Wedding & Birthday

Last weekend was my sister Jess and Brian's wedding in Lakeside. It was so great, everything really turned out well. It was a small and quaint ceremony in my dad's backyard, and it was still magical and perfect. I think that everything Jess wanted happened, and the people she wanted there showed up. Her dad was there from Alaska, and that was really cool, I thought. I had not seen him since I was like 7 or 8 or some crazy age like that.

I got there Thursday afternoon, which was also my dad's birthday. That night was her bachelorette dinner at Mamma Mia's italian restaurant in Coos Bay. We all dressed up like a princess in some fashion, and we all were instructed to give Jess "Unwanted Advice." I couldn't really think of anything funny or unwanted, so I wrote out Ephesians 4:26 which reads, "In your anger, do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger." I think that was the best advice someone ever gave me when I got married, so I figured I'd pass it along. We all ate dinner and chatted, and then my stepmom and two of her friends came out wearing matching dresses and outfits, singing into hairbrushes to "Dancing Queen" by Abba. They completely played out a scene from the musical Mama Mia, which Jess saw with my stepmom and loves. They dubbed themselves Patty & The Pussycats, and sang the night away :) I have a picture of Jess clapping and smiling when they came out and surprised her, it was so hilarious and fun.

The next day, Friday, we all hung out and helped run the last-minute errands in town, and I cleaned the house to get ready for all the guests for rehearsal dinner. It was probably the most low-key day of all the days I was there. I got to visit with my new niece MaKenna, and see my sister Sarah from North Carolina and the two kiddos she brought with her, Jasmine and Thatcher. It was my first time meeting Thatcher, he's on turbo speed all the time! He is a doll baby though. That night we had rehearsal in the yard and my dad barbecued king salmon that Jess's dad brought from Alaska. It was cold outside so people migrated into the house, but the food was great. 

Saturday morning, all of us girls went into Coos Bay to get our hair done for the wedding. I went first because my hair can last through a tornado...especially with the "hair adhesive" the lady used on my hair! I was not used to EVER having product in my hair, so it was pretty much indestructible when she was done. After I got done, I made a coffee and smoothie run and went back to watch my sisters and niece Iris get theirs done. We all ran a few errands afterward and went back to the house to keep getting ready. The stress was a little higher by this point.....but still going along as planned. The cake had arrived and looked so pretty, and Sarah decorated it with beautiful red roses.

My grandma showed up with most of the food around the same time that the photographer did, and then it was kind of chaos. I was able to get all 3 of the girls ready into their dresses and put their pretty shoes on. It turned out to be a really cool time for me just to spend with them and help them get pretty. The two "bridesmaids" were Iris and Jasmine, and the flower girl was Lily. They all looked so pretty. I even got a snapshot of them with Grandpa Howard while we were waiting for them to be called into the back yard by the photographer....it is in my album below :)

The actual wedding went really well. It was beautiful and Jess was a glowing bride. Lily got a little spooked about walking down the aisle by herself, and my dad ended up going back and helping her walk down. She was so overwhelmed :( The rest turned out really great. Pastor Phil and two other members of the church sang a worship song, and Jess's uncle John sang a song called "Let It Be Me." As a surprise to Brain, Jess had those words engraved in Brian's ring and it was announced during the wedding. I didn't cry until Brian started saying his vows....I was thinking to myself how proud of him I am and how, after 13 years and 2 children, he is standing up there holding my sister's hand, pledging his unfailing love to her that has always been unfailing. I was just really overcome in that moment and teared up. We all ate and chatted afterward, and I got to visit with my family. All of us sisters decorated Jess & Brian's car during the reception. We tied some cans to the back, and Sarah wrote on the windows "One hot groom" "There goes the bride" "Don't come knocking" and on the back window in all capitals, Becky wrote "ABOUT DAMN TIME!" which was my favorite :) That night we were all extremely exhausted! The next day I watched the Red Sox play Toronto before I got back on the road to come home.

I got all 4 CDs of pictures from Jess the night of the wedding, so I was stoked to go through them all. There are like over 500 total. The "best" wedding pictures are in 2 albums on Facebook. You can see them publicly though. Album #1 is HERE, and Album #2 is HERE.

So today, Theodore turned 5 years old, and I went to his birthday party at the SW Community Center. His grandparents and the new nanny were there, and I visited with them all. It was really nice to see them all again. Lucas is about 3 feet taller than the last time I saw him, and he is saying full sentences. He looks so much like his brother now. His hair is still as curly as ever and Theodore was SO excited to have all his friends from his class there. I visited with one of the parents from his class last year, she told me about the new teacher he has this year and pointed out the new kids in his class...and I chatted with Maria about my job status and what I've been up to, which was nice. When I got there, the kids were having play time in the gymnasium, then we all retreated to the multi-purpose room where we had pizza & lemonade, sang happy birthday, and ate cupcakes. Some staff also made all the kids balloon animals. It was a fun time and I talked with Julia the new nanny about planning more times to see the boys. I realized how much I truly miss talking with Theo and seeing his little gleaming face light up. He came over and gave me a hug when I got there, and kept looking over to where we were sitting in the gym and waving. Lucas was a bit shy with me, but kept smiling and giving me the shy look and looking away. And I got a huge goodbye hug from both boys when I left, which was so great.

Now I am perusing a non-profit job website and waiting until I have to leave to nanny tonight....just wanted to update you all on two pretty important events in my life :)

PS: Can you believe the Beavs? I might have to switch my loyalty from green to orange.....maybe. We'll see :)