“To my bride, I give you my heart
Sharing love each day, from the very start” -Victor Hugo
This past weekend I attended the 6th wedding of the year. Our good friends, Garrett and Kristina, got married. Finally. It was a sweet wedding, filled with little things that made it unique and unlike any other (as all weddings should be). Among those things was a tearful groom, a blushing bride, the father-of-the-bride announcing the couple as Mr. and Mrs. Clarke (….wrong last name…), speeches about the couples’ first meeting which left our friends snickering to one another about the couples’ REAL first meeting (something about a drunken dance-off), a beautiful venue on the river, and crisp fall weather that had some guests sitting by a fire pit (instead of the dance floor).
The Clarkes….I mean, Cooks!
Beautiful view.
It was a fun night, but I did miss having Steve there. What’s a wedding without Steve’s booty dance?!?!? I just had a realization – I’ve been to quite a few weddings when Steve has been OCONUS and they’ve all been his friends getting married (they were his friends first, before they became mine). I am often introduced as “Steve Dahl’s wife”. I digress… Lovely wedding, lovely friends, missed my man.
Some of the crew.
The rest of the weekend was spent recovering from Friday night (pre-wedding celebration) and Saturday night. Fortunately I regained my energy in time for an impromptu trip to the National Zoo!
Bundled up, waiting for the rest of the group at the metro.
Graham was such a trooper all day! It was significantly colder than I thought it was going to be, and as it turns out, I don’t think Graham’s closet is prepared for cooler temps. I threw on a couple of layers, fleece pants and fleece lined crocs (sweaty toes!) and the kid was ready to go! He did great on the metro, though I personally was slightly annoyed at having to wait to use the elevator. Since G was strategically tucked under his blanket in the stroller, he didn’t get to see all of the animals. But what he did see, he liked…..or he just liked banging on the glass. Probably the latter.
Sleeping through the ape house…the one exhibit he probably would have loved!
Checking out the sea lions with Nora.
Loving some tortoises!
That’s right…we were rolling 9 kids deep!
All in all, fun (cold) day! Looking forward to doing it again when the weather is a little warmer, Steve can be there with me, and Graham can really enjoy the lions and tigers and (panda) bears….oh my.
And just because it’s funny:
Scout decided he wanted to sit on Graham’s lap this morning – G didn’t mind.
Smooshed face.
Crawling around a little park in Rosslyn after lunch with Marty, waiting to see Meredith!
Tent in the family room. nbd.
Past his bedtime and not happy that I made him wear that silly hat. But still cute as ever.
-you were missed this Columbus Day weekend!!!
xoxo,
Jo
