We packed up the kids and all our gear and headed to Florida for Brian's brother, Jason and his finance Erika's wedding. The kids did great on the airplane, despite Gavin not sleeping even though it was his nap time. We even managed to make it through the airplane and all the way to florida with all the millions of bags and kids we were hauling with.
We arrived in time to crash and prepare for the rehearsal dinner the next day. That next morning all the girls, including Lexi, went for manis and pedis. Lexi was so excited to get to be a big girl and join in on the fun of that. She got to sit in a chair and sat very still for her painting and for them to dry. She did a great job keeping her fingers spread! We then went out to lunch afterward, and Lexi did a great job hanging with the older girls!
We got back in time to get everyone dressed for the rehearsal. After everyone in the wedding party went through all they needed, we stayed behind with the kids to figure out a game plan on how to get three kids 5 and under down the aisle to sit with Grandma quietly through the ceremony. We ran through the "ceremony" several times with the kids, so they understood what they were going to do and even had Gavin dropped right behind me as I walked down the aisle to see if we couldn't get him to do that the next day.
After the rehearsal, we headed to Hard Rock Cafe/Live in Universal's City Walk. The majority of the people headed over on the bus, but since we had the kids, we decided to drive. Erika had graciously arranged for us to get backstage access to the Hard Rock. We had to get through major security screening in order to get there, and once we arrived, we walked up the loading dock where all the musician equipment and gear go and right onto Hard Rock Live stage. They nicely let Conner and Lexi go on the stage. The lady said, "This is where all the Rock Stars are." Conner looked around and promptly replied, "I don't see no Rock Stars!" He wasn't impressed!
We had a great dinner at Hard Rock. Conner loved the cheesecake lollipops. The kids did great getting to look out over Universal and running around the balcony. They then put on their pajamas that I had made them (Lexi's with a flower girl print and Conner and Gavin's with a tuxedo that had a Sherriff badge saying "Ring Security" and their name). We said our goodbyes and headed back to the hotel. They were all exhausted, so piled them all in the stroller and got them to the room. What a fabulous night that we will always remember!
Lexi was the flower girl and Conner and Gavin the ring bearers in Jason and Erika's wedding (Brian's brother). Laura and Brian spent most of the morning getting ready and helping the bride and groom, since we were Matron of Honor and Best Man. So, the kids played with Grandma Phyllis and her friend Shirley who came along to help out with the kids during the morning. Laura did sneak in getting to reinforce Lexi's curls a little to make certain they didn't get frizzy later in the day.
We took several pictures, which both the older two were game for, but Baby Gavin would have none of it. However, he certainly made up for his uncooperative attitude when it came time for the wedding. The wedding started, and I was the last bridesmaid down the aisle, which helped. The kids walked down after me, so Gavin was dropped as soon as I went down the aisle, and he actually followed coming the entire way without must enticement. All the kids walked nicely with Lexi dropping her flowers. Then, the promptly went to Grandma Phyllis in the second row and ate their suckers we had prepared. They sat very quietly throughout the ceremony except for one "Dada" from Gavin when he finally looked up from his sucker long enough to recognize what was going on. The kids then did a great job walking out of the wedding as well. They did fantastic and surpassed all expectations. 
The reception was fun with lots of dancing. The kids wanted to get on the dance floor, but since the typical dances hadn't been done yet, the settled for running around outside the tent and dancing out there. They also liked running along the grass and "tripping." They had a blast and were exhausted by the end of the night. A very successful wedding with an impressive performance by the kids.
