St. Louis Visit

 
Matt and Miles headed home from St. Louis a couple of days before us so Miles could do a basketball camp with a couple of his friends and so Matt could do a golf tournament with a couple of his friends. Matt and I agreed that in the future, we probably would not do the same thing. Miles had fun, but missed out on a couple extra days of fun with his cousins.

Speaking of fun, on Monday, we were still a little worn out from the wedding, so we decided to do something relatively easy and went to Mastadon State Park to swim in the creek. It was a beautiful day and the kids stayed busy for a couple of hours, exploring and catching fish.

My dad is not a "creek guy" - he says that humans were made to swim in clear, chlorinated water - so he hung out on the opposite bank. The kids took turns sitting out with him.

Graham and Aunt Kiki got some cuddles in, too.

 

With Miles gone, Graham and Luke got in some male bonding. Seriously, though, Luke is great with babies.

The next day we went to Purina Farms. Again, it was a fun way to spend a few hours.

Luke and Brooke were very smitten with this chicken. They went back to pet it multiple times.

They also played in the hay loft upstairs.

Graham is usually anti-stroller, so he chilled with me in the Ergo the whole time.

That night, we took the big kids to the Muny while my dad stayed back with Graham.

It was "The Little Mermaid" and was great, as usual. We left with about 3 songs left because Brooke was the only one still fully invested and it had been a long week.

Special thanks to Tim and Krissi for their hospitality and another great visit! See you in August!

Joel's Married!

Earlier this month, my baby brother married his amazing fiance, Jenn. We were in St. Louis for a couple of days leading up to the event and got in lots of family time. The whole wedding went pretty perfectly - the kids all crushed their jobs- and was such a joyous occasion. I was legitimately sad that it was over.

On Friday before the wedding, the girls got together for breakfast and mani/pedis. This was Paige and Grace's first time getting their nails done and they loved it.

Brooke and Lexi loved it too, of course.

All prepped for their flower girl and bridal attendant duties!

That evening was the rehearsal and the rehearsal dinner. Paige has always had a special relationship with Uncle Joel, but she was turning on the charm extra strong all weekend.

Family pic at the rehearsal.

The morning of the wedding, we divided up. The girls all went to the hotel early to get ready. The guys stayed back a bit longer. Matt kept Graham so he could get his morning nap in, then my grandparents watched him until the wedding while Matt headed to the hotel. The kids were excited to get frappuccinos at the Starbucks in the hotel lobby.

Ready for showtime!

We got to get ready with Jenn in the presidential suite. It was a pretty amazing room, complete with a great view.

Paige and Jenn enjoying refreshments before getting ready.

Gracie, ready for her makeup.

Brooke, getting her hair done. She was very specific about how she wanted her hair done and thankfully, the girl was able to oblige.

Paige, getting her makeup done.

Dressed and ready at the church!

The cutest bridal attendants you've ever seen, right?

She knew she was looking extra cute.

This little guy was such a sweetheart all day. He hung out with Courtney, a babysitter we'd gotten from Tim and Krissi, during the ceremony. He turned on the charm for pictures, napped during the interim time, then was ready to go again for the beginning of the reception. He headed to bed about the time the dancing started.

Grandma and Paige.

Jenn with the flower girls right before we headed out.

Joel and Jenn with the kids. Hoping the photographer got some better smiles from Miles and Paige...

My heart. Could they be any cuter?

Graham with my cousin's son, John. Another great thing about this wedding was getting to see so much of my family that I hadn't seen in a long time.

The whole wedding was wonderful and we were so honored to be a part of it. I didn't have my phone on me at the reception, but rest assured that we all danced the night away. Miles and Paige lasted until about 10 and Brooke made it until we went to bed at almost midnight! Congratulations again to Joel and Jenn!