Ellen and Brian's Wedding

This past weekend, Steve and I were away from the kids for the weekend for the first time ever!  They were in very good hands staying with Nanny and Grandpa and they had a blast.  We headed out on Friday afternoon and flew to LaGuardia (since flights there were less expensive than to Newark).  We're not sure if we regret that, but we certainly questioned it as we drove through New York City, totally hating the traffic and appreciating Minnesota more and more.  Since we were going to be so close as we drove to the hotel in New Jersey, we decided we'd drive to Hoboken to visit Carlo's Bake Shop (from the TLC show "Cake Boss").  Of course, the route to get there took us through a tunnel under the river - but little did we know another tunnel was blocked, so this one had extra traffic.  Ugh!  We made it there by about 8:30pm and since it was later in the evening, there was no wait to get into the bakery. (I've heard there can be a long wait, even 4 hours or so!)

We got some tasty treats and grabbed some supper at Panera before heading off to the hotel. Unfortunately, we hit lots more traffic on the way, but eventually made it to the hotel around 11pm and broke out the goodies for late night snacks and some time to catch up with the roomies again.

The wedding on Saturday was beautiful and the reception had more food than I thought was possible!
Ellen was radiant in her dress and long veil and managed to stay standing despite the heat in the church on the 103 degree day.  The poor air conditioner just couldn't keep up!
The reception was at "The Palace" and it really did look like a palace as we pulled up to the door.  The reception started with cocktail hour.  There was so much food, it could have been dinner!  There were food stations all over the room, including a stir fry, a huge chunk of meat with a butcher cutting slices, a pasta bar, many appetizer tables, waiters bringing around trays of appetizers, and even a mashed potato bar with martini glasses to make potato sundaes in with all the fixings!

The bride and groom (sorry Brian, caught you trying to eat).

Ellen enjoying her sweet potatoes and marshmallows!

The reception was fun and included the meal stretched out over a few hours with dancing and festivities in between each coarse.  It gave us time to make room for more food throughout the evening before the main course arrived.

Steve and I

 Roomies

Steve's "funky whiteness" rubbing off on Kerrie

Roomies with the bride roomie.  We were missing only one roomie, Felisa, who is due to have her first baby soon and couldn't make the trip.  We're wishing all the best for Felisa and Clark and their baby girl!

I miss these girls all so much!

Margaret and I - first year roomies!  Now both pediatricians.

As the cake was being cut, we also discovered that the cocktail hour room was transformed into a massive dessert bar!  Oh my!  It was overwhelming and wonderful.  There was almost every kind of dessert you could think of, including a candy buffet with beautiful glass bowls filled with green and white candy, along with little plastic monogrammed bags to collect your favorite candy in.  How fun!

While we were away, the kids had a blast at Nanny and Grandpa's.  They couldn't have cared less that we were gone.  I even called at one point to say hi and Grandpa asked Austin, "Do you want to talk to Mommy on the phone?"  Austin's answer was "No, thank you." and he went back to playing Candyland on the porch.

 Uncle Kevin even got roped into playing Candyland on the porch.

 Of course, the kids were not lacking desserts either. 

Nanny even bought new toys for them to play with, including new accessories for the play kitchen.

Sarah still loves carrying around bags like she's wearing a purse.

 My cuties!

Sarah enjoying a juice box on the porch.

Austin had a fun riding around in the kettle car.

Fun with Nanny.

Ai-pane! Ai-pane! (Airplane!)

 Smiles with Auntie Michelle!

We headed home on Sunday, again with bad traffic in New York City.  I'm SO not a city girl.  You could not pay me enough to live in a big city like NYC!  Our flight landed at 10pm, so the kids were in bed by then, but we got unpacked, settled in, and back into our normal routine this week.  Austin's last sports class was today and then we had Sarah's 18 month checkup.  More to come on that later.