Highlights from the Nashville Wedding

Tony was "cavity searched" at BWI airport because he forgot that he was carrying his box cutter on his belt.

We flew Southwest Airlines and did not realize that it was a "free for all" seating, we were some of the last to board the aircraft and therefore did not get to sit together on our way to Nashville.

We upgraded our rental car from a Ford Escape to a brand new black Chevy Camero (very fun, and it got us LOTS of attention in downtown Nashville)

Had an outdoor picnic at Beth and Jeff's on the first night where I got bit by a mosquito (?) and then my entire wrist swelled up from it and it is not FINALLY not itching anymore! My allergies to bug bites seem to be getting worse!

Tony and all the groomsmen went bar hopping and got home sometime after 2:00 am. Tony got a new nickname from the guys of the band "TAGSBRUSCO" (because they did not know who he was prior to the wedding, but they would see our email address on correspondence back and forth when the bachelor party was being planned)

Beth and all of us went to a really trendy bar called Patterson House (which from the outside you would NEVER think was a bar), what makes this place really special is that all the drinks are made from scratch (they fresh squeeze the juice, and make all their own syrups)...even the ice in our glass was special as mine was a globe shaped ball of ice. I really hit it off with another girl (Erin) from MD that knew Jeff from college and we hung out the entire weekend together.

Friday, Tony and I shopped at 2 different malls where I bought a "Nashville outfit" as we both felt so under dressed walking around town. Everyone in Nashville seems to be dressed to the nine's all the time, so my outfit is my souvenir from the trip the only think I didn't get was a pair of cowboy boots (because you wear them with everything) and then walked around the beautiful Opryland Hotel. (we had been there before when we were dating and it has changed alot...definitely a place I would want to stay if we travel to Nashville again)

We attended the rehearsal and then it was off to the dinner at a place called "Rumor's East"...where they had a tent set-up outside for about 60 people. We sat with 3 of the band members and their wives/girlfriends and really had a wonderful time. We were introduced to some southern favorites like fried okra and shrimp and grits...very yummy! All of the wedding party stood up to say kind words about Beth and Jeff and there was not a dry eye in the room. Tony even shared a childhood story about rescuing Jeff from a test hole at their house in Darnestown by using a vacuum cleaner.

Saturday we hung out at the hotel as Tony had to be at the church by 3:00 pm and the ceremony was not until 6:30, so I had lots of time to kill. I got a ride over to the church with Jeff's parents.

The ceremony was beautiful, there were 12 girls and 8 guys in the wedding party. The ceremony took about 25 minutes and then we waited for the pictures to be taken afterwards.

The reception was held at Cannery Ballroom. It reminded me of an old warehouse that was converted into a reception hall. Dinner was served buffet style and then they had a live band of guys that they travel with while they are on tour. At about 11:00 pm the band wanted a break, so The Lost Trailers played 3 songs for all of us (it was AMAZING).

When it was time for Jeff and Beth to leave we all got sparklers (like the ones you use on the 4th of July) and we lined up outside in 2 lines with the sparklers lit as they came out to get in their antique car to drive away!

We headed out to the airport early Sunday morning and were able to score seats together on the airplane home!

Our trip to Nashville will be one we both remember for a very long time!

A bad start for Sophia...

Oh my, our drama queen strikes again...it all started with the outfit she had on this morning, she did not think the pants matched the top so we went round and round and finally I gave up and let her change her clothes (it was black pants that apparently did not match the pink shirt she had on, however the brown ones do...go figure on that one!)

Next it was the chocolate milk I didn't make right...we were out of chocolate milk so I told her I would make her "magic milk" (white milk with chocolate syrup)...we were almost out of the syrup in the bottle so I poured the milk into the bottle and allowed her to shake it up...things seemed fine at this point...then I squirted all the now chocolate milk into her cup and she totally lost it...she WANTED to do that part...OMG!!

Now onto her lunch...yesterday because I was not feeling well she packed not only her lunch but Gabe's too, and she apparently does it in some way that I don't, because today when I PACKED it her sandwich was mushed! She realized this when we were sitting at the bus stop (why we need to open our lunch box and inspect our lunch at 8:00 in the morning is beyond me) and again she lost it, she had her lunch thrown all over the backseat of the car...it was totally ruined in her opinion, at this point I was about to lose it, and I spanked her bottom and told her to get over herself and put her lunch back in her lunch bag and back in her backpack. When the bus arrived she was in "rare form" and I had to practically carry her kicking and screaming acrossed the street and onto the bus...our bus driver is so sweet...she told me to put her on and she would get her safely to school...I am curious to hear how things turned out...

I also called the school to give them a heads-up that she was coming and was not happy about it...they said no problem they would make sure she had a good day...so glad she goes to such a wonderful school!

On a completely unrelated note she calls a fly swatter a fly slapper...thought that was cute and needed to be remembered!

Shopping at the Columbia Mall....

I can't tell you the last time we as a family have walked the mall and freely bought whatever our hearts desire was...well today we did!!



Sophia got new sneakers at L.L. Bean, (I wanted a new pair too but they did not have my size) and her Halloween costume and lunch bag at the Disney store.



Tony and Gabe got a new remote controlled helicopter from Brookstone.



I bought a bunch of new kitchen gadgets at Williams Sonoma and Chef Imporium, as well as a box of chocolates at Godiva, and a new make-up brush at bareMinerals.



We finished up the day with a yummy lunch at P.F. Changs.

1st Annual South Mountain Creamery Company Picnic

Tony and I went all out on this one, we had LIVE music, more food than anyone could care to eat, fresh cut french fries, a dunking booth, horseshoes and volleyball. We had a wonderful turnout, and everyone commented on what a great time they had, the event ended with a hayride to our farms on Marker and Mt Church Rd. We look forward to celebrating our successes again next summer!

William Ausherman Sowers 9-11-28 thry 8-8-2009

This week as pretty much been a blur to me and my family...my beloved Pappy passed away on Saturday evening at around 6:15 with my Grandma, my Dad, Uncle Phil and Uncle Matt around his bedside. Tony and the kids and I were in Williamsburg on a vacation of sorts when we got the call and immediately came home.

Pappy had been battling kidney cancer since around January of this year, he tried a few rounds of chemo but only having one kidney made this too hard on him so he decided to quit the treatments and ultimately pass away in his home surrounded by family.

Being that the last time I lost a close relative was when I was 4 and it was my Dad's brother Doug (and I don't remember anything about it, except for the fact my nose bled the night it happened all over my bed), this last week has been extremely tough and exhausting. Who knew all the arrangements that go into a funeral? Who will be the pastor, what will Pappy wear for all Eternity, what music will we sing in his honor, who will carry the casket from the church to the grave site, how will my kids react, how will I react? This was all so new to me...the heartbreak of watching my Grandma bury her soul mate and now will be living alone, I can't even begin to imagine that!

Gabe and Sophia seemed OK until the day of the funeral, when we all walked up to the casket one last time, it hit them hard that he was truly gone from this earth, I think that was the worst part for Tony and I...and also to see my Daddy cry for his Daddy was pretty rough too.

Oh, Pap (my nickname for you) and you called me "your girl" I miss you so much, you made me the person that I am today, you LOVED everyone you met, you loved all of your grandchildren and great grandchildren, you worked hard to provide for Grandma even on your deathbed you bought a new stove for Grams because you did not want her to be cold this winter (like we would EVER let that happen)! Your beautiful garden never got planted this year because you did not have energy to plant and tend to it. You loved to feed my children candy and send them home with candy (even though they had not had their dinner yet)...so many of my memories of you are sharing what you had with others, be it the vegetables from your garden or the fresh clean water from your spring house you were always doing God's work...I hope that I can be half the person you were.

I will always love you, may you no longer be in any pain, and be in comfort up alongside the angels in heaven, I WILL see you again!

Happy Easter!

Easter kindof snuck up on us this year...I guess with everything else going on it was almost forgotten entirely! Spring Break started for us on Wednesday of last week, as long as the weather was nice the kids came outside with us for most of the days. On Wednesday night we dyed eggs. On Thursday night Gabe got invited to spend the night at Aaron's house (a neighbor up the street), so then Sophia wanted to spend the night someplace so I took her over to Grandma and Granddaddy's house.

While Tony was running errands earlier in the week I had him pick up a few goodies for the kids' baskets, and I went ahead and ordered candy from See's for all the grandparents and great grandparents (plus a box for Tony and I) the candy is so good I just couldn't resist! Tony surprised me with this lens for our camera!
Mom and Dad had house guests in town (relatives from WV) so Sophia and Gabe had cousins to play with...we even let Sophia spend the night at Nana and Poppy's house on Easter night so that Kendra and her could spend somemore time together.

On Easter morning I went over to get her and then when we came back home she hunted for her basket and the eggs they dyed earlier in the week, at around 11:00 am we headed over to Gram's to get ready for Easter dinner. All the cousins got to play together and the adults chatted.

After we got Grams' house was cleaned up we came home and moved a few loads of wood.

History in the making...

Today our creamery celebrated its 8 year anniversary so Mom went and got a sheet cake, nuts and sodas to serve to all the customers who came into the store today! Who would have ever imagined that we would be such a HUGE success today, it is such a enormous blessing!


Today we also had our first ever training with our new crew from Virginia Beach. Lisa our GM drove up with our first driver Nathan (who drove for Yoders for 8.5 years)and we gave them the grand tour of our facilities, talked to them about our history, should them how to use the admin side of the website and gave Lisa her laptop and both Lisa and Nathan company cell phones. When they left at 3:00 pm Nathan was driving our first truck to its new home at the Virginia Beach Farm Market (until we get our lease signed at our store front and commercial storage facility). Mom and Dad will be driving our first shipment of milk down on Tuesday afternoon and will be assisting with deliveries on Wednesday as well as taking care of getting papers signed with the city.



As I watched our truck head down the road I couldn't help but feel excited and a bit apprehensive of what the future holds for us...