Suburban parents gone wild AKA Scott and Tiffany's weekend away AKA The best wedding ever AKA Pinkberry across America

Scott and I just got back from a fabulous weekend away. It was our first time away without kids since Avery was born nearly 5 1/2 years ago, so it was high time. We had a great time! My mom was kind enough to come out to watch our kids for the weekend, and it was nice to leave them with someone and not have to worry about them while we were away. We went up for the wedding of my dear friend and college roommate Erin Enke, but we did a lot of other fun things while we were gone as well.

The wedding was at noon on Friday, so we got up very early and left just after 6:00 am. Due to a Mapquest problem leading us the long way around Philadelphia, we were pushing it for time. I was worried that we would be late, so we ended up changing in the car. I'm sure it was a fantastic sight for other drivers! Also, to save time, I woke up and put rollers in my hair and got into the car.

It was a good strategy, but I think my fatal mistake was leaving them in a little too long, and it wasn't a pretty result.

Luckily, my hair calmed a bit and I think it ended up ok.

Like I said, we were cutting it close for time, so after we parked, we ran down the block to the Manhattan temple, where Erin and Scott were getting married.

As we walked up, we saw several familiar faces standing out in front of the temple, and learned that Scott and Erin had left their marriage license back at home. Erin's sister Liesel had to race across town to retrieve it. The wedding ended up being about an hour late, which was ok with us, because it gave us some time to relax in the temple before the ceremony started. The actual marriage was very sweet. I have been very hormonal lately (no, I'm not pregnant) and bawled through the entire ceremony. Erin looked absolutely stunning. Possibly the most beautiful bride I have ever seen.

After the ceremony, Erin and Scott headed to Central Park for pictures. My Scott and I originally intended to join them, but were way too hungry (after only having a protein bar for breakfast 7 hours earlier) so we headed to the nearest Pinkberry for some nourishment. I have had an obsession with Pinkberry since my NYC trip with my girlfriends in April, and thought that I could cure it with a quick trip to Pinkberry. Wrong. One taste and my addiction grew. I had been raving to Scott about Pinkberry for the past few months and he told me he was a little skeptical. But he was hooked after the first lick. We spent the rest of our trip going from one Pinkberry to the next. I don't think we really had much food at all while we were there - mainly just Pinkberry. Why, oh why, can't there be Pinkberry in DC???

Upper West Side Pinkberry

East Midtown Pinkberry (ate there a few times)

Soho Pinkberry

After our Pinkberry refreshment, we drove out to NJ to check into our hotel. We stayed in the Hyatt New Brunswick, which was right across the street from Rutgers University. Rutgers campus looked beautiful. Because traffic was a little heavy, we just had enough time to check in and freshen up before we went to the reception. And WHAT A RECETPION!!! It was definitely the fanciest reception we had ever been to. Let's be honest, Mormons aren't exactly known for their extravagant weddings, and Erin really outdid herself. It was at The Palace in Somerset, New Jersey. The building itself was gorgeous.

We walked in and there was food everywhere. There was a large buffet set up and I thought "Oh, I thought she said it was a sit down dinner, but I guess they decided to go with a buffet." Waiters were serving other things and it was all quite tasty. After Scott and I had eaten our fair share of the food and were feeling a bit full, they announced that the dining room would be opening for dinner. They pulled back these drapes and sure enough, there was the dining room. Whoops, I guess we shouldn't have eaten so much. The table settings were gorgeous.

We sat down and a waiter came to take our main course order. For appetizers, there was lobster, then the salad course, and for dinner we had a choice of lamb or sirloin. As steak lovers, we went for the sirloin. In between each course, the families had planned a program of dancing, toasts and other fun stuff, including a dance off between Erin and Leisel (her sister) and two brothers that were their neighbors. It was hilarious. Erin could really get down in that wedding dress!

We had a fantastic time. One of the highlights of my nights was spending time with my darling roommate Annie Boyer. She grew up next door to Erin, and I hoped that she would be at the wedding. I was so excited when I saw that she had made it all the way from Salt Lake. She was as cute as ever, and we had a great time catching up.

Just when I thought I couldn't eat any more, Erin and Scott cut the cake, and they opened the dessert buffet. I wish I had taken pictures of these desserts! They were easily the most beautiful desserts I had ever seen, and went right along with the most beautiful wedding I have ever seen. Erin and Scott really know how to party New York Style.

The next morning, after being woken up by road construction at 6:00am on a Saturday (we were able to go back to sleep at 8 when they quieted down) we had brunch at a little diner down the street, drove around Rutgers for a bit, and then headed back into NYC. We stayed at the Marriott Midtown East. It was very nice, and in a fantastic location.

After checking in, we headed to the nearest Pinkberry (see above) and walked around for a bit. We had tickets to the evening show for Spamalot. We laughed our heads right off during the show.

After the show, we walked around Times Square for a bit.

Then, we had some pizza at Nino's Bellissima Pizza and more Pinkberry and then walked around some more until we were too tired to walk around anymore and were about to collapse from exhaustion. The next morning, we slept in (no kids or construction to wake us up!!!) and checked out of our hotel. We went to brunch at the Popover Cafe.

Mmmm mmmm mmmmm!!!! We had Eggs Benedict on a popover, and for dessert (hey, we were on vacation where it's ok to have dessert for breakfast) we had a Popover Blowout, which was like a giant ice cream and hot fudge filled cream puffy popover. I could have eaten the whole thing myself, it was so good, and it was HUGE!

After brunch, we drove around Manhattan for a bit (the traffic is so much nicer on Sundays) and then went down to Soho to do some shopping, some Pinkberrying and some more walking and looking around. We sort of lost track of time, and didn't leave NY until much later than we had planned.

Bye, New York, we'll miss you!

We got home after 10, but our kids were in bed, awake, waiting for us to come home. They had made us a sign and taped it to our bedroom door.

Coming home was really the best part. I'm never really away from the kids, so it was a lot of fun to get the welcome home and see how excited they were to see us!