Weekend Rewind: Wedded Bliss

So here's a very belated weekend rewind.  I have a good excuse!  Last weekend we loaded the car and hit the road for South Carolina.  Matt's best friend Tyson was getting married to Anne, and we had the blessing of celebrating with them.

We headed out on Thursday instead of Friday, because Friday would have been cutting it too close to make sure Matt was in town in time for the rehearsal.  It also gave us some extra time with Poppy & Nana.  Asa didn't really nap until 4:00 or so on the drive down, but he never cried!  And he napped about an hour which helped him make it to bedtime.  He showed Nana & Poppy how he can run all around and talk, talk, talk, we fed him dinner, and then we got that sweet, exhausted boy into bed!  We enjoyed visiting with his parents Thursday night and seeing the deck and pergola Matt's dad has added to the backyard.

On Friday morning Matt met with Tyson to blow off some pre-wedding steam... no really, they went to the shooting range. ;)  When they were done blowing things up :), Poppy & Nana took us all to a nearby mall for a belated Valentine's celebration for Asa at Build-a-Bear.  They wanted to take him to make his first Build-a-Bear.  Asa was quite bewildered by all the options, colors, and sounds, but he settled on a lamb stuffed animal.  He was a bit scared of the loud sounds of the stuffing and cleaning machines, but he was SURE that lamb was his and did not let it go even for the lady assisting us to put hearts in it (they let each of us--Jerry, Judi, Matt, Asa, & I all put a heart in). :)  Then Nana & Poppy told Asa to choose some accessories for his lamb.  We ended up with a pair of corduroy pants, shoes, a football, and a leash.  Asa especially likes the shoes and the leash.  He pulls his lamb, "Rocky," (named for where we made it) all around the house and slept with it tightly clutched in his arms when we returned home for nap time.

Friday evening was the rehearsal--Matt went ahead as a groomsmen to received his instructions.  I stayed behind to feed Asa dinner and then Matt came to pick me up on his way to the rehearsal dinner.  It was great to see Tyson & Anne so relaxed and just enjoying the special celebrations of their wedding weekend.  At dinner we sat with several other groomsmen, and it was fun to hear stories about Tyson and get to know them.  Another groomsman's wife was an elementary school teacher and 2 weeks from the due date of her first baby, so we had plenty in common to visit about. :)

The wedding was Saturday morning, so we were up and at em!  Matt picked Tyson up to get ready for photos while the rest of us had a bit of a more leisurely morning eating pancakes (YUM!).  We headed over to the church and I got Asa settled into a childcare room they offered.  We would have loved for Asa to be in the worship service/wedding ceremony, but I doubt anyone would have much appreciated his car and airplane noises becoming the nuptial soundtrack. ;)  It turns out he was the only child in the room, so they two sweet ladies caring for him catered to his every whim and he played cars, trucks, and stickers to his heart's delight while snacking on the food I brought for him just in case.  He was living it up. ;)  I really appreciated having this option, or I would have had to stand out in the welcome hall and miss the actual ceremony I'm sure.  I usually get a bit sentimental during weddings, but I could definitely tell pregnancy hormones were in full force as I teared up at least 4 times. :)  We are just SO happy for Tyson & Anne and rejoice with them--and thankful for the gift of our own marriage.  Unspeakable joy.  I retrieved Asa after the ceremony, and we played while the wedding party finished pictures before driving to the reception.

Asa fell asleep on the way to the reception (yea!), and then we had a whirlwind afternoon of first dances, yummy food, following Asa all around the reception venue, etc.  We got to sit with Matt & Tyson's other good friends, Rick &  Katy, at the reception it was nice to see them and catch up with them again.  We shared some yummy cake (Asa even had a few bites--he's normally not one for very sweet things, but he ate a little bit), Matt gave a heart-felt blessing for the food and a poignant and humorous toast to the bride and groom, then in the blink of an eye we were blowing bubbles for the big send-off!

After saying our own good-byes, we headed back to Matt's parents'.  We were having a family birthday celebration for his sister Saturday night.  It was a CRAZY weekend for her as she was in a car accident on her way home from work Friday night.  We stopped to see her on our way home from the rehearsal dinner that night and were thankful to see her back home, though bruised and with a broken collar bone.  She had so sweetly offered to watch Asa during the ceremony, but of course that became impossible after the accident.   We are glad we got to spend more time with her and her family celebrating her and her birthday after the reception.  Asa was so exhausted from a long day with only a 20 minute nap early on, but he hung in there through dinner.  He lost it while I was getting him ready for bed, but he giggled when I actually put him IN bed; he was so excited to finally rest!  He barely made a peep before falling asleep (he usually talks to himself for a little while), and we enjoyed more cake and visiting with family.

Sunday morning we loaded back up and headed back to Ohio.  Asa napped earlier in the day on the drive back, but again it was just one 1 hour nap--not quite enough for our little guy, although we made it without much crying.  It was such a whirlwind, but I'm so thankful we were able to celebrate with Tyson & Anne.  He and his family have been incredible about welcoming me as if they have known me as long as they've known Matt (since early elementary school).  It's a sweet thing to gain a true friendship with your husband's friends!

In addition to the wedding, we enjoyed a taste of spring.  It's not particularly spring-y (at least, according to my definition of spring) in Ohio, but it was like being transported to Oz to be in the Carolinas!  I napped on the way down and woke up to BLOOMING things EVERYWHERE!  The landscape was barren when I fell asleep, so it was truly an unbelievable transformation to wake up in the real South and springtime. :)  The highs were in the 80s while we were there, and we all basked in the sunshine.  Hurry, hurry to Ohio, sunny spring!