To Chattanooga and back in one piece!

This December encompassed a lot of firsts for the Hess family: first birthday for the babies, first Christmas at home together, and our first road trip! Rich's brother Dave got married on January 1st so after much preparing, packing and stressing on my part, we were off to Chattanooga for a week. It was a wonderful week and the wedding was absolutely beautiful. Rather than describe every part of the journey, here is a summary of our trip in pictures.

The open road before us...


It was an almost ominous thought, making the 11+ hour trip to Chattanooga with 3 babies (4 if you count cousin Mya who was in the other car caravaning with us). We stopped at a hotel on the way down to break up the trip, which made the driving more tolerable for everyone. Overall I was pleasantly surprised at how well the babies did. Their only source of entertainment was their uncles riding along in the back, who did an INCREDIBLE job of keeping them happy. I again can't thank them enough!

Kayla & Braden: Road Warriors!


This was the babies' first night away from home, and they seemed to really have fun in the hotel.



Catching up with old friends

We got to visit with old college friends while there, which was so fun since we all actually had new kids to introduce! The babies made fast friends and had a blast playing with new toys. Thank you dear friends for allowing us to visit, it was SO wonderful to see you all!

Michelle & Bob and their kids.

Laini & I with all our kids. Quite the brood!

Dan & Shanna and their kids.

Karen & Gerald and their kids, technically they're family, but friends too of course!


Little Jonah (Laini's son) was so sweet with our Kayla, it was so cute!
Doesn't it look like this could be a prom picture?



The Main Event: Dave & Heather's Wedding!


Of course the whole reason for the trip was for Dave & Heather's wedding. The babies came to the church for the wedding, but thanks to a wonderful babysitter, were able to play in the nursery during the actual ceremony. It was fun to get them all dressed up and we couldn't stand how cute they looked. The wedding was beautiful and Heather looked radiant. We're so excited to have her as part of the Hess family and officially be Aunt Heather!


Our new Family Picture

All our extended family

All dressed up in our wedding outfits