The Rest of our Trip: Dallas and Charleston

After our jaunt up to Oklahoma's Northeast tip, we came back to Dallas to hang out with family and see some friends int he area too.  Our trip amazingly coincided with two of my cousins who live far away and I don't get to see often.  One of which just recently had a baby!

Oh yes, your eyes do not deceive you!  That is Hannah holding a baby!   

Yes, that's the cutie pie in Hannah's arms!  It was great to see them and everyone else at my uncle's house for a big potluck dinner.

A bunch of my cousins at our family gathering

Bob in Action

After slurpies, wave pools, and more swimming, Brian and I left the children with my parents and flew to South Carolina, Charleston to be more precise.  It was a fun weekend!  We stayed up until at least 2am every night and slept in until 9am!  We shared an apartment with two and a half other couples.  One of the girls does imrpov for fun so she gave me lessons in improv and comedy.  She is usually the one who everyone puts in the front seat of the Uber because she can talk to anyone.  She knew very few people and yet she befriended many including the groom's mom, who I've known forever.  By the end of the weekend, his mom would walk around me to get to Sarah.  I was totally jealous and so became her student.  When it was time to go to the airport in an Uber, I was elected to sit in the front and see what I had learned, an exam if you will.  I talked Arthur's ear off.  Turns out it was super fun to talk to him about random stuff and ask him questions.  He even gave me a biscuit recipe and the advice to make an app for my baby sleep services when he found out I was giving away tons of free advice to moms to help them get their babies to sleep better.  So my introverted self, usually very bad at small talk, learned how to be a little more balanced and a lot more friendly.  What a productive, yet relaxing weekend!

After Rehearsal Dinner

South Carolina BBQ

My First Blow Dry Bar Experience

The other girls I was staying with wanted to go get their hair done at a blow dry bar and so I gave it a shot!

Wedding Reception with our professionally done hair dos.

This was for the kids because they said they'd never seen him in a tux before besides in our wedding photos.  He's usually in his fancy military dress.

Bob and Isaac got their gifts for birthdays coming up early from Mimi and Papa Boat before we headed back to San Antonio.

And the wedding that took us over the Atlantic!

My cousin's wedding is the reason I made the crazy decision to cross the ocean again so soon.  Here we are getting ready to leave for the wedding that was on the rooftop across from the Capitol building in DC.

Look at my Hannah.  It could almost be me in that picture, just taller and currently with longer hair.  She's a pro at babies.

The wedding was on a Sunday afternoon, so we were thinking no traffic.  Buu-uuut it is DC and there's always traffic.  So thankfully, we had allowed an hour to get there.  I would be pretty mad if I was late to a wedding that I came from so far away for.  Plus, the ceremony was only 15 minutes long.  You could easily have missed the whole thing if you were just a little late.

First dance of the new happy couple

It started at 2pm which is nap time, so we brought the stroller up which was a good call.  I thought Judah would be fine for a couple of hours, but he was so tired that the minute the wedding party started coming down the aisle he started asking for his pacifier and his bed.  When this guy wants to go to bed, there is little you can do to prevent the crying if he isn't able to go to bed.  So I pulled out all the stops to talk him into waiting just a short time.  We colored and talked about who we could see.  In short, I felt like I missed the ceremony.

Next was a cocktail hour downstairs during picture time.  Judah fell asleep promptly in the stroller.  I covered him up and he stayed asleep for probably an hour and a half or two.  He never takes long naps when we are out.  Score!  When he woke up Bobby was ready for a stroller nap, a much shorter one.

I rarely get to see my sweet girl look all girly.  It was so fun!

Isaac and Genevieve watching the dance

The food served was finger foods and mini desserts coming out our ears!  Cake pops, mini popcycles, and shots of milk with a chocolate chip cookie resting on top were some of the memorable ones other than the cake and cupcakes.  I know a bride who really loves her desserts.

Fun and games at the reception

Judah woke up from his nap in the stroller just in time for the trays of mini popcycles to be brought around.  Mimi got some good cuddles.

Throwing the bouquet:  This was always my favorite part of weddings when I was a little girl.

My stair step boys awaiting the garter toss

Garter toss

A goodbye hug for the bride

Before the wedding, I was lucky enough to be able to attend two of her wedding showers while in town.  One of which Hannah and Bobby came with me, and that was a real treat.  Hannah and I got to talk and enjoy a wonderful afternoon together, and she even wore a dainty dress for that too.  She was pretty disappointed when she found out what she had to wear to the shower (we borrowed a dress for that), but she did it and looked so pretty I could have cried.

My mom wanted me to wear my hair down, but I was so glad I opted for this updo since it was very hot and super windy.

I LOVE this picture of Bobby and me!  He looks like an adorable little man.

Mimi and the girls

My cousin, Bobby, and me

A Wedding in West Virginia: 5 children will attend

Crazy!  The bride even had little bags with things to do for the children at the reception.  I was worried that our kids would be some of the only kids there, but there were tons.  In fact, this was the most packed wedding I have ever been to.

Mistake #1 for me at this wedding is defying the laws of nursing and wearing a dress that zips up in the back.  I've done it once before and I managed okay, but this time Judah was not nearly so patient.

Mistake #2  was thinking Judah would take a nap at the reception when he was already off schedule.  He was great during the actual wedding, but he screamed a lot during the reception.  Luckily, there was a big, clean  bathroom with chairs.  I spent a good amount of time in there during the quieter moments of the reception.  Drew pretended to be different super heroes, entertaining people as they washed their hands, while I nursed, changed, or calmed Judah.  Once the party got started and the noise level was high, I was able to push him in the stroller for a couple of minutes while he cried himself to sleep.  He was overly tired for sure.

The girls were watching the bride.

Dancing fools

This guy was so tired by the end he was just rolling around on the dance floor.  He wouldn't let me hold him.  I was afraid he was going to be stepped on by some high heels or something, so it was time to go.