Two days after Christmas, on Chris's birthday, we flew to Texas. It wasn't just any family visit; we had a wedding to celebrate! We were home for a week and had SO MUCH FUN. Seriously, it was probably my favorite trip home to date. I don't know if I've changed, or my family has changed, or both, but it was just different this time for some reason. Don't get me wrong, my family is always fun...it can just sometimes be a little too chaotic for me with so many people/personalities/etc. But this time everything just flowed so wonderfully.
My dad picked us up from the airport and we couldn't even make it home without stopping for some Texas barbeque.
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| Outside the restaurant. So cute!!! |
The next few days leading up to the wedding were spent playing, partying, relaxing, eating, and shopping. Greyson and Delilah were two peas in a pod. They even shared a bed...a first for both of them! It occasionally took a while for them to settle down at night but nobody really minded; everybody seemed to understand that by not going right to sleep, they were just creating memories and a cousin bond that will grow over the years!
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| Greyson Taco! |
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| Noelle, Greyson, Avery, Delilah |
And I finally got to meet sweet Easton!! As you can see, there was no shortage of waiting arms for her.
And here are some general fun pics from around Mimi & PopPop's house. There are no pictures of the highlight of the trip for Red & Noelle: Shipley's Do-Nuts! Every morning, PopPop took the girls to get donuts...so precious.
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| The "Reading Room"...it used to be me in the bed reading with my parents...now it's my girls! |
We also got to see Chris's family in a serendipitous turn of events. Kim, Ted, and their girls were driving from Dallas to Galveston and stopped so that we could all have lunch together. We ate Tex-Mex (of course!) and this is a pic I snapped when the 4 girls were done eating and slipped away for some cousin time.
There wasn't an official rehearsal dinner for the wedding, but family and close friends did get together the night before to have dinner and hang out. Marra had a bridal veil that somebody stole...
And, finally, we come to the wedding, which was on New Year's Eve. It would have been exciting and wonderful no matter what, but everything was heightened by the fact that Bryan and Marra gave me the SUPREME honor of asking me to be the wedding officiant. That's right, I got to perform the ceremony. I have literally never been so nervous in my whole life. The night before I holed up in my parents' office working on the ceremony and cried a thousand tears and swore to Chris that there was just no way I could do it. But I prayed and typed my way through the fear and the ceremony was fantastic. It was one of the best experiences of my entire life...right up there with my own wedding and birthing my precious daughters. It was just so beautiful and such an honor to see Bryan and Marra get married. They have each been through so much and the way they have found each other and entwined their lives is a thing of wonder.
This is one of those times where I am frustrated at the inadequacy of words. I just hope I can remember for the rest of my life at least an ounce of the feeling I had that day.
And, oh, that night! The wedding was in the afternoon, and there was a few hours before the evening reception. I wore a modest black dress as the officiant and then changed into a hot red mini for the party. :) Comment of the night, "Maybe if my minister looked like you, our sons would come to church more". It was just one of those times where, as a woman, you actually feel breathtaking and special and like a princess. And the party...oh, the party! There are weddings where people dance and weddings where people don't dance; let me tell you, at this wedding, we DANCED! All night. Truly one of the very best receptions I've ever been to. The pictures at the reception itself didn't turn out, so the following were taken in one of the hotel rooms during our pre-reception family happy hour. :)
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| They loved their party dresses sooooooo much!!! |
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| The girls on our hotel bed before the babysitter came. |
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| Chris and John |
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| John, Cannon, and Chris. I wish this was a clearer picture! |
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| My sister Jenny & I |
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| My sister Amy and I |
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| Me and my hot date. |
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| The happy couple and her girls. BREATHTAKING!!! |
In case you're wondering, all the pictures are grainy b/c they were taken with my iPhone. Can you believe we left our camera in NYC?!?!?!
Congratulations, Bryan and Marra. I will never forget this trip or your special night.
