Maya's First Trip to Iowa!

We took Maya to Iowa last week for the first time. We stayed at my mom's house in our own room with a crib! It was so nice! Thanks, Mom! Maya felt right at home! It was a busy week, but we had 9 days to get everything done. We had a shower for my cousin and his new baby, a bridal shower for Will's sisters, wedding rehearsal, their wedding and reception, and my aunt had a baby while we were there! I'll cover all the topics and include pictures as I go along!

My cousin Brian and his wife and baby, Sarah and Aidan, were back from AZ, and we had a baby shower for them the day after we arrived. Aidan is 6 weeks older than Maya, and as you can see from the picture, he's much bigger than her! They didn't quite know what to think of each other, so they just spent a lot of time staring. Once, when Maya got close enough to Aidan, he lunged forward and tried to steal her bib right off her skinny little neck! When he couldn't get it loose, he settled for chewing on it while it was still attached to her. It was really funny!

Maya got to meet several members of her new family, including her Grandma Peg! When Peg first laid eyes on her, Maya didn't waste any time charming her with her big gummy smile! She also met her Great Grandma Eula, Great-Great Aunt Sharon, and several other aunts, uncles, and cousins. She loves meeting new people, and boy, did she get her fill of it over the course of the week! Everyone was so happy to finally see her!

Sara and Tara had their bridal shower on the Sunday before their weddings. They got a ton of great stuff, and it seemed that everyone had a nice time. We played a few games and had some awesome cake! The girls got a lot of stuff they registered for and some things they didn't register for, and they will definitely be able to use everything! Maya was passed around quite a bit. Lots of ladies wanted to hold her, which worked out nice for me because that allowed me to help Sara and Tara with the gift opening. Thanks, everyone!

Will took Sara and Jeff, Tara and Jason out to take some pictures for the Gazette. They had a few to choose from for the paper. They turned out really well.

On Monday, Mom, Dee, Maya, and I went to Iowa City to do a little shopping. We were at Sycamore Mall, when we spotted a fish tank. Maya seemed to be enthralled with the eye to eye encounter with the fish. She stared very intently for several minutes. We may have to get her a tank of her own! We also visited Coley's new apartment. It's definitely a coed college kid's place. It was pretty small and messy. I have to give Coley credit, though, his room was spotless! It was the cleanest room in the house by a long shot. It's also the smallest room in the house, but it works for him! It was fun to visit, but it made me thankful that those college days are over!

Thursday night, we had the wedding rehearsal. It went very well. At first there was some confusion about who goes where and when. Nobody had ever been involved in a double wedding before, so it was a lot of brainstorming and trial and error. In the end, we got everything worked out, practiced a couple of times, then went to have dinner together. Dinner was Amish food, the same catering that we had at our own wedding rehearsal. It was delicious! There was one scary incident during the dinner that I was blame... Maya was sleeping in her car seat on the end of a table, right next to Will and I. When she woke up, I picked her up out of the seat. The second her butt was out of the seat, the whole thing flipped over backwards, off the table, and onto the floor. Everyone freaked out because they all thought that Maya was in the car seat. It took everyone a second to realize that I was holding Maya, and that her getting out of the car seat was what actually caused it to tip over! I felt really bad for causing everyone to panic, but we all had a good laugh once everyone knew Maya was safe!

Congratulations to Uncle Ronald and Daniela, and welcome to the world, Stella! She has a deep dimple in her cheek, just like her Daddy's, and it's SO CUTE! She's such a doll! Maya got a chance to "hold" her new baby cousin... aww, how cute. Don't they look like they'll make good partners-in-crime someday? Looks like trouble to me!!

We spent the better part of an afternoon decorating for the reception at the Circle of Pride Rodeo Grounds. It looked really nice. Good job, everyone!

Friday night, us girls got together at Jodie's house to paint our fingernails and make wedding signs. It was lots of fun! The signs turned out great! I volunteered Will for the job of posting them up around town (you're welcome, babe), and he did a fabulous job!

Saturday morning, the girls in the wedding party all met at Special Effects salon. We got our hair and makeup done there, then went on to the church to get dressed. Maya did pretty well for a while at the salon, but she started to get pretty fussy as the time got closer for us to go to the church. I had planned for her to go to the wedding and sit with family, but once she started getting fussy, I knew what she mainly needed was a nap. There was no way that there was going to be a place or chance for her to sleep at the church. I had to resort to Plan B. Mom took her home with her and took care of her until the wedding was over, then she brought her back for some pictures. I was sorry that she missed the wedding, but it really was in the best interest of everyone for her to go home with mom.

It was a little chaotic in the dressing room. Sara, Tara, the flower girl, and the bridesmaids were all getting ready at once with ONE MIRROR! It's hard enough to get ONE bride ready for her big day, let alone TWO brides! The girls were very calm and shared the mirror quite nicely and without incident. As I recall, it was the bridesmaids who were having dress issues. All of our straps kept braking! I was REALLY stressed out about the whole dress situation, mainly because I hate to wear strapless bras. Add breastfeeding into that equation, and I was on the brink of a major meltdown. I just knew the strapless bra that we rigged up into my dress was going to come apart OR I would start leaking during the middle of the ceremony. Either scenario would have been disastrous. Thank God for Verlinda! Armed with nothing more than a travel sewing kit, she restitched all of our dresses, repairing every seam, strap, and bra that threatened to fail. THANK YOU, VERLINDA! Without her, we probably all would have been standing at the alter with our dresses around our ankles! On a positive note, THE BRIDES LOOKED STUNNING!

Will came in to visit his sisters before the ceremony. He had been given the honorable task of walking them down the aisle, and he was so very thrilled. He had been bragging for months that his sisters had asked him to walk them down the aisle. The request came as quite a shock to him. We both thought that their mom would walk them down, not Will. I swear that after they asked him, whenever the wedding subject came up, he smiled ear to ear and made sure to let everyone know that he would be walking his sisters down the aisle in their double wedding ceremony. He was SO PROUD!!

The wedding was beautiful. I cried my eyes out when Will walked the girls down the aisle. I think everyone did. Everything went very smooth. Everyone got through their vows, got the correct rings on, signed their marriage certificates, lit their unity candles, and last, but not least, kissed their brides! It was very cool to hear the couples announced for the first time: Mr. and Mrs. Jeff Wellington and Mr. and Mrs. Jason Hoyle! CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!

The reception was tons of fun. The food was great, the music was loud, and we danced all night! What more could you ask for?? The one surprise came when I had to give a speech! I had asked the girls if I would have to, and they told me that they were going to be the only ones talking. So, imagine my surprise when the DJ informs me that I have to say something! Since I hadn't prepared, I just winged the whole thing, on the spot, straight from my heart. I got some laughs and tears, so I guess I did okay! They had a special brother-sister dance for Will, which was very cool. They also did the traditional dollar-dance, which I had to bum money off of my dad for. He was thrilled, to say the least! Maya got passed around to almost everyone there, I think, and yet, she slept through the entire thing! Poor baby was exhausted! After all the major reception events, I was finally able to get out of my dress and back into a REAL bra! I felt human again! I couldn't have been happier to put on normal clothes!

One of the highlights of the reception was the "Find Your Bride" game. He blindfolded both grooms, set several different people, including both brides on chairs, and asked Jason and Jeff to identify their brides. The catch was that they could only touch each person between their ankle and their knee. Each groom took a turn "feeling up" the legs of the contestants. Now, imagine having to find your brand new bride, just by feeling her calf. Now, imagine that bride has a twin, who is also seated somewhere in front of you! Good luck, boys!! Turns out that neither one of them could identify their bride OR the twin. They BOTH picked Verlinda!! They were mortified. The rest of us thought it was hysterical! Thanks for the good belly-laugh, guys!

By the time they left the reception, poor Tara had been suffering with a migraine headache for hours. Of all days, why, oh why, did she have to get a migraine on her wedding day?? We all felt so bad for her. She was a trooper, though. With all the flash photography all day and the loud music at the reception, she sure hung in there like a champ. We hoped that a good night's sleep would help her feel better for her first official day as a married woman!

On Sunday, we all met up at Peg's house for lunch and gift opening. Tara was feeling much better, and both couples had enjoyed their night's stay in hotel suites. They were rested and ready to tackle mounds of presents! Both couples got a ton of really nice gifts, and the funny thing about twins getting married... they both received several of the same gifts! Yes, even on their wedding day, people try to keep it even and fair! They weren't complaining, though. They got some awesome stuff!

Welcome to your homes and your life as a married couple!! We wish you all the best in love, health, and happiness for the rest of your lives. Be nice to each other, and try hard to tolerate each other's quirks that you are about to discover! Good luck! Thanks for letting us be part of your special day. We love you all!

Wow. The time here just seemed to fly by! We stayed busy every day, and we had a great time doing it! We were so glad to show Maya off to family and friends, who hadn't met her yet. We did have some down time (though not much) just to hang out with family, and we are thankful for that. Maya is such a good little traveler. It makes trips like this very pleasant! We were so happy to see so much family, and we can't wait to come back next time! Just remember, you're always welcome to come visit us in Michigan!!