Rachel and Gabe's Wedding Weekend

Rachel is, I guess, my second cousin and by far my closest cousin. I loved going to Kentucky every summer and seeing all my family there. We have so many awesome memories so I am so thankful that we were able to be a part of her wedding and have a weekend full of fun and family!

We arrived to Kentucky around 11:30 on Wednesday night. We stayed the weekend with Robert and Kelly. Where my family was also staying. We pretty much went to bed because we knew we had a big weekend ahead of us. So Thursday morning was suppose to start with a bridal shower for Rachel. We got there and helped get the food ready and when it was time to sit down and open presents, they (my family) informed me that this was a surprise baby shower for me. Boy was I surprised! I actually had NO CLUE, and honestly that's really hard to do!!! It was so sweet of them and of Rachel for letting us share her weekend. We got lots of cute things!!! Here is a couple of pics from the shower.

And a group shot of my family that was there.

Next, we spent the day looking for things for the Redneck party and just being together. David and Austin fished most of the down time that we had. Austin had a blast and David enjoyed being his fishing buddy! At 5 we all went back to Aunt Mary Alice's for a wonderful meal. Honestly I ate so much because I haven't had fresh veggies like that in a long time!!! So then, on to the Redneck Party. See the below post for more on this shower!

After the party we went back to the house to work on programs and then went to bed. Friday morning we got up and went to a few antique shops and just hung out most of the day. Austin played with Price and Jackson and they also went fishing again. Here is a couple of pics I took of Austin and Madi on our excursion, that I thought turned out pretty good!

Then that night we were off to the rehearsal dinner while David, Robert, and Thomas took a fishing trip. We had fun at the dinner and loved seeing everyone there. Madi meet her cousin Brock for the first time and they had a blast together. Actually every kid there bonded over that bag of chips Madi had. They had so much fun chasing eachother, it was fun to watch them! Here is the best shot I could get of them. :) And I won't disclose whose bottom that is in the background. Sorry! :)

So, we went home and relaxed a while. The boys were still out fishing and didn't get back till 3 in the morning. They said they had a blast and actually caught an alligator gar. Not really sure what it is, but it's ugly and has very sharp teeth!

Here's a picture of the boys admiring the fish!

So Saturday morning we went to Aunt Mary Alice's for the morning. Mom stayed there with everyone and the kids so that we could go to the bridesmaid's luncheon. It was a great restuarant and the food was so delicous. It was fun just being able to relax and talk to eachother. After that we headed to the church where a friend of Rachel's met us there to take some belly shots of me. It was hilarious and we all had a good time doing it. I really am excited to get the pictures! :)

So then we headed back to the house to see some of our other cousins we haven't seen in a while. Madi had a blast with them and really enjoyed getting to see them all. I sure wish I had taken some pictures because they were all so cute, but I didn't.

So then we all got dressed and headed to the wedding. It was decorated so pretty. The chapel was pretty small, and they had tons of people there. Thankfully we got a seat pretty close to the front. Everyone looked gorgeous! I sure hope they filmed it because Gabe was the cutest thing I've ever seen when Rachel came down the aisle. My emotions were so overwhelmed. I was crying, laughing, couldn't control anything. He was so excited!! The wedding went great and really didn't have any glitches.

So then on to the reception. As soon as we left the church the sky turned black, there was about to be a HUGE storm. But we arrived right before it got bad. It was a fun reception and the food was great. Was a little crowded so we just made ourselves at home in the hallway so the kids could run. It turned out great!! Here is a picture of us with the bride and groom and Nick's precious little girl Abby.

And here is a picture of me and the beautiful bride. She she was gorgeous!! And then here are David and I with a few of our cousins. I just can't get over how tall the twins are!! It's crazy!

And here is one of David and I and also of the mother of the bride with her brother, Robert. She looked so pretty too!!

I really wish we had gotten a group picture of everyone who was there, but we did the best we could.

That pretty much summed up our wonderful weekend. We had a great time and it just makes us love and miss our family even more!! We got back home Sunday afternoon and got settled in before another week! :)