Vacation 2009

On May 29, with three of my brothers we all loaded up into a airport shuttle van and headed to the airport. Our driver's navigational technique left us wondering if we were going to make it to the airport, let alone on time (DUDE! If you are going to stare at your cellphone, at least get it out of your lap and put it somewhere in the vicinity of a driver's supposed field of view!). Despite one bag being left in the shuttle (the driver brought it back), and the chaos involved in getting through security, we made it to the gate on time. The kids' demand a lot of extra packing, so it was quite a relief to have Phillip, Russell and Patrick to help us. Thank God for uncles!

Then we discovered that we would be sharing our flight with a bunch of very enthusiastic students on their way home from a class trip. They were very friendly and responded to Justin's flirtations in kind, waving and saying "hi" to him. Norah has recently loved to point out planes overhead, so we wondered what she would think of traveling on a plane (she is too young to remember the Argentina trip). She didn't quite understand the situation, but after some time on the plane and some explaining she started repeating the phrase "Plane up in the sky" for the remainder of the trip. This was Justin's first flight and he was tired, but he only fussed a little bit along the way. After we landed, my parents, who had arrived just an hour earlier, picked us up and we headed to the hotel room.

May 30 began bright and early and we spent the majority of the day getting ready for the wedding and trying to keep the babies from injuring themselves as they explored the opportunities of a non-child proofed environment, which included multiple exposed outlets and stairs. While it was a challenge they did manage to exhaust themselves so that they got in a quick nap before we headed out to the wedding venue.

My cousin and his fiance chose a beautiful spot and were married in a garden setting before God and all their family and friends. It was a lovely ceremony and the minister gave a wonderful sermon. After the ceremony we had dinner and then the dancing started. I got to dance with Jeff, Jeff got to dance with Norah, I danced with Justin, we all danced together as a family. As is tradition I danced with my dad, and then he danced with Norah. Justin (not Jeff) it turns out is quite the little lady's man, as he started his own tradition by dancing with one of the bridesmaids. He had been flirting with her from a distance, which prompted her to ask him to dance, so I handed him over! We stayed to the very end and while we had two very tired babies, we had a blast! Welcome to the family Sarah!

June 1st We went to my Aunt Denise's house for pictures and more celebrating. We had photos taken of the entire family, then smaller group photos of individual families. Once this was done we headed inside to celebrate the birthdays of my dad, my uncle Mark, my cousin Ashley, my brother Patrick, Norah and Justin. We also celebrated the graduations of Ashley and Phillip. After the cards and presents were opened we had cake. There were even two little cakes for Norah and Justin. Norah was not as interested in hers but Justin couldn't get enough of his. He had everyone laughing as he tried to get as much cake in his mouth as possible. He even started licking the back of his hand to make sure nothing was missed! What a mess! It was definitely an entertaining afternoon.

That evening we went to my grandparents' house for dinner and we set up the tunnels that everyone had gotten the babies for their birthdays. They kept all of us entertained, especially Justin with his unique crawl and Norah with her discovery of the greatness of M&M's.