Poor Drake. For the 2nd year in a row, I forgot his birthday. This year, it fell on the Friday we were in Florida. I knew before leaving for our trip that it was his birthday weekend but once we got there, I completely forgot. Friday night at dinner, someone said "Isn't it Drake's birthday today?" Why yes, it is. And he's in bed. And I didn't tell him happy birthday. Awesome!!!!
Grandma remembered and gave him a Target gift card. Here is a video of him shopping. It was hilarious - he would pick up a car and say, "I want this one. I don't want this one. I want this one. I want THIS one." Too many choices!!!
Nana sent Drake a box in the mail and he was super excited to open it!
Wes also picked up some accessories - a track and storage kit for his growing collection of cars.
Happy Birthday, Drake!!!!
I ordered a giant bubble-making contraption a year ago and finally pulled it out last month. SO MUCH FUN!!! Might be the best $8 I've spent on kid stuff.
What a weekend!! The kids had their first trip to the beach, Lindsay and Joe said "I do" and mommy finally got the tummy virus. Let's start at the beginning...
The kids did awesome on our flight. Each had a backpack filled with goodies to keep them entertained. Thank you, Dollar Store. Oh, and I-pads definitely helped, too!
We landed at Ft. Lauderdale, hopped in our rented mini-van and drove 1 hour and 45 minutes west to Marco Island. By the time we got checked in, it was 6:00 pm and the sun was setting. But we hustled to the beach so the kids could get their first look at the ocean. Reese couldn't decide whether to look at the seashells, play in the sand, put her toes in the ocean, comment on the sunset, her brain (and mouth) were going a million miles an hour processing this new experience. Stella headed straight for the water. As soon as I grabbed her hand to keep her from plunging in head first, she turned to me and said, "Swimsuit? Swimsuit? I want a swimsuit!" Drake was nervous. He didn't like having his shoes off and feeling the sand between his toes. The ocean scared him. He just kept asking KK to hold him. But it was a bit dark and he did warm up to the ocean later in the trip.
Friday morning, Wes went fishing with the guys. KK took Reese and Drake to the pool and I hit the grocery store with Stella to get some essentials for the weekend. We all met at the pool at noon and had a blast. The main attraction was a cool water slide that Reese and Stella went down about 200 times each.
Friday night was dinner at Mango's where 70 of Joe and Lindsay's closest friends and family enjoyed dinner together. It was great to see Joe's high school buddies and reminisce about old times.
Saturday morning was more of the same - beach and pool. We got to spend time with our cousins, which was so much fun.
Reese was SLIGHTLY excited about being a flower girl for the 2nd time. And she kept asking me when the third wedding was happening so she could do it again. Anyone getting married soon? I have an enthusiastic/entertaining flower girl for you.
The wedding was at 4:30 on the beach. In a word, it was awesome!! The wedding party was beautiful/handsome. The backdrop was beautiful. Lindsay was a ridiculously beautiful bride and Joe didn't look too shabby, either. They were both glowing the entire ceremony - true love at its finest! Uncle Ellis officiated the ceremony with a great story about Joe and his love of basketball. More importantly, his love of taking the "long shot." When Ellis and Natalie were in Chicago a while back, Joe invited them to meet his girlfriend Lindsay, a big deal in itself. When they left dinner that night, Ellis thought to himself, "Joe is taking that long shot again!" We are all so excited to welcome Lindsay to the Reese family!!! I'll have to track down some pictures of the ceremony. I do have a few before pictures...
Drake might be the cutest thing I've ever seen. Absolutely no bias here.
Reese took her job very seriously.
Stella was more entertained by her iPad than the festivities!
Kisses for sister!!
The only hiccup we had was immediately following the wedding, I started feeling yucky. It's strange that it took a week for me to get the virus everyone else in our family had, but Saturday night was my turn. Sadly, I missed all the fun Saturday night but I'm grateful I got to see Joe and Lindsay say their vows and glad the virus was short lived for our return trip the next day!!
We are happy to be home and sleeping in our own beds. (6 people in one hotel room is a bit cramped!) Once again, we couldn't have done this trip without the amazing KK. She juggled the kids, the rehearsals, photo shoots, beach fun, pool fun, all of it!!
I know my siblings have lots of pictures of my kiddos that I'll need to share so expect a follow-up post regarding wedding stuff.
Joe and Lindsay, thanks for an awesome weekend!!! We are over the moon that you two found each other and can't wait to spend more time with you.
