Now, the trip

Obviously, there was more going on in Iowa than just the wedding.

While most of my family was already in Greenfield, Iowa, preparing for the wedding, my own family was still in Wichita.  Seth didn't have enough days to take off in order for us to go up when I was wanting to go up so we waited until Wednesday.

I missed the Cannon family reunion which I was looking forward to attending.  And everyone in Iowa made it clear how much I was missed.  My heart ached to be there.

We finally arrived late Wednesday night.  We decided to stay with my grandma since my parents' house would be full.  My aunt and uncle from Maquoketa, Iowa, were there as well as my aunt and uncle from Boston.  And of course, my youngest sister and her family were already there from Wichita.

We got settled in, tried to get Rambo to calm down, and finally got to bed around 1:00 am.  Thursday was girls' day and I would have to get up and be ready to go by 10:00.

Us 4 sisters and 2 friends got together in Des Moines for some girly fun.  We went out for lunch at Mimi's Cafe.  Then we got our nails done.  I got a manicure and the others got a pedicure.  (I don't like people touching my toes and I can't stand anything between my toes so a pedicure was just not going to happen.)  I watched in jealousy as all the other girls were getting foot massages and sitting in huge massaging chairs.  They even got their feet waxed.  I didn't get that treatment on my hands.  But, once the manicurist was finished with me, I got to sit in the massaging chair and enjoy chatting with them there while they're toes were being done.

Afterwards, we did a little shopping before heading back to Greenfield for the rehearsal.

At the rehearsal, we figured out our jobs and where to stand and when to walk, etc.  The kids did ok....at first.  Then there was goofing off, crying, refusal to walk down the aisle.  The wedding coordinator, one of Amanda's good friends, did great.  You wouldn't even know that she was in a serious car accident a few weeks ago.  She helped with the kids, made sure everyone looked ok for the wedding, and fielded any questions until the end of the wedding.  Her husband, who was also in the accident, was the best man.

The rehearsal dinner was a fun grill-out at the lake.  The kids played on the playground and we adults enjoyed talking and getting to know the other family.  I finally got to see my aunts and uncles and talked with them.  My 70-year-old aunt is a lefty and was beyond excited to see that my Little A was also a lefty.  She actually jumped for joy!  They all got to meet Rambo while I was in Des Moines.  They love him.  :)

Friday morning, we were to help decorate the Opera House for the reception.  The guys went first to set up tables.  So, I decided to go for a quick jog before it was my turn to help.  I had my ipod and headed out the door.  I wasn't sure what my plan was but I decided to start by circling the church that sits across the street from my grandma's house.  I entered the parking lot and it began to sprinkle.  I thought, "I can do this.  I've run in the rain before.  I'll be fine."  Then when I got around the church to the other driveway, it was a downpour.  I saw that my shirt was soaked and my ipod was not going to last in this rain so I finished the circle and went back to Grandma's house.  No jog for me.

I got showered and went to help set up for the reception.  It didn't take long.  The place looked beautiful.  My aunt gave us a tour of the the newly remodeled rooms that they would rent out.  We saw the place where my sister planned to wait as her groom would see her in her dress for the first time.  Gorgeous!!

We had lunch at my parents' house and then it was time to get ready for the wedding.  I was a bridesmaid, my girls were miniature bridesmaids, and J was a miniature groomsman.

After the wedding, the kids had fun running up and down the stairs while we adults cleaned up.

And K modeled her dress and J's tie.

Saturday morning, some people slept in and some people did some more post-wedding cleanup.  We eventually all made it over to my parents' house just to talk and relax.  It had been a stressful week, a busy day, a great wedding, and a late night.  Saturday was our recovery day.

My kids had their fun, too.

Then we all headed to Des Moines to eat at HuHot.  Upon returning home, we ended up working on the crossword for the New York Times together.  Finally, we went to bed.

Sunday, we attended church, had Sunday dinner at Grandma's, and packed up to head back to Wichita.  We had a great time.  It was a great wedding.  It was a great weekend.

First, the wedding

We made a trip to Iowa for my sister's wedding.  My sister looked absolutely beautiful!!  Even though she wasn't feeling that great.  Let's just say she doesn't handle stress well....and weddings can be very stressful.

But, Friday, July 13, 2012, was a great day!!  It rained in the morning but all was clear for the big event that evening.

The kids did ok in the rehearsal the night before.  Did I mention that there were 14 kids ages 11 and under IN the wedding?  With Amanda's love for kids, it didn't surprise us one bit.

Here are the 14 nieces and nephews.  Only 13 were actually in the wedding since the baby on the bride's lap was too little to actually take part.  But she was an honorary member of the miniature bridal party.

The photographers did great, too.  I can't imagine how hard it would be to get 13 kids organized and all smiling at the camera.

Of course, you have to expect a little bit of chaos when you have so many kids.  So with the nieces and nephews, there was also the groom's almost 4-year-old son who was the very proud ring bearer.  You couldn't help but smile as you watched him walk down the aisle with that pillow in his hands.

During the ceremony, the adults sitting on the first pews had to keep the kids quiet.  Throughout the ceremony, I could hear "Sit down.  Come back and sit in the line.  Be quiet.  Come and sit here.  Stay here.  Don't get in the aisle....etc"  At one point I saw something fly into the aisle from where the girls were sitting.  I heard later that one of the girls smashed another girl's flowers and threw the flower pieces into the aisle.  I looked up at the girl's mother (who was the groom's attendant) and she mouthed back, "What is she doing?!?!"  At another point during the ceremony, I felt something on my ankle and looked down to see one of the girls lying down between me and my sister who was standing behind me.  She was playing with my sister's toes.  I bent down and gently tapped her to go back and sit down in her spot in front of the pew.

I have no idea how the boys behaved since they were on the other side of the aisle.

Once they were presented as Mr. and Mrs., it was time for some fun!  "I'm a Believer" began to play and we all did the Monkee walk back up the aisle.

What?  You don't know what the Monkee walk is?  This song was originally sung by the Monkees, a group my sisters and I fell in love with when we were kids.  We, along with our cousins, often did the Monkee walk....the fun walk The Monkees would do on their show.  Basically, you walk wide steps, putting your legs in front of the person next to you.  It gives this cross-legged effect while you walk.  And if you're still confused, I will personally show you the next time you see me.

Back to the wedding...

We all had little bells to ring instead of rice or bubbles or flower petals or whatever is done these days.  Which is kind of surprising since my sister has a constant headache.  But it was clearly stated that the bells should not be brought into the reception for that reason.

Mr. and Mrs. Hilpipre!

Their get-away car: a decorated golf cart with Miami Dolphins and Green Bay Packer stuff representing the bride's and groom's teams, respectively.

The reception was held at the newly remodeled Warren Opera House that sits on the town square.  As we bridesmaids guided the guests to the proper place, we watched the bride and groom cruise the square in their golf cart.

A small note on cruising the square: that was the thing to do when we were in high school.  Every Friday and Saturday nights, the square was full of teens just going around and around and around the square.  It is no longer the weekend night hangout for teens, however, but I sure have a lot of square-cruising memories!

Back to the reception...

So many people came to celebrate the event.

With my sister's love for chocolate, she had a variety of chocolatey treats. Chocolate fountains, candies, cupcakes.  And my all-favorite: Chocolate ice cream with Pepsi, instead of your typical sherpet with 7-Up for a wedding punch.  If you haven't tried it, you must!

My sister's favorite candy is M&M's.  So what else would she have for her wedding cake?

The bride and groom with their 2 sons.

The Hilpipres, living happily ever after.





It's Here!!

You may recall a blog I posted about a year ago.  I believe it was called "My Cinderella Sister."  Well, the time has arrived!!  My sister is getting married in 2 days and we are leaving today to go to Iowa for the occasion.

As always, I'm busy tring to get everything together for the 6 hour drive and the weekend.  We have 3 kids and a dog, and 4 of us IN the wedding (the dog is not one of them).  So on top of our normal routine, I need to remember to bring our wedding clothes!!  I actually dreamt last night that I forgot the wedding gift.  In reality, if I forget the wedding gift, then I will have forgotten all the wedding clothes since they are currently sitting together in my closet.

I can't forget any of those things.  They are the first things on my packing list!  I have to have a list.  And often times, I forget to put things ON the list but still remember to bring them.  And of course there's those other times I forget something completely.  Once, I nearly forgot my toothbrush when I was going to Iowa with my sister, Lisa.  I remembered just as we pulled up to the stop sign on our street.  Good thing, too, because finger brushing just doesn't do the job as well as an actual toothbrush.

Packing to go to Iowa is much easier than packing to go to Idaho.  Iowa's weather is very simiar to ours in Kansas so I don't worry too much about what is needed.  Idaho's weather is very different than ours in Kansas.  Is there going to be snow?  Is it going to be hot?  I often feel like I'm bringing my entire closet to Idaho just to be prepared for whatever weather we run into.  Even if it's hot during the day, it WILL be cold in the evening so sweathshirts and jeans are a must for any Idaho trip.

But, this trip is to Iowa, my home state.  I know the weather well.  Hot, humid, miserable.  The only difference in Kansas is less humidity.  Although lately, they've been about the same.  So, I'm bringing swim suits for the kids.  Who knows, there may be an opportunity to get the sprinkler out and letting the kids have some water fun.

I will be busy fulfilling my duties as a bridesmaid.  First a trip to Des Moines to get our nails done and have lunch.  Rehearsal and dinner on Thursday evening.  And Friday is the big day!!

Normally, all I can think about is VBS this time of year.  However, this summer has brought about varying distractions and my brain has been all over the place.  There have actually been days that I don't even think about VBS.  (gasp!)  Maybe that's why I'm not freaking out that it's less than 2 weeks away?

OH MY WORD....VBS IS IN LESS THAN 2 WEEKS!!!!

Just kidding....

Honestly, I feel like we have our skit under control.  And it hasn't really hit me that it is that close.  I know that as soon as I return from Iowa, VBS is going to take over my thinking for the following 2 weeks.  If my cast members have felt like I'm not completely focused, now you know why!  Hahaha.  Don't worry, I will be all VBS when I come home.  VBS isn't nearly as extravagant as last year's.  It's a nice, simple theme - a detective theme - and my skit is fairly simple, especially the sets compared to the last few years.  But I pray it still gets the message across.

Anyway, this isn't about VBS, it's about my sister's wedding!  Ok, actually it's about preparing for our trip to go to Iowa for the wedding.  :)  We will get things packed and ready to go and then wait for Seth to get off work.  We'll drive 6 hours late into the night and arrive at my grandma's house to crash before the big weekend begins.

Of course, everyone else in Iowa has already been in wedding mode, preparing and planning and asking and answering and scheduling and approving and....you know how weddings go!  It's one event that you only want to plan once!  Mine didn't go as planned, but what wedding ever does?  It's the things that go wrong that make the memory.

"Remember their wedding?  That was the one where the flower girl cried." (mine)
"Remember that wedding?  That was the one where the candles wouldn't light."  (my sister, Sara's)
"Remember that one wedding?  That was the one where the ring bearer yelled 'yay!' when they were pronounced man and wife." (my sister, Lisa's - and the ring bearer was my son)

Yes, every wedding should have some memorable moment and no wedding should be perfect.

Ok, I obviously have things to get done today.  I've been looking forward to this for over a year!!  Although I'm sure my sister and her fiance are a bit more excited than I am.  :)