D.C., Heather's Wedding, and Fourth of July!

We had a great time in D.C. last weekend, celebrating Heather's nuptials and the Fourth of July with my family.

It all started with a 4.5 hour delay for my flight from Vegas to BWI, resulting in a 9:10 pm departure and 4:30 am arrival. I try to be a strong, independent momma, but I was not mentally prepared for entertaining John in the airport for 5 hours and then flying a red-eye (on a full plane) with him. Matt was scheduled to fly in the next night, but, genius that he is, he rearranged his schedule so he could switch flights and join me on the red-eye. It was SO nice having Matt on that flight. John tried to sleep on me, but was frustrated by the fact that I am not a bed, so it was nice to have Matt attend to everything while I tried to lie as flat and still as possible. So we survived the flight changes quite well, and it was glorious to have Matt with us.

Friday and Saturday were filled with wedding festivities. I was honored to be a bridesmaid, so I was able to join in on a darling bridesmaid luncheon, fuss over Heather and help her move in to the hotel, participate in the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner, and indulge in professional hair and makeup styling. Heather had a lively group of 10 bridesmaids, comprised of family and high school and college friends, so we had a fun time together.

The wedding took place at Trump National Golf Course. It was a black tie affair, and it was fun to see Matt looking so sharp in his tux. I loved my bridesmaid dress, which I added thick straps to and LOVED the outcome.

John wasn't as thrilled about my ensemble. I think my blue eyeshadow scared him. And, although he had a full audience of Matt and my family, I think the time change and time apart from Mom were hard for him. It was nice to see him for a minute as he so kindly dropped Matt off for the wedding.

The views were gorgeous. The golf course overlooks the Potomac River.

I loved getting to spend so much time with my other best friend from college, Katie.

There was quite a showing from our Pi Phi friends! Such a supportive group of great girls.

(And here is a shot of the bride and groom! I didn't bring my camera so I didn't get any pictures of Heather and Billy. They both looked fantastic!)

The rest of the weekend we enjoyed family. There was a torrential rainstorm on Sunday, which my mom and John had fun with. John loved the rain (we don't see rain like this in Vegas) and loved playing outside with his fun grandma!

On the Fourth, we attended the potluck breakfast put on by my parent's ward (the ward I grew up in, always fun to visit familiar faces!).

John enjoyed watching the other kids play various sports, and he eagerly attempted baseball and frisbee.

Our patriotic little guy.

Then, at noon, my parents/grandparents' neighborhood had a small parade. My grandparents were designated as the Grand Marshals in their sporty Mercedes. I was later dubbed "Miss Liberty" and was privileged to wear Grandpa's 4th of July baseball cap!
John loved all the attention, as always, and frequently displayed his latest verbal and motor tricks. He loves the strained muscle flex, especially if there is fruit to squeeze in his fists!
John is also discovering the joy of shooting a basketball, requesting piggy back rides, vibrating his lips, sticking out his tongue, initiating peek-a-boo, standing up on his own, opening pens, drinking out of cups, giving high-5s, cracking himself up, grabbing my finger and directing me to open doors, and regularly sharing his views on the world. He makes me laugh all the time; one is such a fun age!

Now we are wrapping up Matt's oral surgery application and plugging ahead through my neglected To-Do list. Less than two weeks until our exciting Alleman reunion at Lake Powell!