendously with anything from towels to decor for our new home.

With the mothers

With the grandmother's

I really enjoyed the table!

Showered with gifts!

6. My Bachelorette Weekend was in Hot Springs at Nicki's new home. Upon arriving we had snacks before heading out to do some shopping at the mall and other stores. After shopping we had pizza and opened gifts along with some fun games. I got lots of very pretty lingerie. These girls all know me well! After eating and relaxing for a bit, we got ready to head out on the town. All in all, I have some of the best friends a girl could ask for, and I just enjoyed spending time with them!

Katie, Me, and Nicki

The group (minus Angela and Amanda who had to leave early): Lindsy, Amber, Katie, Me, Nicki, and Christa

Following the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner at Layne's in Star City, my bridesmaid's and I stayed at The Trotter House in Monticello. We stayed in two separate rooms but spent lots of quality girl-time together. The morning of the wedding we all got ready and enjoyed breakfast in the dining room before heading to the church to make final preparations for the BIG day! =)

At the Trotter House after breakfast: Nicki, Me, Leah, Katie, Amber, and Amanda. I sure love these girls. I consider each and every one of them my best friends and wouldn't be the girl I am without the impact they've each had on my life.

Another Quick Update

Wow, life has been busy!!! I am now preparing to take my NPTE exam on Wednesday, thus my lack of free time to blog! Wedding planning is going great. I should be able to do a lot in the week and a half after the test/before I start to work (hopefully).

To catch you up...

• I ended my last clinical rotation on August 5. It was a great learning experience and I look forward to getting back after I pass my exam!
• Then I spent a week in Conway with great friends. It was stressful to give presentations, take exams, etc., but always good to be around friends.
• My family came up on Friday to see my graduation(s). The afternoon was just the PT department, followed by a reception. Then my family enjoyed dinner at Fuji's in Conway. Finally the UCA graduation was at 7:00 in the Farris Center, where I was finally announced as "Dr. Laura Ann Jacks" and hooded by the president, Dr. Allen Meadors.
• Since then I have devoted most of my time to studying. I am staying at mom and dad's, so there are plenty of other things to do during my study breaks. ;)
• Engagement pictures went well and we are getting some of the proofs back now. I found a website from which I ordered our invitations...they should be in anytime. Mrs. Terri Willett of Photography for Fun is doing all of our photography. We took the engagements around downtown Monticello and ended at the lake. I'll post more later!

This is the picture on the invitation

• Our engagement announcement was in the paper this week (September 1, 2011). We putted it in the Cleveland County Herald, Advance Monticellonian, Warren Eagle Democrat, and the Lincoln County Ledger. This is the picture in the papers:

• Also this week our wedding napkins came in and I booked the "Trotter House" for my bridesmaids and I for the night before the wedding. It's going to be some fun girl time.
• After this test, showers will begin!! I also need to get started on cleaning/organizing Brandon's house (where we will live). Bless his heart, it's definitely a bachelor pad at the present time.

To sum it all up, I am ready to have this test behind me. The practice tests have been going okay, so hopefully all my studying will pay off!

Oh yes, today I am taking my bridal portraits!!! Yes, it is also the first razorback football game of the season, but that won't get me down! We are going to Little Rock to take pictures at the capitol and at the Old Mill.