Wedding Pictures (just the highlights)

Hey Everyone,

We've received multiple requests for wedding pictures :) If you're not doing the whole Facebook thing - you probably haven't had a chance to see these yet... so here are just a FEW of the 450+... the best of the best. Our photographer was amazing and we highly recommend her for all your photography needs (she travels ;)).

Marnie McCown Guard
Crescendo Photography

Tyler & Kelsey Maxon
June 20th, 2009
Fountain Hills, Arizona

THANK YOU grandma, grandpa, mom, don, sarah, jenny, dad, kris, staci, jon, alec, terrin, john, penny, robbie, megan, todd, trevor, chris, corey and ALL of you who travel many miles to share our special day - we love you so much!

Houston: we (almost) have a house

The recent progress on our new home is nothing short of amazing. We signed papers back in late September on our dream house - a new build - completely from scratch. We've made large earnest deposits each month since then as a way to "finance" our down payment.

In late October, we grew concerned about reaching our estimated finish date of February 28, 2010... as NOTHING had been done on the house. However, we visited the property just before Halloween and here's what we saw :)

The View to the North

The View to the South

Wall-E (sustainable life - a token of good things to come?)

We were thrilled to see they'd excavated the land in preparation for the foundation. We were finally one step closer to our dream and proud of what we'd saved so far - - in order to reach our lofty goal. Within DAYS (no joke... only about three days) our plumbing was piped, tension rods and rebar were being laid, and our foundation was ready to pour!

Plumbing! (North View)

Tension Rods and Rebar are IN! (Southwest View)

Anxiously Awaiting Concrete... (South View)

And Finally... a Slab! (and seriously w/in a week!)

Front Porch

Our Cement Truck
(heading for the washout after pouring our foundation)

Once we had a foundation - we were elated! We felt like we'd finally arrived - - our dream is becoming a reality and time is flying. We've been to the property every weekend taking pictures and paying close attention to the building process. We're looking for mistakes, things we can ask to have changed - if minor - and honestly, we're so impressed with the quality of craftsmanship that Ashton Woods (our builder) has displayed. They take pride in their work - and they work FAST.

Here's what's been achieved in just four short weeks:

Two Stories of Framing is UP! (Southeast View)

Front Porch (garage is to the left)

Tyler in the Front Doorway

Me on the Staircase (no roof yet - just black sky)

Suddenly we have more Detail Work and Windows :)

Scaffolding is UP and the Crew can Start the Tyvek Barrier

Back Yard/Back Porch (Northwest View)

This Picture Shows the Scale of the House
(can you see me on the bottom left side?)
I know I'm a dwarf, but seriously, this makes me look even dwarfier! LOL!

So - today is December 10th... our plumbing, gas lines, electrical, and some cable/speaker wires are in. The house is wrapped and the roof is prepped for tiles. We have a "pre-drywall" meeting December 14th where we inspect and make any changes to the wiring, etc... then its full-steam ahead on the insullation and drywall and a crew will come out and get started on the stucco exterior.

Whew! It's happening so fast, but we're right on target - and we're so ready to be in our new home :)

Thank you for taking an interest in and sharing our journey. We are so grateful for family and friends like you - we wish you all the prosperity the world has to offer this Christmas!

XOXO - Kelsey & Tyler

A Mighty Flood

We had an exciting weekend to say the least. Saturday I was home cleaning and decided to do some laundry. Little did I know - less than one hour later - my house would be FULL of water!!

Thank goodness for home-owner's insurance.

We're working to assess ALL the damage, file the claim, and begin the necessary repairs and replacements... hopefully it will be quick and painless. Here are some choice photos of the damage 150 gallons of water can do from a second-story laundry room:

Snip-its from my Bachelorette Party :)

I can't tell you much - but I can tell you this... My bridesmaids Robbie and Megan threw a fantastically fun party for me with the help of my Aunt Judy at the Pointe Hilton - Tapatio Cliffs Resort!

Thank you Megan and Robbie for putting forth such thought and creativity in your decorations, games and prizes, and fun eats and drinks.

Thank you Judy for scoring us a great deal on Cabanas and a room for the night! I'm so glad you stopped in for a bit, too :)

Thank you to my guests for traveling so far (in the sticks) to spend the day and a night out... full of debachery and nearly laughing until we peed our pants!

Here are some of the photos I *can* show you:

... And the rest is history! Strictly confidential :)

My Bridal Shower

OK - Better late than never, right? I'm working a bit backwards here, but wanted to share a few key thoughts and moments from my Bridal Shower - - - back in March :)

My Matron of Honor (we prefer "maid") Robbie, and my bridesmaid Megan, threw a great party! They ran with the wedding theme and bought all polka-dot decor. I loved the balloons, the super-cute dotted napkins, and the amazingly yummy cake!


I am SO thankful to all the guests who came out to help me celebrate this BIG rite of passage... My mom, mother-in-law, aunts, long-time family friends, distant cousins, college friends, work friends, my best friend from high school, many of Tyler's friends whom I've come to love and adore, and so many others - - - WOW. Thank you all... I'm so glad we share such a great memory together.



Robbie had some fun games planned: a quiz about how well our guests knew Tyler and I (we even stumped our own mothers!), a memory touch exercise where guests had 30 seconds to reach in a bag and feel for "wedding night" items... then they had to recall what they felt and write it on paper, and finally a bridal bingo game for gift-opening. All the games were great fun, and at times a bit "revealing" and funny!



Tyler and I got several generous gifts from our wedding registries and other unique and "sexy" things that made me blush! I was overwhelmed at the generosity of my family and friends - Thank You!!!!


Robbie and Megan - a HUGE shout out to you - THANK YOU for creating such a special day for me. You two are truly the best kind of friends (and family ;-))