I'm back! Wedding catch-up

I know, I am a little ashamed to even be showing my face on here since it has been so long!  I have found that not blogging can catch on like a disease, once you stop, you just can't stop stopping.  Really it has just been so long that I couldn't quite remember everything that had happened!  Fortunately, my sister Carly has a blog and fortunately we were together at the place where I am supposed to pick up so I just finished reading her's for a refresher.  Honestly, it took a lot of self-control not to copy and paste but I figured some people would notice an odd emphasis on details pertaining to Calla, Kelsey, and Jay (her kids).

I am writing now about Wednesday, August 14th, the day before Rin's weeding!.  It was actually kind of a junky day, rainy and overcast but it worked out because we were in wedding preparation mode.  We spent a lot of the day setting up the downstairs for the reception.  I decided the best way I could help would be to keep my children out of the way.  We braved the beach despite the weather but when we weren't cold, we were getting bit by random little flies that looked like house flies but bit like horse flies.  They didn't seem to mind the layers of fly spray we put on either.  In the end we packed up and headed back.  I put my girls down for earlier naps because we had to leave for wedding rehearsal around 3.  Several of the in-laws and cousins stayed back at the house but for us it was a whole family affair since David was singing and Haley was a flower girl.  I brought Emily along because I figured I needed practice keeping her quiet and quite frankly, I didn't think anyone would appreciate having a random extra baby at the house.

David sang beautifully and Emily behaved herself well but Haley did not seem to understand the flower girl role.  I hadn't made a big deal out of it all summer because she usually does better with situations when she doesn't really know what's going on but it didn't take long for her to realize what was expected.  She did okay with her first try, I think she made it at least halfway down the aisle and then turned around to give me her basket of petals because 'she didn't want it.'  Then she went the rest of the way without it.  That was the best she ever did.  By the last attempt she wouldn't take a step without crying.  Ironically, as soon as we sat in the pews she wanted her basket and was playing with the petals and acted like being a flower girl was the best thing ever.

After rehearsal we drove back to the house and had the rehearsal dinner.  The food was amazing!  Aunt Rin gave the flower girls gifts showcased in little bags with their names on them.  Most of the gifts were quiet activities that they could do during the wedding ceremony.  We had a photo shoot after dinner and then I put the girls to bed.  The men all took Daniel out for a little bachelor party and we stayed up late and talked with Rin.  Our little chat fest actually outlasted the boy's thing.  They got in and went to bed and we were still going strong!

Haley and the Brusts eating their rehearsal dinner

The girls and their bags

We resorted to the Ipad for entertainment and Jay and Haley had a little squabble about it

I guess Jay graciously took a backseat, what a gentleman

Aunt Rin and her flower girls!  Haley looks like a native in that dress, haha

Practicing, Haley already looks terrified

THURSDAY was the wedding day!  It was raining on and off but it didn't really matter because there were no plans for the beach anyways.  Most of the morning and afternoon was spent working on decorations for the reception.  I actually volunteered to watch all of the children upstairs while everyone else did that so I kind of had the easy job.  Easy because Calla did most of the work, I just made sure nobody got hurt.  The kids spent most of the time pretending to be various animals and Calla was their master.  Usually they were dogs but sometimes I heard Jay referred to as a cow, Haley a horse, and the best man's little boy Dico, a monkey.  Usually I just had the Brusts and my kids so it was kind of fun to pretend I had five kids, Jay and Haley being the twins in the middle of course.  For lunch I heated up some macaroni and cheese and put it in bowls on the floor so the kids could continue pretending to be animals.  I did insist that they use forks.  I put my girls down for early naps and then joined the crew downstairs as they finished hanging paper pom pom things from the porch.  Our departure time for the church was supposed to be a little before two and it ended up getting close at the end.  We had to wake up the girls from their naps and I changed them into their wedding clothes on the way there.  It's a good thing the place was an hour away because I also finished my hair and did my make up on the way.  We made pretty good time so we stopped by a McDonalds to get Haley a snack and get a chocolate milkshake to help bribe her down the aisle.  By showtime I had the Ipad, a milkshake, M&Ms, ring pops, and various toys at my seat to entice her to walk to me.  I showed her all of these things before sending her back with Aunt Carly and then taking my seat.  They must have all slipped her mind when it was time to walk down the aisle because she froze.  Calla and Kelsey beautifully walked the ten steps (seriously shortest aisle ever and she still couldn't do it) but Haley just stood there like a deer in the headlights.  David and Kelly kept playing but she kept standing there, even when Pops leaned over and said some things to help her go down.  In the end Carly grabbed her out of the way and discreetly walked her down the side aisle while the rest of us were watching Rin walk down.

Really I have to say Haley's performance did not go up from there.  I definitely should have opened everything that Aunt Rin had gotten her the night before because everything was still packaged up nicely and she kept asking me or Grandma to open things for her, not a quiet task.  I would honestly love to forget the split second where I looked away and she turned the volume up on the dumb Elmo video she was watching on the Ipad.  Finally David leaned over Grandma and Grandpa, grabbed her and took her outside with the other in-laws and their kids.  I think it was punishment enough to be out with Uncle Jonathan, Uncle Jon, and Uncle Josh for the rest of the ceremony, haha.  David had to rush back in to play the special music.  Emily did well the whole time, I had a bottle for her with a super low flow nipple.  She didn't even get to finish the thing, haha.

After the ceremony we did pictures and Haley ended up smiling nicely for her pictures with Aunt Rin, hopefully that is the only thing anyone remembers about her participation in the wedding!  She continued acting naughty and eventually I had to take her to the van and spank her.  Actually our van was locked and I didn't know where David was so I spanked her in the Brust's van, haha.  She was better behaved after that and completely herself once we headed back to the house.  I think big crowds make her nervous or naughty or something because as soon as it was just Daddy, mommy, and Emy in the car with her, she was chatting away nicely and acting normal.

Both girls did fairly well at the reception.  Our table was right next to the Brust kid's room so we put an Ipad on in there and they were in there for a while after dinner.  I gave the girls applesauce as soon as we got there so we didn't really have to try and coax them into eating any 'real' food.  I put Emy to bed during an open mic part of the evening and she was so tired I maybe missed one or two people sharing.  I took Haley up later during on of the Nigerian dance songs, I didn't really know it anyways. :)  Then David and I had the night to ourselves!  It actually was a lot more enjoyable once Haley and Emy were gone!  The wedding reception was so beautiful, and the food was amazing.  After open mic Daniel sang a song he had written for Rin which was super sweet, at some point they had their first dance and Dad danced with Rin and Daniel with his mom, and then I think it was just dancing until it was time for the DJ to go home and Rin and Daniel to head out!  It was such a great day, I wish more of our friends we unmarried so we could go to more weddings.  Tomorrow I will keep updating!!

The bride and groom!

Pops tried to get her to go down but she just couldn't do it

The ice cream bar!  It looks like David was trying to cut in line in front of the bride!!

David singing at the wedding, he did such a great job.