wedding weekend!

Anyone who has had the honor of standing beside a friend on their wedding day knows that it can be the most fun, beautiful day, and both emotionally and physically exhausting! I had such a weekend in preparation for one of my best friend and sorority sister's wedding. We had two full days of events that started with the bridal luncheon on Friday afternoon . . .

We met at Park Cafe in Duluth for an absolutely exquisite lunch hosted by Lindsey's aunts. We had our choice of appetizer, entree, and dessert, and I seriously did not eat one bite that wasn't mouth-watering. I got a picture of my appetizer and dessert, but devoured my crab cake sandwich before I had the chance to click the camera!

fried green tomatoes with warm brie, candied pecans,
 and a bacon balsamic emulsion -- wow

praline cheesecake . . . perfection 

As soon as the last bite of cheesecake was taken, we ran out the door to make our already-delayed nail appointments with Lindsey and a couple bridesmaids. After nails it was a quick outfit change before heading to the rehearsal at Sugarloaf Country Club and then the rehearsal dinner, catered by none other than the matron of honor's mother. I seriously think I gained five pounds in two days after all this delicious food!

 Saturday morning we all met up at the country club to let the fabulous and talented Ashley do our hair for the wedding -- even though she was also a bridesmaid she took on the challenge of doing Lindsey's hair and make-up, her mother's, and several bridesmaids! Thank you Ash!

Lindsey is also a teacher and had some very awesome moms send in lunch, snacks, and all kinds of treats for us to munch on throughout the day, including mimosas! Yum!

Lindsey had a beautiful wedding, set outside on a perfect day -- it actually reminded me a lot of my own wedding and brought back a lot of wonderful memories. And anyone who knows me knows I got totally teary-eyed during the ceremony . . . is there anything more beautiful than pledging love to one another on your wedding day??

I only wish my hubby were there to celebrate with me. Here's a couple pictures from that special day!

The beautiful bride!

KD Ladies! 

One downside to being busy those two days were that I had to be away from Liam . . . my parents watched him on Friday and my sister-in-law watched him Saturday, which of course put my mind at ease, but it was still hard. What makes it even worse is that Liam is super attached to me, something I was aware of, but didn't really have the opportunity to see until it reared its ugly head during this trip. I'm sure it's a combination of his age and the fact that I stay at home with him, but it sure doesn't make it any easier to hear that he was upset while I was gone. Living away from family has its drawbacks, one being that Liam doesn't spend any significant time with anyone other than Keith and me. Since being back I've really tried to work on helping Liam to be ok and self-soothe when I'm away from him, whether for a minute to get something out of the other room, or putting himself to sleep at night (cry-it-out sucks. period). Anyway, that's another story for another day.

One great surprise during this visit was that my mother-in-law drove over from Alabama to see us Liam. She and Keith's aunt spent four days in Georgia to spend some time with us, do some shopping, and hang out before we left on Wednesday. One day we went to Cheesecake Factory for lunch and had a crazy morning getting two babies ready and get them both fed at the restaurant -- aaagghhh! It was fun but I didn't think we'd ever make it out of the house!

Keith's mom feeding Liam on her first night in town

10 days went by fast, but at the same time I felt like I had been away from Keith for what seemed like forever . . . we Skyped every morning and during the day, but it still was hard. I couldn't wait to get off that plane and see his face! And unlike the last trip, Liam adjusted to the time change much better this time! I only changed his schedule by a couple hours while we were in Georgia so I think that was the key this time. He is totally back on track and doing great this time around!

early morning Skype sesh

Last Starbucks for a while . . .

Now we only have less than three weeks until visitors! We are meeting Landon and Casey in London, and spending a few days there and in Paris before bringing them back to the Netherlands for the remainder of their visit. I'm so excited!

~Jessi