Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Our Trip to Pennsylvania! Jan, 2012

We all embarked on our second international flight with baby Wes on January 16, 2012. With 3 weeks off of work for Joey, it was the perfect opportunity to head to the homeland to visit our families as well as celebrate the long-anticipated wedding of Lauren & Miriam! (Joe's little sister)

The total travel time from Shanghai to Mom & Dad Martin's was exactly 24 hours. There was one extra seat on the entire plane, and it was given to us for Wes! WHAT a blessing that was! The first two hours, before we got the extra seat, were pretty miserable for us, as Wes would NOT settle. However, once we got the extra seat and he was able to stretch out to sleep, he actually slept for about 7 hours! (of course, that still left us with a LOT of awake time and hardly any space to entertain him, but between Joey and I, we managed. PTL! We sure were happy to arrive in PA!

Here is Wes helping mommy pack...

And a happy Wesley entertaining himself while waiting to greet his Grandma and Grandpa Martin!
 

It just feels SO good to be with family again! Wes LOVES sitting on Grandpa's lap!
 

Quality family time in the cozy rec room...



It's hard to get all the great-grandchildren in one spot for a photo with their great grandparents! It was a nice attempt, and this was the best result. A very natural shot. ;)
 
Wes was given some special gifts!

Poor baby...he fell asleep at such random times and in such random places.
I'm still not sure if the jeglag was harder on him, or his parents!
Joey & I took turns working the night shifts. 
Sure couldn't have done it without such a supportive husband! xoxo
 



baby Wes with Auntie Miriam...the soon-to-be-bride!!


 We weren't sure how he would take to being strapped into a car seat, but he did surprisingly well!


We absolutely LOVED being a part of the commotion in the house the week before the wedding!! We helped out where we could, but mostly just basked in the glorious rays of our amazing family. We love you guys!!!

 Andy is the BEST with his little nieces and nephews!! 
Wes just ate up the attention!
 I want to be just like you someday, Uncle Andy!!

 There were many hands to help with Wes! 
haha...Wes looks so bleary-eyed in most of these photos! Poor jet-lagged baby...

Here we are "helping" to decorate for the reception!



 Danny and I designed a HUGE "Just Married" sign to fasten to the back of their get-away jeep! I love kniving with Danny!!! hehe




Wesley and William crack me up!! Born 13 days apart, they could be twins, they look so much alike!! 




Part of the ceremony involved the three little baby boys to be pulled down the aisle in a wagon. It was difficult to get all three of them in a good mood to practice, but we eventually did!


"I love my Auntie Anna..."


Okay: HIGHLIGHT OF OUR TRIP:
Saturday, January 21. 
The morning of the wedding.
We woke up to a sparkling white blanket of beautiful snow!!!
It was especially exciting, since they hadn't had snow since October, and Miriam REALLY wanted snow for her wedding. She had chosen her colors based on the fact they would "pop" in the snow, she had rented a horse and sleigh, and was trying to come to grips all week that she would have have a mud-brown wedding instead of the fairytale sparkles she had imagined. Should she cancel the sleigh? Should she change her photo shoot location?
Mom, inspired, shared with her, "How do you expect God to answer your prayer for snow if you don't have the faith to rent the sleigh???" 
The sleigh was rented.
The morning of the wedding we were all SHOCKED, EXCITED, DANCING, CRYING, the world was a winter wonderland!!! A beautiful wedding gift from the Lord, especially for Miriam!

Here is Miriam heading to the hair salon, veil in hand, ready to dig her car out of the wedding surprise God gave her!! ;)

Wesley's first sight of snow! I opened the patio door, snapped the shot, and rapidly closed it again. brrr! He can play outside in it later. We had a wedding to get ready for!!

Here we are, all dressed in our finest...and digging out the car!












I tried my best to get a shot of the boys in the wagon, all dressed in their matching tuxes and bow ties, but  this was the best I could do. I'll have to wait for the photographer's shots! I'm sure he got some good ones. They were TOO CUTE!






 Joe & I got to sit with Grandma & Grandpa Lapp, and Sheila and William!


 We were surprised when everyone started singing happy birthday, and they had decided to throw us ALL a birthday party while we were there! So, the day after the wedding was full of birthday gifts, DQ icecream cake, and fun!!!





Wes had fun playing outside in the snow with Uncle Danny, Uncle Chris, and Uncle Andy!!




I just love seeing Wes & William play together...

We also had the chance to take a quick trip up to visit Nica's friend and collegue, Jeanette! The last time we saw he we had visited her in Malaysia! And now she's living in PA, married, and with a beautiful daughter, Evie, who is just 2 weeks older than Wes! (but much more tiny!) It was fun to watch them play together!





We celebrated Chinese New Year together with a great meal that Jeanette made, and special CNY treats brought all the way from China for this very occasion! Yum!

 Our triplet boys with the mommies...
William, Wesley, and Ethan. 
Oh, the mischief that is destined when they get together to play in the years to come!

And finally, a few highlights of the wedding stolen from FB:

 Here is Wesley, 8 months old, and now off to Canada to visit his Eby family!!

J,N,&W