We Love the Weekends!

We had another full, great weekend.  My friend Lauren was out in Indiana because of a wedding (which you'll see below).  We loved having her and really packed out our weekend with fun activities.  Lauren flew in Friday morning and we really wanted to see Rachel and her new baby, Mason (remember the pictures of him from Kirk and my trip to Chicago a few weeks ago?), especially because Lauren hasn't yet had a chance to meet him.   Rach had the good idea to go the Indiana dunes beaches and we were both excited for our boys' first beach experience.  Unforutnately, it was a little too windy for the little guys which cut our beach time a little short.  But regardless, it was so fun to see Rach and Mason.  I can't believe how much older Mason looks even from a few weeks ago.

Mason had on the cutest little outfit...love the hat!

Why do all babies love to suck on their fists?

Giving his mommy a little smile :).

I bought this sun dome for the beach because I knew it would be hard to shade Elijah.  The boys looked so cute in it.  They were content in there for about 20 minutes and then the wind started blowing a little too much for them, but at least they gave us enough time to take pictures!

I love this one because Elijah is touching Mason's arm.  I know it was totally unintentional, but I'm telling myself it's because they are developing a friendship.

About an hour into our time at the beach it got really windy and the boys were getting pretty miserable.  It was too bad, but we packed up and went shopping! Rach and Lauren with Mason and Elijah, pretty bundled up!

Julie and Austin Get Hitched!

Saturday was Julie and Austin's big day! Julie is a friend of mine from Taylor.  We were in the same major and got along so well...we have so much in common! She moved to Colorado after graduation and met Austin and they obviously hit it off! Austin seems like the perfect fit for her.  We had a great time at their wedding.  It was at a beautiful country club called The Bridgewater in Carmel, which is only about 20 minutes from our house.  It was outside and the weather could not have been better for the ceremony.

My good friend Amy Jo was a bridesmaid.  Doesn't she look cute?

Julie was absolutely stunning! Her dress was perfect for her and her necklace was the most incredible piece of jewelry I've ever seen (really, I'm not just being dramatic).  I wish I would've gotten a close up of it.

Love this picture of the bride and her dad.

We were seated pretty far back, but I wanted to show how pretty the backdrop was with the big tall trees.

The ceremony was held right next door to the reception, so while we were sitting and waiting for Julie and Austin to dismiss our row, I snapped a shot of the reception tent.  It looked so beautiful.  I loved the pink and blue color combo!

I love this one of the bride and groom!

Beautiful day for an outside wedding!

After the ceremony, there was a really nice cocktail hour out on the veranda followed by the reception in this pretty tent. I'm pretty sure Austin and Julie noticed me taking a picture and looked right at me after they were introduced at the reception.  I even got a little wave from the groom!

The cake was awesome (in taste and look!)!

I took a picture of the salad because I thought it looked so cool! It was also one of the best tasting salads I've ever had.  It was a slice of grilled watermelon filled with greens, some nuts, peaches, and a vinagerette dressing.  So good!

Amy Jo and me at the reception.

The Duncans.

Julie and Austin's first dance was "It Had to be You"

They were both so giddy happy the whole day!

Unfortunately, about 3 songs into the dancing (with a great live band, by the way), there was a tornado warning and we all had to go inside to try to wait it out. The party never did get started again, but we still had fun talking and catching up with friends.

Austin and Julie were wiped out! 

The sky was beautiful when we left the reception!

Lauren and I met up with Amy Jo for breakfast this morning (as well as two other friends, Jenny and Jenny who I failed to get pictures of).

Two of my best friends with my best son :).

Elijah really enjoyed having Lauren around (and so did Kirk and I!).  She was so sweet with Elijah and I wanted to make sure I documented their time together!

Best buds.

What a pair!

We wanted to take some pictures outside before Lauren left since it was beautiful outside! 

An attempt at a family shot.  I don't think Elijah wanted to be in the sun anymore.

I love this girl!

Thanks so much for staying with us, Lauren! Come back soon!

Kirk put Elijah in the grass for a second while he took the pictures of Lauren and me.  I thought he looked so cute laying there, so naturally, I took a picture.  I don't have very many of Elijah.

He loves his daddy and his daddy loves him!

Happy Memorial Day!

We had a great extended weekend with the Duncans.  The whole family was able to come down (although sadly, Kelly could only be here for the day on Saturday) and we packed out the weekend with a lot of fun, food, and of course, a lot of passing Elijah around! On Saturday, mom and dad took us all to Benihana to celebrate the birthdays of Kyle, Kirk, and Katie (they are all within about a month of each other).  Kirk and I had never been to a Japanese steakhouse like that where they cook right in front of you.  It's was very fun to watch the chef work his magic and the food was delicious!

On Sunday, mom, Katie, Konni and I took Elijah for his first swimming experience in the pool at the hotel where they stayed.  Elijah did great in the water and it got me even more excited for summer! Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures because I had given Kirk the camera for the day (see below).   

Thanks for coming Duncans! We had a great weekend with all of you and can't wait for the next time.

Kyle, Konni, Kelly and Mom at Benihana.

Dad and Katie.

And our little family rounding out the table (sidenote: I am going to brag about E a little bit here.  It is SO nice having a laid back baby that is so easy to take out! He hardly ever even makes a sound!)

The Chef working his magic on the grilled vegetables and shrimp.  They were so good!

He cooked everything from onions to calamari to steak.  Here he is cutting up some chicken.

Elijah loved hanging with his Grandma! 

On Sunday, Kirk, Kyle and Dad wanted to go an extended motorcycle drive.  Since there were only 2 motorcycles for 3 guys, they rented a Harley for the third bike and took a trip down to Brown county which has some beautiful country roads and rolling hills (yes, there are SOME hills in Indiana).  Seems like they had a great time and Kirk is now obsessed with looking at how much it would cost him to buy a used Harley (let's just say it will be a while).

Kirk is in heaven.

Kyle on his bike (he just got this bike about a month ago).

Dad taking a turn on the Harley.

Lookin Cool

We bought Elijah some baby sunglasses and they crack us up everytime we put them on him.  The other day Elijah and I went for a walk so I popped on the glasses and Elijah couldn't have been more thrilled to be wearing them.  If you read my sister's blog, you know this love of shades is something he has in common with his cousin Campbell! 

What are you looking at?