Ten on the Wedding

1. So, we went to a wedding this past Saturday - with the girls. I'll be honest, I wasn't real sure how this was going to go. Would they sit still during the ceremony? Would they - okay, Emma -talk the whole time? Would there be any crying? Yes, No, and No. It went very well. We were so proud of them. We took coloring books and crayons, some toys with us to the church. Plus, they have little bags for the kids with activites to do during church. We sat in the back row, which while planned, was the only place to sit because it was completely full. Mackenzie struggled a bit with being confined to the pew for the whole time. But Emma had no problems. When we prayed, she prayed along with Uncle Marty (he's a pastor and performed the ceremony) repeating everything he said, along with a few loud Amens. Cutest thing ever. Then at the end when it was over she yelled out "Hi Marty!!" quite loudly, which while not loud enough for him to hear it, it gave everyone around us a chuckle. Oh, and who gave her the idea to yell hi? Her father.



2. Then it was on to the reception. I knew we'd be okay once we got to the dancing, but would they make it until then? Yes. It was a little harder than the wedding, but they still did wonderfully.



2. Bad mother alert: totally filled Emma up on snacks while waiting for dinner - food is guaranteed to keep a toddler quiet and happy. At least our toddler. Thankfully she also had some cheese, fruit and crackers along with the 5 cookies she ate. Of course that meant she didn't each much of her dinner but oh well, that'll happen.



3. More praying. When Marty gave the pre-dinner prayer, Emma prayed out loud with him, again with a big Amen at the end. Again, cutest thing ever.



4. And then they were free. The hall was separated down the middle by a huge dance floor. Perfect for toddlers and almost-one-year-olds. Up and down they went. I lost track of how many times I said "Emma, no running!" Mackenzie would try to keep up with her but she just doesn't move quite as fast as her big sister.




5. Dancing. Emma loved the dancing. We didn't leave until 9:30 and Emma's was so sweaty with a bright red face.


6. Michael was having this nice father-daughter moment with Mackenzie when...well, look at the bottom of the pictures.




She's a nut.

7. Then I was dancing with both girls, Mac on my hip and Emma with her face buried in my hip. Which is better than my butt, because she does that too. ;)

8. Half my family.

9. Self-portrait. I'd really wanted to get a nice picture of all 4 of us, the girls looked so cute in their dresses, but I never did.

10. More dancing. This was right in the beginning. I had Emma and Mackenzie out there when Claire (our niece) came out too. I was dancing around with her and Mackenzie in my arms for a song or two. One at a time isn't much, but my arms were aching by the time we were done! We danced and danced and danced. It was so much fun. I thought for sure Emma would fight leaving but I think by the time we left she was so exhausted she just didn't care. They were both asleep in the car minutes after leaving. I think we could've too, but ya know, someone had to drive. (Said someone being Michael, not me, I think I might've dozed a bit toward the end of the drive.)