Uncle David & Aunt Michelle's Wedding in Colorado

We just celebrated Uncle David and Aunt Michelle's wedding in Colorado Springs. It was such a great trip and the wedding was beautiful. We had so much fun in Colorado Springs. 

We arrived Saturday morning and we headed straight to "The Garden of the Gods" to explore while we waited for the rest of our family to arrive. 

The Garden of the Gods was gorgeous and amazing. The kids were total rock stars and loved rock climbing and hiking every where. They were so tough and never complained even though they were exhausted from all the climbing and walking. 

Benson happily rode in the ergo. He's so cute!

The big skies and huge rock formations were awe-inspiring. The weather was amazing. There is no humidity  so it felt so much cooler than Arkansas. 

The kids had fun climbing into every crevice they could find.

It was so fun to watch the boys climb every rock they could find. 

I love these little explorers. 

Chris and I were thoroughly impressed with our kids and their agility as they climbed the rocks. 

I love this picture! It's my favorite from the visit. This was after we all hiked to the top of this rock formation and we were resting before exploring more. 

And this cute one of all my favorite people peeking over the cliff at me. 

The kids loved the "balancing rock" the most. They were so excited to see it and after we finished exploring on foot, we drove around to see all the rest of the sites. 

We had such a great visit and I'm so glad we fit this exploration into our day.

After finishing, we dropped Daddy off at the bachelor party and drove to the hotel.

We went swimming with the Drake cousins and then hung out in our room while we waited for Nanny, Papa and Aunt Laura to arrive.

The next morning, Sunday morning, we had the dress rehearsal and rehearsal brunch.

Bailey and Hazel were the flower girls, so Sarah and I took the girls to the rehearsal and then we met the Dads and the boys at the brunch after wards

We sure love Aunt Michelle. Bailey is a bit obsessed with her new Aunt. 

Benson loved being held by everyone at the luncheon. 

 

The house where we had the luncheon had the coolest backyard. Lots of play equipment and a tree

house- the kids were in heaven. 

I love this little man so dang much!

Finally all the Drake girls! We are so happy to have Michelle join the family and complete our circle of girls. 

Here's one last one from the brunch. Aunt Michelle and Uncle David with all their many nieces and nephews. 

After the rehearsal brunch, we went back to the hotel for naps.
Then we drove over to the Manitou Cliff Dwellings to explore. 

This place was so cool. The Manitou cliff dwellings are comprised of Anasazi ruins that date back to 800- 1000 years old. Our three story pueblo structure demonstrates the architecture of the Taos Pueblo Indians of New Mexico. These Pueblo Indians are descendants of the Cliff Dwelling Indians belonging to the Anasazi cultural line.  We had so much fun exploring and learning about these Indians. 

The kids loved this huge tee pee.
Also did you notice my kids wearing jackets. The weather was way cooler than we were used to in Arkansas. On the way to the cliffs, it rained and hailed. So crazy. It made it cool off quiet a bit. 

How cool is this place?

Benson once again, rode everywhere on my back. He's such a good baby. 

I love the view from the gift shop. We had so much fun exploring the cliff dwellings. 

The kids loved this oven. They thought it was a pretty cool way to bake bread. 

We visited the gift shop when we were done and each of the big kids got a dream catcher bracelet. Tucker is so excited for his dream catcher  to catch all his nightmares. 

After the cliff dwellings we headed to Texas Roadhouse to eat dinner with the whole family, minus Michelle (She was busy prepping for the wedding the next morning)

We had a great dinner together and then went back to the hotel to get a good night's rest before the big day. 

The next morning was the wedding day. These cute girls got to go to the wedding venue early to get ready with the bride. They were so cute and so excited. 

Here they are in the brides room. 

I love these ones of the girls putting on their blush and lip gloss in the mirror. They were such cute little flower girls. 

And cute Aunt Sarah and her belly helping the girls.

Then the beautiful bride wanted pictures with the girls. 

Michelle gave both girls a little thank you present and the girls opened them. They each got a sweet little butterfly necklace with purple gems. They loved them so much!

Then we went back to the hotel to check out and pick up the boys and we all drove to the wedding together.
We found out seats and I helped get the girls ready to do their jobs as flower girls. 

Chris got to wrangle the kids while I helped. 

We decided that Aunt Sarah would sit in the audience where Hazel could see her, so she wouldn't be scared and she would walk towards her mom. 

Then the ceremony started and it was perfect. Everyone did great, especially the little girls. They were the cutest flower girls. 

The ceremony could not have been more perfect. I am so thrilled that David and Michelle found each other. Michelle is so wonderful and she wonderful for David. I can see her bringing light into their marriage. She has the sweetest spirit and the kindest heart. We are all so thrilled to have her join the family. 

Aren't they the cutest?

After the ceremony, we took tons of pictures.
The kids actually did great and smiled wonderfully for the photographer. I was very proud of them!

Here is the whole Drake side of the family

Then just the adults. 

Both sides of the adult family celebrating

Both sides of each family.

And here is one of my little family. 

And all the nieces and nephews. Aren't they the cutest? 

Then we went to the reception. It was so fun. We ate some delicious food, danced, laughed  and played. 

Bailey loved when the audience would clink their glasses to ask the bride and groom to kiss.
Eventually she decided she wanted a kiss too and gave Uncle Johnny a kiss each time she heard the clinking. 

Aren't my boys so handsome?

Me and my sweet girl. 

Just love this handsome boy. 

These two were so cute dancing together. 

Oh and this was our family table that we shared with Aunt Sarah's family. Each table was named after a different book and my kids loved that our table was name after a Harry Potter book. 

Aren't the centerpieces gorgeous? 

The whole reception and wedding were gorgeous. 

Tucker loved the coloring books that Michelle had made for the little kids. He spent so much of his time coloring and working very hard on his pictures. He's so cute. 

The kids enjoyed playing and dancing together too. 

Benson got a nap on his Great-Aunt Carol's lap. She must just have a calming presence because he never naps on my lap. 

We had to get a cousins shot at the wedding too, plus a couple nieces and nephews.

Oh this man of mine. I love him so much. He was such a great help. I couldn't have survived the wedding craziness without him. 

Of course, Aunt Laura had all the kids smiling and laughing non-stop. 

The kids really enjoyed the toasting during the reception. They really loved the sparkling cider. 

I love these kids. They were so well behaved the whole day. 

Tanner and Bailey are just so happy for Uncle David. He's always been a favorite of ours and we are all so happy for him. 

During the slide show, all the kids flocked around the bride and groom.
It was pretty adorable. Michelle is a natural with all her new nieces and nephews and it was so cute to watch them all together. 

Then we watched Uncle David and Aunt Michelle cut their cake and shortly after we all sent them off on their honeymoon. The kids loved blowing bubbles on the new couple as they left. It was a great day and we cant wait to see Uncle David and Aunt Michelle again. 

Happy Wedding day to this gorgeous wonderful couple!