Actually, this part of the trip was hardest for her parents. Ayley thought it was pretty cool ... on the drive down to LAX we stopped at a library on Topanga Canyon Rd ( Mama had to nurse Jessa & change some diapers), then after missing our flight and having a large bowel movement standing at the counter (as Mama & Papa tried desperately to get us onto another flight) Ayley had a bath, right in the airport! (Luckily for Mama & Papa, there was a large sink in the "family room" where we changed Ayley's diaper and all her clothes). And of course on the plane there were lots of people to talk to, and Papa read lots of stories. But perhaps best of all, when we arrived in St. Paul, we got to ride a bus! Ayley loves the big windows and sitting on the big seats like everyone else (no strapping into baby seats!). And they even had little Ayley-sized bottles of water. It was almost too exciting.
And the fun didn't end there. After getting settled into our hotel room, (while Mama waited for the hotel staff to locate a crib) Nana came and swept Ayley away..to a big party! Lots of folks were still awake (way past bed time), happy to play with her, and there were crackers and fruit to munch on.
You can tell that Ayley is taking this very seriously, and thinking hard about the steps she needs to memorize... or maybe she is just tired. She didn't sleep much the whole trip - things were too exciting! Jessa was in demand, too - lots of people were excited to meet her for the first time. She did pretty well, aside from the car trips across the Cities, which were grueling howlfests.
Below, our cousins Alex and Allison enjoy the dinner. While it was rainy and very cool outside the dinner tent, the atmosphere was delightfully warm inside. Many of our Mumbai relatives huddled inside the house in thick cloaks, woolen caps, and doubtless visions of steamy Central Indian Climes dancing in their heads.
Ray, Brenda, and the Halls had a lakeside seat. A highlight of the table decorating was the pictures of Emily and Vishant.
Ayley had a fantastic time weaving around through the tables with her cousins, but finally she crashed. She hasn't slept on one of us since she was but a wee babe....
We got duded up over at the Ordway Suite in the St. Paul Hotel. This was across the street from the site of the wedding. Ayley was tired and resistant to putting on her finery. Jessa didn't seem to mind so much! Suddenly we were hurrying off for the beginning of the wedding -- and to watch with bated breath as Vishant ride his charger around the park.
Unfortunately we didn't get any digital camera shots of the wedding itself. So that will have to be covered on the more conventional paper photo medium....
Scott digesting things in Uruguay, or whatever table we were at! Kathy looked very elegant in her gorgeous (and gorgeously wrapped) outfit. We thought the column set it off nicely!
The sun sets on a long and exciting weekend of activities. In the distance is the big cathedral. The clocktower in the foreground is on the building where Emily and Vishant were married. Now you're going to ask, what in the world were you doing in the Honeymoon Suite at that time? Well, a lot of us hung out there until quite late. Em and Vishant didn't have the heart to kick us out, I guess!
On to later pictures (on through May 31)
Back to earlier pictures (through May 14)