MN Trip: The Non-Running

I figure I'll divide my posts up about our recent trip to MN into "running" and "non-running." That way, it's not one, giant post. Although, I suspect both will still be long, so forgive the length.

The Travel
Flying with Norah was, on the whole, good. She did pretty well on the plane, especially considering we didn't have a direct flight either way. She mostly slept, and while she did fuss a bit, it wasn't for long and it wasn't terribly disruptive. I think giving her some Baby Tylenol beforehand helped a bit.

Also, all of our flights ran on time, and every other matter concerning travel -- parking, shuttles, rental car, hotel reservations -- went smoothly and we had no hiccups. Still, despite how easily everything went, it still made both Friday and Monday very long days. This is Norah and I on one of our flights: In addition, Norah had a tough weekend. For one thing, she's starting to experience some separation anxiety, which is normal for her age, so that means she's extra clinging with Jerry and I. So even though we had tons of family around who wanted to take care of her and hold her and play with her, she didn't want to go to them, which is a complete 180 from how she was when we visited with everyone back in May. For another, she didn't seem to be feeling well and her nose has been running for a week. And lastly, perhaps because of the travel itself and being in a strange place and having her routine upset, she didn't sleep or eat well. In fact, the only way we could get her to sleep was if she slept with us, and even then, her sleep was restless and she woke up multiple times each night.

Plus, Saturday night, which was the wedding, she was supposed to stay the night with my MIL, but Norah was having such a terrible time that my MIL actually drove her back to our hotel at midnight. So, that sucked because Jerry and I had been looking forward to the night without Norah so we could sleep in in the morning, but no dice there.

So, on the whole, all 3 of us were exhausted throughout the weekend.

The Wedding
Was really lovely. I was busy all day Saturday helping to get ready and then getting ready myself -- since I was a bridesmaid -- but the day felt joyful and celebratory, and it was so cute seeing my brother so nervous and anxious for his nuptials. I kid you not that he was dressed in his tux at about 9 am. I had to basically force him to eat a turkey sandwich at noon because I was worried that with nothing in his stomach, he'd pass out during his vows.

The wedding ceremony was beautiful and blessedly short, and the reception was a lot of fun. The hotel where they had the event was beautiful, and we had a lot of fun eating, drinking and dancing the night away. My family all got along well; even though there's no cure for awkwardness, we all managed to have fun together. Plus, it was wonderful for me to get to see some family that I haven't seen in a few years: like my grandfather and my youngest brother.

Here's me and my two brothers: Sam, on the left, just got home from Iraq a few weeks ago, and Matt, on the right, was the groom.
Here's Jerry and I at the reception:

And me and Matt (groom) at the reception:

Also, I managed to be pretty well-behaved and didn't overindulge on the liquor, which was especially good since Norah was returned to us earlier than we expected.

Other Visiting

On Sunday, we got to go see some of Jerry's family and hang out with them for the afternoon, and despite the fact that Norah was a Crab Apple for most of the afternoon, this was probably the most relaxing few hours of our trip. And, the most exciting part of that afternoon? Norah got to have a swatch of her hair dyed pink!

My SIL is a hair stylist and owns her own salon, so she gave Norah a little pink chunk of hair. So, Norah may not have had her hair cut yet, but she has had her first foil! The pink will wash out in a few weeks, but we have gotten SO many comments on her pink 'do.

What can Norah say? She's a cool chick.

So, those are the highlights. We got home last night, and we were all relieved to be back. Now, today it's back to work and back to routine. Which is a good thing!