Mains Memories: PART 1 - Arizona for Uncle Johnny & Aunt Janella's Wedding!

What an exciting post to write! The eldest of my two younger brothers finally married the love of his life! They dated for 4 years prior to getting engaged, and then had a 15 month engagement; so, to say we were all eagerly awaiting this wedding is an understatement!

It was the most beautiful, stunning wedding I've ever been, and probably will ever have been, to, and we were so honored that each of us three were part of the wedding party! We''ll do a "Part 2" when all the formal/professional pictures are ready; this post will just include our informal pictures.

We decided to drive to AZ since we had a lot of stuff to transport and we needed to bring Paisley with us. We broke the drive up into two parts, staying with our wonderful Auntie DD and Uncle Bill in Coto de Caza about halfway for Easter weekend and then making the rest of the trip after that. This made each drive about 7-8 hours, and boy were they ROUGH! Poor Ava, as any toddler, did not understand why she had to be confined for so long despite us buying a bunch of new toys, crafts and a DVD player with her favorite movies.

But, we made it and were happy to spend Easter with my Aunt and Uncle!

Auntie DD was so gracious to make Easter special for Ava by dying Easter Eggs with her (which she found all around the house Easter morning), and even got her an Easter basket full of lots of goodies!

Here are all the pictures (minus the formal wedding ones) from our trip:

Ava in her Bunny Jumper made by Aunt DD :) She's had one for Halloween, Christmas, Valentine's Day and now Easter!

Ava LOVED their pool and spa...and enjoyed making mama and dada crazy nervous around it!

Finding the easter eggs she dyed the day before with Aunt DD...Rocky (their dog) and Paisley (our dog) were all too eager to help!

Ava was ecstatic to find not one, but two Easter baskets!

Ava called Aunt DD Mimi once and Aunt DD made sure it stuck! :) She does look and sound an awful lot like the real Mimi :)

What a surprise...we love candy!

Luckily, we also love toothbrushes!

Aunt DD made Ava is incredibly special, quilted bunny blanket, complete with Ava's name in the heart on the bunny...to say Ava loves it would be the understatement of the century!

Ava LOVED dying Easter eggs with Auntie DD!

After eating breakfast out, Auntie DD and Uncle Bill took us on their boat at Dana Point to go see the Sea Lions. We got to see them and much more, as two humpback whales decided to come say hi and follow us for a good 20 minutes. It was SO cool to see them so closely - they put on a great show for us! And Ava was excited to see them, exclaiming "big fishy!" Each time they would come up!

Still makes this face when asked to smile :)

She loved the Sea Lions!

The humpback of one of the whales...

The tail of one of the whales...

Ava earning her keep on the boat...sweeping with a fishing net ;)

When we got home, Ava had her last fitting for her flower girl dress that Auntie DD was kind enough to make...and I must say, I don't think there is a dress that could be bought that is more stunning or perfect!

The next day, we made the last of the drive to Tucson. The LAST long drive we will ever do with kids for a few years...it was that painful. So painful, Ava and I flew home :)

But, we made it and Ava was SO happy to see her Mimi, Boompa and Auntie Ella (Janella) at home waiting for her. Paisley was also very happy to see Tuc (Johnny and Janella's dog)...and Ava was quite happy too!

The first day there, we got to experience a very special moment with the Lohmeier side of our family - seeing baby #2 and finding out the gender all together! Uncle Johnny and Auntie Ella met us there after work, and of course Mimi and Boompa joined too. Uncle Kev had to work late, so sadly he couldn't join. We found out baby #2 is a BOY and got to see his precious face in 3D at just 15 weeks old!

Ava had a blast playing this game...

And earned her keep taking out the trash (with Paisley's help)...

And, of course, Ava loved playing in Mimi and Boompa's backyard!

Ava of course had a blast playing in Mimi's pantry and bath tub again, as usual!

The next day, Janella had an all-day bachelorette celebration - her mother treated our whole bridal party to manicures to start the day. So nice! The salon had a very special set up for Janella!

Ava was all ready to get her first manicure! Complete with a lollipop!

After manicures, we all went to lunch and then the rest of the bridal party went to a pole dancing class...I wasn't able to participate thanks to being pregnant, so Dee and I took Ava to the zoo, where Dee played photographer for a change!

The Tucson zoo has a really cool underground exhibit with huge fish and alligators...Ava loves it!

Ava also loved watching dada nearly get his fingers bitten off by the ostrich

Ava is all about the carousel these days!

Ava smiles!

That night, Mom and I headed to Janella's parents place for her lingerie shower. It was so much fun with games, laughter and of course...lingerie!

Janella had these amazing shoes made for her to wear after the ceremony for dancing!

Tuc was the only boy allowed that night!

The next day, we headed to the scene of the ceremony - The Ritz Carlton Dove Mountain. Here's Ava and Dada all dressed up for the rehearsal!

The day of the ceremony, we enjoyed the pool at the Ritz!

Ava couldn't get enough of her Auntie Ella!

Sneak peek at some of the wedding pictures to follow in an upcoming post. The most beautiful bride!

And the most beautiful flower girl!

Ava decided to take pillows from the couch and put them smack in the middle of the dance floor and then sit on them while the whole ballroom was eating dinner. Too cute!