Paul's brother, Uncle Jordan, and Auntie Madison got married this past Saturday in Fort Wayne, Indiana! The four of us made the long drive with Grandma and Grandpa Kirkwood, who were AMAZING at taking care of the kids while Paul and I were part of many wedding festivities as bridesmaid and groomsman.
The kids and I started the trip off Wednesday morning by packing up the car and driving to Woodbury, where we would meet up with Grandma and Grandpa Kirkwood and Daddy (who had to work a half day). We checked out a new park in Woodbury and attempted to get lots of energy out before we would spend the rest of the day driving.
We headed back to Grandma and Grandpa's, and hung out / played for a bit while Grandpa transferred the car seats and packed up their car with all of our stuff.
Unfortunately, after Grandpa got the carseats transferred and the car all packed, he realized that the air conditioner was broken :(. So after about an hour delay, we finally had everything all transferred to a different car and were ready to hit the road. The kids did better than I would have imagined, listening to CD's, watching "new" DVD's from the library, and reading books. We had both lunch and dinner in the car and rolled into our hotel room right around bedtime that night. The kids shared a double bed for the first time ever each night of this trip, and really did better than I would have thought. While they didn't fall asleep until close to 2 hours after their normal bedtime, they did stay on their own sides and stay quiet :).
We started off Thursday morning with a swim in the pool to attempt to get energy out before driving again all day.
Again, the kids did way better than I would have expected! However we were ALL ready to get out of the car when we finally rolled into Fort Wayne a bit before dinner time. The kids enjoyed the treats Madison made up in the treat bags we got from the hotel when we checked in, and got right to work playing hard with the toys we had packed from home now that they had freedom to move.
Paul and I had bachelor/bachelorette parties that evening, and so Grandma and Grandpa Kirkwood were amazing at getting the kids dinner and getting them to bed for us as both of us didn't get back to the hotel until after midnight!
Friday morning we went for a swim in the hotel pool, and then Grandma and Grandpa had kid duty again as Paul and I had various wedding activities/lunches/nail appointments/prayer time for the couple/etc.
Friday evening was the rehearsal, and Summer was so excited to get dressed up and curl her hair and practice being flower girl :).
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| Trying on Mommy's heels :) |
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| Daddy-Flower Girl Love |
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| There was one other kiddo at the church (daughter of bride's brother's girlfriend) and Summer immediately introduced herself and made friends with her :). When the girls were done eating the rehearsal dinner they had so much fun playing dress-up in the church lost and found! I love how Summer makes friends and fun wherever she goes!) |
While Summer, Paul, and I were at the rehearsal, Colton got a special dinner and park date with Grandma and Grandpa Kirkwood. He loved the one-on-one attention and apparently chatted endlessly since he didn't have to compete with his older sister to get a word in ;).
Paul and I headed back to Madison's house for some games, last minute wedding preps, and bonfire, while Grandma and Grandpa took the kiddos back to the hotel for bedtimes.
Saturday was the wedding! I loved getting to be a part of the whole day, watching Madison get her hair and makeup done and just being there! I felt so blessed to be a part of it all! Paul got to be with his brother the whole day. My mom dubbed herself "the flower girl's personal attendant" (lol!) and made sure Summer was where she needed to be all day. My dad took care of Colton and kept him happy and entertained. I am so thankful for all my parents did so that we could be part of the wedding! The following are pictures my mom took throughout the day on Saturday...
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| Grandma Kirkwood took Summer to her hair appointment |
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| Summer loved picking out pictures beforehand to bring to the appointment. Her hair turned out so cute! |
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| Being silly with Uncle Ty |
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| The wedding venue was ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS! |
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| Bride, Bridesmaids, Flower Girl |
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| GeeGee Sandy, Grandpa and Grandma T |
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| Daddy and Summer |
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| It was a pretty hot afternoon to take pictures... Summer took a little rest on Daddy's shoulder :) |
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| Madison is GORGEOUS! |
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| See the family resemblance?! |
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| Summer and GeeGee |
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| Madison and Summer |
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| Pretending to be a model ;) |
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| Grandma and Grandpa Kirkwood reading to the kiddos waiting for pictures |
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| Colton, Grandpa T, and Daddy |
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| Paul walked his mom down the aisle |
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| Handsome groom! |
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| Handsome Uncle Javonte! |
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| Madison and Jordan paired Paul and I up ;) Yes, hot sun, 8 months pregnant, and 2.5 inch heels did result in some feet swelling at the reception ;) but TOTALLY worth it (and nothing that cold pop cans on the feet couldn't aid!) |
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| Madison and her dad walking down the aisle |
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| Jordan's response to the first time seeing Madison was so cute! |
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| Happy tears all around! |
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| Flower girl Summer stood up front with the bridesmaids after walking down the aisle |
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| Cutie ;) |
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| Cute Couple |
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| Vows |
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| Colton hanging out with Grandma T |
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| Sweet pic! |
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| Mommy and Summer |
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| Family Pic |
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| The "new" Tommerdahl clan: Javonte, Ty, Sarah, GeeGee Sandy, Grandma T, Jordan, Madison, Grandpa T, and our family |
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| Cute pic with Grandma and Grandpa T |
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| Grandma T and Summer |
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| My favorite part of this pic is that it isn't posed, but looks so sweet! After a very big day, Summer needed some Mommy-time, so we found a secluded canoe to get away from the commotion and just chat for a bit before the reception started. |
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| Cute pic of Auntie Sarah and Uncle Ty! I really loved all the time I got to spend with Sarah at all the festivities! |
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| Cute pic of Grandma and Grandpa Kirkwood that kept our kids running on some semblance of schedule throughout the crazy 5 day trip! |
Here is the collection of video clips Grandma Kirkwood took of Summer doing her flower girl duties :)
Summer was so excited for the dance and cake at the reception, but unfortunately lack of naps/sleep caught up with her little brother, and so Grandma and Grandpa needed to take him (and thus her) back to the hotel before those festivities started. Grandma and I chatted about something special we could do since Summer couldn't stay, and Grandma suggested getting donuts on the half hour trip back to the hotel from the reception site. It worked ;), and so the kiddos got a special treat before getting some MUCH needed rest!
The reception was so gorgeous and so were the bride and groom!
Our 11 hour drive home on Sunday was...well...11 hours long :-). However it went, again, better than I would have expected. The kids were real troopers! Welcome to the family "officially", Madison! (Although I felt like you already were!!)
1 comments:
Such a blessed trip. So proud of the kiddos during the long days of travel and all of the times they were off their usual schedule. And, proud of Kelly for being 8 months pregnant and keeping up with the busy schedule. :)The wedding was so beautiful and we were so blessed to be a part of it. We always love our time with the Tommerdahl gang. It was so much fun to use Kelly and Paul's video camera. I just chuckle each time I hear Colton cheering as Paul, Kelly and Summer were introduced at the reception. We told him to cheer for them and he sure did...loudly and enthusiastically. :)
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