NC part 1- Pre-wedding and wedding fun!

Ah, finally getting around to writing my part 1 for the blog. It's Friday night and we got back on Tues. but we still haven't found our groove being back. Our house is a disaster and we are both too exhausted to do anything after the kids go to sleep. But I wanted to write a few highlights from our trip. Sorry it's a big epic!

It was a GREAT trip. Our kids did a great job. They truly amazed me. We saw great people, great things, and celebrated two amazing people!

Eliza was walking before we left but she went from some crawling to no crawling. I think she perfected it in the airport during our lay-over in Denver. They both did a great job on the airplanes. They both lost it while we had to wait on the runway to get off the plane in Charlotte but it was short lived.

Adam blogged on Numble about all our food experiences while on our trip. Our first real night in Asheville we had some yummy food on the deck of our rental house. Our view was amazing.

Another highlight from the trip was getting to see one of my oldest and best friends and her family, Kelcey. She lives outside of Asheville and I don't get to see her often enough. We were originally planning on staying with her for 5 days after the wedding but our plans had to change because of a death in her husband's family and the memorial service was for the same week as we were supposed to be there. Life throws you curve balls but the small amount of time we got was better than none! We felt a little like star crossed lovers too because on the day we were supposed to go and see her and have the kids play, Corbin got croup the night before. Seriously! It was not too bad but it was still definitely croup, which is contagious. So just Eliza, Adam and I went up to their house to play and check it out (Adam had never been there).

Even though we live so far apart, we stay connected though our blogs and similar family values. We wish we lived closer but it's pretty cool to see our kids grow up at similar ages and experiences.

We went to a minor league baseball game in Greenville, SC one night with some of Jed's buddies. Wow, was that an experience. People in the south dress up to go out to baseball games. High heels cute dresses, preppy clean cut boys in loafers. Seriously. It was also packed. A minor league game. We lasted in the stands for about 5 minutes. Good thing they had a play ground and a hill to run down. Eliza was like a crazy girl, way past her bed time. So was Corbin.

But the ice cream was melty. The hot dogs were good. It was hot. And Corbin loved the sprayers they had misting all the kids. Corbin was dead tired but managed to stay awake the whole 1 + home. Talking the whole way.

We got another day of play in with Kelcey and her kids at the local children's museum. Adam had as much fun as they did.

And now for the real wedding events! First I would like to talk a little about my brother and Kara. As soon as Jed told me about her, I liked her. Then I met her and I love her instantly. She seemed like the perfect match for my brother. She equals and matches him in so many respects. She is smart. She is funny. She is fiery. She is active and willing to try new things (like skiing, biking, camping, etc) that my brother loves to do. She is handy and independent. She works tirelessly for those without voices and those without. She is politically active. She constantly amazes me and I am now honored to call her my sister-in-law. She is perfect for my brother and I am so happy for them both.

The rehearsal.

After the rehearsal we went back to the house and had a BBQ. Of course of all days that Corbin did not nap, it was this day. He was a little crazy. We all almost lost it at this point... but it was fun to see some old friends and some of my brothers/parents friends from long ago.

The day of the wedding. Jed and Kara planned/did the whole thing themselves. They are a little more disorganized that feels good for me but they still always manage to make it come out perfect in the end anyway. The ceremony was planned for 6:30 pm. At first this felt really late to me but after spending a week in the South, I realized why! It was fun to see everyone dressed up. It think everyone looked amazing!

Buppa and Ellie.

Mom and son. My mom looked absolutely stunning in her dress! And my brother so handsome in his suit!

And I know I am a little biased but I think Corbin and Eliza were just too cute in their cute little seersucker outfits!

And Adam cleaned up real nice too! He really wanted a suit jacket and although we were in the south a lighter jacket would have been nice, it would not be a good choice for events up here in the great NW. He was sweating just standing there and only kept his jacket on for pictures. But he looked HOT to me!

Kara's nephew, Conner, stayed with us. He is 5 going on 6. He was so great with Corbin the whole time. It was cute, he was dressed in the preppy southern attire with blue seersucker and a crisp white shirt, white socks and loafers. Corbin was casual NW in brown seersucker, linen embroidered casual white shirt, and flip flops!

The ceremony was amazing. It was heartfelt, personal, funny, hot, and very loving. I of course was not able to pay as much attention to it as I would have liked making sure that Corbin was not swimming in the river, yelling, or throwing rocks/sand and that Eliza stayed content.

They had no just one wedding cake but 9! Too many choices! But all good!!

In the south it's customary to make a grooms man cake. Usually it's from the college you went to but for Jed he wanted Red Sox. So he and I made a red velvet cake and Adam decorated it. Yes, you heard it, the Mariner's fan decorated a Red Sox cake!

A piece of New England down south from Tucker Mt. Co-op sugar house.

Me and Kelcey!

It was a gorgeous night for a gorgeous couple. A wonderful wedding. Fun seeing old friends & family, meeting new people/family. It was so much fun to celebrate these two amazing people.