A Yankee Redneck Wedding?!?!

Labor Day weekend we got to go up to NY for Phil's cousin's wedding. DJ and Tammy got married on the farm, and lucked out with no rain (though it threatened!). It was cool and WINDY, though, and their reception tent had to be buffered and held in place by trucks and tractors! They had said they wanted a "redneck wedding" and they succeeded :) But it was also beautiful and a ton of fun! Phil's mom made the cake, so you KNOW it was excellent- she makes the best wedding cakes EVER :) They roasted corn and a pig, and had quite a buffet- it was awesome. There was a bonfire, and the party lasted WELL into the night! Here are some of our pictures of the event :)

Our Newest Addition

In August, we took a trip to Maryland to meet our newest niece, Eliza Laine. She's the sweetest thing, with her 80's rock band hair :) Emma is being a great big sister so far, and we had a good time hanging out with everyone. We took Mom with us, so the girls could see their Nana.

We mostly hung out at the house, but we did go out to take Emma to the fair for the first time. She got her first real pony ride (Aunt Erin is so proud!!) and LOVED going down the big slide with Daddy. We also got to go watch Emma at her swim lesson at the YMCA. She's quite a fish, and was swimming in the deep end all by herself! At one point, Phil and I snuck down to the Inner Harbor for a quick look around while the kids were napping :)

Below are some pictures from our trip. Eliza was just figuring out how to smile, so I even got a blurry picture of the cutest little grin ever :) We attempted a family picture, which was hilarious, but managed a halfway decent one.

The Phil/Erin/Nash Birthday Cookout

Okay, so I'm only 2 months late posting the pictures from our cookout in May- I've done worse :) The cookout was a combo birthday party for all of the Henry household- Phil's BD early in May, mine late in the month, and we're guessing Nash's to be in the middle. Phil's family was still in town from NY, plus my Dad and stepmom came, and many of our friends. We have truly been blessed here in Charlotte with some awesome friends :)
Here's one of my favorite pictures of Miss Madison:
Two of my favorite guys, Phil and Dad (missing: my brother, Jason):
There was a side game of t-ball/baseball going on for the kids:
The avid spectators:
Aidan's "pitcher" face cracked me up:
Good hit, Emma!!
The birthday boy:
Patrick read the kiddos a story as things wound down:
Nash's friends also came for the party: Nola, Casey, Sadie and Abby (note how Nash is greeting Abby, the white dog. He greets EVERYONE like that. No wonder other dogs don't always like him!)

Nash was exhausted when everyone left (thank God!)

It was a great day and a fun celebration. We are SO happy that some of Phil's family was able to come down from NY- it was great to have them here! And now that we are in our third straight week of highs in the upper 90's, Phil and I are ready for some time up north!! ;)

Warning: Cuteness Ahead

In an effort to split up the blog posts, I split up our first day with Phil's family. This is part two :)

After the wagon ride and petting zoo (see previous post), we had a snack and then let the kids play on the playground at the zoo for a little while.

Caleb:
Caleb and Noelle:

Trying to get a picture of the three kids is nearly impossible! Here was an attempt to get them to all smile and look in the same direction:

The fields were FULL of buttercups, and made for pretty family pictures :) Here is Nathan, Kim, and the kids:

Then Phil and I jumped in:

After the zoo, we stopped for an ice cream treat (I think Uncle Phil wanted this as much as the girls!) Here's Miss Madison:

I told Noelle she looked like Rudolph:

That night, we got dinner where there was an outdoor fountain, which entertained the kids quite a bit.

This cracked me up:

Beautiful Madison:

After a LONG day, Caleb was ready for bed (cutie pie):

The next day, we hung out at the house, low key for the morning. The girls put on swimsuits to play outside. It snowed at their house the day they left NY, so they thought the swimsuits were justified :)

Phase Two of Phil's birthday surprise arrived that evening: His cousin, Catrina, and her family, drove down from Buffalo to be here to celebrate :) They brought their new tent to camp in the backyard. I joked that it was as big as our house! Here's everyone putting it together. Their son, Aidan, is four, and he was a big help :)

Check back soon for pictures from Phil and Nash's birthday cookout :) (Thirty people, beer and burgers, one bathroom, and six dogs for Nash to play with... need I say more?)