Rapture Wedding!

So since the world didn't seem to be ending after all, we packed up the kids in the car and drove to the bay to attend the wedding of two wonderful, lovely people.  We arrived a bit before noon, after a blessedly uneventful 2-hour drive D has always been an easy traveller, and I'm beginning to think Q may be, as well.... though perhaps I shouldn't say anything till after we take him on a plane this summer) and went straight to Cy & Julia's place to hang out, have some lunch, meet itty bitty baby Isabella, and get dressed for the wedding set to start at 1:30pm.

The festivities were held at a big park, so there was plenty of space for kids to run around and make noise.  The ceremony was beautiful.  I got misty-eyed at the vows, when the (American) groom recited his vows in Spanish to his (Mexican) bride.  Both the ceremony and reception had such a genuine, fun, and downright joyful feel-- the father of the groom quoted The Princess Bride in his speech and everything. ; )  Really, it was one of the most enjoyable weddings I think I've gone to, and that's even with wrangling 2 kids throughout the whole thing.

Another aspect of the wedding that was pretty great, was getting to see a lot of our friends from the area.  Most of us have kids now, of similar ages, too, so it was really fun to get them together.  Also very awesome? When friend-of-the-groom Robert Walter and his band took the stage and everyone danced their booties off.  Later on I asked D what his favorite part of the wedding was, and he said, "the dancing."

Eventually we headed back to the hotel and got the kids to sleep (a few hours past bedtime, but whatevs...).  The night went fairly well- there was a period between about 1-3am when I think the boys kept waking each other up, and we didn't manage to get enough sleep to make up for how completely exhausted we all were.  But, that's ok.  There was also something kind of sweet about us all sharing one room, and lying in the dark listening to Zach, D, and Q all breathing in harmony as they slept.

We had made plans to meet up with a few friends again in the morning, but not till around 11am so after getting up and having breakfast, we had some time to kill. Zach noticed that there was a volleyball tournament going on in the convention center next to our hotel, so we walked over to check it out.  As it turns out, D loved watching the volleyball games.  So much so that it was quite a challenge to convince him to leave when it was time for us to go.

We did eventually manage to leave, though, and headed off to Santana Row for a last meet-up with friends & their kiddoes, and some lunch before hitting the road.  Worn out from a long morning and not enough sleep the night before, both kids slept most of the way back home.  Seriously, I really hope they do this well on the plane in a few months because the drive was super smooth both times.

The trip was exhausting and challenging, yet also when compared to what this was like when we made this trip when Q was 6 weeks old, WHAT A DIFFERENCE.  It really helped highlight how much easier things have gotten.  D was in a worse mood, and that was its own challenge, but Q was overall so much happier, grinning at everyone who came up to greet him.  Also, I'm pretty comfortable now wearing him on my back which is a game-changer as far as being able to get things done.  For example, at breakfast on Sunday morning I was able to use both hands to eat peacefully while Q hung out on my back.  This was truly awesome, as he doesn't tolerate sitting in his car seat for things like this, but is still too little to sit in a high chair. So usually Zach and I have to trade him back and forth, or try to eat one-handed.  Being able to both eat our breakfast, at the same time, with both hands felt like a huge achievement/milestone.

This is what parenting does to you. ; )

Q and I waiting for the ceremony to begin.

Zach and D hanging out in the shade.

Family photo! Both kids were passed out at this point, but D was in the stroller so harder to include in the picture.  

Towards the end of the night.  (Q did well in my sling, but after the first couple of hours wearing him I had to break out the Boba... which I bought a few weeks ago and quickly became one of my favorite carriers. I wore Q in it most of the weekend and felt pretty comfortable the whole time. Not easy with a 19lb baby!