Brayne (Brandon and Rayne) Hurley are known for being fun, outgoing, and the life of every party. So it was no surprise that their wedding reception was one of the best I’ve ever attended! It was at the top of one of the tallest buildings in downtown Baton Rouge- the Camelot Club- and everything, from the delicious food to the super fun photo booth, was done perfectly! No need to talk through the night when the pictures speak for themselves!

5th PNS gets hitched...

The lovely couple enters

PNS with the bride and groom

Sean, Linds, Meg

rayne & nelly

view from the Camelot

brandon's in the stock market...

me and rayne

working it

love

cheers!

surprise ballroom dancing performance!

so good!

Stella was dancing all night too!

bride feeling right

groom feeling right!

PNS

Ginger wanting the bouquet!

fighting for it!

funnest bride ever!

Happily ever after...

I haven’t been very dutiful in keeping up with my summer activities in story form, mostly because being away for most of May and June has left me with zero downtime! So these next few posts will be short and sweet but full of pictures!
The first big event of summer was one of my bff’s, the former Ms. Rayne Arrington, wedding festivities. You saw the post from her birthday weekend (St. Rayne’s Day) and shower in Baton Rouge in early March, so this is a follow up to all that happened after…

PNS Does Dallas- Make it Rayne 99

Rayne is one of my most favorite and definitely one-of-a-kind friends ever. So her bachelorette party had to be great. We chose Dallas because it was a convenient drive for all of us and tons of fun stuff to do (and trouble to cause)… All 13 original PNS’s were able to attend which is such a testament to our friendship after so many years!

Here’s the poem we created for her Bachelorette evite…

This is a weekend to celebrate Rayne-
Get ready to party and help raise some Cain.

We’ll leave LR early- around 10 o’clock-
No late excuses or you’ll have to walk.

Friday night is for lovers so wear something pretty-
We’ll spend our night dancing at G’s in the city.

Saturday starts early so don’t get too wild-
Bring jeans & your tennies for a day full of rides.

Our last night in Dallas is sure to impress
Thick makeup and heels and a short slutty dress.

You don’t want to miss this great weekend of fun-
Please RSVP quickly for the best PNS party we’ve ever done!

We arrived at the hotel in downtown Dallas Friday afternoon and had dinner and Salsa dancing at Gloria’s Friday night. Highly recommended- although i would choose a location other than the one in Addison. Too far and the Salsa dancing wasn’t really worth it…

Because of our early day the next day, a laid back girls night was exactly what we’d all been needing..!

Little “light as a feather” fun…

The next day we grabbed our Team Bride tanks and headed to Six Flags over Texas for a sun-filled day outdoors! It was definitely fun- but we were only able to ride 4 rides in almost 6 hours… Still worth it to spend a whole day with your bff’s- and something I know we will all remember!

(So glad Schick Quarto was there so we could shower before we left!)

That night was “the big night” out. We all dressed in black while the bride dressed in white. We had an amazing surprise in the form of a black stretch hummer to drive us to Avanti’s (an amazing upscale restaurant in midtown) for dinner and then “this bar” downtown.

In this case, pictures really are worth 1000 words…

Presenting the Bride to Be

All in all it was a fabulous weekend and we all came home feeling sad it was over. You don’t come across a group of friends like us everyday, and I’m very to share so many great memories with such great friends! Through babies, husbands, breakups, and lots of drunken nights/fights, we still and will hopefully forever remain close.

Monday and Tuesday night of this week (April 25th and 26th- day after Easter) were pretty darn scary… My poor dogs are terrified of thunder and I’ve been trying to break them of it by acting completely nonchalant about it myself. I started by sitting outside and bribing them with treats to come with me- but then it started to rain- and the tv acted like this was more than just a little thunderstorm… The video below shows how scary it was- even to me!

mp4-download_6741685b33a448bd838359b1b9f64471.36.1.12293605

However, at the time of this video I had NO IDEA the true damage this storm would bring- to none other than my tiny and much-loved hometown of Vilonia, Arkansas. My grandma, uncle, and a few cousins still reside in Vilonia so when I started to hear the name of the town of the news I was more than worried. I had many calls with my dad and brothers to make sure grandma was in the storm cellar and safe… But I still (at this time) had no clue what was to come…

And what was to come? This…

I used to work at this Sonic in Highschool...

Obviously I was up all night after hearing a massive tornado had hit Vilonia. #Vilonia streams on Twitter were terrible- “whole town destroyed”- “over 70 people missing”- “pavement ripped from street”- basically the worst was coming true… I finally was able to talk to a few people to know they were safe and fell asleep dreading the morning…

News Except from ArkansasBusiness.com:

VILONIA – A tornado tore up a small central Arkansas town, killing four people and leaving the governor wondering Tuesday how so many others managed to survive. The night of brutal storms killed at least 10 people in the state, and more harsh weather was forecast.

The tornado smashed through the heart of Vilonia, just north of Little Rock, on Monday night, ripping the roof off the grocery store, flattening homes, tossing vehicles into the air and twisting one tractor-trailer like a wrung dish rag.

Four people died in less-than-sturdy structures in the Black Oak Subdivision of Vilonia….

Jason Hawkins Photography

The news was more than grim. My friend Amanda who still lives there and was thankfully spared from terrible damage all around her gushed “Megan, it’s worse than you can image… It’s like someone took a gigantic broom and swept through the middle of the town… Houses aren’t just damaged- they’re GONE…”

Some photos of the aftermath from a friend, Jason Hawkins, who was there the next day to help clean up the unbelievable damage—

And here are some great edited photos from Vilonia resident (and friend) Shelia Saddler who added some heartfelt quotes that really make them special to those of us who are from there…

The town still desperately needs our help (manual labor or monetary donations) and prayers. For more information on how to get involved you can contact 501-626-2093 to donate supplies such as nonperishable items, clothing, fuel or items. Or you can go directly to the old Vilonia High School gymnasium off U.S. 64 and Highway 107 (open from 7 a.m.-9 p.m. daily) or the Vilonia Primary School on U.S. 64. (open 7 a.m.-5 p.m.)

Make sure and bring identification so that authorities can scan a driver’s license or other identification and produce a volunteer badge to give volunteers a badge and the accompanying access needed to help.

My older cousin Kara is just a few inches away from being Little Susie Homemaker- inches b/c she doesn’t have the husband or kids yet… She’s always having little get togethers, delicious food, and prides herself on warm and cozy surroundings. (Nothing like myself… involves way too much cleaning beforehand).

So yesterday was ‘Holiday Dessert Brunch with the Family‘ theme. She invited our grandmother, her mother & sister, a cousin, and 3 aunts (one of which is my mother) to help get us all in the Christmas spirit. I arrived early with my own dessert contribution- caramel and walnut crackers that my stepmother made the night before- and helped her get everything organized and festive. It was a bit of a squeeze in the 300 sq foot overly decorated living room, but everything was beautiful and very delicious!

Pretty Christmas Tree

Our 93 yr old grandmother and Kara's mom- Aunt Melba

Family

My dessert in the middle

I decided before they arrived that we must have some kind of game to keep us from sitting around and just staring at each other (if you knew my family you would know this is impossible… I was worried about being bored myself.) I came up with “Guess What’s in the Stocking” and “How Many Words Can You Make Out of Merry Christmas“. Both are fun holiday games that are easy to put on and fun to play. I grabbed as many holiday themed items (no short supply) as I could and stuffed them into an oversized stocking. Things like scotch tape, wrapping paper, ribbon, ornaments, holly berries, small angel, candy cane, etc worked great and were easy to distingish with your hands. The guests then had 45 seconds to feel inside the stocking and write down all the items they could remember. Whoever had the most correct won a small gift. The second game was exactly as it sounds and Kara’s sister Kelli (who must have an up on us b/c she homeschools her 4 little girls) won with a shocking 22 unique words! It was great fun!

Mom, Grandma, Melba

Aunt Becky

Aunt Linda and cousin Stacey

All in all it was a great little party. Just glad it was at her house, not mine.

Bon Appetit Julia Childs!