a texan open house

so... here is the reason i flew all the way to america, for bryan and dominiques open house! after prepping with bryans mom and sister last night and the night before we had everything ready to go and just waited on people to arrive... which they did!

i was so excited to be here for the second part of the demke wedding and it was so fun to be with bryans familyand meet them all, laugh with them and get to know them... they are the loveliest! certainly makes knowing dominique will be living on the the other side of the planet a lot easier, with them around to love and support her!

bryans family made this gorgeous frame for the newlyweds, (complete with a slot in the top of the frame) for each person attending to write on a heart and give their "well wishes for the new mr & mrs" i love it!

so an open house... is where friends and family come to the family home to meet the newlyweds, pass on their regards and eat... i have never been to one before, but texan style involves a lot of food! smoked/seasoned/ roast meat, home made bread rolls (drooooooool), cowboy caviar (super yum) lots of veggies and some excellent desserts from bryans mom, peach cobbler (also yummmm!) and some contributions from me: chocolate truffles, choc chip cookies and brownies! what a spread!

and to top it off, root beer, home made by tims brother with dry ice. how fun that was to watch!

ladies and gentlemen... may i present mr and mrs demke. :)

and my favourite bit? oh my gosh, fireworks!!!! in texas they are totally legal with no restrictions (took me a while to get past this seeing as they are totally illegal in australia! i mean that's a given considering how dry it is here and the fact that the whole country could go up in smoke over the summer months. fire danger is constantly on high back home! but fireworks! those things are amazing. there was an entire table covered in them and we were setting them off in the backyard for hours much to my absolute delight!

about to start the afterparty with some big ass roman candles. i am in love with fireworks and loved every single second of this evening. if this is what america is all about, i have a feeling i am going to love it here! ♥

dallas texas temple

my first full day in america... and i am treated to this! not even kidding, after forcing myself to stay awake until 1030pm last night before i crashed, i managed to sleep through (other than waking up twice, but going straight back to sleep) and wake in the morning feeling surprisingly refreshed and ready to go. so here we are, with my first experience at a big temple... in dallas, texas. i think we could probably easily fit 4 of our little temple in perth on that block.

and it was... amazing! being in america, at a large temple, with family... and knowing once again, that no matter where you are in the world, the church is the same. the building was gorgeous, the spirit was strong... and i enjoyed every minute of being inside its walls.

its so nice to have come to weather that is a little cooler too. i wouldn't say it's cold, but it's certainly a step down from the weather back home where it is stinking hot! here it is texan winter, cool, a little overcast today and just pleasant. perfect to be outside!

i am so stoked to be here and still have to pinch myself a little to believe it's really happening! can't wait for what the next few weeks have in store! ♥

and most of all, for taking photos of all the beautiful temples that america has to offer! yay!

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