we are safely home. After a busy two days it is nice to be home, though not so nice to be confronted by the mess of returning home. So let’s start with Friday and go from there…

Friday before lunch we made the drive to my mom’s an hour away to spend the day with her. Mike had an appointment back here in the city Saturday morning so mom was coming with us to check into her bed and breakfast (Robin’s Nest) and wait for Mike to meet us before the wedding. The kids got in their time with Harley before it was time to take her to her overnight kennel stay. Mom found a kennel that boarded AND raises ENGLISH mastiffs (big ones!) so definitely well prepared to deal with the smaller bull mastiff. Mom and I got to take that drive together to drop her off.

Harley and Emanuel

Supper was great fun – Mike fired up the bbq and made the hotdogs and sausages on that while the kids ran wild. Trinity chose MIKES to be her favourite person of the weekend… something that stretched into Saturday and meant we had a somewhat easier supper at the reception! (in fact she REFUSED to come back and sit with us!)

Learning to BBQ from a master

Playing with the Kinder Surprise toys

Speaking of the wedding… what a wonderful event! As the oldest cousin I am so proud to have been able to see my cousin Katie speak her vows. I have 3 cousin on this side of the family – all girls (for those keeping track that means my brother James – the second oldest is the ONLY boy. So my Grandma MacLean was overjoyed when first our twins were boys and then Emanuel… I used to tell mom that it took Grandma telling God – ok I am happy I got my boys before we had Miss Trinity. Grandma passed away not too long after Emanuel’s 1st birthday).

Cousin Katie and her father Uncle Greg

Bride and Groom

Sadly we forgot all about getting a good picture of my dress (thank you SO much Bree!), what with the chasing of the kids and trying to experience the event as well it completely slipped my mind. Except for the group picture of course. The below picture includes almost the entire family. The only people missing are my mom’s youngest sibling – her sister Carla and her husband and my brother James, Holly and Jimmie. Included in the picture is my cousin Veronika’s fiancée Adam and my cousin Elizabeth’s (the maid of honour) boyfriend Lyle.

MacLean Family - Zander left in front

In fact it is that very engagement ring on Veronika’s finger that allowed us to get to the buffet early on in the meal. On of those usual party games to decide the order of eating… second request was to see an engagement ring – man can she run fast when motivated! She and Adam got sent to the “kiddy table” as we called it, which was lucky for us since it gave us the chance to catch up. Veronika is my youngest cousin at 19 putting me at the oldest at almost 31. James is next and then Katie and then her sister Elizabeth.

Cousin Veronika and Trinity

The ceremony itself was at 1:30 so we started our day out at mom’s, taking our inevitable fancy dressed kids photo in her yard instead of our traditional “picture tree” – THAT picture I remembered but did not think to get mom to take one of me standing with them (??). We did do a bit of a goof… the entire event I forgot to take off the sweet little purple sweater she was wearing to get a picture of the full dress – so guess what she is wearing the next time we head to Muttart?

Trinity, Zander, Gavin and Emanuel

Our drive was narrated by my mom’s GPS – nuvi… though Ken caused it a bit of a heart attack when he took a minor detour to get the adults breakfast at McDonalds. What a fun toy! We got there…. a … little (coughcoughalmost2hourscoughcough) early allowing mom ample time to  get ready and checked into her accommodations (she and Mike decided to stay the night in town population around 900 by the way so they could make the gift opening the next day and help with the hall clean up).

So we drove to the grocery store and got some snacks (healthy) and waited for Mike to get into town before heading to the church to… wait some more.

The ceremony was wonderful. The colours were red and yellow. There was a lovely little bouquet on either side of the guestbook.

Signing table

Ken and I took on Trinity for the extent of the ceremony who was definitely NOT as interested in the ceremony as she was with making sure everyone ELSE knew she was there. Cry rooms are an absolute must with such an active and now VOCAL little girl.

Our little darling

Thankfully the boys were content to sit with Grandma and Mike and their bag of Colour Wonder paper and markers.

Emanuel and Grandma Anna

I did manage to hear the vows, see the rings exchanged and the kiss. It was a beautiful ceremony. The only minor issue for us – the following hours between the ceremony (1:30) and the reception (5:30). With 4 very active children and very little to do in this very small town (though it did have a hospital) meant a bit of a head ache… that is until Uncle Wayne managed to hunt down someone to open up the local museum!

Back from checking out the other buildings (Zander left)

What excitement for 3 little boys – not only did this museum have an extensive period clothing exhibit…

World War uniforms

but a massive amount of other pieces of history. My favourite – the old isolette … after all our twins were in one for weeks after birth. Has technology ever come a long way!

Isolette

…and for Ken’s interest – one of the first laptop models manufactured.

First version of laptop

and some Hindu bride dolls.

Hindu Bride Dolls

Once we made our way through the museum and thanked the very patient lady who came out and opened it for us it was almost time to get into the new hall (in fact cousin Katie’s reception was the FIRST one held in it). I loved their decor – again with the red and yellow. Their favours – Kinder Surprise eggs wrapped in red and yellow tissue paper (oh boy were the boys in heaven!).

Table setting

And for their true guestbook – you got your picture taken and then took it over to a table of craft supplies and made a scrapbook page! How creative. I wish I could have had more time and less willing and helpful little hands, but ours was very simple. Then they moved on to help Mom and Mike AND their Great Uncle Wayne create theirs. After everyone was done their pages of course the 3 boys gravitated BACK to the table to play some more.

I was so excited to see that my cousin Elizabeth seemed to have steered me right on the theme for the wedding sampler… Mario and Peach WERE the topper on their cake, along with yellow sugar cookie stars.

Topper!

So now I can finally unveil the sampler… I have to admit a HIGH level of pride on this one! Voila!!!!

Wedding Sampler

So we made it through dinner, the speeches, the cutting of the cake… but… by that point it was 7pm and the dance was slated to start around 8:30. With 4 kids who did NOT have naps, a hubby who worked late in what my mom terms his “office away from home” in the basement the night before (though this time with only the netbook, my laptop and mom and Mike’s internet connection for company… we did not want to risk parking even in a small town with his computer stowed in the van) and myself feeling the return of my cold and Baby #5 kicking its displeasure at the seating and lack of bed we were more than ready to head home.

Cutting the cake (you can just see the cookies)

This put us home well before midnight and myself to bed soon after. The result – the twins and Ken skipped Sunday School to allow me more time in bed. The cold I THOUGHT I had beaten is back with a vengeance. Something I absolutely despise – coughing while pregnant gets very painful very quickly. My muscles are ACHING!

Today the weather was halfway decent which gave me the opportunity to wear the new yoga shorts I purchased at Walmart with mom… talk about comfortable (aka not above the tummy line) AND only 10.00. I foresee going back to get another pair in another shade with the hope I can wear them after giving birth as well!

Belly shot! (in one of my favourite tops - Tinkerbell)

I am quite proud of Ken and myself, we are basically ready for the upcoming weeks print out wise for our 5 senses lapbook and the smaller apple one. Though this does mean a  trip to H&W and perhaps an organic grocery to get a nice variety of apples to sample (somehow I think we will survive!). Tuesday the boys are off to the symphony with Ken – I think that Trinity and I will take in some less posh culture with cartoons and snacks on the living-room floor… possibly in our pjs! Don’t forget – Monday is my bloodwork since somehow after 3 pregnancies that simple but IMPORTANT piece of information is NOT with my file?

What a weekend and now this week will be busy as well, a combination of a fieldtrip, appointment, schooling, Ken’s deadlines and just daily stuff. I am hoping to get started on a new pattern tomorrow as well… maybe one I can share as a work in progress???

You can't see my dress but it is a cute pictures anyway