Wedding Season

Earlier this month I attended two weddings for old (and I mean OLD) friends on consecutive weekends. So first things first: Congratulations Ixchel and Mando (Aug 2nd) and Jenna and Mark (Aug 8th)!!! The first wedding in Austin I attended solo, but the second, in Charlottesville VA, we enjoyed as a family. Since this is ostensibly a blog about parenting and kids and not just about me, me, me, I will focus on the Charlottesville trip. PG-rated photos of Ixchel's wedding are here.

Isabel was so excited about the trip: flying in an airplane, staying in a hotel with a pool, and most importantly watching the "prince" and "princess" get married. Thursday night we took Isabel to the rehearsal dinner where she was thankfully occupied by the kiddie box of treats that was provided to the young guests. I did however manage to knock over a tree upon arriving at the venue... I know how to make an entrance!

Friday we went to see Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson. You might think we were nuts for taking a toddler there... and we were... but she did alright. The Monticello nazis - I mean *volunteers* - kept a close eye on Isabel and nearly fainted when she clambered on top of a statue. But it was a nice treat for Kyle and I and we are glad we went.

That night was the wedding! Isabel loved watching the wedding, although once again we made a spectacle of ourselves when, just before the ceremony began, Isabel fell out of her chair and screamed like a banshee. The wedding was lovely, the food was delish, and there was a play area in the basement which Isabel enjoyed. We had to leave when she threw a tantrum over her slice of cake (don't ask), but all in all you gotta call it a successful outing. More wedding pictures are here.

Saturday we explored downtown Charlottesville which is really cute. They have a Discovery Museum which seemed to be tailor-made for her age group and she really enjoyed it. The flight home was horrendous but other than that the trip was great.