Wedding Weekend #1

Chris' cousin got married in Jackson, Michigan last weekend, so we flew in to Detroit on Friday to take part in all the pre-wedding festivities. Caroline did great on her first plane ride! She sat in my lap and was entertained by books and food (surprise, surprise). She got a little sleepy toward the end, but didn't ever go to sleep, despite the dose of Benadryl I gave her before we left. I don't think it has much of an effect on her anyway, but at least it doesn't make her hyper (like it did to me when I was younger). She did finally fall asleep on the way to Jackson after we got the rental car and ate some lunch. She woke up just in time to see all of Chris' family at the hotel. We hung out with them in the lobby for a while and then ate dinner at Olive Garden.

Caroline went to sleep right away that night but she ended up not sleeping well; not sure if it was just being in a different bed or what, but she kept crying out. The next morning she slept in until we had to wake her at 9:15 to go to breakfast, so I know she was tired (we all were!). That day we had a bridal luncheon hosted by Chris' mom, aunts, sister, and cousin. Chris and his dad took care of Caroline while the ladies were out. Then we went back to rest up for the rehearsal dinner that night. Chris' aunt had arranged a babysitter to come out for Caroline and some other cousins while we were at dinner. The sitter was very nice and Caroline did well. She hadn't had her afternoon nap so she went to bed early before we got back. It was her first non-family babysitter! The dinner was really nice and we were glad to get to visit with everyone and not have to feed Caroline and rush through eating.

Caroline had a much better night and we woke up the next morning and got ready for the wedding. It was an outdoor wedding with a pretty gazebo and then the reception was a lunch buffet inside. It was a little hot during the wedding despite being overcast and later raining, and I STILL managed to get sunburned during the 45 minutes we were outside. Caroline did okay, but I had to let her walk around toward the end. We got some family pics by the gazebo:

and this really sweet one of Chris' cousin walking with Caroline:

The bride likes purple (like me) and picked out these dresses for her bridesmaid and flower girl, respectively: doesn't it look similar?

After the reception, Caroline was WAY past her nap time, but we were trying to wait for the bride and groom to leave so we could get pictures/videos of it and see them off. We managed to make her wait, although she was very grumpy and fell asleep five minutes into the car ride back to the hotel. She had a rough nap, probably because she was over-tired, but we managed to sleep a little too. Then we met some friends from Huntsville that had moved to the Detroit area and had dinner with them in Ann Arbor. We got back to the hotel pretty late and packed up and went to bed. Then we left early the next morning to catch our flight home. Caroline did well on that flight too, although she was pretty wild in the airport. She wanted to walk but we had to stand in long lines and then rush to our gate so I had to carry her all around the terminal. But we made it home just fine and were glad to be back in our own beds! Caroline even took a 3 hour nap that morning and then another hour nap that afternoon!

Next weekend, we'll be traveling to another cousin's wedding, but this time by car (thankfully!). Chris' cousin on his dad's side is getting married in Atlanta so we'll just have to spend one night instead of three, so it won't be so long. I've posted pics on picasa (2 new folders) so check those out! Enjoy your holiday weekend celebrating our country's independence!