Our Family Vacation--Days 5, 6, and 7 (This is a long one!)

The morning of Friday June 3rd (day 5 of our vacation) we packed up and headed out.  We had actually headed out to Virginia for my older sister's wedding.  I was the Matron of Honor and Kai was participating as the ring bearer, so we had some wedding errands that needed to be done that day.  Our first stop was Shockley's cake shop to pick up the Groom's Cake for the rehearsal dinner that night.  When we arrived they weren't quite ready for us and so we got to look around for a bit.  Kai loves Cake Boss and making cakes on his Playdough Cake Makin' Station, so he really enjoyed looking at all of the cakes and cupcakes in the store.  And since we were waiting, the manager was nice enough to give us a big box of cake truffles.  They were yummy!

Once we had the cake loaded in the car we headed to Hampton, Virginia to pick up Kai's tuxedo.  First we had to try it on him to make sure it "fit".  To be honest, though, they gave Kai the smallest tuxedo they had so even if it didn't fit, there wasn't going to be much to do about it.  In fact, Kai's shirt was definitely too big, but they just had us roll the sleeves back and button them without the cuff links.  Anyway, he was handsome in his tux and quite excited to get his "special suit". 

It's so hard to get my kids to stand still for pictures!

After picking up the cake and tux, we grabbed some lunch before heading out to Jasmine Plantation, which is where the wedding was being held.  As my sister had rented the place out for the weekend, we were some of the lucky ones that got to stay at the plantation.  We got the Brenneman suite, which actually had a sitting room, bathroom, and two bedrooms.  We got to the Plantation early enough to unload, meet some of Charlie's extended family, and visit with my family for a bit.  It was so fun to see my brother Joseph with his wife Amy and new baby Zachary.  Kai was enthralled with his new little cousin and just smothered him with love and kisses.  Kai has really decided that he likes babies lately, which is nice.  He was a very good older cousin, except for not listening when he was told to leave the baby alone.

That evening was the rehearsal and then the rehearsal dinner, which was held in Richmond at Bottom's Up Pizza.  During the rehearsal we realized that there was going to be no way to keep Finn quiet and still during the ceremony and so after some conversation we decided that Reid and Finn would play in the house during the ceremony the next day and come out for the party.

The morning of the wedding came just like every other, a bit earlier than we would have liked.  The kids ate breakfast and then we got them both into the tub.  After they were done with that we let them roam around a bit outside, but it was hot so we quickly went back in.  Reid and I started to get ready for the wedding and before we knew it it was time for lunch.  Reid was amazing as he went out to the local Dairy Queen and picked up lunch for me, the boys, Wendy, and the other maid of honor.  He also ironed all of our clothes.  He was great!

Finn checking out the bridge over the pond.

The tent getting setup for the reception.

The boys loved playing with this little gate.

Finn took a good long nap that afternoon, which gave me time to go get my hair and make-up done and hang out with my sister as she was getting ready for her wedding.  My mom was nice enough to sit in the room with Finn while he slept and make sure he didn't roll off of the bed.  Of course, once he woke up he didn't want anyone but me and so it got a bit hairy, but we managed.  Reid got Kai dressed and ready and before we knew it, it was time for the ceremony.

Ahhh....how do I describe the ceremony.  It was fantastic!  Kai was the last one to walk down the aisle before Wendy and my dad.  Let me tell you that having just walked down that aisle, I knew what an intimidating task it was.  Once I hit my spot, I turned around to see Kai coming down the aisle.  He did everything perfectly and with a huge smile on his face.  Everyone ooohhhhed and ahhhhed.  After he went down the aisle, he sat with my parents on the front row while I stood next to Wendy.  The ceremony was beautiful and I wanted to second everything the officiant said.  At one point in the ceremony the officiant asked who offered support from the bride's family.  My dad, who was sitting next to Kai, said "I do."  Kai looked confused for a half a second and then added his own loud "I do!".  Everyone chuckled and then the officiant asked for a show of support from the groom's side. This time Charlie's dad said "I do" from across the aisle, and Kai once again said his own "I do".  Once again, more chuckles.

The ceremony ended beautifully and then it was time to party.  The reception was just as nice as the ceremony and was a lot of fun.  There was great food (including chicken nuggets and mac 'n cheese for the kids), good company, and some great drinks.  They even had an old fashioned soda bottle bar!

After eating, there was dancing.  Kai made some friends with my sister's girl friends and had a good time dancing with them.  They thought he was so cute.  As a mom, it felt so good to hear everyone say how cute and well-behaved my kids were.  We sure fooled them didn't we!

We stayed through the tossing of the bouqet and garter and then I gave my toast.  After the toast, the cake was cut.  We enjoyed some yummy chocolate banana cake and then it was time to take the kids to bed.  Finn was so exhausted that he slept solidly through the music and the slamming door of the house.  It had been a long and good day and we were all ready for bed.  But I really wanted to be back enjoying the party.  It was a lot of fun and the DJ was awesome!

My brother Rob, me, and Kai waiting in the house as the guests are seated.

The junior bridesmaid, maid of honor, and me

Kai--the best ring bearer ever!

The table centerpieces

My dad walking Wendy down the aisle

Kai dancing with his new friend

Wendy and Charlie!

"You may now kiss the bride."

The window pane has the seat assignments on it.

Kai and his new cousin Zachary  (Amy, I hope it's ok I borrowed your pictures!)

The only picture of all 3 cousins

  The next morning it was time to pack up.  After saying goodbye to my parents, we headed to the morning after brunch at Hondo's.  It was a great brunch and it was fun to see Joseph, Amy, Zachary, and Rob again.  After brunch we lingered a bit to say goodbye to everyone again.  With my family living on the the east coast, we never know how long it'll be before we see them again.  So, we lingered.  And then from there we headed to the airport.

The flight home was a bit, well, rough, but we made it.  We were exhausted and ready to be in our own beds.  We had a great vacation and it was hard to be back in Colorado again.  After all of the waiting and planning for this vacation it felt a bit as if Christmas had ended when it was all over.  But I'm grateful we were able to go and have such a great time and see family.  Here's to doing it all again someday!