~ October Happenings ~

Well... October is over.  It's been a fun month!  My big Five-O birthday was this month... but instead of a big crazy party, we celebrated quietly ~ just the two of us.  We'd had so much going on with the wedding and honeymoon, and had only been back in town 10 days ...  I was still just tired and wanted Craig to myself.  When Craig asked what I wanted to do for my birthday, I suggested we spend the day in Galveston on the beach.  I've never spent my birthday on the beach watching the sunset ~ so it was a perfect day!   Honestly, with Craig working out of town these days, any time I can spend time with Craig is wonderful =) 

Celebrating the big 50 in Galveston

Dinner at The Spot / Tiki Bar

I don't know why people stress about birthdays!  It's just another number... sure we're all getting older, but that's to be expected, right!   I have to admit, my 50th birthday was celebrated in grand style ~ how many people get to marry their junior high sweetheart just before turning 50!  Life is GOOD!

We also had a get together this month with some of Craig's friends to celebrate our wedding.  Craig cooked 4 briskets ~ and I manned the pit all day to make sure the briskets were cooking properly... something I'd never done before... and yes, the briskets turned out great!  He loves to cook for a crowd and everyone sure enjoys what he cooks!!

Craig has been working side jobs the last couple of weekends and got a great compliment from a high end Houston landscaper.  He asked for Craig's number and wants to use him for some landscaping jobs... so that speaks highly to the quality of his work... and another contact in the area is always a good thing!

Halloween came and went with little fanfare.  We just didn't have the energy to put into costumes this year and just got together with friends at a local bar down by the water.  It would have been so great to be in Utah to spend time with the grandkids and our nieces and nephews instead!   Maybe next year..................

~ Some favorite October pictures ~

A beautiful October sunrise over our home!

Our Roses are blooming!!

An October sunset in Baytown

LOVE the pink tones of this October sunset!

~ Life in Texas ~

After a rough summer ~ trying to get used to the heat, humidity, and BUGS, I'm finally starting to enjoy life in Texas!  I first arrived in Texas on May 30th, 2010, after a long hot drive with my car's air conditioning out!  It was hot and uncomfortable, although it was a beautiful drive!  I didn't expect it to be so green and lush, but as I found out, East Texas is beautiful.  I drove from Chicago to Little Rock, where Craig met me for the drive across Texas.  In spite of the hot car, we had a lot of fun beginning our new life together!

Drive from Chicago to Houston May 2010

Almost home!

The summer temps were in the low 100's with nearly 100 % humidity... all I did was sweat!  I can't believe how Craig can work outdoors in the heat all week AND on the weekends... I preferred to stay in the house as much as possible!  I started getting up early to catch the sunrise and enjoy the cooler temps, because I knew I'd be inside most of the day.  I was wondering if I'd survive Texas!  The bright spot was the beautiful sunrises and sunsets that Craig & I enjoyed together ~ we love experiencing the beauty of nature together and the Texas sunsets are amazing!!

Sunrise over the water September 2010

Sunrise September 2010

Sunset at Kemah - August 2010

By the time we got back from our wedding / honeymoon in Utah at the end of September, the temps had dropped to the low-mid 80's and I am LOVING life here now!!  The mornings and evenings are a little cool, but daytime is so nice ~ and I'm so excited to not be dreading the COLD BITTER CHICAGO winters!!!  Craig keeps telling me I need to look on Houston summers as "our winter" when we're not outdoors as much.  I've decided 3 months of "our winter" beats the 6 months of freezing cold Chicago winters!

LIFE IS GOOD for Craig & Leslie in Texas =)

~ The Honeymoon ~

~ September 19-25, 2010 ~

We decided to spend our Honeymoon in Utah, since we both love the mountains and landscape so much and just don't get enough time there! Besides that, it would give us a chance to have more time with family... something we definitely don't get enough of!

My sister Julie and her husband Steve gifted us with several days at their condo at the Zermatt Resort in Midway. It was absolutely beautiful.... and so relaxing! Even though we both thought we knew where we were going, we got a little lost on our way there and had to stop and ask for directions... but to give Craig some credit, he was okay with asking for directions! =)

~Zermatt Resort ~ Midway Utah ~

~ The accommodations were lush and relaxing...as you can see from Craig enjoying the master suite! ~

~ And the views from the windows and our patio were beautiful ~

During our time at the Zermatt, we took a lot of drives through the canyons, enjoying the scenery in Provo Canyon & Bridal Veil Falls, the Heber/Midway Valley, Park City, Sundance, the Alpine Loop, American Fork Canyon... we just couldn't get enough of the beauty of Utah in the fall. What a perfect time to get married in Utah ~ it was absolutely beautiful!!

~ A few of our favorite pics from Provo River & Bridal Veil Falls ~

~ Heber & Midway Valley ~

~ Park City ~

~ Sundance ~

~ Alpine Loop ~

~ American Fork Canyon ~

~ Just some pics of the two of us having fun ~

When we came back from Zermatt, we spent more time with family.  One night we went to Kovi & Jodi's house for dinner.  Craig cooked some of his yummy hamburgers and potato wedges and I had fun playing with my new grandkids =)  I'm in love.... they are so beautiful and sweet... Little 4 year old Bryton hardly left my side and wrapped his arms around my neck to say "I love you Grandma"  it just melted my heart!! ~ I haven't won over baby Coleson yet... he's a little cautious around me, but I'll win him over eventually!  I can't wait to visit them again and hope to move home to Utah where we can spend time with them on a regular basis!   What a great job Kovi & Jodi have done with their sweet family!  I'm more impressed by them every day.

We also spent more time with our parents and our siblings and their families.... but didn't get nearly enough time with everyone!  Time came to an end way too soon and we miss them all very much.  We love all of you and appreciate all you've done for us!!  We'll be back ~ you can count on it!!!!

~ Our Wedding Day ~

Craig Robert Gallagher & Leslie Dawn
"Renstrom" Robertson Gallagher

September 18th, 2010

To use my sister Julie's words... "it was a magical day!" God truly blessed us with a most perfect wedding day, filled with blue skies and sunshine, love and laughter, and best of all, shared by family and friends ~ we couldn't have asked for anything more!


I have to admit, I wanted to sleep in, knowing it was going to be a full and busy day, but I guess I was just too excited to sleep because I was awake at 5:30 am... just wanting to talk to Craig =) My morning was fairly leisurely ~ I talked to a few people on the phone, packed my bags for the honeymoon, took a shower, and visited with family. Unbelievably, there was no nervous energy... just excitement and happiness!

Craig met my family at the church to assist with the setup of tables and chairs. A huge THANKS to all my family who helped with this task! I love you all! Afterwards, he had a visit from Danny Lowe, his old friend from school and they got a chance to visit for a brief time before he had to head over to the church.

And Chad ran to pick up my flowers for the bouquet... thanks Chad =)

I got to the church about 3:30 to meet with our Cake baker, Julie Arrowsmith Stenquist... and the cake was stunning!! She did such a great job in copying my dream cake... thank you Julie!

I thought I'd have time to fix up my hair before pictures, but before I knew it, we were ready to start in with the wedding party pics... so I've had better hair days... but once I put on my dress, my shoes, my jewelry, I felt so beautiful and ready to marry my best friend, the hair just didn't matter anymore.

We went outdoors for the pics and the few I've seen so far turned out beautifully.. I can't wait to see the rest! We should have some really great family pictures. We sure love Jodi and are so grateful for her time and energy and this gift of memories for us...

Our Bridal Party included my two best friends, my sisters ~ Julie & Launa ~ and Craig's son, Kovi and best friend, Ronnie, served as his Best Men.

Our beautiful and talented granddaughter, Kailee, sang "A Moment Like This" just moments before the ceremony. She had both Craig & I in tears, along with many in the crowd. We've had soooo many compliments about her performance, and it just made the day so special! I found out later that she had not performed in public or with a microphone before, and I was just so impressed with her poise and her delivery. She was a little pro.. and I can't wait to see what she accomplishes with her vocal talent! This will be a very cherished memory of our wedding day!

We had a couple of other special performances as well. Melanie sang "Love Me Tender" for our first dance, Greg sang "Crazy Love" for Craig's dedication song to me, and Launa sang "You've Got A Way" for my dedication song to Craig. All the performances were simply beautiful and made the day so special and so personal. The DJ music was a wedding gift from my old high school best friend and her husband ~ Sherry & Scott Harward ~ it was perfect!  It was fun to hear them sing together again and the music was so professional!! Thank you to all our family members and friends who contributed such beautiful memories of our day!

I danced with 3 of the men in my life... but missed a special dance with my son, Chad, as he was suffering some pain from a recent work injury! Some of my favorite pics are below... one each with my sisters Julie & Launa, and one with my new grandson Bryton!

Craig & I both agree that the best part of the entire night was seeing family and old friends there.... to share this day with all our family members was so important to both of us and there were some very touching moments for each of us throughout the evening.  Chad & Kovi toasted us ~ and I was so touched by each of them.  Chad just has a way of making people laugh and being so sweet at the same time ~ he thanked me for being such a wonderful Mom and had me choked up with happy tears =) Kovi welcomed me into the family and their entire family has been so loving already!


My son Chad came in from Las Vegas, my brother Matt also came in from Las Vegas, one of my Dad's, Gary Robertson & his wife Carol, came in from Mesa AZ, along with all our local family members.  We had surprise visits from my cousin Barbara & Glenn Pfalmer, all the way from Nevada City California ~ and Craig's next door neighbor from childhood, Darren Patten, in from Mesquite Nevada ~ along with old friends we haven't seen for a long time ~ Danny Lowe (who is actually mentioned by name in my teenage journal!! lol), Wayne & Stacy Zakotnik, Robyn Baughman, Sherry Harward, the Christiansens, Elaine & Vennessa Wilcox, Steve Fanelli and his mother Dora, Teresa Severe.. just to name a few.  We greatly missed several family members who were unable to be there... and a special thank you goes to my Mom & Dad, Keith & Jody Renstrom, for all their hard work and contributions to the day!  We appreciated everyone who came and shared this day with us... our day was simply perfect!

After all the excitement and the visiting with family and friends ~ Mr. and Mrs. Gallagher left the church to head to the Zermatt Resort in Midway for our Honeymoon!