Better late than never, right? Forgive the unedited pictures. In the interest of getting this post up, I detoured editing them for simply posting them. :-)
Trip Two - Welcome to the Golden State!
Part two of our wedding-themed "amazing race" began the day the rain moved into Charleston, SC.
My parents dropped us off at the airport before beginning their long trek homeward and we casually made our way through security and caught our flight. No delays. It was great. And better yet, the Lord really answered our prayers concerning Morenna's behavior on the plane. She was very content to sit quietly on our laps and either read or color.. and then she napped. Our layover in Dallas provided her the ability to run around the indoor playground they had and so efficiently wore her out that she napped on the second leg of the trip as well.
We pulled into Matt's old hometown pretty much stress-free. After a quick dinner with Matt's mom, we got to work putting Baby Roo's crib together. Confused?
As you may remember from this post, Morenna insists on hooking her feet into the crib
slats to sleep. That pretty much makes our pack 'n play useless. Oh well. To solve the dilemma of sleeping arrangements for the CA trip, we decided to order the mini-crib we wanted for Baby Roo and have it shipped to Matt's mom's house. It worked out great for Morenna while we were there, and then we had it shipped home.
At any rate, Morenna was pretty exhausted from the trip and fell asleep on our bed long before we finished the crib assembly. I was glad she transitioned to the new time-zone so well.
While we were there, Nana (Matt's mom) was so thoughtful to invest in a few activities for Morenna's enjoyment. The biggest success was the classic turtle sandbox. I don't know why I hadn't thought of getting Morenna one of these, but it certainly entertained her for hours. We spent very little time with Matt during the week, since he was busy with his best friend's wedding, so with his absence this was a great life-saver.
Morenna also spent a great deal of time following her Nana around. Because of the distance, Morenna doesn't get to spend a lot of time with Matt's family, so the fact that she had Nana to herself for more than a week was a special treat. Here they are pulling weeds in Nana's backyard. They also spent countless hours dancing and singing together. I think Nana got her workout while we were there. Morenna is, after all, like a mini gym membership. :-)
One day we (Matt's brother, David, Nana, Morenna and I) decided to head out to the California foothills to a charming place called Apple Hill. It's really a collection of many small apple orchards and farms, each with their specialties including dozens of types of apples, apple wine, apple treats, and lots of children's activities.
We made a point to hit up the petting zoo and Morenna loved it. Her favored mammals were the pigs, but this momma preferred the baby Angus calf and the goats. I heart goats.
If we ever have land I think I will have to purchase a goat, just to keep myself entertained. I'll name my goat Chloe.
On Saturday, Matt successfully married off his bestie. It was a lovely outdoors wedding and he looked super sexy in his tux. My husband, that is, not the bestie. Well, I guess the groom looked pretty swell too (right, Chelsea?), but for the health of my marriage I think I'll just leave it at that. :-)
Matt's dad was able to attend the wedding and enjoyed chasing his little granddaughter around the grounds of the wedding site. She loved having the attention, of course. I loved having the help. :-) Morenna was able to get double use out of her flower-girl dress. But sadly it was in pretty poor shape by the end of the day.
It was great to get to meet several of Matt's childhood friends and acquaintances. By the days end, though, we were all wedding-ed out. Two best friends married off.
Whew.
On Sunday, we were able to kick back and have some fun time with Matt's extended family. Matt's mom was so sweet to throw me a baby shower for Baby Roo. All of the gals of the family (and most of the guys, too) made the long round-trip to/from Roseville from Fresno to spend the day with us and celebrate. 
Included in the company was Matt's maternal grandparents, who we only see on an occasional basis. What a joy it was to spend time with them! Morenna is their first (and currently only :-)) great-grandchild and the visit afforded them their first meeting. She took to them both right away (and to all her other new cousins, aunts and uncles, too!). It was a great experience.
I love Matt's family. So full of fun! We are definitely looking forward to visiting with them again, hopefully, at Matt's aunt's wedding in June.
And then the rain moved it. After eight days of beautiful California sunshine, a nasty storm arrived the day we were to leave. So, we left the rain in Charleston, and then we left the rain in California. :-) The trip home was a little more stressful, but we made it back safe and sound... and with no delays, amazingly enough.
And that is the story of our amazing race. :-) To see more pictures, click here.
Trip Two - Welcome to the Golden State!
Part two of our wedding-themed "amazing race" began the day the rain moved into Charleston, SC.
My parents dropped us off at the airport before beginning their long trek homeward and we casually made our way through security and caught our flight. No delays. It was great. And better yet, the Lord really answered our prayers concerning Morenna's behavior on the plane. She was very content to sit quietly on our laps and either read or color.. and then she napped. Our layover in Dallas provided her the ability to run around the indoor playground they had and so efficiently wore her out that she napped on the second leg of the trip as well.
We pulled into Matt's old hometown pretty much stress-free. After a quick dinner with Matt's mom, we got to work putting Baby Roo's crib together. Confused?
As you may remember from this post, Morenna insists on hooking her feet into the crib
slats to sleep. That pretty much makes our pack 'n play useless. Oh well. To solve the dilemma of sleeping arrangements for the CA trip, we decided to order the mini-crib we wanted for Baby Roo and have it shipped to Matt's mom's house. It worked out great for Morenna while we were there, and then we had it shipped home.At any rate, Morenna was pretty exhausted from the trip and fell asleep on our bed long before we finished the crib assembly. I was glad she transitioned to the new time-zone so well.
While we were there, Nana (Matt's mom) was so thoughtful to invest in a few activities for Morenna's enjoyment. The biggest success was the classic turtle sandbox. I don't know why I hadn't thought of getting Morenna one of these, but it certainly entertained her for hours. We spent very little time with Matt during the week, since he was busy with his best friend's wedding, so with his absence this was a great life-saver.
Morenna also spent a great deal of time following her Nana around. Because of the distance, Morenna doesn't get to spend a lot of time with Matt's family, so the fact that she had Nana to herself for more than a week was a special treat. Here they are pulling weeds in Nana's backyard. They also spent countless hours dancing and singing together. I think Nana got her workout while we were there. Morenna is, after all, like a mini gym membership. :-)
One day we (Matt's brother, David, Nana, Morenna and I) decided to head out to the California foothills to a charming place called Apple Hill. It's really a collection of many small apple orchards and farms, each with their specialties including dozens of types of apples, apple wine, apple treats, and lots of children's activities.
We made a point to hit up the petting zoo and Morenna loved it. Her favored mammals were the pigs, but this momma preferred the baby Angus calf and the goats. I heart goats.
If we ever have land I think I will have to purchase a goat, just to keep myself entertained. I'll name my goat Chloe.
On Saturday, Matt successfully married off his bestie. It was a lovely outdoors wedding and he looked super sexy in his tux. My husband, that is, not the bestie. Well, I guess the groom looked pretty swell too (right, Chelsea?), but for the health of my marriage I think I'll just leave it at that. :-)
Matt's dad was able to attend the wedding and enjoyed chasing his little granddaughter around the grounds of the wedding site. She loved having the attention, of course. I loved having the help. :-) Morenna was able to get double use out of her flower-girl dress. But sadly it was in pretty poor shape by the end of the day.
It was great to get to meet several of Matt's childhood friends and acquaintances. By the days end, though, we were all wedding-ed out. Two best friends married off.
Whew.
On Sunday, we were able to kick back and have some fun time with Matt's extended family. Matt's mom was so sweet to throw me a baby shower for Baby Roo. All of the gals of the family (and most of the guys, too) made the long round-trip to/from Roseville from Fresno to spend the day with us and celebrate. 
Included in the company was Matt's maternal grandparents, who we only see on an occasional basis. What a joy it was to spend time with them! Morenna is their first (and currently only :-)) great-grandchild and the visit afforded them their first meeting. She took to them both right away (and to all her other new cousins, aunts and uncles, too!). It was a great experience.
I love Matt's family. So full of fun! We are definitely looking forward to visiting with them again, hopefully, at Matt's aunt's wedding in June.And then the rain moved it. After eight days of beautiful California sunshine, a nasty storm arrived the day we were to leave. So, we left the rain in Charleston, and then we left the rain in California. :-) The trip home was a little more stressful, but we made it back safe and sound... and with no delays, amazingly enough.
And that is the story of our amazing race. :-) To see more pictures, click here.
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