Meet Me in St. Louis

Mr. Smith and I packed an overnight bag, loaded up the car and traveled a little bit north and quite a distance east to get to "The Gateway to the West." This road trip was so we could attend our niece's wedding. None of the Smithlings were able to make the trip; however, somebody simply had to be there to represent the Smith fam. We love our niece to pieces, so we wouldn't have missed her special day!

Molly and Nate tied the knot on October 9th at the Third Degree Glass Factory in the 'Lou. This proved to be a lovely venue for a wedding.

It's quite apparent that we don't "selfie too good!" I simply had to try so I could send my kids Snapchat messages from their cousin's wedding. (They thought we were funny. Or odd. Or amusing. Or something like that.)

It was sooo good to see my daddy!

 The bride and her grandpa posed for my camera.

 The mother-of-the-bride and her daddy also smiled for me!

 I didn't even have to ask this very proud father-of-the-bride and his daughter to look happy. This joy just came naturally!

The desserts at the reception were all of Molly and Nate's favorite recipes that friends and family make.

 It was hard to choose just one thing, so I chose three! Little bites. Honest.

There were lots of "pretty no-nos" in the gallery. This is the kind of place that would make a mother of young children very uneasy.

 Rachel and Anne

 Mitchell and Sarah 

 Siblings! 

And we are in order of age. Our brother Jay couldn't make it...Maybe we should Photoshop him in!

 AJ and Mark

 The twins posed for an "almost birthday" photo.

 #1 Son and Dad

 Me and my road trippin' buddy

Nate's dad brewed up a special ale for the occasion, "I Thee Red."

Too bad I'm not a beer connoisseur. It looks good.

To cap off the evening, we got to see a glass blowing demonstration. It was either do this or go hit the dance floor. :-P

We all met for breakfast on Saturday morning, before the Texas contingent hit the road. We picked up two more passengers for the return trip -- well, baby-to-be makes three!

 We simply HAD to stop here. 

It's going to be a new tradition of places to stop along the I-44 corridor in Missouri.

Why did we cross the road?

To get to the chicken.

AND because it's so ridiculous.

And because we needed a potty break.

Road trips need to be packed with silliness and El Pollo Camino.

And clean restrooms!