Matt's Wedding & Trip to Kansas

Well, I'm finally back! Did you miss me? 

We've been home for a week now, but I've just been too tired to sit down and post. I'm finding it's getting harder and harder to do that, especially with Facebook. I've already uploaded all our pics from the wedding and our Kansas trip to Facebook (it's quick, easy, and a good way to share w/Matt and Elizabeth's friends/family). But that means coming to the blog feels almost like double duty. But I love the blog and all the stories that you don't get w/Facebook, so I'm going to have to force myself to do better.

Anyway, we had a lovely trip to Kansas and Matt's & Elizabeth's wedding was just amazing! 

Here's the recap...

 Flying w/two little ones is never easy, but this trip really went off without a hitch. I think it helped that for the first time we had to pay for Liam to have his own seat. I strapped them both into their OWN seats... and it made everything a million times less stressful (wrangling a child in your lap is NOT fun!)

 The layover in Atlanta was "supposed" to have a playground, but they recently took it down... so we didn't have much to do for 3 hours, except eat lunch and then watch planes/trucks out the window. On the second flight, they both fell asleep, which made it even easier. 

 When we arrived, the the kids were so excited to see Nana and Aunt Maddie and Papa Clay! Liam instantly wanted to be held by Maddie. And when we got to their house, it was like he suddenly remembered Papa Clay, shouting, "Oh, hi Papa!"  They really LOVED being w/family--Nana, Papa Clay, Gr-Grandma and Gr-Grandpa, all the uncles/aunts/cousins. It was a BLAST! And to be honest, made it extremely hard to come home. 

 Nana's house has SO many perks! Like a driveway (ours is gravel). They loved running around and making chalk drawings and watching Maddie and her friends jump rope.

 Nana's house is also FULL of toys. Each room has baskets of toys. Some are new and some are saved from Maddie (such as about 5 billion polly pockets and little pet shop!) so the kids were in HEAVEN! I don't think they even fought with each other for a few days because they were so busy digging through baskets and playing with all the new toys--it kept them very content!

 Nana also had a new Halloween costume for Liam to wear. I'm not sure if I ever blogged about this, but when Nana and Maddie came to visit last time, somehow Liam discovered his "Lamb" costume from last Halloween, and wanted to put it on. It still fit, so I thought, why not? Well, since then, he's been begging to wear that costume ALL.THE.TIME. And he looks so proud when he looks in the little mirror that I haven't had the heart to take it away. 

 He LOVES his dragon costume almost as much as his little lamb. And he is totally stoked for his Halloween costume... which I will keep a secret for now to add to the suspense... ;) It's killing you not to know... right?! ;)

 Anyway, one day we were there, mom and Clay were both at work... and because one of their cars was in the shop, this meant they needed to borrow one of gma/gpa's cars, which meant I had no car. Not a big deal, because we kinda just chilled at the house... and later Gma and Gpa offered to take us to Botannica! 

 Botanica is a stunning garden in Wichita, and they'd recently opened a new "Children's Garden" that they thought the kids would LOVE! It is also where Matt & Liz's wedding would take place (not the children's section) so we had to check it out!

 "Somewhere Over the Rainbow..."

 Grandpa and Grandma showed the kids how to pump water from the well... how to "cook" in the play kitchen, and led us to a giant Tree House! FUN!

 Grandma Lois has been suffering from Shingles... but you'd never know it. She's not one to really ever complain or slow down. Although, it is killing her. If you are reading this, PLEASE pray for her. The pain and nerve damage is severe (mostly in her ear and face). The soars are gone, but the nerve damage and pain could last up to a year, and I just can't imagine suffering like that. Please pray!

 Anyway, as you can see... we had a great time playing "house" even when Grandma wasn't feeling well. From what I've heard, I think it's actually gotten worse since this time :( It hurts me to just think about it... and I hate that there isn't anything I can do to help, except pray!

 At any rate, we stayed in the little playhouse for awhile... and Liam didn't want to leave. He loved this spot!

 There was a little barn, too....

 And all around us were beautiful gardens, ponds, etc. Botanica is SO pretty!

 As we neared the Tree House, there was a little spot where you could "dig" for fossils. 

 And climb rocks...

 Here's Elizabeth coming down from the Tree House... so cool! 

 And the gr-grandparents coming down w/Liam. Only, after this pic was taken, Liam went up and down these steps a million more times. 

 The area was full of neat tree carvings... like this one:

 There he is... going back up...

 There was a little bridge, too!

 I love this pic... especially Elizabeth's smile :) I love that the kids know their great grandparents... they remembered them from last time like it was yesterday. 

 It's funny, I never got around to blogging about our last trip to KS (oops! I guess I got lazy--it's hard to blog when the people who are reading this already know this!) but one of the things that cracked me up was the first few times grandma and grandpa came over, Elizabeth didn't want to have much to do with them. She stayed up in Maddies room and didn't want to come down. She told my sister, "I don't want to come down, they keep pestering me with questions." A terrible thing to say...and I was mortified. Although, in all fairness, I think she was REALLY having fun playing w/all of Maddie's toys and hadn't had enough time to explore everything and just honestly didn't want to come down. Anyway, a few days later, gr-grandma returned with some goodies she'd picked up from a few garage sales... some Princess books complete w/music box and a Barbie doll. Suddenly, Elizabeth just loved her great-grandparents! As they were leaving, she ran to give them an extra hug, and as they left she said, "I just love great grandma. She's is SO sweet!" Yeah... bribery goes a LONG way when you're four (or 3 at the time!)

 This time, though, both kids seemed to remember EVERYONE! And just had a blast spending time with them... getting lots of hugs and kisses and even some good old fashioned "punishment" from Papa Clay (a game he plays--they just LOVE!) 

 Before we headed over to Botanica, Clay had talked to Thor about meeting up and letting Grayson play w/the kids! He was free that day, so he met us over at Botanica. 

 It's SO nice to have some "cousin" time. I know growing up we spend practically every weekend over at my grandma's house and my cousins were always there, too! I'm sometimes sad that my kids aren't growing up the way I grew up... with family all around. So, when we do get to see family, we soak it in. 

 The kids loved Grayson! Especially Liam. At the rehearsal dinner, he kept asking where Grayson was...even all the way home. 

 This portion of the park was modeled after one of my kids' favorite stories, The Very Hungry Caterpillar. 

 SO cute!

 We love that story!

 I wish this was a better pic... sorry grandma! The kids were moving and it was hard to take a quick pick of all three!

 This was neat... a chrysalis w/a butterfly inside!

 There's our favorite story...

 As we walked along, I LOVED looking at all the flowers/trees/gardens. I especially loved this gate w/the tall grass. So Kansas.

 Next, we headed over to the butterfly house.

 Uncle Thor caught quite a few butterflies to show the kids!

 The boys just loved running around!

 Sissy stopped to color a picture for a few minutes. She's really been getting into art these days. The other day she even told me, "Mom, I'm turning into a really great crafter, and you're turning into a really great chef!" Why thank you... my Mac&Cheese really is quite impressive if I do say so myself--lol!

 Pretty butterfly. Elizabeth even noticed that some of the butterflies (outside the garden) had little stickers on them. Maybe some sort of tags?

 So pretty!

 Elizabeth thought this was great... but didn't want to touch one.

 Liam LOVED getting some extra time w/Great Grandpa. He's always around us girls, so he's always desperate for some "guy time." He LOVES hanging with the guys. Poor boy! He needs a brother!

 Throwing coins into the fountain...

 All in all, it was a FUN day w/the grandparents, and I'm SO glad we got to spend time w/them while we were there! 

Next up... Fire Station!

 Papa Clay wanted us to come out and see his brand new station and ride the fire trucks. So one night when he was on duty, we made the drive...

 The kids LOVED it! 

 When they rode around the station a few times, Elizabeth put on the headset. She was really brave about trying all the gear and pushing buttons and checking everything out!

 Liam LOVES firetrucks and wanted to "drive" the entire time. He wasn't too sure about the ride around the station... I could tell he was a little scared, but also proud of himself.

 Captain Liam... to the rescue!

 Papa w/Weedwacker and Sodbuster. Inside joke! ;)

 Nana w/Papa

Alright... next up on our Kansas trip...
Bachelorette Party.
So.... I was really happy to be invited to the bachelorette party, especially since I really don't know Elizabeth that well and haven't had the opportunity to get to hang out with her much at all. I RSVPd that as long as it worked out with the kids, I'd be there. Well, I somehow managed to leave the invite at home, so I didn't have the address with me. I sent a quick email to Elizabeth's sister (in charge of the party) that I needed the address, and a few hours later got a call from Liz w/the address. Not being AT ALL familiar with this side of town (my family lives out near Maize now, and I grew up on the North side) I went to google maps and wrote down the directions word for word (and even drew myself a little map) so I wouldn't get lost.

Well, long story short... I kiss the kids goodbye, and head off for the party. I pull up to the address, in a little cul-du-sac, and I look around and see zero cars parked on the street. Hmm... that's weird. I see a guy cleaning out his garage, and he watches me closely as I slowly drive by and realize the address I'm looking for is HIS house. Okay, this is getting even weirder.

He walks up to the car and here's the conversation that ensues:
Man: "Can I help you?"
Me: "Ummm...I'm here for the bachelorette party...???"
Man: "Um, that's not until next Sat."
Me: (confused) "But they're getting married on Friday. The bachelorette party is tonight."
Man: "Are you talking about Maren?"
Me: "No. This is for Elizabeth Stevenson."
Man: "Oh, you're looking for Liz' bachelorette party. Yeah that is tonight. But it's not at this location."
Me: "Umm... this was the address she gave me."
Man: (looking at my map) "Wow... you have directions and everything. Why would she give you this address?"
Me: "I don't know" (although to be honest I was beginning to worry this was some cruel prank.

Well, after a few phone calls, we figured out that Liz had accidentally picked up her best friends' bachelorette party invite (by some shear coincidence, they both picked out the same invites--so they looked identical). Liz and the nice man who apparently knew Liz, gave me the correct address w/vague directions. Something about going out on Maize Rd almost to 119th.

Well, being completely mortified, I nodded. Okay, Maize Rd. to 119th.. okay, I got it. Of course, I didn't have it, but I didn't want to admit it being completely mortified at all.

Well, I pull up to the closest parking lot, a Target nearby, and decide I'll call home and get better directions from my mom. I call her home number. No answer. I call her cell number. No answer. I call Maddie's cell number, no answer. Great. At this point I'm in tears. So I drive back home (they are VERY surprised to see me) and tell them the story... my mom quickly calls Liz (I'm like... Mom! Don't call Liz) and Liz offers to leave the party to come get me. Doubly embarrassing.

Finally, I manage to make it to the party, and it was a ton of fun! Although, I've totally blanked out a good portion of the gift-opening portion of the evening. Here was the card I made:

The inside was the "defintion" of granny panties, w/the ending line being that it's something you'd receive from your SIL at your sexy lingerie bachelorette party! Thanks Amy for the idea! :)

I included a gift card as well :)

Again, I totally blanked out most of the gift-opening portion of the evening. Or at least, that's what I keep telling myself--lol! BUT, I did think this was a great gift... a "Mrs. Hadsall" cami :) 

After gifts/food/games we head over to a dance studio and learn some new "spicy" moves and choreography... it was SO much fun! I didn't get any pics... and PRAY no one got any of me! Especially any video! ;) And just when I didn't think it could get any "spicier"... this guy shows up!

My jaw literally dropped because up until this point the party was very tame and full of Christian girls, and pretty innocent in nature... and into the dance studio walks a police officer, who I... and I'm pretty sure everyone one else... assumed was a stripper. Turns out, he was just a police officer! I guess a business across the street had been robbed so he was checking things out. Yikes! So funny, though! And a fun way to end the night.

Okay... next up...
Operation Rehearsal Dinner. 

Mom and I were kinda in charge of getting everything organized. We wanted it to be nice and unique and fun... and we wanted to make some crafts. As mentioned in my previous post, our idea was a "Smore Love" theme... with a little Smores bar set up. Two nights before the rehearsal dinner, we headed to the store to pick up our supplies. I'm not sure if you can tell from the pic... but that's mostly all marshmallows! Lol! Regular fluffy white marshmallows... chocoloate marshmallows... pumpkin spice marshmallows.... marshamallows, marshmallows and more marshmallows. Also included were different sorts of chocolates and graham crackers. 

 We kept laughing wondering what the checker would think of a cart full of chocolate and marshmallows. It was funny, he looked at us, kinda raised his brow, and said, "Camping?" Lol!

 Check out our load! 

 On Wednesday, we had the day to decorate the space--a room at our church. It took two vehicles and multiple trips back and forth to bring in all our loot!

 Here's the before.

The neat thing was that a few weeks before this pic, the church had just added new hardwoods... so to everyone who was coming who were members of the church, it already looked a million times better. We laughed and took credit for it, telling people we did it ourselves--lol! ;)

Anyway, here's the after.

Chocolate browns, creams, and some yellow accents. The centerpieces were grapevine wreaths w/little birds mom and I decopaged using old hymn books we'd distressed. We also added little brown/yellow rosettes to the wreaths. The balls hanging from the ceiling were all my mom and oh my gosh they were SO adorable! Believe it or not, made out of brown/natural coffee filters that you scrunch and hot glue onto a styrofoam ball (it takes probably 50 to go all the way around the ball). 

All the little details :)

 S'mores! :)

 OH, and in case you can't tell (pretty obvious I know!), I totally edited these. My camera takes HORRIBLE pics indoors... especially under florescent lighting. So they look better than they did before editing... still not the greatest, but a friend of the family is a photographer and she volunteered to come take pics... so we are hoping they look better than these!

 I also didn't take very many pics because I was busy chasing my two around. Thankfully Vassil arrived at the end of the evening so he helped w/the kids... but until then, it was rough. Thor cracked me up saying, "Eating w/little kids is like eating in prison. You've gotta guard your plate, and eat as fast as you can..." So true!

 The couple gave a little speech and passed out gifts :) 

 Don't ask me about my brother's ensemble... he is such a goob and I am way too old and out of the loop to "get it." He'll understand in a few years... and a few kids...

 We played the "shoe game" where we asked the couple all sorts of questions and they'd have to raise either Matt or Elizabeth's shoe to answer. Like, Who's the better cook? Who's the better driver? Who's the better kisser? Who said 'I love you' first? Who's going to cry tomorrow? Who's most excited for the wedding? It was funny to see their answers!

 We also had a time capsule set up where people could answer questions about what the couple will be like in 10 years... we put the answers in the time capsule and then they get to open it in 10 years to see what everyone guessed. We did this at our wedding...crazy to think in like a year and a half we get to open it! It was cute, too, because Elizabeth (my Elizabeth) filled one out too... with her name and a bunch of scribbles!

We also showed a slideshow/video of the couple's baby pics. This was a top secret, suprise project. Tammy (Elizabeth's mom) had her pictures put onto a CD and mailed them to me, and mom brought a ton of pics when she came last for me to scan/upload. It's certainly FAR from perfect... but it gets the point across I think. And lots of tears went into the making of it... 

BTW... I have no idea why that particular shot (the one w/Liz sitting on her mom and dad's lap) appears before you hit the play button--funny!

Of course, before the rehearsal dinner, was the actual rehearsal. It was beautiful, but I could tell Elizabeth was getting stressed, so I tried to stay back. Didn't get many pics there, either. 

As we were leaving, though, I got a few w/Sissy and Liam.

Main Squeeze...

My beauty :)

I love this one w/Nana, Sis (and Liam in the back!)

And another one, of just the girls...

The next day was the wedding...

Can you say STRESSFUL?!

 I wasn't even IN the wedding, and I was feeling stressed. Mainly for Elizabeth. I was SO happy that they asked her to be the flowergirl... but when I heard they didn't want Liam or Grayson as ring bearers because they weren't sure "how they'd do" and how apparently at her sister's wedding the ring bearer was acting up... I started stressing about my girl. I love her to pieces, but she's full of life and full of personality... and she acts up from time to time. She's four. And she's a VERY typical, ornery, prone to meltdowns (especially under stress) four year old. So I was just worried... would she do it? What if she does it, but then throws a fit, or bursts into tears? The day before the wedding she told me: "I'm the flowergirl. That means, I won't eat my boogers." Yep, that's my girl. Can you see why I was stressin?

To top it off, I could tell she was stressed... and in fact, that morning she starting crying hysterically that she DIDN'T want to do it. To top it off, she was the ONLY person who didn't have anyone to walk with. I kinda thought it might work out if she walked w/Maddie (who was a bridesmaid) or if worse came to worse I thought I could walk her down (I've been to weddings where the mom did that). So I told her if she didn't want to walk by herself, that I would walk with her... BUT, that she could think about it and if she changed her mind, she could walk by herself. That seemed to help. A lot. She ended up doing a GREAT job walking down all by herself... and stood at the front VERY still for almost the entire time... except when the music played and she proceeded to do none other than... (I'm not kidding!) pick her nose... and EAT her booger! Of course, those of us in the family were laughing because we knew what she'd said the day before--lol. Oh well. 

Here are the Proud Papas!

And the wedding party all lined up to take pics (I can't wait to see the professional shots!)

SO pretty!!!

Just like a guy...

I love this shot of my girl :)

While the professionals were taking pics, I snapped a few. Not the best since no one is looking. I can't wait to see the professional ones!

Can you believe this is my sister, Maddie?! She was 4 years old (same age as Elizabeth) at my wedding. She was MY flowergirl. How is this even POSSIBLE?!

The kids had a blast running all around the day of the wedding!

I couldn't get a good pic of them... always moving!

Here are the grandparent shots! :) Don't you love the scenery. So pretty!

Here's some of the little details:

Such a beautiful setting, and all the little details just made it feel like a fairytale!

So pretty!

And here's a shot of mom... I wish I would have gotten one w/the moms together. They were busy, busy before everything started.

Here's everyone all lined up and waiting to go. I decided to wait back over here just in case Elizabeth had a meltdown. Then once everyone had walked down (including the bride) I snuck back to my seat. 

Elizabeth danced and twirled the entire time. Always on her tippy toes... my little ballerina. Oh, and if you're wondering about being barefoot... we couldn't find shoes that weren't bothering her :( I asked her to PLEASE wait until after the wedding to take off her shoes, but then I noticed a huge blister and figured it wasn't worth the fight... she'd just have to go barefoot. Fortunately, I've seen that in a few weddings, so I don't think it was a huge deal (I hope not!)

It was cute to see the bride and her dad waiting to walk down the aisle. I stayed as far away as I could so they could have their moment, but overheard her dad say to her: "I've never been more proud of you than I am in this moment." Love that! And since I was the only one back there... this might be the only shot of them from behind... not sure.

The bridal party walked down to David Crowder Band's "How He Loves Us" which is SUCH a great song! The bride walked down to The Revelation Song. It was AMAZING how from beginning to end, the focus of the wedding was on Christ and His love for His bride, the church. I've honestly never heard the gospel more in any other wedding I've ever been to. It was beautiful!

Many of the people in the wedding party (even the officiant) are part of my brother's small group. That group has grown so much that they are actually planting a church in downtown Wichita (called The Seed). So it was neat to see them all so on fire for Christ. That's one thing I wish we had more of in our church. I LOVE everyone in our church... but it seems like most folks in my age group all have kids and are just busy w/family stuff and are TIRED! And so I don't always sense much passion. It was beautiful to see it in these young people and throughout the entire ceremony/celebration!

It was hard to get a good angle from my seat... but here's the beautiful couple!

As mentioned, Liam wasn't "in" the wedding... but I wanted him to have a special outfit for such a special day. I thought he looked ADORABLE! 

It was funny, too, because normally he isn't a fan of dancing... but this boy danced the night away! He never stopped all night! It was a hoot!

Here he is with cousin Grayson, comparing ties! ;)

And here's Elizabeth with cousins Jade and Layla.  Such beautiful girls!

Dancing the night away...

I wish I would have taped some of the speeches. One of my favorites was from my brother's best man, who asked Matt to place his hand on top of Liz' hand, he said, "This is the last time you will ever see Matt have the upper hand!" Lol! So funny! It was great seeing some of my brothers' friends, including Chris... who was best buds w/my brother when he was little! :)

Our family :) I debated and debated and debated on what to wear. I didn't want us to all clash, but it was HARD finding clothing to match Elizabeth's gold dress! 

Throwing the garter. I realized after looking at my pics, that my husband is in the crowd for some reason. Whyyyyy??? Lol!!!

Dancing the night away!

The kids had a BLAST and danced all night long.
Video proof:

Before it was time to leave, we had to get a family shot... 

It was a BEAUTIFUL wedding from beginning to end! I wish them SO much happiness and can't wait to see what the future holds (hopefully lots of neices and nephews!) And as soon as professional pics are available, I'll be sure to post the link!!!

Anyway, the next day we wanted to cram as many things in as possible w/as many family members as possible since we'd be leaving the following day. We decided to go miniature golfing w/the kids and Nana and Maddie. Strangely, I didn't take a single pic. I guess I was getting tired.

Then we headed to Orange Leaf to check out their yummy Froyo. I'd heard a LOT about this place from all my Wichita friends... so I had to check it out for myself. Pretty good! Just ignore my crazy hair (I hadn't had a chance to wash out all the hairspray from the night before)

That night we headed over to see Grandma C. and cousin Basel. The kids had the BEST time! Basel has a motorized police car... WAY fun!

Liam couldn't figure out how to make it go... but loved sitting in it! Later a neighbor girl gave him a ride :)

We couldn't hang out too long because we needed to get home and pack...

But we did grab dinner at one of our favorite Wichita chains: Spangles. "It Just Tastes Better!" lol! And Granny C had a present for Elizabeth's birthday!

That night the gr-grandparents came over to Nanas that w/Uncle Lonnie and Aunt Laura. Vassil was sitting by Nana and told me to take a pic of them together. It's a great pic of them!

The next day it was time to head home. 

So hard.

So, So, So hard. 

You have NO idea how hard :(

Anyway, that was pretty much it. I apologize for such a choppy post. I'm sure it's full of errors... I'll have to go back and edit later (this took forever to upload all these pics.. and I'm tired).
More to come... :)