Are you guys ready for a bazillion more Texas photos? I mean – everything is bigger in the Lone Star State and apparently number of photos taken is bigger too….it literally took me an hour just to pick out forty of the pictures to share with you today. SO. MANY. PHOTOS!
A few of you were wondering why we were traveling to Texas. Like we needed a reason 🙂 Well, Jeremy’s little brother Torrey was getting married! We figured that it only made sense to make our trip bigger too and really get to explore. We visited so many of the best sites and stops in Fort Worth and Waco too. We absolutely loved our time there but ESPECIALLY getting to see Torrey and Shannan tie the knot! Also – we were super pumped to meet the new cousins (Torrey is now a bonus dad!) and they were definitely a highlight for my boys. Ok – so where we left off is that we were staying at the Stockyards and we ate amazing chips and salsa for breakfast. Read that recap here.
This is the interior of our favorite place to eat at the Stockyards – it was highly recommended by all of you for atmosphere and it did not disappoint! The weather was perfect for dining al fresco and I don’t mean to brag but I was personally serenaded by eight mariachi band members 🙂
The name of the place is Joe T’s and they serve mexican food. The food was decent – we didn’t get to order off their regular menu because we had a super large party so they limited us to three different items – so honestly I have no idea what their regular food is like!
Aren’t the pillars and the lights and the pools and the trees just crazy fantastic? Like something out of a movie!
We stayed at the Renaissance hotel downtown and our favorite part of the hotel was the pool. I’ll share some of those pictures later! The place was really pretty and super convenient to the wedding….in fact, we actually walked to it!
Upon arrival, we got the nicest little gifts from the new bride and groom. They had bottles of water, trail mix and cookies and even a first aid kit! It was adorable and so thoughtful!
Our view from our room was so fun. We actually overlooked a roof top that was one floor down but beyond that was the big courthouse. Of course that warranted a weekend full of Back To The Future quotes curtesy of this 80’s girl 🙂 #savetheclocktower
Don’t worry – Jeremy was right off shot to grab LJ who is obviously not as afraid of heights as we are!
When we first arrived, we immediately decided to take the kids to do something fun. It was only a couple blocks walk to Sundance Square which is one of the best places for little ones!
It’s also pretty awesome for boyfriends who do things to make everyone smile. And yes, there was a camera crew who was shooting the news so Jeremy was in the background showing off his ballet skills for everyone….and we mean…everyone 🙂
The kids loved it. Weston fell asleep in the stroller so….yeah….no pictures of him 🙁
LJ is by far our smallest of the boys….he is just so tiny all over and is often under the 5% mark for size at the doctors office….but what he doesn’t have in height and weight, he makes up for in adventurous spirit. He is our bravest boy and is often the one that shocks us with how HAPPY he is to try new and different things. Water is no different. He is obsessed.
Maxi Knight reminds me so much of Will at this age. Super cautious about new things. Please note that the pants LJ and Maxi are wearing are the same size! Maxi Knight is a chunk of baby awesomes!
I loved the longhorn mural – it was a sweet reminder of our first few days!
I caught myself constantly taking photos of the buildings. I think it’s because they were all so different and it looks like layers of different styles, textures and colors all in one.
Will loved the fountains and by the time we had to leave, he had made three new friends. He is such a social little butterfly. Always making friends 🙂
That night we had the rehearsal and dinner….Will was the sign holder for the ceremony and Jeremy was a groomsman so we all got ready to go and walked over. We let Will pick out his outfit for the rehearsal to make it more special for him. He chose things that were a little different than his brothers matching outfits 🙂
He told me that he was gonna be the ring bear….and he honestly thought that he might have to dress up like a bear for the wedding. I told him that we would let Uncle Torrey decide what he would wear for that night and that one day when he gets married, he can have his ring ‘bear’ actually be in a bear costume 🙂 kids are awesome.
Okay so I love this photo so much because Will took it. He is actually a really good little photographer! He has such a good eye! Plus, one day I am gonna think “dang I look good” even if right now I think “dang I need to lose that baby weight” 🙂
So the rehearsal dinner was on top of the Reata restaurant which is SPECTACULAR. You can see the glass dome in the top of this picture….the one that looks like it has triangles all over it.
Inside it has this gorgeous beehive effect where you can see all the lights outside at night but then it multiplies them and makes them all dance! It’s just amazing. Also – next time we do a wedding with four little kids, we will remember to bring snacks and hire a babysitter to put them down at a reasonable time!
The next day we went back to the square to grab some food and we had so much fun dancing around and being silly.
LJ officially discovered the nose holes. And now he runs up to me constantly yelling “Mommy BOOGER! MERE! BOOGER!” with his little finger extended and his latest find on the very tip of it. It’s hilarious and adorable and sometimes very inconvenient.
Will was mad that we had to leave. He’s just now entering that stage where he thinks he has a very valid point and makes suggestions….and if we say no, it feels devastating. He understands so much and its really hard for him to understand that sometimes we as parents have a bigger plan. I guess that’s how I feel about life sometimes….I have valid points and make plans but if something happens out of order or something unexpected happens, I don’t handle it well either. It’s hard to be easy going about the next thing, huh? But sometimes the things in store are even better than the things we have now….if only we would accept the change.
Again with the different buildings….seriously somebody make some wallpaper like that triangle border work!
Okay. So just prepare yourself. Gather up your Kleenex because this next photo might actually make us all spontaneous burst into tears…..
That my friends is a glimpse. A small blip where you see something but then you see BEYOND that something into the future. A glimpse is like a worm hole into a new dimension….one where you see your oldest boy getting ready for his wedding day and his daddy helping him with his tie. That day is way too soon friends. WAY TOO SOON. #crying
So here is where I am gonna get realistic and share with you that Jeremy and Will had to be at the church at a certain time. Little did we know that the photographer was also expecting ALL family to be there….including the little boys and me! So my get-ready time was cut from an hour and a half to fifteen frantic minutes. I must confess….I did not even shower. I did not shave my legs. I did not stop at Go or collect $200. It was probably the most crazy get-ready time ever.
Will with the Groom….
And us with Uncle Torrey. I photoshopped the hair off my legs so you wouldn’t be permanently blinded.
During the ceremony I literally was on pins and needles. And I use the word ‘literally’ quite literally here. I had all three little ones and I had to keep them quiet. OH THE STRESS. Keeping a three year old, a one year old and a eight month old quiet past their normal dinner time is like saying oh just solve that issue of world hunger. It’s easier said than done people. Every moment I was sweating. I was also nursing. And fixing headphones and trying to keep anyone from screaming. I didn’t even see Will do his big job because I was actively trying to mute monster truck videos.
The wedding was amazing though. She had lots and lots of flowers and tons of sparkle and pink. It was basically the very opposite of my wedding. Jeremy and I joked later that our wedding wasn’t fancy but it was full of hilarious moments and had EVERYONE there. And then we joked that next time we get married we are registering for better towels and doing a destination wedding and dang it I am doing flowers!
The reception was at the Fort Worth Club and it was perfect! The food was amazing….you could tell Shannan put thought into every little detail.
The entire event was beautiful and stunning and nothing went wrong! Isn’t that unbelievable!? And Will danced the entire time. He was like this little whirling, bouncing, stomping, jumping, spinning machine out there. It was hilarious and so out of the norm and later on he told us that he was “the star of the show”. He also thought he saw “Dark Vader” on the roof of another building and freaked out a little but we took some extra close up shots of it and he realized that it was only an air vent 🙂
Overall – the downtown part of our trip was super special and we highly recommend the salmon with bacon sauce at the Reata and visiting SunDance Square….just bring some towels with you 🙂
UPDATE : Shannan sent me some pictures that I can share with you! This is the stunning bride and my new sister-in-law! Isn’t her dress gorgeous?!
