Love & Broccoli: Your First Road Trip

This past weekend, we drove to Gainesville, Florida so that Mommy and Daddy could attend your auntie Jessica's wedding. There were many significant aspects to this weekend. First of all, Jessica is one of your mommy's very best friends. We first met during Panhellenic recruitment in 2004, and I was thrilled when our casual tent talk turned into a sisterly bond when we both ended up at Kappa Kappa Gamma. We had a lot of fun in college together. (I mean a lot. I kind of hope you don't have that much fun in college.)

The other reason this trip was important was because Gainesville is important. Not only was it my home for four glorious years, it's the city where your daddy and I met. Gainesville brings up a lot of sweet sentiments and nostalgia for our family (but mostly me). I first met your daddy at a mutual friend's birthday party in 2003. We became friends and a couple of years later, we started dating. Most of my friends didn't approve of him. They thought he wasn't as serious about me as I was about him, and that meant that he didn't deserve me. It's wonderful to have friends who care so passionately about you that they'll do anything to protect you, and your auntie Amanda was the leader of this movement. Jessica was the only one of my close friends who was on the other side of this argument. She's a very laid back gal, much more practical than your mommy is. She told me that if I wanted to go for it, then I should. Worst case scenario, I would get my heart broken and we'd deal with it then. But either way, I'd survive. The best part is that she didn't even gloat when she was right.

Jessica will kill me for posting this, but here we are at Mommy and Daddy's first date in 2005...

...and here she is as my bridesmaid six years later:

{image by H.Photography}

So this trip was a big deal. We got to celebrate one of my favorite people and her wonderful now-husband, and we got to show you a city that's so important in the story of our family. Not to mention it was your first road trip!

We arrived late Friday night, just in time to attend Jessica and Jordan's rehearsal dinner after-party at Swamp...which meant that you got to go to your first bar!

I hope you'll appreciate that photo when you're 21! We almost left you at the hotel with Mimi, who had driven up from South Florida just to see you, but going to Swamp was the only way the bride and groom could meet you that weekend, and I think they really appreciated it. You liked Swamp so much, we went back the next day to watch Florida beat up on Alabama in basketball!

We had to be careful not to pack anything with elephants on it, which was hard because you have a LOT of elephant things!

The wedding was later that day. We left you with Mimi, and Mommy and Daddy got to witness a beautiful ceremony. I'd never seen Jessica and Jordan look so happy!

I had a ball catching up with my other good friends from Kappa. The six of us were so close in college, and hanging out together felt just like old times!