Michigan Wedding

Fun fact: I went to two weddings in May and both brides are named Amy Marie.

Amy 2 is Luke's youngest sibling, she married Joel, and we were there for it!

On the drive from Detroit to Kalamazoo, Luke remarked on how green the landscape is compared to Texas, on all of the trees... minutes later from the backseat a little voice:

YAY TREES!

Beeline to tree swing in Grandma and Pop Pop's front yard upon arrival:

 I don't have any photos of the rehearsal because my hands were full (I resorted to pushing the girls around in a cart in the church lobby that's for food donations...) but here's the big day:

C and cousin A peering out of window -- UDDERFY!

What? UDDERFY!

Oh, a butterfly.

Perfecting their camera smiles.

MY CAMERA! C loves to scroll through the photos on my phone (I MAKIN' THE PITCHERS) and makes off with my point and shoot camera -- I think she will enjoy a kid camera when she understands it a little more.

Trying to hang out with the boys...

Determined to be part of the crowd.

The bride! Doesn't she look divine?

During the family photos, C employed her new thumbs-up - I can't wait to see them! This photo isn't wide enough to capture all of Luke's siblings and our nieces and nephews (current count: 21 plus our girls) (.... you know the line, if you wanna play in Texas, you've got to have a fiddle in the band? Well if you visit Michigan you've got to have an airtight birth control plan* because, seriously. The water is laced with cervical mucus-dissolving chemicals or gonadotropins or something. Even I got pregnant when I was around them (Josie, much like I know I was conceived at Tan-Tar-A** in the Missouri Ozarks, you are a Hilton Head conceptus).

* Mirena.#

** "But you never really can be sure." -- my mom

                  # "TMI. And three is nice!" -- my mom

 

The ceremony:

Imagine this in focus, with better lighting, and it's perfect.

Reception. Speaking of perfect: Graham's hair.

Cute, huh?!

Miss E.

Bro table

Soon-to-be big bro.

C was sick for the second time in her life (the only other time she's thrown up: on vacation in the aforementioned Hilton Head) so we missed out on a family picnic the next day. She wanted to cuddle and watch DIDDY TIGUH (Daniel Tiger) and while I was sad to miss out on the festivities, I loved the snuggles. 

She perked up because: I WANT TO PAY IN THE DIM. [play in the gym]

Later she opened the gym door over her shoeless foot, lifting her toenail a bit (ouch). NO WANT OW-EE, she said after the tears stopped, which was both the saddest and the cutest thing anyone has ever said.

 We watched the tablet in bed and then she announced 'I want to seep in the kib [crib], mommy seep in the bed'. The nursery has a bed in it and so I fell asleep listening to her breaths going in and out, in and out. It was so sweet.

Susie sent me some photos of the picnic: (thanks S!)

We took family photos with Neri (forthcoming) because it's been hard to organize a session at home and she was available and fabulous and so are these pics.

Saying goodbye to grandma.We drove back to the Detroit airport and were home for dinner.

And so ended our two months of travel (Seattle, Charleston, LA, Las Vegas) - we are settled in for a hot San Antonio summer (that lasts until Thanksgiving). See you next time, Michigan! Congratulations and bon voyage, Amy and Joel!