Wuv and Mawwiage pt. 2

On to the wedding!  Let's begin by saying that this was one of the more adventurous weeks of our lives.  And it all started with hurricane Sandy.  My brother Thom and his family live on the east coast, and the storm seriously impeded their progress in coming to the wedding.  They were scheduled to fly in on Wednesday (Halloween!  They were going to come trick-or-treating with us and everything!  I was so excited...), but the storm hit on Monday night, and on Tuesday morning they discovered that their basement was flooded and their power was out.  And the airports were closed and their flights were cancelled.  Miraculously, they were able to clean their basement and schedule flights for Thursday morning.  It was so fun to have all of the cousins together!

 Visiting the neighbor's goats, or "ghosties," as James liked to call them.  He was a big fan!

 Playing at the park

 This picture warms my heart.  Cassie rarely gets to see these cousins, but they just clicked right away and had so much fun together.

 James meeting the twins

 All 8 cousins together!

Playing dress-up

Friday was family pictures and the reception.  The girls were so, so excited to wear pretty dresses and were over the moon about holding flowers!  I only snapped a few pictures before the reception, then I just enjoyed the evening and ate and talked to old friends and neighbors.  It was so much fun.

All together!  Sorry it's low quality, I need to get the actual files.

 Lexi, Cassie, and Lucy

 Benson, Andrew, and James

 My older brothers, Vaughn and Thom

 Thom and Trev

Thom and Sarah

After the reception, the excitement really began.  Benson threw up all over himself and his carseat on the drive home.  Thanks to some very kind hotel receptionists, we got it mostly cleaned up.  It was a fun smell to deal with until we thoroughly cleaned it.  We found out the next morning that James had also had a rough night with lots of throwing up.  Luckily, Benson seemed to be fine the next morning, and we left Benson and James with a babysitter and were able to go to the sealing.  Both Sarah and Christie had to leave right after the sealing to rescue their babysitters, but I'm so glad we were all together in the temple.  It was beautiful and so joyful.

 The happy couple!

 Cassie with Uncle Robert

 Trevor, Thom, and my dad, Dave

 The special few in our family who made it all the way to the post-sealing pictures. (We also had tons of extended family and friends there for pictures.)

 Brothers

 My cousin Derek flew from Boston to come to the wedding.  We were really close to his family growing up and he and Robert stayed close through college.

Bubba and me

After the wedding, all the adults got together for a luncheon.  Lots of people shared memories of Robert and Renae.  I was really impressed by how much love Robert and Renae have for each other, and it was so sweet to hear about all the love and admiration others have for both of them.  Unfortunately, my weekend got even more exciting a few hours after the luncheon, confirming my suspicion that I am allergic to broccoli. Suffice it to say I spent  my evening kneeling over the toilet and wasn't much of a host to Derek, who was staying at our house.

Anyway, despite all the added adventures, the weekend was glorious!  I loved spending time with Thom and Sarah's family, and I loved the wedding festivities and the chance to see so many family members and friends.  Too bad I have to wait until one of my nieces or nephews is old enough for the next wedding!