Wedding weekend fun!

Though we returned home to Boston earlier this week, we did not return to "normal" quite yet.  This weekend, we enjoyed a family wedding in Newport, RI.  My cousin Richard married Victoria, who actually grew up in the town next to ours in Massachusetts.  Who would have thought, moving here so far from family, I'd end up with family just down the street! 

Where to begin?  The search for a dress.  I'm about 17 weeks pregnant, and in that horrible "is she pregnant or fat" phase and the wedding was black tie, so I didn't want to buy and waste a maternity dress for just one night.  I put out the request on FB for a dress with an empire waist to hide my baby bump and so many of my generous friends offered their dresses for me to borrow!  I loved all of them, and eventually found one that didn't make me look like a "stuffed tuna can" (thanks Doug, for that lovely comparison, I'm not even sure what a stuffed tuna can looks like!).  A special thank you to the ladies who shipped  or dropped off dresses to try. 

The search for a sitter.  After arranging for the boys to have a sleepover at their friends' houses, some logistics with deployed husbands changed our plans at the last minute.  Again I turned to FB and had such generous offers from our friends here in MA.  Sometimes I feel like we're alone here in MA, but in reality, the friends we've made here are just like family, and I cried a little at how many people jumped in to offer help (being pregnant and hormonal, that's pretty easy!) .  In the end, it worked best for Miss M to come stay with the boys here at our house.  Miss M is not a sitter, she's one of the best girlfriends I could ask for.  With her wit and sarcastic humor, she's always a riot to come over for a dinner or a night of Grey's Anatomy.  And it doesn't hurt that my boys love her too, so it was super easy to leave them, knowing she's got it under control.  For a friend who doesn't have her own kids yet, she's the best Mommy I know!

The wedding itself was beautiful.  Victoria was a beautiful bride, her family and friends were friendly and fun, and the location was gorgeous.  I loved the unique cocktails offered while the bridal party took pictures.  Sadly, I was just able to sip a glass of champagne and imagine the Sundowner and the Dark & Stormy.  (Not the best timing, being pregnant this summer, missing all the great cocktails at our friends' weddings!)  The raw bar was fabulous, and I probably had 20 oysters.  Before you flip out on me (if you didn't when I mentioned sipping champagne) the dangers of raw oysters are from food borne bacteria and alge infections like red-tide.  Yes, I gambled, and since I'm not sick today... I won.  Someone take me to Vegas, I'm on a roll.

At one point, I spilled something on the dress, and waited in line at the bar to get a glass of seltzer water to clean it.  Of course, that was about 2 minutes before we headed over to take some group pictures, and now I'll be forever captured with a big splotch on my dress.  (Yes, KM I will be drycleaning it before bringing it back!)
So here it is, the very first picture I'm willing to post of BabyBump #3.

Have I mentioned recently how hot my husband is?  Check out that man, he's yummy!



The weekend concluded with a lunch at Fillippo's in the North End before Mom, Dad, Grandma and Aunt Kristine headed back to Ohio, Doug flew back to Miami and Ryan headed to Baltimore.  Greg and Danielle are staying one more night before heading home to Ohio too.  Thank you all for coming to visit and we'll see you again soon, I hope!