Weddings and babies

It has been busy here!

This past weekend, one of my favorite girls got married. Laura was a beautiful bride who planned a beautiful wedding. All of the details were meticulously planned. Well done, L Dawg. (I'm so proud of this picture I took).
Because I was a bridesmaid, I had to be in the Cities on Friday night for rehearsal. My favorite friend Kristin (also a bridesmaid) picked me up Friday afternoon. But before that, not only did I have to pack my own bag (plus remember the most important pieces--the dress and shoes!), but I also had to pack Colin's bag. He joined me on Saturday, after being picked up by my parents. Kev went to his brother's bachelor party that night, so he wasn't able to join us. I'm telling you, it's hard to pack a 1 yr old's bag, especially when you're not the one who "finalizes" it before it gets put in the car. I did as much as I could on Thursday night, and turns out I didn't forget anything, and Kevin didn't forget anything I wrote on the "remember to pack..." list either. Whew. We did the usual bridesmaid things. We got our hair done, hung out with the bride, posed for pictures, had a blast, you know. (Me, Laura, Laura's mom, Kristin)
Kristin and I made this AMAZING trail mix for snacking on Saturday. Peanuts, M&Ms, dried cranberries, pretzels, white chocolate chips, and vanilla graham Goldfish. Yummers.

Colin did amazingly well at both the ceremony and reception, despite only having a short nap on the ride there. He was very mellow, not the usual rambunctious bundle of noise he usually is. He wore his tie and stayed up late (past 8:00!), and slept pretty well in the hotel room with my parents.
I had a blast at the reception. I got to catch up with friends, friends' parents, college friends, danced, took pictures in the photo booth, drank a couple of glasses of wine, ate de.li.cious cake, and helped Laura and Joe celebrate their first hours together as husband and wife.

I always tell myself I'm going to take a lot of pictures when I go to big events, but I never do.

On Sunday, my parents, Colin, another favorite friend Stephie, and I hung out at the hotel for awhile, killing time until we could meet my first pseudo-niece, Taylor Hope! Favorite friend Brooke had her baby girl on Thursday, so it was fun to see the mommy and the little lady. Then it was time to head home. I feel like I could've used a day off after the busy weekend. The house is a disaster. You know how it is when you're away for the weekend, and all you want to do when you come home is drop your bag and empty it out later? Yeah. That. Things are finally coming together again, and laundry is slowly getting done.