Last week the family and I packed our bags and drove from our new home in Florida back to North Carolina.  This time it was for my sister-in-law’s wedding.  The timing could have been better and her wedding conflicted with my plans to once again attend the ABC Kids Expo but it is a happy occasion that only happens once.  Obviously I picked attending over a work trip.

Weddings are always a great excuse to see family.  This week a close family friend from Germany met my two boys for the first time.  I don’t think I even realized that she hadn’t met Fletcher until she said it.  She also came with delicious german chocolate candies for them and I may have snuck a few for myself.

The wedding ceremony was a record ten minutes long.  Afterwards photos were taken and I brought my new camera along to play with and get a few of my own.  My Father-in-Law gifted me his Nikon D90 to replace my D80.  The D90 is a newer version of the D80 but it is still a decent upgrade and I’m having a lot of fun with the new gear.  The best thing about having the camera with me was that I was there to capture photos of our family all dressed up while the bride and bridal party had their photos done.  The photographer was there to take photos of them, not us, so I’m really happy to have taken some family pictures that I’m already cherishing.  The lighting was perfection as well.  I’m never actually in photos but I did force a family member to take a picture of my husband and I together, which is a rare occasion indeed.  Being a stickler for not shooting in Auto mode anymore (I’ve been learning how to use my DSLR for almost a year now) I made sure to set the camera up then hand it over.  I’m definitely going to frame this picture.

Some of my other favorite photos from that day…

And now for a little story about the last photo.  At the reception I hear the DJ shout out a dedication for the upcoming song “To Kim from Steven.”  Then I hear the song “The Final Countdown” by Europe.  I start laughing and crying all at once and of course only my husband knows why.  He walks over and we hug and I cry.  To everyone else we must look crazy, but over 5 years ago that was the song that I chose to play after our wedding for when we walked down the aisle.  Sadly, my husband left the cd I had custom made and edited to match the timing I was looking for and it was never played.  I was upset about it but I’ve since made my peace with it.  I couldn’t believe he remembered and requested the song.  I believe my Father-in-Law grabbed the camera and took a few photos of us during that song and this was one of them. I embedded the video for the song because if you haven’t heard it you must watch.

We left for home again on Monday and we are already unpacked and settled back to regular life.  The boys really love living here in Florida and missed it.  As much as I’d like to just kick back and relax it is back to working on the home renovations and preparing for Everett’s second birthday this Saturday.