The Next Big Event

Here we are in the middle of May already.  There are only 8 more days of school.  Time has flown by.  There have been a couple of things of note that have taken place since my last post at Easter.  I'll break them up into multiple posts so as not to overwhelm you. 

In chronological order, the next event in the lives of our McParty of Five was Paul's brother's wedding.  Uncle Jonny got married!  (that's what the kids call him)  And now we have an Aunt Meghan.  The wedding was lovely.  It was in Texas. 

The girls got to fly on an airplane for the very first time.  They did great.  There was no complaining, whining or arguing, even though they had to carry their load and there was quite a bit of walking. 
We parked at Paul's office downtown so we wouldn't have to pay to park at the airport.  Then, we walked a block to the MARTA station and took the train to the airport. 

LeeAnne and Emily on the MATRA train.

The Atlanta airport is big.  And vast and spread out.  So, more walking.  There is an unusual amount of stairs and escalators there too.  Easy if it's just you and your stuff.  Not quite as easy when you are pulling your own suitcase, plus a purse that is WAY too heavy, plus an equally heavy camera bag, plus a booster car seat, plus LeeAnne's wheely bag because I was afraid she was not capable of getting on and off the escalator with a suitcase (and a blankie) and not fall.  Once we got all the bags checked, it was much easier.  The girls thought the plane ride was fun.  Abbi was a little worried because we told her the bathrooms were really small.  Then she had a million questions about "how small" and "what exactly does it look like" and "is it like a port o potty."  (She recently had a bad experience with a VERY smelly port o potty at a local petting farm...let's just say the pig pen smelled better and looked cleaner.)  Once on board and safely in the air, she checked it out and decided it was cute and so had to visit more than once.

On the plane.

On the way there, LeeAnne and Abbi sat in the row with me and Emily sat in a 2 seater row with Dad. 

Anyway, we landed, we rented a car and arrived at Jonathan's house safe and sound.  We were all supposed to meet one of my old college room mates, Deborah (who now lives in Texas), for dinner but due to some unforeseen circumstances on her end, that didn't go quite as planned.  So we all joined Jonathan, Douglas, Eleanor, Mac, Mike and Major for home made fajitas.  Then I went to meet Deborah for dessert.  It was really good to get to see her.  Last time I saw her was at her wedding which was about 4 years ago. 

We spent the night at Jonathan's and then all headed to a hotel in Brenham, Texas about an hour and 1/2 away the next day.  We thought we might have a little bit of leisure time on Friday but that was not to be. Weddings are busy, busy, busy.  Friday afternoon we headed to the rehearsal. 

The wedding was held at a rose emporium.  It was a beautiful setting.  It was way out in the country in a little red chapel with a beautiful landscape of roses and flowering plants.  It was a perfect setting for a wedding. 

 

Next, of course, was the rehearsal dinner.  That was about 15 minutes away at a little Italian restaurant.  It too was a very pretty, quaint setting.  And the food was really good.  The girls had a great time frolicking about with their cousins in the back of the property. 

I got in a picture!!

The next day was the wedding.  Liz, Keren and I threw a little lingerie shower for Meghan that morning, so we left the hotel a little early to get that ready.  Things there went pretty smoothly and Meghan seemed to enjoy it.  That's all that really matters.  While we were doing that, Paul and Papa Doug took the kids swimming at the hotel pool.  For days, all I heard was, "do you think the hotel has a pool?"  "Can you check to see if the hotel has a pool?"  "I hope the hotel has a pool."  All I can say is, I'm glad the hotel had a pool.  They love to swim. 

After the lingerie shower, Liz, Keren and I ran back to the hotel, changed, got our kids and ran back to the wedding venue.  And then it was time. 

Emily and Abbi handed out bulletins and did a very nice and professional job.  Mac and Mike assisted Paul and Uncle Doug as ushers.  They were very cute (Mac and Mike were).

Emily and Abbi waiting for "customers"

Major was the ring bearer.  He did great.  He made it down the aisle in record time all the while wearing a big smile.  It was sweet. 

LeeAnne was a flower girl.  She did a great job.  She was a little nervous the days leading up to the wedding, but when it came down to it, she went down the aisle, dropping petals all along the way with no hesitation (and a little bit of a look of concentration on her face). 

Paul read a very thoughtful and Christ centered prayer and then our part was over.  Meghan looked beautiful and Jonathan, very handsome.  They both looked very happy. 

Meghan and her Dad

The reception was outside little house that was on the same property as the wedding chapel.  There was great food, dancing and lots of smiles and laughter. 

Meghan and Jonathan

All the cousins

The kids had a great time at the "dance party"



And what kind of special event would it be without mommy trying to do a quick photo shoot??

And when we got back to the hotel, we dropped like rocks.  We were all pretty exhausted.  It was a fun, but tiring day. 
The next day, we flew back home to Atlanta.  Again, the girls did great.  They really were on their best  behavior that whole trip.  I was very proud of them. 

We all slept really well that night at home in our own beds.  Of course, the next day, Abbi's teacher called me 1/2 way through the day saying Abbi seemed really tired and was she ok.  Well, she was really tired.  She was ok.  It just took a few days to recover. 

Everyone had a great time.

Congratulations to Uncle Jonny and Aunt Meghan!  May the Lord bless you with a long and happy life together! 


*I took a LOT more pictures (almost 400).  For those of you on my side of the family, if you'd like to see more, you can click here.  (The McElvy side has already seen these).