Savannah and South Carolina

We just had the most amazing time in Savannah and then South Carolina for Matt's wedding.  We were gone for a week and the traveling wasn't easy, but it was worth it because we had a great time.  We got up super early to catch our flight to Savannah and as soon as we got to the airport I realized we'd forgotten the pacifier attacher thing (terrifying for parents if you've ever flown with a baby and had him/her fling the damn thing back seventeen rows) AND we forgot the Pack 'n' Play!  Tory helped us check everything curb side then went to park in long-term parking and we eagerly anticipated our trip:

 We had a pretty rough flight back from Florida, and since we had to fly to Houston then Savannah, we knew this would be a looooong day.  A friend told me to make little treats for the people sitting near us on the plane to "cushion the blow," so I made these :)

We had a great time in Savannah.  On our first night we went to a cute little brewery for dinner and got to sit outside and enjoy the warm evening (which we never have in San Fran).  The next day we were up and at 'em early to get to Paula Dean's famous restaurant The Lady and Sons. We weren't able to make a reservation, but we got in after a short wait and a tour around the adjoining Paula Dean store.

Most of the people were there for the buffet, but we tried to restrain ourselves by just ordering from the menu.  The first sign we were at the Queen of Butter's restaurant: they had a person whose sole job was to bring "bread" -- actually gigantic cheese biscuits and fried corn cakes.  Since there were technically three of us, we got three orders ;)

There were lots of personal touches in the restaurant, including family photos and Paula's own hot sauce:

After our yummy lunch it was off to the Old Town Trolley Tour of this beautiful historic city.  On our walk to the trolley I noticed some the remnants of the Kony 2012 movement, which surprised me.  I only got a couple pics of the pumpkin during the trolley ride, but it was really interesting to hear all about Savannah.  At a couple of stops they had actors come on in costume to talk about the historic site where they work, and to invite us to join them on the evening ghost tour -- so cool!  We hopped off the trolley at the downtown marketplace and took everything in.  We also enjoyed what is probably the best part of the city: they have 22 squares, which are basically small parks with benches and plenty of shade.  It was great for us because we knew we were never too far away from a place for Skyla to play and for us to relax.

I escaped the heat and got a little pampering at this really cute spa in the heart of downtown. The waiting room was adorable and they even greeted me with a glass of white wine!

 That night Skyla scared me (and also made me laugh) because she had rolled over and was sleeping on her stomach.  She does that now and I just let her sleep because the doc says it's fine.  This time was special because of her excellent hair:

We bid adieu to Savannah and made our way to Pawley's Island, South Carolina.  It was so stinkin' hot in the car that even with the AC on full blast, Skyla was sweating up a storm.  So I moved to the back and we made a fort out of her blanket to block the sun.  We had lots of fun making silly faces, singing, and playing with her hair.

We had a relaxing evening and then Tory got up bright and early to pick up Brenda and Ali from the airport.  We only realized a couple of days before that they were on the same flight so it worked out great!  Tory dropped them off at our room so he could join the boys for golf, and I cooked us a nice breakfast.  Our room was really more like a condo and I loved having a kitchen because it made everything so much easier!  Later in the evening, we got all beautified for the rehearsal dinner and Brenda watched Skyla so we could go out and have fun.  She fell asleep almost immediately after I put her down so I was very relaxed and excited to see everyone!  The dinner was held at a cute local restaurant that had a whole back outdoor section that was just for us.  We got to see Matt and Jenny right away and they looked so happy!

Tory made a really sweet speech after dinner and talked about how Matt's accident was tragic at first, but that it brought together an amazing group of people that he now considers family.  Then he roasted the hell out of him with stuff like UGN, and mentioned several times that he worked as Matt's wingman forever to help him get lots of first dates, but that he never managed to secure a second date on his own.  And then he met Jenny.  Awww.  Dinner was great but the night wasn't over; we met a bunch of other peeps at this cool outdoor bar and all of us (especially the New Yorkers) were floored by how cheap the beer was!  We had a lot of fun but stayed up way past our normal bedtime.

The next day I held my phone in my hand eagerly awaiting a text from Erin saying they had arrived.  Her Dad flew them down (how cool is that?!) and they got there around lunchtime.  We met them at the hotel restaurant and literally sat looking at the door because we were so excited to see them.  Skyla couldn't wait to finally meet Elliot but Erin needed to get some baby love first :)

 Those two hit it off instantly, and Skyla's future in-laws couldn't have been more pleased!  I loved watching them together, and I was grateful to have the chance to eat my lunch while it was still hot!  After about an hour of playing and being held, the pumpkin went back into her high chair.

We had lots of fun at the pool after lunch.  I just chatted with Erin, Ali, and Brenda, but Paul and Elliot went wild using all the kiddie pool attractions.  Before we knew it, it was time to get ready for the main event!  Ali went back to her hotel (very confusing -- everything in town was some variation of the Litchfield Inn so we discovered that she wasn't actually at our hotel) then picked us up in a cab.  The wedding was in a beautiful park, and the scenery was just breathtaking.

We were a little late but we had just enough time for a photo with the proud Mother-of-the-groom, Andrea.  

 We couldn't find seats together so we stood in the back.  Fine with me cause I got to take lots of great pics!

 Right after the ceremony we strolled over for the receiving line, and we were among the first to congratulate the happy couple.

They had the cocktail hour nearby next to a gorgeous fountain with all these crazy statues in it.  Then we made our way over to the huge tent for the reception.  Most of what you are about to see speaks for itself -- no further narration necessary.

Even after all that fun, the night was not over.  We stockpiled a bunch of beers and downed or gave away as many as we could, then all piled into the shuttle to take us to the bar for the after party.  It was pretty tame, but we had a nice time. There was a guy playing guitar and singing songs I'd never heard, but a few people thought he rocked the house!

A few more shots of us (we were obviously all tired but we were waiting for the bride and groom to make their grand entrance)

We went out for breakfast the next day so we could get a little more Rooney time before they had to leave.  Skyla was her usual chipper self but the rest of us were feeling the pain of trying to take care of a baby after a few too many...

The food did the trick for most of us (Tory was in pretty rough shape all day) and then we had to say goodbye to the Rooney fam. Erin told me that later Elliot was playing a game he made up called "Save Miss Skyla," where he had to rescue her from the bushes!  Then he cried because he couldn't play with her for real :(  Don't worry little man, you'll have lots of fun together in August!  Later that day we went over to the beach house Matt's parents had rented and hung out with his fam and friends.  It was really fun recounting the events from the wedding, especially the fact that Ed estimates he drank "about a case" of beer.  Andrea was in love with Skyla right away, but I stopped myself from urging Matt to give her a granddaughter already ;)

 We stopped by the beach for a few minutes but it was so windy we called it a day.  We hung out at the awesome hotel pool the next day though, and had some family fun in the lazy river and Dr. Seuss submarine thingamajig.  If that last photo is any indication, Skyla had a damn good time.

Our last day was sure to be hell; we had to drive back to Savannah, fly to Houston, fly to San Francisco, then drive to San Jose to spend the night so we could pick up Lily.  I knew I would be facing moments of extreme stress, so I took the babe out for a little walk on the beautiful hotel grounds and relaxed for a moment on the hammock that had been calling my name since we got there.

We went to the Cracker Barrel in Savannah (because you have to go there at least once when you're in the South) and Skyla got ready to say goodbye to SC and hello to SF.