The Aurora Experience

A few weeks ago we all piled up to head out to Aurora, Missouri for Bill's cousin Rob's wedding! Now, I have never been to Missouri before and let me tell ya', it was an experience!

The wedding was held in the backyard of Rob and Tammy's home. It was a really pretty setting~huge yard, mature trees, a sparkling pool, round tables , candles everywhere, lights in the trees and the faint waft of smoked brisket blowing through the air.....

The ceremony was short and sweet (And did I get a good picture of the bride and groom?.....no.) It was the sort of affair where you saw it all.....cowboy boots, flip flops, cocktail dresses, jeans and people lugging in coolers of their own beer for their table. We were unprepared in that department, let me tell ya'! They had brisket and chicken, baked beans, salads, rolls and a keg that dutifully served up cups of sheer foam all night long.

Bill's other cousin Larry and his wife Gitana have a son named Logan who is just a tad bit older than Sawyer! We had never actually met Logan and his little sister Abby before and we were so excited to see how well they all got along! We had a little chat with Sawyer before rolling into town about how Logan was born a little special. Logan was born with two really short stumps and one of them has a little finger on it! He is the most precious little boy and you would be amazed at how he does life with that little finger! He and Sawyer jumped right in and got down to business! Chasing beach balls, picking on the girls.......they loved hanging out together! Oh, and Sawyer calls him 'Yogan'.

After the beach ball had gone over the fence "accidentally" one too many times, Sawyer kept trying to climb over to get it.....we looked over and saw Sawyer picking up Logan to hoist him up since climbing fences with one finger wasn't working out too well :) It was so cute.

We were lucky to have scored rooms at THE Aurora Inn......this was the nice hotel in town.....there was no hot tub or pool and the rooms all had a smoke smell that was masked by thick coating of vanilla potpourri air freshener.......yum. But it did boast a complimentary continental breakfast!

.......and here it is!!! Stale coffee, one orange juice box, and an array of pre-packaged sugary non-breakfast food items...... oatmeal raisin cookies? whoopie pies? and some neon pink fluff ball?....wow. When "Where are the multi grain bagels, fruit salad, make your own waffle bar and Starbucks coffee?" thought went through my head, I realized then and there that I was a spoiled, city-girl snot.

We headed over to Aunt Audrey's house to spend some time together before church, but not without stopping by Walmart for fresh pastries, fruit and juice :) And of course Sawyer and Logan decided to get all sorts of dirty out in the yard before church....

Sawyer's big thing now is climbing trees.....he loves it!

After church we got together for some lunch back over at Rob and Tammy's......and can you guess who fell of the ole "Hey, come over and look at this string in the water" trick?

The kids started out just splashing around and then of course just ended up jumping in clothes and all :) But I do have to admit that having Logan playing so close to the edge really made me nervous....he could just slip right in and not be able to catch himself! But of course they did just fine!

Then cousin George decided that I needed to go for a dip in the pool......but I fought him off :)

All in all, it was a great all -inclusive trip! You got a little taste of everything and we had a blast!