My baby brother tied the knot!!

We just got home from an amazing weekend in South Bend, Indiana!! That's right, I said 'amazing' and 'Indiana' in the same sentence. Kyle and Ashley had the most beautiful wedding and there were so many fun things to do, leading up to the big day.
Our trip started on Tuesday, when we drove 13 hours to Valparaiso to visit Tricia and family. I had a fantastic day with Tricia, spent a few hours in her salon and my hair looks awesome!! Thursday we spent in South Bend with the happy couple. They were so nice to take some time from the wedding madness to play with the boys at a neat playground.
That evening, the wedding festivities began with bowling, putt-putt golf and go-carts. It was a blast! But I must share a *mommy confession* that I'm sure every mom has encountered. There was a small go-cart track for kids ages 4+. Bryce is taller than most 3 year olds and he really wanted to try it by himself, so for 30 minutes I coached him on saying that today he's 4, not 3. Of course no one asked so I made my kid rehearse lying for nothing! And he LOVED those go-carts. Since it wasn't crowded, the kids working the track let him go until I cut him off. He probably spent an hour in those cars! Blaine had so trouble reaching the pedals, but not to worry because he had a great time riding with us in the bigger (and much faster) cars!

On Friday we took all the kids to the zoo. Ashley has a younger brother and sister who went with us too. It was a really cute zoo. Bryce mentioned that he would like to see some lemurs at the zoo and guess what was in the very first exhibit we saw! And right next door was one of Blaine's favorites, a 'boa stractor'-yuck! There as a farm exhibit with a petting zoo and pony rides!! These boys might be following in my foot steps because they a crazy about riding ponies!! Friday evening was the rehearsal. Blake and I both needed to be there and there wasn't much for the boys to do. We brought their Leapster video games and they were soooo good! I love to talk about all the crazy/annoying/wild things they do, but they sure can hold it together when it really counts.


Saturday was the big day and I can't tell you what the boys did because I spent the whole day with the bridal party getting pampered! Catered breakfast, 5 hair-stylists, a make-up artist and a room full of girls, it was so much fun! The afternoon was a blur, but then it was time for the main event and it was beautiful. Ashley has incredible taste and she planned everything perfectly. I was so emotional-seeing my baby brother marrying this beautiful woman, the empty seats for both Ashley's and my mom, my wonderful family all together for such a happy occasion, I'm emotional just reliving it! After the ceremony, the party began with the best dinner ever! Could have easily gone for round 2. Then the cake-my favorite-was a *real* cake, no fondant! I managed to scrounge up 3 pieces! I would have had a 4th but the boys were getting antsy and it was time to dance. Kyle and Ashley started the dancing off with a dollar dance, in which all the money was collected will be donated to breast cancer research. Our moms would be so proud! And they raised a lot of dough! While it may seem that we left early (around 10:30) that was very late for us. In fact, we weren't in our hotel room until after 10:00 every night we were there because the boys kept going and we were all having such a good time.


Then Sunday, all good things must come to an end, and it was time to embark on another 13 hour car ride. Did I mention before how great the boys did in the car? They're getting to be quiet the road-trippers. Thanks to new DVDS, Leapsters, and lots of snacks, it was smooth sailing. I'm not interested in doing it again any time soon though!