The Littlest Bridesmaid

Hey all! Once again, I let nearly two weeks lapse since the last post - dang! Between the big GIRL news, a 5-day trip to Louisville, KY (did I mention we drove?!), a second ultrasound appointment, and long days catching up at work, the last couple weeks have flown by. 

We had a great trip to Louisville, despite the lengthy drive. On the way there, we had a two-hour pit stop at Wal-Mart in Bloomington, IL, to get our two rear tires replaced. During one of our fuel stops, Michael noticed that one rear tire had a bulge in it. Well, after Googling "bulge in tire" and finding results including, "do not drive your vehicle until the tire is replaced" and "this is a blowout risk - no interstate driving," we landed in the closest tire shop (Wally World) and conveniently browsed baby name books while waiting (okay, Michael browsed electronics, I was solo in the book section :) Better safe than sorry and it was nice to have the peace of mind of two new shoes on the car!

In Louisville, I had such a wonderful time with my two best friends from high school - Tiffany and Heidi. Since we all live far away from each other, we always cherish the times we all get to be together. Tiffany and Thomas tied the knot on Saturday, October 3, in a beautiful outdoor, rooftop ceremony at dusk. The ceremony and reception was the exclamation point at the end of the awesome wedding weekend which was full of fun for everyone! My mom and dad were at the wedding too, so it was nice to see and spend time with them. Michael and Andy (Heidi's husband), are good buddies and they had fun hanging out (actually, more like visiting 3 different bourbon distilleries for tours and plenty o' sampling!) while all of us girls did girly wedding things. And the newest girl in the group fit in beautifully as the littlest bridesmaid, even though my dress disguised her pretty well. The dress situation was a bit sticky for awhile since I ordered mine in March (well before the baby was on board), but after a three-way dress swap with two other bridesmaids, we all ended up with dresses that fit us perfectly, thank goodness! Tiffany also selected 3 different styles of dresses (same color - a beautiful deep purple or "fig" as it was called), so it was wonderful to be able to wear one that was comfortable on the ever growing tummy!

Even though I couldn't indulge in celebratory cocktails, Michael kept my "mocktail" glass full of Shirley Temples (Sprite with grenadine and cherry garnish). Additionally, Tiffany and Thomas had a "candy bar" in lieu of a traditional wedding cake, so people could help themselves to all kinds of treats (gummi bears, lolipops, licorice, chocolate kisses, etc.) and all the candy was either purple or green since those were the wedding colors - so cute!! Between the candy and the Shirleys, I had enough sugar to keep me fueled and on the dance floor all night and I'm pretty sure the baby was doing some gymnastics of her own as well :) Congratulations to Tiffany and Thomas Barnes!! Here are some photos of the weekend fun:

Missy, Tiff, and Heidi at the bridal luncheon

With my parents at the groom's dinner

With Heidi and Andy

Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Barnes, Jr.

MUUAHH!