Whirlwind

Whirlwind.  That's what the past 5 days have been.  Nicole (Nikki) was one of the girls in a youth life group that I led a few years back.  She recently graduated from OU (I don't hold that against her!) and got engaged.  The wedding was this past Saturday, and she had asked Emerson to be her flower girl!  So on Friday afternoon, we went to the chapel to rehearse.  Emerson did a great job.  She threw those flowers up high, and we had no concerns about the next day.  We enjoyed a lovely dinner with Craig and Nikki's family and friends.  I have to say that I am so impressed with Craig and Nikki in their relationship.  They vowed to one another not only to stay pure until they were married but also to never wake up in the same bed.  They stood strong through temptation, and I am so proud of them for honoring one another and the Lord in their relationship.  I'm sure they are having LOTS of fun on their honeymoon now!  :)  Saturday also happened to be Emerson's third birthday, so what a big day it was.  When we got to the chapel, she just stood in the mirror in her pretty dress singing, "I'm not 2 anymore!" over and over again.  She got a little teary as I left the bridal suite to take my seat, but she still did a great job throwing her flowers.  And then the girl danced ALL NIGHT.  The ring bearer was 7, and he was such a little cutie.  He followed her around that dance floor, and he helped her up every single time she fell down.  I tried to help her up once, and she shook her head at me and then put her hands out toward Nick for him to help her!  He was quite the dancer, too.  I wish Aidan would have gotten out there to show off his moves, but he was done with being at the wedding after he finally got to have cake.  The wedding was beautiful, and we were so excited to celebrate with Craig and Nikki.  Here's a video of Emerson and Nick dancing.  I couldn't narrow it down any more than this, but be sure and watch toward the end.  As they got warmed up, they really got their groove on.  And notice how he tries to spin her several times, and she just doesn't do it!

 

We're working on how to say, "I'm three!"  This is not the way we taught her!  :)

So then came Sunday.  We rushed around all morning cleaning up for the next round of celebrations.  We set up the bounce house in the living room and had a great time celebrating Emerson!  My niece and nephew (Caitlyn and Teddy) were able to stay for a couple of nights with Chris' parents, so we had a great time with them!

Our adventure for Monday included taking the TRE (commuter train) to Ft. Worth.  We walked from the train stop over to the Ft. Worth Water Gardens.  From there, we walked a few blocks to catch a bus to the Stockyards.  We were trying to make it in time for the cattle drive they do daily at 4:00, but we missed it by just a few minutes.  The city bus ride was... interesting.  After waiting for a while at the bus stop in the heat, we were looking forward to going in to a few shops at the Stockyards to enjoy the air conditioning, but wouldn't you know it, the power was out!  So we killed time in the shade, and the kids (Teddy, Caitlyn, Aidan, and Emerson) took turns pushing each other around on the little carousel horses.  They are great at entertaining themselves!  Eventually, Chris brought his parents and Ivy to pick us up, and then we all headed to Joe T's for dinner.  What a great way to top off the day!  

On Tuesday, we went to the Dallas Arboretum, because it's only one dollar to get in during the month of August.  If you haven't been over there, I highly recommend it.  They have a storybook playhouse exhibit right now where people have built 10-15 different playhouses based on storybooks for a competition.  Those were really neat, and the kids enjoyed playing in them, but they REALLY enjoyed Texas Town.  This is an area at the back of the gardens that has a bunch of old, kid-sized log cabins.  They are stocked with bedding, dishes, etc., and the kids (ranging from Caitlyn - almost 11 - to Ivy - 16 months) had an absolute blast.  I wish we could have stayed all day, but then I surely would have melted into a puddle.  Oh, they also have a beautiful fountain area with these huge frogs squirting water.  Well, I would say bring your swimsuits if you go, because the kids wanted to get in there so badly.... and I just had to let them.  At least I could strip Ivy down to her diaper, but seemed a little less appropriate for the older ones.  Teddy, Aidan, and Emerson pretty much soaked their clothes, but it was totally worth it.

      

The kids were sad to see their grandparents and cousins head home, but I think they were too exhausted to put up much of a protest.  We had a great time with everyone over the past few days, and I'll probably be in my bed at 9:00 every night for the next few days to recover!