This is a repost... I have no idea why this didn't post to my blog page...
Over the past week, we got the pleasure of spending 5 days in sunny California, for my best friend Michaels wedding. It was such a beautiful ceremony, and the perfect occasion to meet Kyle, and catch up with my extended family and friends who also attended.
Originally I had planned on flying out alone, but after we got the "ok" from Liam's Dr. that he could come with, we decided to all fly out as a family. Jaxon and I were the Matron of Honor and Ring Bearer. This was Jaxon's second wedding party, a
nd he did great! I was a little nervous, as we had spent the weeks prior practicing the walk down the aisle with a pillow, and the night before the wedding, Michael and Kyle told us the pillow - was actually a handmade ceramic plate that they had made for the occasion. Lol. Let’s just say I was already figuring out how I could replace the plate since I had little faith in Jaxon's ability to walk all the way down the stone floor aisle without dropping it. Thankfully he didn't. He ran all the way down the aisle and quickly passed it off to his new best friend, Ernie! We also decided it would be a good idea if he just had the plate and not the rings to go in it, so I carried those and passed off to the pastor myself! I'm still in shock that the plate left Jaxon's hand in one piece.
We were shocked with how much time we actually got to spend with Michael and Kyle, and were quite impressed that they had created a wedding week full of fun stuff. We had a beach day with all the friends and family, of course the rehearsal and dinner, some time to spend alone, and lots of fun in between.
Jax had a ton of fun with Uncle Mikey, and made sure that everyone knew he was there. I am sure they are still finding things out of place in their apartment. ;) The day we went to the beach, it took Jax a little coaxing to get comfortable on the sand, but once he figured out that he could just brush it off, he had it EVERYWHERE! The ocean was a little too chilly for swimming, but we did take hi
m down and let him put his feet in. He wasn't as impressed as I thought he would be. So instead, we made our first sand castle together, and played with all the beach toys that he picked out to bring. On all of the other occasions we were out, Jax was pretty much a saint. He didn't throw any fits (that I can recall), and for all the late nights we had, he was so well behaved. Traveling with a toddler with a 3 hour time change is absolutely brutal on their small bodies, and the parents, but he did really good. One night that we were out, he crashed from exhaustion and no nap at 6pm, and didn't wake up till 6am the next morning. This was after 3 separate trips, putting him in and out of his car seat, going out to dinner, and shopping. Poor guy!
Liam on the other hand... well he slept the ENTIRE trip. If we went out somewhere, he slept. His first beach experience, he slept. Rehearsal and dinner, he slept. Sometimes I wish I could be an infant. Of course, I am not sure how much
he would have slept, had he not had a wonderful group of Nannies! From friends and family members, kids, and his car seat, I think he was held literally everywhere he went. That was such a help though. While Dean and I would be chasing after Jax, we knew that Liam was in good hands, and that allowed us to spend some extra time with Michael and Kyle's family, and focus our attention on keeping Jax out of trouble. Thank you, to all that had a part with our "childcare"!
The wedding location was absolutely breathtaking. One of the prettiest views I have ever seen, and I am so happy that the weather was perfect for their special day! The ceremony was performed at Wayfarers Chapel, which is a chapel made completely out of glass and stone. The view from the chapel had the most amazing view of the ocean! It looked like a picture of out a magazine, and made for an absolutely gorgeous event. The reception was equally beautiful, and set up like a chic night club. Calla lilies everywhere, white leather couches, AMAZING food and drinks... it was the perfect set up for the two.
Unfortunately we had to skip out on the drinks, and dancing at the reception and left earlier than we wanted to, we had to be at the airport the next morning at 4:15!!! That was probably the worst for us. We got back to our hotel that night a little after 12:30 am, and still had some packing to do, let alone trying to get some sleep. We ended up getting about 2 hours of sleep each, and thankfully the boys slept through getting them changed, and to the airport and then we all slept the entire flight home. That was the best plane ride I think Dean and I ever had. It was only like 30 mins lol. And surprisingly we figured out how to handle the kids quite well for traveling with two for the first time!
All in all it was a fantastic vacation for us. We were able to spend more time with Michael and Kyle than we anticipated for it being their wedding week, and are so thankful to them and their families for letting us be a part of their special day!
If you would like to view photos of the event, please click on the link below.
http://jenwillphoto.smugmug.com/Other/kyle/16691169_27JZZT#1266576953_2twcX54
Congratulations Michael and Kyle!! We love you both!
Thank you to all who called to check up on us, to make sure we were ok. A little shooken' up, but we are all safe and sound, as is the rest of our family. 
While Mom was here, we also celebrated Easter, and had a ton of fun watching Jax and Liam being spoiled with so much love and attention. Of course Gramma also had a hand in helping the Easter Bunny with some of their gifts, so that made Jax even more excited she was here! Jax got a new trike, lots of sidewalk chalk, and waaaay too much candy!
