Wedding Weekend

We had such a good weekend celebrating the wedding of Stephen and Allison. It was so wonderful to see everyone especially all the little people. Evie LOVED having so many cousins to play with and had a great time.

   We arrived on Thursday around 7:30. Evie was so excited to see all the stairs and quickly starting moving up and down the two flights of stairs. She is really good at stairs but we still have a baby gate. I did not even think to take a baby gate and it turned out we did not even need one. Evie used the stairs as entertainment. We got Evie's room all set up in the basement in the bathroom. Evie was so happy to see her cousins arrive after bathtime. They played a little and then all the girls went to bed. Lollie, Kurt, Carl and I stayed up eating some yummy Lexington barbecue. It was so delicious!  We stayed up way too late. Carl's parents were not able to come because they are in Europe celebrating Tony's birthday and their anniversary. It sounds like they are having an interesting adventure that we will learn more about tomorrow when they return.

   Friday morning came very early around 7:30 which was 6:30 for us but we just had to roll with it. Carl and Kurt left to play golf with the groom. We stayed at the house and hung out all morning. Evie just had a blast! She tried on her cousin's shoes, played in their room and basically adored them. The feeling is mutual - they LOVE her so much too and it's so adorable to see their relationship.  Lollie left with the girls to go to the bridesmaid luncheon since Mary and Lucy were flower girls. Evie took a nap and I read a book. Everyone came back to get ready and we stayed home for a bit with Evie. There was a party down by the lake and Evie had a lot of fun running around with all of her cousins. It was so hard to keep up with her and she was all over the place. We left around 9 to come back to the house. It was a beautiful party and I wish that I had more time to chat with everyone but Evie needs constant supervision right now. Carl and Kurt stayed at the party while all the girls went home.

     Saturday was a little calmer. We took a trip to Chimney Rock and it was gorgeous! Evie was not as impressed as everyone else but we had a great time. Only eight people are allowed in the elevator at one time. We were a group of 7 and an older lady was quite annoyed that we took up the allotted space. She commented to the elevator operating that " those (while pointing at the kids" count as a whole person. I wanted to tell her that " a person is a person no matter how small." Evie took a really LONG nap and everyone went off to do things like miniature golf. Carl and I stayed at the house with Evie. Mary and Lucy got in their fancy dresses and Evie knew right then that something exciting was about to happen. We got Evie dressed in her beautiful dress that Sheshe gave Evie for her birthday and headed down to the chapel for the wedding. It was a gorgeous wedding. Allison looked so pretty and Stephen was so happy. Evie enjoyed the wedding for about 15 minutes but then I took her out since she was shouting "wa wa" and throwing her pacifier. We went down to the nursery with Evie's cousin Taylor who is just a few weeks younger than Evie. That was a much better place for Evie although she was wild there too. She tried to take Taylor's pacifier and then started pulling thumbtacks off the wall as quickly as she could. It was a really fast wedding so we took the kids to the narthex to watch. It was baby central out there so it was a good place to be with Evie.

   Finally, it was time for the reception. Evie loved being around all the kids and devoured a bunch of tomatoes with Taylor. Again, I hardly had a chance to talk but we had a wonderful time. Evie danced a lot and thought the band was so cool. She did really well and made it to about 9:30. Carl took us back and Evie went to sleep.

     We all slept until about 8 and then got everything ready to go. Evie was so sad to say bye to her cousins. She had so much fun with Mary and Lucy! We all had a great time.

    It was a long drive back. We left about 10 and got home at 4:30.  Evie did fantastic in the car. We are so amazed at her traveling skills. She is so good at hanging out in her car seat. Evie read a few books, diapered and fed her baby, had some snacks, took a nap, admired the scenery and nibbled on five jelly beans. It was one of her best trips.

     She was ready to play when we got home. Carl had to go into the office for a little bit and I took her outside five different times to play. She had so much energy but it was obvious that she was so tired. Bedtime was early tonight. She was asleep in her crib at 6:45.

     Wedding's are always so much fun! Too bad that we are aging out of weddings. Congratulation's to Stephen and Allison!  Thank you for including us in your special day.