Last Minute Getaway

Well, we are back and I bet you didn't even know we were gone!  It was decided late on Friday night that Emily and I would head south to celebrate Jackie's massage school graduation.  As a bonus, Papa and Uncle Ryan would get to spend some time with Emily before Christmas.  We left our house on Saturday morning at 9 (Daddy was sad to see us go but also liked the idea because he had a lot of work to do over the weekend) and arrived with some time to kill.    Of course, this "extra" time was supposed to be Emily's nap but she didn't like the idea.  So instead she threw leaves over the deck and watched a show with Papa.  

Before the big event we went out to dinner - yummy!  The waiter was really nice to Emily but apparently didn't feel the need to mention that he couldn't see her in the group picture he took.
Lucky for him we took many a picture of Emily by herself...

and with everyone else.

The ceremony was very nice and Emily enjoyed running around everywhere.  She didn't really love walking head first into the water fountain though... she had a few bumps this weekend that you might see in pictures over the next few days.  Here is a picture of Jackie with her family at the end of the evening - (L-R Samantha, Becky, Jackie, Joe).  It was very nice to meet her family after hearing so much about them! 

Even though she had a late night and no nap, Emily was up and ready to take on Sunday at the regular time.  Of course she had to help Papa feed the birdies - this time she was given extra responsibilities too.  
Okay, yes, she was the one that spilled the bird seed...

Next, Papa had to work on the spa which meant that it was uncovered so we offered Emily a dip.  She wasn't going for it...
eventually I was able to get her in and she LOVED swimming around with Papa.



All of this work and play can really wear an already overtired girl out!  
I had no problem convincing her to take a nap that day and after a couple of good hours of sleep she was ready to go again!

Lucky for her, Uncle Ryan and Jackie came out to play.  She liked building the blocks up, up, up...

but liked knocking them down MORE!




Before hitting the road Emily did a little clowning around with Magic...
and we were back in the car at 5 making a short stop along the way to eat dinner with Uncle Adam (we saw him and Aunt Angie when passing through on Saturday afternoon as well but no pics).  It was a very quick visit and Emily spent the entire time flirting and playing coy behind Mimi.
It was a whirlwind weekend and Emily was a little worse for the wear today but I am glad we made the trip.  Now, if only I could find someone to give me a massage...