Today we are experiencing something new at the University of South Dakota and its going to last the whole summer. The rising waters along the Missouri river have left much of South Dakota, Iowa and Nebraska under water. Sunday we got an email from the Dean of Students informing us that we would be preparing for anywhere between 300 and 700 reserve and active military personnel as the Governor has declared South Dakota in a state of emergency. According to our news station, Keloland, "record amounts of water are being released from dams along the Missouri River in South Dakota, creating flooding fears in a number of towns." One of these towns being most affected is Dakota Dunes in North Sioux City. This is actually an area that I am looking to move to this summer so lets keep our fingers crossed the apartments aren't greatly affected. Britton's office is located in the dunes along with the families of many of his coworkers. Many of these families began to move out over the weekend in preparation of the rising waters. As of today, they have issued a mandatory evacuation for the Dunes and they are telling people to be prepared to be away from their homes for the entire summer.
Britton and I saw the flood waters yesterday on our way into Omaha from the air and I will tell you, it wasn't pretty. Much of the Missouri river was already overflowing into neighborhoods and farms along its banks. As I drove further up towards South Dakota I could see even more of the rising river and its affects on the local communities. While Nebraska has not yet declared a state of emergency, we are only days away from the water levels causing the rest of the nearby states to need more help than the locals can provide.
Today the President of USD has informed the local community about the opportunities to help. People are being taken to Yankton and the Dunes to sandbag 3 times a day and as a staff are allowed to request to take 4 hours a day to assist with this for the next few days. I spent the morning preparing our residence halls for the military personnel to arrive and spent 4+ hours moving mattresses from one floor to another, cleaning rooms and mopping floors to make sure our military has a comfortable place to stay. I am hoping that I can go out to the local towns later in the week to assist with sand bags as well. Throughout the last few months I have had my heart strings pulled throughout the various natural distastes across the US and now I have my chance to help. For more information check out http://www.keloland.com/news/news/flooding/
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
and they said "i do"
This past weekend I had the pleasure of heading down to Holy Trinity, AL for my big sister's wedding. Her (now) hubby Frank has been in the picture for as long as I've nown Zelie. The two are great compliments of eachother, Frank is tall and goofy and reminds me of a kid (in a good way) and Zelie is teeny tiny and has the biggest heart ever! I was so excited to spend this special day with the two of them!
I arrived in Atlanta on Thursday afternoon and spent 1.5 hrs in the car with Frank as we drove to Columbus where I would later meet Zelie to head into Holy Trinity. Holy Trinity is one of those small towns that you can't find on the GPS, complete with a church and some big farm houses (there might have been more but we didn't stray too far from the house). I instantly fell in love with the "Big House" as they refer to it, where all of the ladies would be staying for the weekend. The Big House was Zelie's grandmas house that the Davis's have spent months updating to prepare for the wedding. In the back yard people were swarming as they prepared for the wedding festivities. There was a HUGE tent with a chandelier hanging from the ceiling and flowers and greenery everywhere. Throughout the weekend we spent time hanging globe lights in the trees and preparing the tables in anticipation of the 260+ guests attending the wedding.
Friday we all had a relatively lazy day, spending time with the wedding party at Zelie's parents pool which was just up the road on the same prooperty as the Big House. We all sat around playing with the flower girl Chloe, drinking skinny girl margharitas and cooling off in the pool. Our pool day was an awesome substitute to the bridesmaid luncheon (which we are all glad to have avoided). I never realized I would miss the heat as much as I do, but spending the day in the hot sun was just what I needed.
Friday night after the rehersal we headed into Columbus for dinner at the botanical gardens. One of the groomsmen was all about the "crab pops" that they were serving as appetizers. I think he ran over a small child and a grandmother to be the first to reach the server with the last plate of crab pops! I can't really blame him either, they were delicious! Dinner was also fantastic and I had the pleasure of sitting at a great table with two groomsmen and my grand big Saida and her hubby. We spent the night talking about movies and memories. I don't know when the last time was that I laughed that hard! My abs are STILL sore!
Saturday we woke early to help finish getting the big tent ready for the guests. We put table clothes on, placed chargers at all the seats along with the napkins and flat wear. After hours of prepping the tent it was time for the ladies to get ready so we can have our hair done by the pros. We spent more hours getting ourselves ready and taking photos with the bride to be. It was a glorious day and we had so much fun together. I can't wait to see the professional pics!
I had the great pleasure of being the first to walk down the aisle and i will admit, i was nervous! This is my first experience as a bridesmaid and it was my escorts first one too! But we set the pace and smiled big in anticipation of Zelie's walk down the aisle.
The wedding itself was short and sweet which i surely can not say about the reception. I spent hours drinking and dancing and made it to bed around 5 am. You know its a good night when... :)
The groomsmen and bridesmaids all got along so well that we are already planning our first reunion. Hopefully it will be scheduled for the beginning of October but we shall see! All in all, this was, by far, the best wedding I've been to. Couldn't have had more fun and made some great new friends! While this adventure did not take place in the great midwest, it was an adventure none the less!
I arrived in Atlanta on Thursday afternoon and spent 1.5 hrs in the car with Frank as we drove to Columbus where I would later meet Zelie to head into Holy Trinity. Holy Trinity is one of those small towns that you can't find on the GPS, complete with a church and some big farm houses (there might have been more but we didn't stray too far from the house). I instantly fell in love with the "Big House" as they refer to it, where all of the ladies would be staying for the weekend. The Big House was Zelie's grandmas house that the Davis's have spent months updating to prepare for the wedding. In the back yard people were swarming as they prepared for the wedding festivities. There was a HUGE tent with a chandelier hanging from the ceiling and flowers and greenery everywhere. Throughout the weekend we spent time hanging globe lights in the trees and preparing the tables in anticipation of the 260+ guests attending the wedding.
Friday we all had a relatively lazy day, spending time with the wedding party at Zelie's parents pool which was just up the road on the same prooperty as the Big House. We all sat around playing with the flower girl Chloe, drinking skinny girl margharitas and cooling off in the pool. Our pool day was an awesome substitute to the bridesmaid luncheon (which we are all glad to have avoided). I never realized I would miss the heat as much as I do, but spending the day in the hot sun was just what I needed.
Friday night after the rehersal we headed into Columbus for dinner at the botanical gardens. One of the groomsmen was all about the "crab pops" that they were serving as appetizers. I think he ran over a small child and a grandmother to be the first to reach the server with the last plate of crab pops! I can't really blame him either, they were delicious! Dinner was also fantastic and I had the pleasure of sitting at a great table with two groomsmen and my grand big Saida and her hubby. We spent the night talking about movies and memories. I don't know when the last time was that I laughed that hard! My abs are STILL sore!
Saturday we woke early to help finish getting the big tent ready for the guests. We put table clothes on, placed chargers at all the seats along with the napkins and flat wear. After hours of prepping the tent it was time for the ladies to get ready so we can have our hair done by the pros. We spent more hours getting ourselves ready and taking photos with the bride to be. It was a glorious day and we had so much fun together. I can't wait to see the professional pics!
I had the great pleasure of being the first to walk down the aisle and i will admit, i was nervous! This is my first experience as a bridesmaid and it was my escorts first one too! But we set the pace and smiled big in anticipation of Zelie's walk down the aisle.
The wedding itself was short and sweet which i surely can not say about the reception. I spent hours drinking and dancing and made it to bed around 5 am. You know its a good night when... :)
The groomsmen and bridesmaids all got along so well that we are already planning our first reunion. Hopefully it will be scheduled for the beginning of October but we shall see! All in all, this was, by far, the best wedding I've been to. Couldn't have had more fun and made some great new friends! While this adventure did not take place in the great midwest, it was an adventure none the less!
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
wedding week
The last few weeks my life has been what I call boring. I have spent some QT with the Wall family but my day to day has been somewhat mundane now that the students have all left campus and Vermillion has lost a significant portion of the population. However, this week I am getting ready for my Big's big day! This is the Zelie Davis-Frank Wooten wedding week!
About a year ago I got my invitation to be a bridesmaid. In true Zelie fashion she sent me a small bouquet of flowers with a little rhyme asking me to stand by her side while she said I do. Throughout college and beyond Zelie and I have kept in touch and I was ecstatic when my invitation to be a bridesmaid came. "Of course I will" I said to Zelie the second I got her on the phone! I couldn't wait to celebrate the big day with her!
The week of the big blizzard I picked up the bridesmaid dress for this late spring wedding. While it was snowing buckets outside I was trying on the lovely bright green sundress. It had me dreaming of warmer weather and fun times with friends. The dress is perfect for a Zelie wedding. The color screams Zelie as her favorite is green and the style of the dress will look great on all of us.
A few months later I received the shoes in the mail. Zelie had bought all of our shoes and sent mine to try on.
I love the simplicity of the entire bridesmaid outfit, fits Zelie's style perfectly. I can't wait to stand up there beside her!
After the wedding this weekend I will surely post some better pics and provide more details regarding the event. I can't wait to leave for Holy Trinity, Alabama 3 days from today! Looking forward to warm weather and some quality time with my Big!
About a year ago I got my invitation to be a bridesmaid. In true Zelie fashion she sent me a small bouquet of flowers with a little rhyme asking me to stand by her side while she said I do. Throughout college and beyond Zelie and I have kept in touch and I was ecstatic when my invitation to be a bridesmaid came. "Of course I will" I said to Zelie the second I got her on the phone! I couldn't wait to celebrate the big day with her!
The week of the big blizzard I picked up the bridesmaid dress for this late spring wedding. While it was snowing buckets outside I was trying on the lovely bright green sundress. It had me dreaming of warmer weather and fun times with friends. The dress is perfect for a Zelie wedding. The color screams Zelie as her favorite is green and the style of the dress will look great on all of us.
I love the simplicity of the entire bridesmaid outfit, fits Zelie's style perfectly. I can't wait to stand up there beside her!
After the wedding this weekend I will surely post some better pics and provide more details regarding the event. I can't wait to leave for Holy Trinity, Alabama 3 days from today! Looking forward to warm weather and some quality time with my Big!
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