Alabama

Happy Halloween

On Friday morning, we got up and left Lincoln at 4 a.m. to get to the airport on time.  Our goal was for Monroe to sleep in the car on the way to Omaha, but she was wide awake.  On the drive, Monroe said, "You know what I'm exciting about?  I get to chew gum on the plane!"  Of all the things she was going to experience, chewing gum was what she was looking forward to.  As soon as we got to our terminal, we got Monroe dressed up as Dorothy.  She got to be Dorothy the whole day.

Aunt Lea Ann and Aunt Julie

Ready for our first take off

Monroe did great with every flight.  She never seemed scared or got tired of sitting.  During one flight, when there was turbulence, she giggled and said, "Ooh!  That tickled my tummy!"

Flying on Halloween was fun.  Some flight attendants and pilots were dressed up, some had candy, and one crew even played Thriller as we were taxiing.

She loved looking out the windows

As we were exiting the first plane, the pilot asked Monroe if she wanted to sit in his seat.  

He even put his headset on her.  

Monroe loved the moving sidewalks

Dorothy was the hit of the airplanes and airports.  Everyone commented on how cute she was, and a few people gave her candy.  I had candy that I gave to some people sitting around us at the airports.  Then Monroe would trick-or-treat to them.  

There was one lady dressed as a witch.  Every time Monroe saw her, she yelled, "Hi, Wicked Witch of the West!"  Even on the plane, Monroe stood backward on her chair and talked to her across ten rows of seats.  Everyone thought it was cute, but I felt a little bad for the witch :)

We got to Alabama in time for the tail end of the rehearsal and then the rehearsal dinner.  The dinner was in a tower with a rotating floor, which was fun to experience.  Monroe got to trick-or-treat to her family during dinner.

Monroe and Knox with the bride and groom.

Zach is Nathan's cousin on his mom's side and Knox's mom, Kahsi, is Nathan's cousin on his dad's side.

 Saturday
On Saturday, we didn't have to be to the wedding until 3:00.  This gave us time to relax, spend time with family, and get Monroe a nap.

Seeing Kyndell for the first time

With the bride and groom

Beautiful Bride

Flower girl and ring bearer

Monroe was watching Daddy practice his song

Before the wedding

Zach and Dustin sang two songs at the wedding.  This is part of the first one.

Waiting for his bride

Aren't they precious?

Grandpa officiated half the wedding.  He has performed each of his grandkids' weddings. 

Praying over the couple

The wedding ended at sunset

First Dance

Katelyn and I grew up together.  Her brother was one of my closest friends and she was good friends with my brother.  It was crazy that we were together at a wedding in Alabama.  We enjoyed catching up on each other's lives.

Dustin and Derek gave a fun Best Men speech at the reception.  If you haven't seen Kristen Wiig's Surprise party skit on SNL, though, you should watch that first.  This speech will make much more sense.

The wedding was absolutely gorgeous!  The ceremony was on the Tennessee river at sunset.  At the end of the reception, there was a firework show.  Then everyone lined the dock and lit sparklers.  They walked through our sparkler tunnel and boarded a yacht.  It was the kind of thing you see in movies.

 Sunday
On Sunday, we took our time getting ready and packing up.  Then we drove to Nashville.  

We drove downtown and parked near the restaurant where we were going to eat supper.  As we walked, it looked like any other city until we turned the corner onto Broadway.  Broadway looked like I pictured Nashville would look.  There was a honky tonk every other building, fluorescent lighting everywhere,  and many boot shops.  The live music was great in all of the bars we stopped in.  

We met Zach's aunt and uncle and his cousins on his dad's side for supper.  We hadn't seen them in four years.  These girls, Abigail and Sydney, are who Monroe's dolls are named after, so it was fun for her to finally meet them.  She and Archer are 8 months apart, so they had fun together.

Monday

We made it back to Grand Island by 5:00 on Monday.  It was such a fun trip.  I am so glad we had the opportunity to go.