Labor Day Weekend

Three day weekends are the best. You can pack two days of fun and still have a day to rest and get things done before returning to the daily grind. I think we should have one at least once a month.

Over Labor Day weekend we welcomed Bil, Liz and Margot for a few days. We had so much fun with them last year in Pennsylvania, and were eagerly anticipating their visit. Fun fact: Liz and I are both pregnant and due one day apart.

L.J. and Margot are not quite a year apart in age. They are much farther apart in personality! Margot is as calm and quiet as L.J. is loud and energetic. Being totally honest, I spent a good part of the weekend marveling at how still Margot was. L.J.’s mouth and feet start running the minute he wakes up and don’t stop until he falls asleep. We love his zest for life, but getting anything done when he is awake is near impossible. Margot gave me hope for a change of pace with Baby Girl!

I wish I had caught on camera one of the many times Margot looked at L.J. with an expression that said, “Dude, are you always this crazy?!” Temperaments aside, the kids got along well and enjoyed having a playmate!

 Saturday was the big day – first Georgia game of the season, meeting our nephew/cousin Ethan and a family wedding. Whew!

The day got off to a great start. Liz and I escaped to Target by ourselves, and leisurely strolled the aisles while sipping on Starbucks. Let me just sum it up: it was awesome. We had a list of about 3 things we needed to purchase and left with, umm, let’s just say more than three things.

(a.k.a. not on the original Target list)

We got home and got the kids ready to meet Ethan. He is Mike's/my nephew and L.J.’s first cousin (Margot’s second cousin). He just turned one and we were so happy to have the opportunity to meet him.

 It was the first time we have gotten together with Mike’s brother and wife in almost three years. I’ll admit to being a little apprehensive about how the afternoon would go, but it ended up being just fine. Three little ones, football and out-of-town family provided plenty of distractions! That and the large spread of food we had – can’t have football without pizza and wings!

 L.J. was gentle(ish) with his younger cousin, and it was cute to watch them play together. Each imitated the various things the other was doing. I hope the boys can grow up together as close-in-age cousins; that would really be wonderful.

(If it isn't clear, they were both laughing hysterically in the pictures above.)

Our attempts at getting photos with the three kids were highly entertaining! You take what you can get with three toddlers!

Saturday night we attended a family wedding. Mike’s cousin was getting married. I’d never met the bride or groom, but was looking forward to seeing some of Mike’s family again, as well as meeting a few for the first time.

The wedding/reception was nice, but interesting. For starters, the wedding started 10 minutes early. Yes, seriously. We arrived at quarter til, and make a quick stop inside to use the restroom. We then walked outside to where the wedding was with 10 minutes to spare. It was in a small outdoor amphitheater – there were 5-7 steps down to the seating area. The ushers directed us down to our seats. We started down the stairs and realized that they had sent us down between the groomsmen (already at the front) and the bridesmaids. Nothing says awkward like all eyes on two obviously-pregnant ladies and their husbands walking down the stairs in the middle of the wedding processional.

The wedding commenced and was blessedly short, given the sun was blazing on all the guests. It was starting to set right behind the bride and groom, which made it somewhat hard to see. We turned around to leave and there were probably 30 guests standing at the top of the stairs who hadn’t made it to their seats before the ceremony started – the shuttle bus was running late, we later learned. They got there with five minutes to spare, but the wedding was half over at that point. It was just altogether odd.

The reception was held indoors at a historic mansion without air conditioning. And the water they served was not cold and there was no ice. So that was also odd. People kept going to the bar to get ice.

Aside from those two strange details – early wedding and no ice – we had a very nice time. The venue was beautifully decorated, and it was really nice to be able to see some of Mike’s family we rarely get to see. (Or, in my case, some of whom I’ve never met before.)

Bil, Liz and Margot left to return home on Sunday morning. We were sad to see them go and really wish we lived closer to each other! We spent the remainder of our weekend doing our usual errands and such. I feel like we did a few other things, too, but honestly I can’t recall. (Writing this a week later) I also forgot how much being pregnant can affect your energy levels – I was absolutely wiped for several days!