lake michigan & a wedding // summer vacation

After nearly two weeks of spending time with family and friends up north, I am finally back!  It feels nice to be home, which is a good sign that I was truly able to get rejuvenated while away.  I am not going to even TRY to document all of the fun things we did.  But, here is a glimpse...

Caught up with my best friends from high school at a favorite spot...Rose's.

 This sums up Quinn on vacation.  There was a lot of stimulation!

It was so nice to have my mom around to help with Quinn, especially for the first part of the vacation when Matt wasn't there.

We brought Quinn to the beach for about an hour on most of our days at the lake.  It was very convenient that the cottage was so close to the beach.  Even when Q was napping, there was usually  someone at the cottage willing to keep an eye on her so we could still enjoy the lake and sunshine.

 Grandma Polly stopped by for a day on her way to Chicago!

Papa had neck surgery right before we arrived, so we enjoyed the extra time with him while he was at home recovering .

 

Quinn spent a lot of time with her cousins too.  They are the best! 

Pool time.

We celebrated Gigi's **th birthday.  (Like how I did that, Mom? :)  We went for a low key party this year.  "No major surprises" was the theme as a result of last year's shenanigans.

Matt and I took a mini road trip to Chicago for a wedding.  It was the first time I have ever been away from Quinn overnight.  Gigi did a wonderful job looking after her while we were away.

 

I hadn't been back to the Chicago area since we moved, so we had fun walking around and eating at our favorite places.  While we missed our sweet Quinn, I have to admit it was very liberating to be able to run around from place to place, baby-less.   

THIS was the dessert ROOM at Mark and Ellie's wedding.  Mind blowing!  

Their wedding was beautiful.  The best part...totally Christ centered.  It was so sweet to see these two get married.  We also enjoyed seeing some good college and Young Life friends, as well as some of Matt's family.

 

 

Goodbye, Lake Michigan.  I will see you again soon, I hope!  Speaking of Lake Michigan, did you hear about the three college students who paddle boarded across Lake Michigan?  They started in Milwaukee and ended on Maranatha beach! 

 

Yes, that was the short version of our vacation.

 

I am writing a post on "flying solo part II."  It was a little different this time around now that Quinn is almost six months old.  Let me know if you have an specific questions that I could address!







ben & kelsey

We spent Memorial Day weekend celebrating Ben and Kelsey (Matt's younger sister).  We are so happy for these two, especially since Ben has been a long time family friend of the McCauleys.  I can't wait for all of the fun memories yet to come!  How cute is this picture?!  All the credit goes to Aunt Katherine (thanks, by the way! ;). 

 

 Being in town for the wedding gave us a nice chance to introduce Quinn to a lot of family, including Great Grandma Harker. 

Quinn was quite the entertainment for everyone.  She started making a girgling noise the first night we were there.  Everybody giggled and smiled, thinking it was so cute.  Now, she won't stop making the noise!  

It was so fun to be a part of the bridal party.  I loved getting the chance to hang out with Kelsey and her sweet friends.

Somehow, I managed to get ready while taking care of Quinn/giving the babysitter a bigillion (I know, it's not a real word) directions on how to take care of her.  It was hard to hand her off to other people throughout the weekend, but definitely worth it.  I must also add that Quinn was a champ with meeting all the new faces and being toted around everywhere...thank goodness!

Kelsey and her brothers (Topher, we'll just pretend your eyes are open in this pic since I don't have another one ;)

Kelsey looked stunning.  Ben is one lucky guy!

The views were beautiful.  I miss wide open spaces!

It was a different experience being in a wedding with the responsability of having to take care of a little one.  I have to admit, Matt and I kind of felt old.  I was chugging down coffee halfway through the reception trying to get myself into dance mode (which is normally not a problem!).  I guess that's how it goes!!

One last playtime with Grandma Polly before heading off to the airport.

I couldn't help but include this picture (Kelsey on the far left, Ben fourth one in from the right).  Three and half years ago, a little spark was ignited :)



Love you, Ben and Kels!!!  Congrats, again!

My Best Friend's Wedding

Hey ya'll! Last weekend we went to a wedding in Little Rock for one of my best buds from Wheaton College. Lindsey was my very first friend at Wheaton. We met at orientation through her cousin and my sister. We hit it off right away and were roomies for two years. Love this girl, and so excited for her and the man of her dreams, Peyton!

Amanda and I arrived a little early and were able to get some time with the bride!

welcome bags--so cute

dinner and bridal shower

We spent a lot of time with Lindsey's wonderful friends from Little Rock.

bridal luncheon...it felt like a tea party!

I just had to take a picture of this garden...it was too perfect!

rehearsal

after the ceremony

college gals

lovely bride and groom (The Greenwalds)

Let me break down this delicious dessert for you: 1.) gelato 2.) vanilla cake with lemon custard filling and almond frosting 3.) pistachio macaroon

Well done.

I really enjoyed dancing. It had been too long.

yay!!!

Still dancing. We weren't really ready to leave.

Matt felt that we needed something "Arkansas." So, we bought these delightful souvenirs on our way home.

Congrats, Lindsey and Peyton! So happy for you two! <3

Wedding Fun

June has been a busy month so far! This past week was spent compensating for being gone over memorial day weekend and catching up on chores/finishing up school/going on the 8th grade field to trip to 6 Flags/beginning my cake decorating class. Phew! THEN, I left right after school on Friday to drive south with some Wheatonites for Slade and Corrie's wedding. It was a fun weekend spent catching up with friends and celebrating with Slade and Corrie. It was also unusually hot! 97 degrees!! Slade and Corrie looked great and we are so happy for them!

After the ceremony, we had a couple hours before the reception. So, what did we do? Go to Chipotle, of course!

(If you look deep into my eyes in this picture, you can see my agitation/anger with the heat. I do not do well with heat...truly a northern girl!)

the married couple

mm...mmm...mmmmm!