Our first wedding of the year was a fast and furious trip to Michigan to see my friend from 5th grade get married to her man in the small town of Clare. We left Thursday early morning and returned Sunday evening and it seems like it was a whirlwind of seeing friends and family in a brief amount of time. Plus there was a lot of getting ready in between. It was a good trip and one I am definitely glad I got to go to. Bryan and Reese are rock stars for making the trip with me. My parents are also amazing for making the 1.5 hour trip to Detroit to both pick us up and drop us off, watching Reese over night on Friday to give us our first non-Reese night ever, and providing us with the odds and ends we left in Seattle.
So Thursday we got into Detroit with a half full flight and an energetic baby girl and headed home to a delicious home-cooked supper of beef bourguignon my mom had in the oven while watching the MSU and Michigan games. My grandparents came over for a quick visit to see Reese (and us) and Bryan and I quickly realized how tired we were and how nice it was to have a bunch of people to entertain baby girl for us.
Friday morning came and we somehow wasted a bunch of time and soon enough it was nearly time for us to head north to the wedding locale. My aunt and uncle came over to visit and we got a late lunch of Aladdin’s and then prepped my parents for Reese’s necessities and then said our goodbyes and drove the hour plus up to Clare, MI baby-free. We picked up a much needed Starbucks on our way and once checked into the historic Doherty Hotel, we got ready in the hour we had before the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. We met Claire and Shayne at the remodeled barn, Tobacco Ranch, to help them set up the tables for the wedding before the wedding party was assembled and we practiced for the wedding ceremony. We then all headed to the very Michigan-bar called Ruckel’s Pier where we had a pretty good rehearsal dinner and our table got to reminisce about years past. We ended the night with more drinks at the Timeout Tavern before Bryan and I headed back to our room to sleep one of the best nights of sleep we have had in the past 7 months. It was glorious!
Meanwhile at Grandma and Granddads 
Our hotel 
Girls going out 
Rehearsal dinner 
Rehearsal
We woke up refreshed and feeling like completely different humans. We were also not anxious or worried about baby girl…what a great feeling! We walked to get a few things from Walgreens and then walked to the local bakery in town called Cops and Doughnuts and then my parents and baby girl arrived at the hotel and we all got lunch at the Mulberry Cafe. We slipped out to get ready for the wedding ceremony and baby girl hung out with Grandma and Granddaddy some more. The wedding ceremony was at 2 pm and was a private ceremony. It was simple and sweet and I really enjoyed seeing my friend get married. The ceremony was followed by a slew of pictures and then more set up of the venue and Bryan went back to get baby girl party ready and brought her back for the reception at 5 pm.
Girls prior to show time 
Post ceremony 
Claire before she said I Do 
Claire and I after 
ELHS girls…and also the camping crew 
Glaire’s wedding girls and guys
Reese loved the reception. The barn was amazing to her with the high ceilings and cool lights and fans. She was so good all through dinner, speeches and quiet parts and then we broke out the Ergo for a little dancing the three of us. Bryan and I enjoyed the drinks, dinner, fresh pie and donuts and then decided that we didn’t want Reese too exposed to the loud music so we said our goodbyes and headed back to the hotel. We had a great time celebrating and a great time with Reese at the wedding.
On the dance floor 
Our party crew 
She got her cup 
Girls all dressed up 
She got her Chiara and purse
Sunday was a busy day as we had to get checked out and packed up and heading back to the airport by 11 am. We got to talk and catch up in the hotel lobby and said our goodbyes to Claire and Shayne and others, got a great brunch at the Mulberry Cafe again and then set out. We had no problem making our flight thanks to the Detroit Airport and we managed to wrangle our happy but active daughter through the 4+ hour flight back to Seattle. Once home, we all needed some fresh air so we walked to pick up some Thai food and some necessities from Grocery Outlet and then settled into some of the basketball games before putting baby girl to bed in her own bed.
All of us zonked on the plane 
and our little party animal
It was a busy trip but I do feel a bit refreshed and renewed and so happy that I got to see some of my family (briefly) and some friends that go way back but who I haven’t seen for years (decades?). Now a few weeks at home and we are off again!
Chelsea
Evolving in the Emerald City 