Benny and Bri Tie the Knot

You'd think a married couple's very first week-long vacation ALL ALONE since having children would be oh so romantical and relaxing, right?  

Yeah, you'd think.  But you'd be wrong.   

Jordan and I took yet another trip back to good ol' Florida to celebrate with our very good friends, Ben and Bri, as they tied the knot and became husband and wife forever!! Of course we wouldn't have missed it for the world, and as we planned our trip I envisioned Jordan and I on the beach, frolicking like donkeys through the blissful white sand while he's twirling me and my large, pregnant belly in circles.

But alas, there was no twirling, and no frolicking to be had.

First things first. My mom (Mimi) flew out to Utah to take over as Kinsey's personal assistant.  I thought I'd start to miss Kinsey the day we left, but in reality I started missing her the second my mom got here! From that point on it was "Mimi this" and "Mimi that".  Of course I'm not the jealous type, but I was starting to suffer from a little Jan-Brady-Syndrome before I knew it! I just have one question here: Why is my mom so much cooler and more fun now than when I was a kid?!?

Anyway, at least Kinsey was in heaven running around the house with Mimi. And I'm pretty sure that she wasn't even kind of sad to see us go. Which might hurt my feelings, but I just keep telling myself that means she's "well-adjusted"....right?

We left for the airport on Wednesday morning and I was beyond excited to read some trashy magazines, listen to music, and maybe even sleep (insert gasp) on the airplane!  The funny thing is, I was BORED. You know what they say...the grass is always greener on the other side. Well turns out, it is.  I've flown with Kinsey probably 25+ times and every time, as I'm running around playing peek-a-boo behind the airport trash cans and playing with stickers/reading books on the cramped airplane, I look around at the people sitting on their ipads totally vegged out and think, "I wish that was me right now! I wish I could take a break!"  

And then I had a break, and all I could think is, "I'm so bored! When are we going to board the plane? I'm trying to sleep but this stupid seat is so uncomfortable." etc, etc.  I just kept wishing Kins was there to keep me occupied, and I'm pretty sure Jordan felt the same way.  

On the upside, at least we had time for a few selfies :P 

(Which, by the way has apparently become the new generational addiction and if you haven't already read this ridiculous article...please take the time to do so now - Selfies Linked to Narcissism, Addiction, and Mental Illness)

We arrived in Orlando after approximately 12 hours of travel and went straight to Jordan's parent's house to rest up for our crazy week ahead. The next morning we woke up early and drove 2 hours to Gainesville - arguably the greatest city in all the land.

25 weeks along now and representing my Orange and Blue :)

 I got to visit my old hospital and see my best buddy, Adam!

Followed by lunch at our favorite sushi restaurant, Ichiban, with Naomi, Rob, and Owen (also known as "Owey-toes").  Owen serenaded us with his beautiful drumming skills and unbeknownst to me, I contracted food poisoning.

We then went to UF's campus to see all of our old favorite places and reminisce about all the amazing times that we had there...TWELVE freggin' years ago!! Holy cow, I've never felt older.  And what made our journey through campus even more special was how Jordan continually said (as loud as he could), "How are we going to tell your parents that you're PREGNANT?!?" every time we passed a large group of people. His humor never gets old....to him.

To end our day in Gville, we went to see Jordan's old boss and shoot the sh*t for about an hour.  Here is Jordan posing with the DRMP sign all on his own accord:

That evening we drove to Jacksonville to see Emily and Aaron. (So that was our 3rd and 4th hour of travel after our cross country flight the night before.  You can start to see how brilliant we are with travel plans.) We had a great night with dinner at Lulu's Grille followed by FroYo, and then stayed up late watching Emily and Aaron's wedding video.  Awwwww :)

The next morning I woke up from the alarming amount of saliva shooting into my mouth and that awesome feeling of nausea that we all know and love. Which led me to hug the dirty toilet for about an hour until my GI tract finally expelled the apparent offender. What a great way to start the day.

Once my body was through tormenting me, we went to see Emily and Aaron's new house! Congrats guys...J and I are very excited for you!  We then embarked on our next 3 1/2 hour long car ride down to Bradenton where the wedding festivities would be taking place. And, let me tell you, it was worth the drive.  The rehearsal and dinner were both wonderful, the weather was perfect, and the scenery was breathtaking.  All in all, a perfect weekend for the future Mr. and Mrs. Gordon!

This picture has only been included to educate others about the strangers that you select to take your photo.  Let me just say that you should avoid anyone who might be over the age of 90, is having difficulty walking, and slightly drooling.  It doesn't go well.

Saturday was wedding day, which meant low-key for us wifeys.  We took it easy visiting the street market, leisurely walking by the water, and eventually joining the boys for lunch.  It was the most relaxing part of the trip and so great to catch up with Jess and Alli....it's been too long!

Fast-forward a few hours and it was time for the ceremony. My college roommate, Stinky (aka Sarah) came into town and we got to hug, prance around, and take glamourshots together on the water ferry.  My time with you never gets old Stinky!

The ceremony was beautiful and it was exceptionally touching watching all of the groomsmen tear up.  Sure, a bug flew in your eye.  And I'm the queen of England.

Ben and Bri's first dance almost had me in tears!  Look at these pictures. Show me a person who doesn't look at this and feel all warm and tingly inside, and I'll show you a person who is missing a soul.

Jordan and Dale then took the stage to deliver what would be known as the Best and/or Worst Best Man Speech ever given, depending on who you ask.  Their 10 minutes of glory (or shame as it may be) would have been posted on YouTube, but I'm pretty sure Ben and Bri don't want to relive that experience more than once.

And finally, it was time to channel our inner Miley Cyrus as we twerked the night away.  Whoever said that a pregnant mom can't twerk hasn't met me.


 

Somehow this happened. Although I'm not really quite sure what is going on.

Sunday morning we joined to newlyweds for brunch at Lefty's house.  It was a tad awkward knowing that they had just lost their virginity, but we all tried to pretend there was no elephant in the room.  :P

We then drove another 3 1/2 hours up to Ocala to visit Courtney and Matt.  We went to a gorgeous horse show,

relaxed,
 

Cat in the headlights?

and then had an amazing dinner at Bonefish where I watched with envy as Court drank a beautiful, pink martini and I ordered water.  Growing babies would be much more fun if alcohol was somehow good for them.

And that was it! The next day we drove to Orlando and flew home to our tiny girl.  We were SO ready and excited to see her - she is truly a piece of our hearts, and I think it will be quite awhile before we plan another long trip away! 

Wearing her Florida souvenir: Ariel and Flounder shirt! Cutest. thing. ever.