Wonderful Weekend

I have been looking forward to Memorial Day weekend for weeks, and it did not disappoint. (Warning--long post with LOTS of pictures!)

Our div school friends Anna Russell and Chris got married on Saturday. They came to our wedding 3 1/2 years ago as a couple around the very start of their dating relationship, and we were so happy to see them tie the knot. They are a terrific couple and it was a gorgeous wedding (as we knew it would be!)

A.R. looked amazing--her dress and veil were so classic-looking. And I loved the peach roses (my favorite!)

I admit, part of the reason I had been looking forward to the wedding was the opportunity to wear my green dress that I love. I've only worn it one other time and we forgot our camera that time! (Yes, the color coordination with Matt's tie was intentional. Anyone that knows me--did you expect any less?)

The reception was held at the bride's grandmother's house in Belle Meade, with the cocktail hour in the house and gardens, and dinner/dancing under a tent on the lawn. Simply gorgeous--love the flower-laden chandelier and checkerboard dance floor.

Funny aside--the ground was a little soft, so when I wasn't on the dance floor, my heels would sink into the ground a bit. At one point, my four-inch stillettos sank all the way in, such that my feet were flat on the ground, and I couldn't move!! Matt had to grab me around the waist and pick me up to "free" me! It was really funny.

We did spend a lot of time on the dance floor, though, so no worries! The eight-piece City Lights Orchestra was great, and we had so much fun with all our old "trivia gang"--the friends we played trivia with every Wednesday night for about two years in 05-06.

We saw the happy couple off around midnight, and then went back to our hotel. It may seem silly to get a hotel when you live 50 miles away and have close family 15 miles away, but we decided to make an event of it, leaving Kate overnight with Matt's parents and having a night to ourselves. We slept in until 9:30 (9:30!!) and went to church at the Episcopal Cathedral where the ceremony had been held. I actually went to that church for my first six months or so in Nashville (having been active in an Episcopal church my last year or two of college), and it was lovely a) to have a Sunday as a "normal couple" going to church together (oh, how I long for that!) and b) to enjoy high-church worship (which I appreciate as much but for very different reasons from contemporary worship, as I wrote about here).

Then we went to get Kate at Matt's parents' house, and start the second half of our wonderful weekend (yes, you're only halfway through this post. If you're busy, at least scroll through the pictures :0)

Granna, Opa, Daddy, and I took Kate to the Nashville Zoo, which we decided to join and enjoy multiple times this summer.

Opa and Kate checked out the zebras.

And Granna pointed out the meerkats.

Kate loved the petting zoo, where she got to pet a real, live goat. This one was so docile, it had human infants sprawled across its back just before we took our turn.

One goat tried to eat my dress, nipping my leg in the process. (Don't worry, it didn't hurt near as bad as when Kate clamped down on my finger earlier this week!) And this big goat stole Lloyd's map right out of his pocket and swallowed it down.

We can't say we weren't warned, though. The chalk graffiti reads "Goats love Hay (and maps)".

It got pretty hot and sunny, and periodic rainshowers made it pretty humid. Kate looked cool sporting her shades, though (for the 10 seconds she left them on).

We got ice cream to cool off, and Kate ran back and forth between her attending adults, getting bites of ice cream, Dippin' Dots, and sno-cone.

The Nashville Zoo has an amazing playground--the Swiss Family Robinson-style fortress behind us in this family portrait was only part of it. There were tunnels and swings and slides, and even a separate little-kids' area that was basically a big cushioned floor across which to run. If we lived closer, it would be worth using our membership (unlimited admission) just to pop over and play on the playground.

There is also a gorgeous carousel with all different animals to ride. This spot made a great escape from the rain when it really started pouring. (An escape for Kate and I, at least, as we rode the carousel. The others still got drenched from the knees down as the rain came in sideways under the canopy!)

We chose the baby-monkeys-on-a-log to ride, and it was really fun. She sat on it herself for one cycle or two, but then she wanted to be held, so we just stood there with the monkeys.

The downpour stopped enough for us to grab a quick look at the elephants and giraffes before it really looked like it might storm. Next time, we'll start on that side of the zoo, so we can spend more time with the big animals and check out the historic farmhouse there, which I have yet to see!

We had a great holiday weekend (and it's not over yet--we just have nothing planned for today!) and I hope you've had a great weekend too!