The Lyons and Shoopman Families were totally wiped out from our busy weeks and dad's birthday party on Friday night, but Saturday morning came early and Mom, Charlotte and I packed up and headed up I-65 for Kentucky.
Owensboro was our first big stop and we got to take Charlotte to her first Dove Hunt on the Rudy Farm... oh yea baby. She loved being outside in the breeze and being loved on by her great aunts, uncles, and cousins. She surprised me and was not at all bothered by the shot guns going off in the field around us (we were safely tucked inside the "shop" but I still had to work on calming my "momma nerves" with guns being around my baby!) I was upset by seeing the poor little birdies shot out of the sky... even more so when I was shown their decapitated heads... needless to say we did not stick around for the grilling time. *shudders* I love my family and love that they love what they do, but I am for sure a city girl and that is reinforced in me at times like this!
Anytime we are in Owensboro we stay with my Nana. She is technically my mom's step-mother but as she became a Rudy when mom was just 11 they are very close and the only Nana Rudy I know. Nana is approaching 85 and is in wonderful physical health but is showing signs of her age when it comes to her mental state. Her short term memory is at times very very short, but regardless she loves seeing little Charlotte bug and gets excited for her visits. It was wonderful seeing them play together on the floor. If you see the photo below they are playing on the floor together on the quilt that Nana embroidered for me when I was born. It meant a lot to all 4 generations of women in that house to have them share moments together on that blanket. Nana read Charlotte's book to her, Charlotte talked back and just smiled at her Nana - even showed her how she is just about ready to take off crawling. It was precious time spent together.
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Here is "more" about the wedding
That evening we attended the wedding of my dear friend Holly Ferguson to Brad Powers. My mom has been friends with Holly's mom Donna since they were in school together oh so many years ago, and then Holly and I were born just 4 days apart. We spent a lot of years together during the early years - oh the embarrassing photos of us that I will NOT be showing you! We have grown up and grown apart by both distance and time spent together but we have ties that bind! It was so special being able to attend Holly's wedding with Mom, and it was Holly's first time to see Charlotte bug! Holly was an absolutely exquisite bride and her and her mother had organized a beautiful wedding. Holly and her family are Catholic and in a Catholic wedding there is a full mass, but children are all welcome so it was Charlotte's first wedding and first mass all rolled into one! She did so great too! We had to stop out and walk in the lobby some, but she was very quiet and loved watching all the people. She had started to get sick in the hours before but even with a little runny nose she held in there!
After the wedding we headed to the reception in the hall by the church and it was so crowded! lots of people, music and lights from the DJ, and lots of movement but again Charlotte did wonderfully. She even let Holly and her parents and a few others hold her regardless of her feeling sick and tired. Mom and I stayed for about an hour at the reception and she had a great time seeing so many friends from high school and friends from Owensboro.
Sadly Charlotte took a turn in those hours and got more and more sick and congested through the evening. We stopped at walgreens for a humidifier and some meds and headed back to Nanas. As tired as Charlotte was she couldn't breathe through her nose hardly at all and was not comfortable when sleeping. Lots and lots of crying was finally followed by sleep at 2:30 in her car seat so she could sit up more and I placed it beside my bed and had to rock her back to sleep a few times during the night until about 7 or so the next morning. Not a good nights sleep for anyone I can assure you. Charlotte woke up feeling a little better I think so we all got dressed and headed up to Mass with Nana and met my Uncle Joey and Aunt Weenie along with Cousins Lee and Sarah and their kiddos Laura Lee and Walker. Again Charlotte did well in mass and enjoyed having Laura Lee play with her on the pew.
After Mass we went to Weenie and Joeys house for a yummy breakfast and playtime with the cousins. Charlotte feel asleep wonderfully at their house so we let her sleep while we went back to Nana's to pack up and load up the car for the trip home.
All in all it was a wonderful but short trip to Owensboro. It is always hard to leave as our visits are too short and we never get to see everyone we want to see. There are a few photos below, hopefully I'll add some more from mom's camera to facebook in the next few days. Sorry for the long post! (and Labor Day weekend isn't even over yet... next up Bowling Green!)
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