As soon as things settled down from the holidays and we began the normalcy of the school routine, we jumped on a plane 3 days later and headed off to Atlanta for a whirlwind of an amazing long weekend to celebrate Katelyn and Trey. We arrived at Nonna and Pop Pop's late Thursday night and the kids were troopers on the flight. They are at such great ages now that it is almost easy! The hardest part is the arrival into Atlanta and getting luggage and the rental car and of course the car rental company's computer was down which made it a bit more challenging but we made it through and were at Nonna and Pop Pop's soon enough. Thankfully with the time change it didn't seem too late and everyone slept well.
The pilot saw us as we were waiting to board and was so friendly and invited the kids into the cockpit to check it out, which was so neat for them.
On our way!
Made it to Atlanta...heading up our favorite escalator!
They were up early on Friday since Anne Marie and the kids were there so everyone was excited to see cousins and to get the weekend started! Gina, Brian and the boys made it in by early morning and the kids were in heaven. Gina, Anne Marie, Terri and I snuck away for a few hours for a bridal luncheon for Katelyn at a cute restaurant close to the venue. It was fun to catch up with all of them and Mattie as well as the New York aunts, too. Anne Marie, Gina and I headed back to the house to get everyone ready for the rehearsal dinner.
Always straight to the backyard when we arrive! So much fun in their woods.
Always a game of capture the flag!
The rehearsal dinner was at a fun restaurant/bar downtown and was a great setup for a lot of kids and for mingling. The kids ran around, played and ate and we were able to catch up with lots of family so it was fun. Our kids were troopers and hung until past 9 after a full day.Unfortunately this is the only picture that I got from the rehearsal dinner, which I'm kicking myself for now...
They are the best together! So much fun!
Saturday was wedding day!!! Rich and I both went for runs that morning and we hung at Terri and Moon's until early afternoon. We then made our way to the hotel with Gina, Anne Marie and all the kids. Once we checked into the hotel I met up with Amber and the kids and they all swam in the pool for a bit before we started getting ready.
The wedding was perfect! It was in a beautiful venue-this old warehouse that was totally transformed and was just perfect. It actually started to pour as soon as the ceremony began which other than the lights flickering a few times really gave it a cozy, intimate feeling. The kids did great walking down the aisle and were just amazing the entire night. They LOVED every single second of it. They played, danced, ate, drank (shirley temples of course!) and just had the best night ever. The all told us the next day that it was their best day ever and Joseph was so excited to make it up past midnight which had been a lifetime goal of his!
On our way to the venue!
Brent played his guitar while Katelyn walked down the aisle which was super special.
It was so special that Katelyn and Trey had all of the cousins in the wedding! Something that our kids will remember forever!!!
The whole gang waiting to walk down the aisle!!
The Faiella/Ducote gang!
Rich and Jeff gave a speech and had everyone laughing and also in tears. They incorporated each brother into the speech which was really touching.
And then we danced the night away!!
Julia bounced around on the dance floor but always ended up back with Uncle Greg...well, except for the end when that random person danced with her nonstop and wouldn't let anyone else dance with her. Ha. It was so weird and is funny now!
This was Charlotte all night long. Constantly moving and dancing. And whenever she danced with Rich or I the only thing she wanted to do was for us to hold her hands and lift her up and down so she was jumping-it was killing my arms but I couldn't stop because every time I lifted her up she got this enormous wide mouthed smile on her face that was just filled with joy. I couldn't say no to it! She was definitely living her best life!
Joseph ran around with the boys-they would go from one end of the venue to the next, stopping for shirley temples along the way. They'd come out to the dance floor every once in awhile and show some cool moves and then go back to running around. So much fun!
We caught Michael at one point saying, "Excuse me bartender, 7 shirley temples, please!" Ha ha!
On Sunday morning we were able to go to brunch with all of the immediate family that was still around which was a great way to finish out the weekend. We were able to find a restaurant within walking distance which made it easy, too.
How many cousins can you fit in a revolving door?!?
We then said goodbye to Anne Marie and her crew and headed back to Nonna and Pop Pop's with Gina, Brian and the boys. John and Joseph built a raft together that they wanted to sail down the creek...we told them we'd save it for the summer to sail. Thankfully they stayed for the rest of the day with us which was great and once they left we all crashed early! We had an early flight the following morning and were definitely tired from the night before.
It was a fast trip but so incredible. We always love our time with the Ducote family and just had the best time as usual. We love seeing the cousin relationships remain strong even though we only get to see them once or twice a year and are so thankful for the time we do have with them. Congratulations Katelyn and Trey! We love you both!
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