Before continuing to the main reason for our trip to California (Lauren and Dylan's wedding!) I remembered another driving tidbit I wanted to record...
During the hours and hours (and hours!) we spent in the car, the kids kept themselves amused in a myriad of ways. One of their favorite pastimes, however, was the "counting game." It started out simply enough - Bryce saw two or three cement mixers early in our trip and decided to keep count. Soon, however, we were counting everything: school buses, mail trucks, ambulances, fire trucks, RVs, In-N-Out Burgers, "Golden Arches," even "Holiday Inn Express" hotels! Supposedly, I was in charge of keeping an accurate tally. (Yeah right!) At one point we passed an LA School District bus parking lot with hundreds of school buses. Aubree and Bryce decided that they maxed out on that item, so at least that was one less thing to (pretend to) keep track of.
And now, back to our story...
Friday morning we left Sacramento for the (relatively) short jaunt to Fresno, where Lauren and Dylan were getting married. We arrived around the same time as the Pope's and Keske's and were blessedly able to check in early to our hotel rooms. From there we congregated at the local Stake Center to commence with the pre-wedding/reception preparations and all the ensuing chaos.
Each sibling and in-law was given specific tasks to make sure were completed, but we all worked together to try and get as much finished as possible. While the adults worked, the kids spent their afternoon running wild with their cousins in the gym.
The dreaded "ironing of linens" task
Mark's "assignment" was researching how to transport and keep goldfish alive, and then implementing the techniques he learned. Why? Because Lauren wanted live goldfish in her centerpieces. After purchasing the little fishies, we tried to do our best to keep them alive and happy until their lovely, but sacrificial role, was complete the next day.
In the evening, Dylan's family provided a yummy dinner and the kids finally had a chance to spend a few minutes with their Grandma.
Then the dads took all the kids back to the hotel to try to get them to go to sleep at a semi-reasonable hour in anticipation of an early and busy morning the next day. The rest of us kept up work at the Stake Center.
Of course, it was a late night getting everything finished and by then I was having some problems with swelling in my legs and feet. Four days in the car + spending the day on my feet + not drinking enough water + hot, hot Fresno = not a pretty sight. I was glad to fall into bed around 1 a.m.
The next morning started early, as we had to be up and dressed, and breakfasted, and checked out of the hotel by 8 am. We had babysitters for the kids at the church, and the adults all made it safely to the temple in time for the 9:30 am sealing (though the bride and groom almost didn't make it on time, because their car wouldn't start that morning!).
As always, the sealing was emotional and perfect, and Lauren and Dylan were both glowing. My dad wasn't able to make it, because he was still in ICU in Los Angeles recovering from surgery. I hadn't had time to really ponder that loss until my Uncle Rick (my dad's brother) was asked to be a witness in his place. I am so glad Rick was able to come and fill that role, but at that moment, it hit me (and my sisters) how hard it was to not have Dad with us (especially for Lauren's sake).
After the wedding we hustled back to the church to get our kids and quickly get them ready to greet Dylan and Lauren when they left the temple and were first introduced as "Man and Wife." Pretty easy to see how happy they are together, don't you think?
The kids managed to keep themselves thoroughly occupied while waiting for the new couple.
Next was picture-time - always an adventure with little ones (Lauren later asked me, as I tried to collect everyone's pictures in one place, "how many of the pictures have at least one kid with their finger in their nose?"). We really missed having Dad and Sean and Ian with us. It's strange taking "family pictures" when not everyone is present.
The kids all looked completely adorable. Admittedly, the white dresses on the little girls were NOT our original plan (because we're smart enough to realize that white and little kids are not the best combination), but finding red/orange dresses proved to be an impossible challenge. Despite the fact that the girls inevitably spent significant amounts of time playing in the dirt in their dresses, they still looked like angels.
Here are my three in their wedding finery (crafty Kira made the boy's ties):
During picture-time, Aubree quickly gravitated to her youngest cousin, Piper. The picture below might become awfully familiar by the time I finish blogging about our trip; Aubree rarely left Piper's side from that time forward.
Following oodles of pictures, we all made our way over to the outdoor pavilion adjacent to the Temple grounds for the reception. It was fun to see extended family and renew relationships. It was also HOT. The pavilion had misters along the edges, which helped keep guests cool, but Thane (who was on day 4 of no nap) refused to stay inside and instead ran around exploring the rest of the grounds. Here's the result:
No doubt, Aubree and Bryce's favorite part was the cake. The groom's cake was covered in Krispy Kreme donuts (those didn't last long).
Welcome to the family, Dylan.
No comments:
Post a Comment