Continuing the Journey

The (Very Long) Wedding Post...

Our marathon day started at the hair salon. Nicole (my baby sister, aka the bride) gave all of the bridesmaids gift cards to cover part of the styling costs, which was so sweet and generous. Meggie and I were both hesitant to even have our hair done. We rarely like our hair when we we get it cut and styled, but we wanted to take part in the festivities and spend the day with the other bridesmaids. So we went along and got our hair done.

And we both regretted it.

Thankfully, the damage done by the stylists was easily undone with the curling iron and flat iron we stuck in our bags before we left the house. I ended up being quite happy with my hair once I worked with it. Meggie, on the other hand, struggled all day...
...even trying to curl her hair in the limo with the unplugged (and quickly cooling off) curling iron!
Aren't they gorgeous? It is so weird seeing my nieces (Brooke, Tara, and Lauren) and my daughter all dressed up, looking like grown women. I remember changing their diapers, for goodness sake!! And here is my baby sister...
...all grown up and getting married! Hey, Megster, having fun yet??
While we were waiting for the official pictures, we decided to get an "unofficial" picture...
...of me and my sisters! (Left to right, it is me, my sister Michelle, my sister Debbie, and my sister-in-law Tina. My sister-in-law Pam was ill and missed the wedding. And, of course, my sister Nicole was otherwise occupied with official pictures.)
There's me and the Little Man in the limo. He looked so cute in his "handsome suit," which is what he called his tuxedo. (Isn't that adorable?!)
The happy couple, right after the ceremony. We were headed to a local park for some pictures.
He was trying to look "cool." Do ya think it worked?! When we arrived at the park, there was a great view of the river in the background and I wanted to get a picture of the kids together. Just as I was about to take the picture, Aunt Debbie swooped in to steal a kiss from Carson......which clearly confused BOTH of my kids!
That's what I was going for! Carson did an AWESOME job in all of the pictures, but did need an occasional "goofball break" in between shots...
...but, see how great he did when he had to!
This park was so pretty, I wanted to get a picture with my kids since we were all dressed up. One of the groomsmen offered to take a picture...
...which turned out lovely, except for Carson being a total nerd! Let's try again...
...which would have been perfect, except that the sun glare is a bit overpowering right over my head. Oh well, we tried! Wait, who are those cool dudes??
It's Cool Carson and Cool Uncle Terry, hamming it up in the limo.
Carson LOVED the "fancy car" that we got to ride in to get to the park and back to the reception.
Still hamming it up with Cool Uncle Terry. The radio in the limo was cranking obnoxiously loud music...the young girls were LOVING it and I was trying not to get a migraine! Carson was shocked that the groomsmen all seemed to know the words to the songs...
...and just kept staring at them with his mouth hanging open. It was SO funny! When we got back to the reception, we got a few pictures outside before heading in to have dinner. Here are my parents and all my sibs...
...not a bad looking crowd, huh? When they added spouses and children...
...the crowd got significantly bigger! Poor Brandon (the groom) comes from a small family. My guess is we are gonna take some getting used to! One of my favorite pics of the night...
...my Dad and my Little Man! After eating dinner, Carson headed to the dance floor...
...then ran back to the table for the toast to the bride and groom...
...we had champagne, but Carson had water. (I swear!) He felt so grown-up that he got to use a wine glass! I thought the cake was beautiful...
...and after forcing them to hold that kiss until my camera cooperated, I just had to yell, "Now get your hands off my baby sister!!"
Wow, Sophia does NOT look happy in that picture with Carson and her Daddy! Ever the awesome big sister...
...Meggie spent a great deal of time dancing with the Little Man! When I tried to get a picture of her dancing with her Daddy, however...
...she didn't cooperate at first...
...awwww, that's so sweet!! In order to get Carson to cooperate during the ceremony and during pictures, Aunt Nicole bought him a gift and wrapped it in pretty paper...and then forgot about it. Near the end of the reception, Carson approached her and asked, "May I have my present now please?" What a good boy!!
He was super excited to get a Spiderman on a motorcycle and a new flashlight! Those went nicely with his gift at the rehearsal dinner...a Batmobile and a Batman on a motorcycle. Aunt Nicole knows how to bribe my Little Man! Poor Sophia had a rough time at the reception...
...until finally Aunt Debbie rocked her to sleep in her stroller. (What a great idea to bring the stroller!) Carson, who are you pointing that new flashlight at??
You can dress my kids up, but you sure can't keep shoes on their feet!
Carson had so much fun on the dance floor...
...probably because he was getting tons of attention from a bunch of pretty girls! Now, what kind of dancing is THAT?
Uh-oh...he kicked Meggie in the head...
...and now he has to pay! After getting this fun picture of Daddy and the kids...
...I realized I hadn't gotten a picture of the four of us yet.
Oh, great Carson. Thanks for cooperating!!
Much better!! When Meggie was younger, Aunt Nicole spent a LOT of time at our house. They had this crazy routine...
...of slapping each other on the forehead, and Meggie got in one more slap at the reception!
Couldn't they pass as sisters?! Nicole used to call Meggie her "Mini Me"...and I can certainly see why! A few more pictures on the dance floor...
...and our marathon day was over. Whew!!