Gary and Lisa's Wedding Weekend

Paul's dad and Lisa tied the knot back in April and we had such a wonderful weekend of celebration full of family and fun. On Friday all the girls (since there are now so many of us) went to get mani/pedis and then had lunch together. Paul kept Wilder next door at the office while we enjoyed some relaxation, but he did bring him over to say hi to everyone for a minute. Wilder was very curious about what we were doing. Audra told him there were fish in the foot bath and he looked and looked for them and finally decided they were just "foot fish" haha ;)

That night we grilled out at Gary and Lisa's new house and had such a good time talking, laughing, and just being together. It was a low-key, intimate evening and it really felt so natural for us all to be there together. 

 Wilder thinks Uncle Michael is so silly!

 Making Daddy G run laps through the house

and "follow the path" as he called it

 I think Daddy G got a good pre-wedding workout ;)

 Playing with Aunt Audra

 Such silliness

 Sorority girl pose

(the picture is blurry because Liz's friend who was

taking it was laughing so hard at how ridiculous we looked)

 Wilder spent Saturday morning with Grana

while Paul and I rested... They went to

the farmer's market and she pulled him around

in the wagon while they sampled breads and 

looked at plants :)

The wedding was a perfectly intimate ceremony in the chapel at Englewood. Only the children and parents of Gary and Lisa were there and we all sat in one semi-circled row of chairs. I thought that was such a nice symbol of uniting two families. When Lisa first came out she went straight to the row of family and hugged each person and handed a flower to each of the girls before walking to Gary. You could just see the pride and emotion on Gary's face as he watched her. So sweet! 

They had asked Wilder to be the ring-bearer so we had gone over and over his duty with him for weeks leading up to the ceremony. He took his job very seriously and when it was time he walked straight up to the front and doled the rings out to them one by one. It was so cute and funny :)

 So proud of himself and we were all

so proud too!

 Four generations of Taylor men

 The reception was a private dinner in the back

room of Flatiron Grill and like the ceremony

it was so lovely and intimate.

 Tired boy

Mr. and Mrs. Gary Taylor

 Such a warm and sincere speech

 Letting him entertain himself... with a knife.

Hey, you do what you've gotta do.

 It was right at this instance when I realized he had 

had enough and was about to go rogue on us.

Luckily the dinner was almost over.

 Lisa passed out copies of the key to their

new house to each of the children on a 

keychain that said "Family est. 4.20.13". 

I thought that was such a beautiful gesture

and so thoughtful. We are lucky to have

someone like Lisa in our lives and Wilder's life.

 Saying our goodbyes

The whole weekend was so special and such a perfect way to start their lives together. They both deserve so much happiness and we are looking forward to many years spending time with this new, combined family. 

Mom's Farm

We absolutely love going to my grandmother's farm. There are so many things for Wilder to see and do and I just think it's so good for him to be exposed to a real farm, with donkeys and peacocks and things growing all around. I got some great pictures last time we went...

Telling me all about "dis old plow" :)

I love how stuff is growing in the back of this old truck. So cool!

Helping Grana weed Mom's flower bed

 The kid loves to work!

"Visiting" with the ladies :)

Completely knocked out. He worked too hard!

I have such great memories of playing on Mom's farm as a child. I plan to take Wilder as often as we can for as long as we can so he can have his own sweet memories of that special place.