Lyla couldn't wait to be involved, but Evie didn't quite understand the idea of a rehearsal or why she didn't get to wear her fancy dress that night. The first time down the aisle went great, but the second time saw tears and hysterics from Miss Evie. I kept my fingers crossed she'd hold it together on Sunday since she only had to do it once that day. Afterwards we headed to dinner with the group and had probably the best lasagna known to man, followed by some sort of pudding concoction made of rainbows and dreams. It was SO GOOD. Before dessert was served Ryan and I had followed the girls onto the balcony to watch them play, then Evie disappeared inside for a second. She ran back out to us as fast as she could, face covered in whipped cream, eyes as big as silver dollars, yelling "THEY HAVE 'ZERT!!!!!" That dessert, I'm pretty sure, was the high point of Evie's little life so far.
The next day my fam was mostly getting ready for the wedding on Sunday so we did our own kid inspired Madison tour, which included the hotel pool, Ella's Deli and the zoo. Ella's Deli drew us in with the full size carousel outside the restaurant, but we had no idea what was in store. The entire thing is decked out from top to bottom with old vintage toys and displays, almost all of them moving in one way or another. They also had a massive deli menu and a full ice cream parlor. I didn't take enough pictures to give the full effect, but it was basically like having lunch on the It's A Small World ride. So if you ever want to take the kids to Disney, but don't want to spend all the money or time - just head to Ella's.
The next day was wedding day! We took the girls to the pool again that morning, then made sure naps were had before checking out of the hotel. We headed straight to my cousin's place to get the girl's hair done with all the other ladies, which was a dream come true for Lyla and a little intimidating for Sis. It's always a little interesting juggling an extreme extrovert with a sensitive little introvert (who also happens to be stubborn and occasionally defiant as hell). But their hair got done eventually, and we headed to the venue with the rest of the party. The girls got their dresses on and pranced around like little princesses for a while, but by ceremony time my conundrum wrapped in a riddle 3 yr old was already tired, and not wanting to have anything to do with anything except sitting on my lap and cuddling. I managed to coerce her into giving it a try, and as she rounded the corner I thought she'd actually made it...until I heard my Uncle Mike say "Oh, here she comes" and saw a white streak heading for a corner of the room. I'd like to think the whole thing was endearing. ;)
The rest of the wedding was seamless. Seriously, a smash hit. The bride was gorgeous, the entire thing was elegant and the food and drinks were great. The music was phenomenal and every single person was out on the dance floor. Lyla had the best time meeting so much of her family, mostly for the first time, or since she was very little, and stole the show on the dance floor. If I ever couldn't find her it was because she was surrounded by a new group of people, dancing with every one of them. We packed up after dancing and drove back to the cities to get Ryan back for his work meeting the next day. Lyla cried as we left, not wanting to leave all her "new friends". We started talking about all the fun things we'd done, which got her emotional again, and with tears in her eyes she said "I'll NEVER forget all the things I did when I was five." That girl...all the heart eyes for her.
It was such a fun weekend, and the perfect reprieve from all the work we have going on at home right now. I always forget how much fun I have traveling with these kids. It's never as relaxing as a pool bar with just my husband, but man those memories just cannot be beat.
So much love to all of our Cali family that we got to see! We'll make it out to the West Coast one of these days!!
- K
Evie livin' up that road trip life.
Look at that hunk! :)
Madison is so pretty, their downtown set right between two big lakes. We had a great view from the restaurant at the rehearsal dinner.
Sis practiced her hopscotch skills. She hasn't quit mastered the two feet to one foot jump, but I like her technique. ;)
Ella's Deli!
Mighty Mouse was flying back and forth above us the whole meal.
Ryan tried out a popular WI beer...
I went for a greasy sandwich...
And a rootbeer float. ;)
Our cute tour guide!
The Capitol Building!
We saw lots of animals at the zoo, but there were also splinters and various fits to be had, so I somehow missed taking any pictures of them.
One word. Thighs. :)
An animal! Giraffes (and horses) are Evie's favorite animal.
It's not going to be so easy to carry both of them in just over a month.
Little best friends heading back to the hotel after dinner.
And a little hotel bed slamfest.
Naps before the wedding on Sunday!
Excited to get her hair done!
The gorgeous bride!
Evie spent the next while mostly like this.
Lyla snuck out to the car for a treat after a job well done.
Roaming around during the cocktail hour.
Dancing with daddy.
And with mommy!
Pretty much all we saw of Lyla after the music started.
It was so much fun, and so hard to leave! We got a later start than we expected and didn't pull into our garage until after 2 AM, but it was totally worth it.
