July Recap

So our wedding weekend started out kinda rough. Mom, Aaron, Jacob and I traveled together from Traverse and we met up with Bruce the following day in Chicago (he was traveling in the area for business). We got on the road at 10:30am and made it to Grand Haven before encountering any problems. We stopped in Grand Haven for lunch and mom handed me the car keys, because I needed to change. I changed my clothes, but left the keys locked in the car. Whoops. Luckily, we realized this right away, called AAA and were back in the car before we were finished with our meal. And, it was free, gotta love AAA. So then we continued on and noticed the gas light turning on just as we were getting off the Tollway, just south of Chicago. "No problem" mom says, I can make it another 60 miles till our destination. Except, as soon as she said that traffic stopped and proceeded at a top speed of 5mph. So we decided to get gas at the next exit, which happened to be not a very nice part of town. We pulled into the gas station and a guy in a red shirt flagged us down and waved us into the only available pump. Hmmm, could it be a gas station employee or a person trying to get money? Mom, always giving people the benefit of the doubt, feels assured he is an employee. She rolls down the window and says she would like unleaded. While she is digging through her purse, contemplating paying with cash or credit, the guy in the red shirt asks her for some bus fare, which she does not hear. She hands him a $50 and asks for $40 worth of unleaded and the guy walks off. I thought for sure the guy was just going to disappear, but sure enough he goes in and pays the attendant and then comes back to pump our gas. Mom then frantically looks through her wallet again, to obtain $3 to give him as a tip - thinking, surely this man will return the $10. So he fills our car with exactly $40 and says we are all set. So, I think we did pretty good getting out of that situation for only $10! We flee back to the 'stop and go' traffic on the highway and don't get to the hotel until 8pm. Sheesh, it was a long drive!

So then we checked in quickly and then headed to Debby and Bob's for a BBQ. I wish I would have taken pictures of her house (and more pictures of the wedding in general) - her home is so beautiful! We had a great time catching up with our friends and although it felt brief, I think we still didn't end up getting back to the hotel until around midnight.

The next day we went to the Brookfield Zoo and had a great time. Jacob loved looking at the animals AND all the airplanes flying in and out of O'Hare. We went to a dolphin show too and he watched them in awe. It was pretty fun to see his reaction to everything. Sure wish we had a zoo close to home :(

That evening was the rehearsal dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings where Aaron and Mark (Mary's boyfriend) and Peggy became bff's, bonding while they spent every last penny in a stupid claw game. Everybody had a blast and I kept thinking how fun it was to have the event there... until the next morning, that is.

The next morning was a little rough, but went pretty smoothly. The day got off schedule early on with the hair/makeup but it all turned out just fine. In fact, it was just what a wedding is supposed to be... an emotional ceremony and a blast of a reception. Aaron was a GREAT husband and dutifully carried out all of my orders and demands during the day and always had a drink waiting for me. Debby, of course, looked beautiful. The whole family looked amazing, actually. The food (lobster bisque, filet mignon, etc.) was fabulous and it was extra nice because Deb set up the tables so that we could eat next to our spouses/significant others, etc. Which I enjoyed, but I think Aaron probably would have been just as happy sitting just with his bff's

Mark and Peggy. Kim and I survived the toast and I think we did a pretty good job, although we didn't get any comments/compliments on it from anyone besides Aaron and Peggy...

We really appreciated Mom and Bruce coming along and watching Jacob for us during the various events going on. It would have been so hard to leave him that far away for that long. He did SO good traveling too, I was really impressed! Actually, he did better in the car than Aaron...

So the next day we headed on another long trip back to Michigan, but stopped in Lansing to see the newest Shadduck. Leah was just 10 days old and boy is she cute. Kyra is still cute as ever and a smart little thing. We bought her this little alphabet toy and I was shocked to see that she already knows her letters! She just turned two! Jacob isn't quite used to playing with other kids, so he was a little independent and didn't play with her too much. The one time he did play beside her, he threw sand on her and made her cry... so we aren't doing to good with the pre-arranged marriage yet. Charissa and Chris still need to work on that dowry, too.

So then we returned to find out we were pregnant a week later! It was a great last hurrah!