While we were on the West Coast....

....we drove to Las Vegas!

It was a beautiful 4 hour van ride to Las Vegas. After the wedding weekend was over, we all needed some "down time." Seeing that rooms in Vegas were $35 a night compared to the $200+ nights in Hollywood....we opted to travel a bit and see some more of the country.

We visited Vegas once before with an almost 4 year old. It was a bit different with a 6 year old and a 1.5 year old, but we still had a great time in "our castle."

We found ourselves across the street often in the MGM Grand visiting the fish at the Rainforest Cafe gift shop and the lions.

And sometimes we ate a light dinner so we could indulge in dessert.

And we even spent an afternoon out at the SEVEN Excalibur pools. Beautiful Nevada weather- hot, but no humidity and a light breeze.

And my children won all of these...

While Daddy played "his games," Brooklyn and Jake played some games of their own. The Excalibur has a Fun Dungeon with carnival games and arcade games.

It was a great way to end the vacation! We made it home with no bumps or hiccups late Wednesday night. It was 11pm NC time but since our bodies were still on West Coast time, we were not even tired! We also came home to a washed and detailed van courtesy of Aunt Patty and Uncle Bill. Thanks to their jet lag, they had some free time that afternoon. What a sweet surprise and MUCH appreciated!

Saturday, July 9: LET THE PARTY BEGIN!

Oh, where to begin?! There were so many sweet, sweet details of the reception that I just don't want to forget. This wedding was a perfect reflection of Eric and Caroline- classic, creative, simple, and yet goofy.

Eric and Caroline did all the table arrangements, down to the flowers in the vase, the cactus, the mason jar candle holders, the napkin rings made of brown paper and twine with a variety of jewels, and the individually designed and wrapped disposable cameras.


The one pic of me and Chad, courtesy of Brooklyn. :-)

The reception area (immediately adjacent to the wedding area) had these cool book shelves. At first glance it just appears to be a collection of fake knick knacks and pictures, but a closer look reveals baby and kid pictures of the bride and groom (who are now neither a dancer nor a baseball player).
Our sweet grandparents made the looooong trip across the country for their eldest grandson's wedding.
And our fourth grandparent- who is gone but not ever forgotten. We love you and miss you, Grandpa!

More cute details. Caroline did needlepoint and/or cross stitch for all these signs. This one says C A K E over the cake table.

And C A R D S

And their "guest book." It was a thin piece of plywood that Caroline had stitched with their names, wedding date, and location. Each guest signed the board with a gold paint pen. Brooklyn wrote her name and "Good Job." Very cute!

Enjoying their wedding dinner- ribs, chicken, BBQ, mac and cheese, baked beans, mashed potatoes, salad, and fried okra! This wedding food probably tied best dinner with Loryn and Lee's Thanksgiving dinner wedding meal.

Their first dance to Hoppipola by Sigur Ros. Never heard of it? Me either! But youtube it or iTunes it. It was so beautiful and so THEM.

Daddy and Bride- they danced to a Bruce Springsteen song (Randy's favorite artist). Here was another sweet detail: Eric and Caroline did not tell their parents what their songs would be. It was a complete surprise to EVERYONE. So emotional!

The Mom and Pookie dance- They danced to Elton John's "Your Song."

To those of you who don't know the personal history of this song...My parents danced to this song at their wedding, and 25 years later, Chad and I had our friend, Brendan, sing it during our wedding, It was so special for all of us to hear- and definitely evoked some emotion in us all. Oh, Eric, you always surprise us! :-)

Dessert time! They had a small cake and many different cupcakes from Sprinkles bakery. OMG! These were the absolute BEST cupcakes that I have ever eaten! There were brown sugar and cinnamon, red velvet, carrot cake, and my most favorite ever- PEANUT BUTTER CHOCOLATE CHIP with chocolate icing and chocolate sprinkles.

The cake topper was perhaps the best detail ever. The story: Eric and Caroline decided to each make the other's figurine, so Caroline made the groom and Eric made the bride. Neither knew what the other had done until right before the wedding. It was soooooo cute- and again, so them.

More fun reception pictures...

As the night wore on, the kids grew tired. We pulled out the old DVD player for back up.

And finally, two more pics of the sweet newlyweds.

Love you both soooooo much, and I hope you had a fabulous honeymoon in HAWAII!

Saturday, July 9: WEDDING DAY!

Oh my goodness, I have so many pictures. It was so hard to narrow them down. I've split the Saturday post into wedding today and then reception tomorrow.

Once again, Eric and Caroline are so laid back. They just wanted everyone to arrive a few minutes before the ceremony was to begin at 4. The bartender was already serving up drinks for guests and everyone was mingling in the beautiful California sunshine.

The kids and I changed clothes at the venue, The Smog Shoppe. I arrived in this t-shirt as a special tribute to my brother and my brother's fraternity.


Long story short, when Eric was at Carolina, he and his buddies started a fraternity. Yes, started a fraternity. With mixers, and semiformals, and t-shirts. The fraternity was called Zappa Wamma Gamma. I know for a fact that several wedding attendees have ZWG tattoos. :-) The t-shirt says "We got your mom on speed dial." Not something a mother of two AND a California deputy should be wearing so I quickly waved at Eric and then changed into more suitable wedding clothes. :-)

I have to say that my family cleans up pretty well. :-)

Every family has a Pookie...

And I sure do love mine. :-)

The most beautiful family member of the day...

[The professional pics throughout this blog post are courtesy of Hazelnut Photography. Visit her blog here to see the full post with multiple pictures.]

Then it was time to take our places! After a few last minute details, we were ready to begin.

There was no procession of the wedding party, so we officially began when Caroline and her dad, Randy, made their entrance.

The wedding ceremony went great (if I do say so myself). I held it together for the most part but the very beginning and very end were a bit shaky. I mean, it's my baby brother for gosh sake! We incorporated several traditional elements including the unity candle, vows, exchange of rings, and a short message reflection on Eric and Caroline as a couple and marriage in general. Something Eric and Caroline wanted to do was to pass around their rings tied to a tiny silk pillow. They wanted each guest to hold the rings and bless them. So, as they passed the rings, we read scripture and did the Unity Candle.

We laughed, we cried, we ate well. All in all, a perfect day. :-)

And two more cute professional pics from Hazelnut Photography.