I Do, Eh?

Our family traveled to Winnipeg, Canada over the weekend for my niece's wedding (my brother's oldest daughter) .  The weather was perfect for a fall wedding, the bride was radiant and the groom very handsome.  It was a fun trip, but we are all battling colds since our return. Overall, the trip was much better than I had anticipated.  I told Silly last night that maybe I need to be less pessimistic, since I tend to go into situations expecting the worse.  I am thankful that I usually wind up being pleasantly surprised at how well everything turns out.

We traveled by coach bus, courtesy of my brother.  Knowing that the trip would be a minimum of 6 hours, I had some anxiety about my children being cooped up for that length of time.  The bus left at 6 A.M. and we did not arrive at our hotel that evening until 7 P.M.  I was very proud of my children and how they conducted themselves.  No major melt-downs, at least not the first day.  As a well deserved reward, we let them swim that evening and then ordered pizza.  We all fell into our beds, exhausted, but excited about the upcoming events.

The wedding was lovely.  I love fall weddings - the crispness of the air and the vibrant colors all lend themselves to the beauty of the season.  Pumpkin was the flower girl (she is my niece's goddaughter).  I really didn't think that Pumpkin would cooperate (there goes that pessimism again!).  She is only two and tends to want to be held by me in new situations.  Not only did she walk down the aisle by herself (she kinda left the ring bearer in her dust), but she waved to everyone as well.  Truly precious!  My boys each read a scripture passage and did an amazing job.  After the ceremony, the pastor sought them out to thank them for reading so beautifully.  Again, a proud momma was I.

Pumpkin after the ceremony

My boys - the Readers

My brother and my nephew - I absolutely adore this picture!

The reception was fun - it was football themed.  The food was delicious and the kids danced to their hearts content.

Sweet Pea

Gummi, Cucumber & Pumpkin dancing with my nieces

A few of my treasured memories of the weekend are:  1.  On the bus ride, Cucumber was sharing a seat with my sister, who happened to fall asleep.  I asked Cucumber how she was doing and she said, "I wanted someone to sit by me, not someone to sleep by me!"  2.  My brother cried as he gave his daughter away.    3.  Sweet Potato danced a slow song with me and even placed one hand on my hip and held my other hand. 4.  No one could get Honey Bunches out onto the dance floor, but then the song All Summer Long was played and he came out, grabbed my hands and smiled through the entire song.

So another fun and memorable time was had by my family.  I wish the newlyweds all the joy in the world.  They are a delightful couple and we are all blessed to have such a wonderful addition to our family.