Weddings, Harry Potter, and Siesta Key

Warning: This post has gratuitous self pics :)

So we're finally all back and settled in.  I don't think I ever needed a vacation as badly as I did before our 10 amazing days in Siesta Key, Florida.  One of Steven's childhood friends got married on May 14, and Steven's entire family was invited.  His parents were generous enough to rent a townhouse for us all to stay at, and decided to turn the trip into their yearly family vacation.  Not only was I excited because I love weddings and I love the beach; it was also my first family vacation with Steven's family.   They've been on two since we started dating, but it never worked out that I could come.

Steven's parents left the Monday before the wedding and Steven, Kara and Jimmy (Steven's sister and her husband) and I went to meet them a few days later. We were so excited to get to Florida, we left Wednesday evening and drove through the night. This was obviously mine and Kara's idea...as you can see the boys were thrilled:

 Steven and Jimmy on the final leg of the drive.

Once in Florida, the first order of business was the rehearsal dinner and wedding of Steven's friends Michael and Blair.  Steven hates taking pictures and rarely has to dress up, so I took these events as an opportunity to force him to take an excessive amount of photos.

Steven and I at the rehearsal dinner

Kara and I

Steven when I tried to make him pose for more :)

 The following day was the wedding, which was beautiful of course at a huge church right by the ocean. Followed by everyone's favorite part of any wedding, the reception.

And I even got Steven to dance with me! If you know him, this is an amazing feat!

 I am quite a bit wedding obsessed and watch way too much Say Yes to the Dress, My Fair Wedding, Rich Bride, Poor Bride, etc, etc and I've always loved the idea of the photo booth.  Well, Michael and Blair had one and I was so excited!

 You can probably tell these were taken near the end of the evening and we were feeling a little silly!

After the festivities, we had the next six days to relax and have some fun. We spent a LOT of time on the beach.

Sadly Steven's mom gets left out of photos since she's usually the photographer

Steven's dad was thrilled to metal detect some new territory

Kara and I were determined to see manatees and we even went on a kayak tour with Jimmy in tow to try to get up close and personal with them. Sadly Jimmy was the only one who caught a glimpse despite 3 hours of paddling.  Then later in the week while Kara and I were inside having lunch FIVE manatees swam right by Jimmy and our beach chairs!  Although disappointing, Jimmy was dubbed "The Manatee Whisperer."

Another exciting part of our trip was being so close to Orlando.  I went to Disney when I was a teen, and although Disney would have been fun, I've had my eye on Harry Potter World at Island's of Adventure since it opened.  I LOVE Harry Potter and remember reading them to my little cousin and brother growing up.  I can't believe it's been 14 years since the first book was released. FOURTEEN YEARS!  The last movie marks the end of an era! But that's a different post. Kara has never read the books, but she was nice enough to accompany me to fulfill my Harry Potter dreams!

So happy to see Hogwarts!

And we got Butterbeer!  Not to disappoint, but it's non-alcoholic and sickeningly sweet.  Have I mentioned I love, love, love Kara? I was lucky to meet Steven, but when his family got thrown into the deal, it was even sweeter!

By the end of the week, I had gotten the rest and fun I've been looking forward to.  I needed some time away from reality to recharge.  Also, I fell in love with Siesta Key.  I mean, who would ever want to leave a place with sunsets like this?

Especially when you get to enjoy it with an awesome family like this:

 I know this was a long post, but it's my first extended trip to the beach since Jess got married last May, and I love sharing pics.

Where is your favorite place to vacation?