The Saturday after Christmas, Anthony and I got to go back to Tampa for a friend's wedding. He and Anthony were good friends and aquarium buddies before he went on his mission, and we were close with his parents and siblings and their families (which made up a huge part of the ward there!). We wanted to go, but we didn't want to make the drive with the kids, so it worked out that my mom was in town because she agreed to watch them! It was a 2 1/2 hour drive one way, so we left around 2pm and got back around 10pm. If you know how much we hate driving long distances, you know what a big deal it was for us to do that!
The reception was beautiful! They got sealed in Utah last week and had a reception there, so this was their Florida reception. They had it outdoors at a small ranch with barbeque and picnic tables. It was beautiful, simple, and rustic. It was so much fun to catch up with old friends from our ward in Tampa! They were all disappointed that we didn't bring the kids (James was 6 weeks old the last time we saw any of them!), but there is no way we would have had the ability to talk and visit like we did if they were there.
Aren't they the cutest couple ever?
They had a fun photo booth set up with props and instant printouts of your pictures. One copy went to a scrapbook for the bride and groom and the other copy you got to take home.
At the end of the night we all walked out to a large field and lit paper lanterns to release. They were hard to get started, but they were beautiful once they were in the sky. There was a little hiccup when one dive bombed out of the sky and fell, still light, onto a nearby field. We were all worried that it would start a brush fire, but the ground was wet enough that it didn't spread. Whew!
Rett was running a fever and feeling sickly, so I was a little anxious about him, but overall it wasn't too bad leaving them for so long. Anthony and I had a good time in the car ride, talking without interruptions and remembering what good friends we had in Tampa. So many people asked us how we were doing, and it was nice to realize just how happy we are where we live and in our life that we wouldn't change anything!
2 comments:
Yay, I'm so happy for you getting away for so long!!! Isn't it the best?! Talking without constantly being interrupted- who knew that was something to appreciate so much back in the day?! Did you guys do something for your anniversary too? The photobooth at the reception was really cute! So glad you had fun! Oh, and as soon as you mentioned driving there and back in one day, I immediately thought "WOW!" b/c I know you guys hate that, so it was funny that you wrote that right afterwards, haha! (I don't like long drives either, so I can relate)! And I'm so glad y'all are so happy! We really miss you guys!!
Virginia! Hi!! How great to get an update--and learn that Nicolas was married! How great to get to see Tampa people! We are here--I'll see how things go in the next few days (family is still in town)--and see if swinging by your house would work next week. We are going down south on Wednesday and we leave the 10th but I'll hopefully get some time next Monday or Tuesday. (sorry so long!)
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