south bend bound

on friday, dan and i set out for a kid-free weekend in south bend, indiana. one of our good friends, tim, was getting married and we couldn't wait to see everyone and help them celebrate.

we were originally going to fly into chicago, dan was going to work from their chicago office on friday, rent a car to drive to south bend. we did, in fact fly up but had a slight change of plans. my dad bought a new car from a dealership in chicago so we got the car at the airport and drove that to south bend. did i mention it's a convertible? i have to admit i looked pretty darn good in this car :)


after a relaxing afternoon of shopping and spa-ing while dan worked, we hit the road en route to south bend. since dan was an usher we had the honor of attending the rehearsal dinner. it was a lovely night and we heard some pretty funny stories about tim. (a little back story on our buddy timmy. him and dan met freshman year at indiana university. they lived in the same dorm and both played for the iu hockey team. by their senior years they were co-captains of the team and have been close friends every since. all of dan's iu buddies have become extremely close friends of mine as well. we love tim and were so excited to be included in the wedding festivities.)


the men of the wedding party


the ushers (dan & grant) after the ceremony. these two look like they are part of the secret service.




dave and i catching up during the cocktail hour. it had been way too long...i miss my buddy.


first dance


we had a great table. brian & jamie,


chris & mary,


bryan & sally. sally is about 7 months pregnant with their 1st, a boy. she looks fabulous doesn't she?






the iu crew with the bride


and the dancing begins. to be expected, the dance floor was packed the entire night. dan & mary kicked things off with a slow dance (i'm pretty sure it was during a fast song too) mary was nice enough to come down to dan's height...




i made a new a friend this weekend. her name is jamie and she is fabulous! she married our friend brian this past march. we were unable to attend the wedding due to my back issues but (as i'm sure i told brian several times that night) i approve!


my attempt at getting an iu hockey picture. i should've known better than to wait until the end of the night...


best buds


let's face it, when you dance as much as this guys does it gets hot! i was impressed that he kept his vest on...chris i expect nothing less :)


a quick pic with the bride at the very end of the night. it was a fabulous weekend but i was so happy to get home to my girls on sunday.


meanwhile, back at home the girls spent the weekend over at ne ne & dow's. while there they helped ne ne clean out the basement. they came across some of my old outfits and they just so happened to fit them perfectly. i can't imagine that i could have looked nearly as cute as these two do in these outfits.




lounging...still half asleep from her nap


sporting her "post-nap" hair in her adorable dress. she was pretty amazed at the fact that i used to wear that dress too.






words can't describe how much i miss these two when we are away...but i know these little trips make me a better mommy. i come back relaxed and with renewed patience to be the best mommy i can be.