Week of Guests...

This past week we had Chris, Melanie, Allie and Avery in town. They were supposed to get up Monday morning and drive to Memphis but when I talked to Melanie on Sunday, Allie was running a fever....and once again they weren't sure if they were going to get to come. She took Allie to the dr. Monday morning and they ended up driving to our house on Tuesday. We had a great time with them and wished they could have stayed longer...although I think Chris was ready to get out of the chaos - but I do believe he felt at "home" here (you'll have to ask Chris to elaborate on that one...)! The first night Melanie and I just put Allie and Ethan in their beds in Ethan's room and thought that they would just go to sleep....Allie ended up on the couch in the playroom and Ethan finally went to sleep. The next night Allie was sooooo tired, so she went to bed in Ethan's room first and then I put Ethan down later and that seemed to work well! We took the kids to see the ducks at The Peabody and had Corky's BBQ and just had a great time together! Here are some of the pictures. Allie and Ethan loved driving the Jeep together - here I think Ethan was telling her to drive him to the airport and I don't think she wanted to go that way!
Ethan and Allie in their fort
Avery and Nina playing together
They are so proud of themselves here - Melanie and I were both on the phone at the same time and Melanie turned around and they were digging in the M & M container.....whoo hoo, no one is looking!!! No wonder they didn't cooperate for us at bedtime!
The 4 kiddos waiting for the ducks - and since it was a week day, we had the best view we've ever had and the ducks took their time getting to the fountain and the kids loved it!
Yet one more attempt to get a good picture of both kids together! And Mark wonders why I want to pay a professional to do this!!!!!
Ethan and Allie and their fake smiles - I had just given them bubblegum and they were starting to chew it and couldn't smile!

Just think, these 4 kids could be all mine or all Melanie's...they are spaced just perfectly apart - how insane would that be?!?! I had several ask if they were siblings or cousins - I'm sure the matching blue didn't help! Everyone is cooperating except Nina - she was looking at the water!

Thursday, as Chris and Melanie rolled out of town, Mark went to the airport to pick up his parents. They graciously flew down to Memphis for the weekend to keep the kids while Mark and I went to Nashville for a wedding. I got home with the kids and got them down for their naps and literally felt like a hotel housekeeper - changing the sheets and getting everything ready for the next round! We left Friday morning to drive to Nashville. Allen, the groom, is a friend of ours from Auburn and he was in our wedding. Summer of 2006, Allen drove to Nashville from Atlanta for a Dave Matthews Band concert (he's a HUGE fan....even called the manager to see if they could play at the wedding) and started talking to this girl sitting next to him....Elizabeth and Allen realized they had been going to the same concert at the same venue for years and hit if off right away! So last summer they began to plan their wedding.

After dropping Mark off at the church for the rehearsal, I went to the Loveless Cafe to help decorate for the dinner. This is one of the big tourist spots in town and it's the Nashville version of Paula Deen's place in Savannah. Needless to say the food was incredible and I was worried I might not be able to zip my dress Saturday night!!!

The wedding was at Elizabeth's church that she (and her mom) grew up going to - St. George's Episcopal - just a gorgeous church...which, in Nashville, are everywhere!!! Allen and Elizabeth have both been in many, many weddings, so their wedding party was quite large. I tried to get a good picture, but it was hard because the party was just so large. Her dress was gorgeous and the vail was absolutely breathtaking - longer than the train and had lace and pearls all the way around it. The vail and the dress looked like they were made for each other. Come to find out, it was her mom's vail and they took her mom's dress apart and had Elizabeth's dress made with the lace and pearls off her mom's dress with the prettiest silk fabric. It was gorgeous and very becoming and modest - one of the prettiest dresses I've seen!

Ok, so off to the reception at the War Memorial Auditorium at TPAC (Tennessee Performing Arts Center).....I can't even describe to you the amount of flowers everywhere. I lost count of the number of HUGE flower arrangements on the tables and at every door when you walked in, on the stage, in the bathroom downstairs in the basement, on the food tables...And all the tables had full length tablecloths that matched the bridesmaid's dresses with the gorgeous gold wedding chairs and thick ivory cushions. The food was great! They had "the" band in Nashville - City Lights Orchestra - and they were incredible! It was a fun evening and was an incredible wedding to be a part of!!! We hope they are having fun in Hawaii!
The church
War Memorial Auditorium in front with the Capitol building in the background (this was from our hotel balcony) Mark and Mandy before the wedding in the groomsman's area

The wedding party - 10 bridesmaids, 2 matrons of honor, 4 flowergirls, 11 groomsmen and 1 best man - I told you it was large!
Not a great picture - but the inside of the auditorium
The food tables were located on either side of the room underneath the balcony and they served food all night long until the bride and groom left at 11
One of the large flower arrangements

I just had to take a picture - mini cobb salads with grilled cheese sandwiches....look at the grass underneath the glass! The presentation of the food was amazing!

The military honor guard introducing the bride and the groomDr. Adams dancing with his daughter - her parents were in Hawaii last Fall and their rental SUV rolled over him and crushed his legs and hips and they said he would never walk again. Well, he walked Elizabeth down the aisle and was able to dance with her. He's still using a cane and she totally got to enjoy the full effect of walking down the aisle because they had to walk so slow, but he got to do it and there wasn't a dry eye in the church! Truly amazing!
Don and Laura Lynn - one of Allen's friends and now ours too....Don helped Mark get on at FedEx. He was one of the honor guard and it was funny hearing all the other wives when they saw Don's Marine uniform....they were asking their husbands why their uniforms didn't look like his! They all looked so nice!!
Mark and Mandy with the new Mr. and Mrs.
Allen always played in a band in college with some of our friends (Mark sang sometimes) so as a surprise to Elizabeth, he played a Dave Matthews song and then played Crazy Love by Van Morrison with the band - this stage is where Elvis, Johnny Cash and The Beetles recorded live records! How cool is that?!?!
The 3 Amigos....Paul (Mark's roommate from Auburn), Allen and Mark
At the end of the night, they cut the lights on, so I tried to get a better picture of the room - it still doesn't describe how incredible this place was!!! No expense sparred for sure!

Pa and Ro Ro did fine with the kids. Although during the rehearsal dinner, Ro Ro called to say that Nina had a fever and a runny nose. They took her to the dr. Saturday morning but the dr. said it looked like she was teething. Needless to say, they had to deal with that....but they were fine! Thank you for flying to Memphis to keep the kids, Pa and Ro Ro!!!