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.  :)

Oops

After I posted J's birthday blog, I realized I had forgotten to add a few things like I did with K's.  I like to keep things the same with my kids.  When J was born, he was 6 lbs 12 oz, 20 inches long.

And here are a few J-isms:

At 5 years old - He had a little "girlfriend" at church and made very specific plans about where they were going to live and how many babies they would have.  He even named their babies, "The first one is Aladdin. Number 2 baby is Jasmine. Number 3 baby is Holly Pocket. And number 4 baby is Barbie."

5 years old - "Mom, wanna see something cool?!?!"  I walk into the bathroom and he points to his #2 in the toilet.  "Look, it's Larryboy!"  Yes, it was shaped just like that.

Almost 6 years old - After asking God a question he says, "Is that a yes or a no?"

6 years old - Our garbage bin had been mysteriously brought to the curb on the correct night for the garbage truck to take it the next morning.  After the garbage man came, J said, "I need to go outside to bring the garbage thing back by the garage."  He had done it by himself without any prompting!

6 years old - After spitting his toothpaste into the trash in the kitchen he says, "I forgot there was a sink in front of me. "

6 years old - Little A had thrown up in bed so J and K came to get us.  Then J says, "I'm going to pray for (A) right now!"  And both kids rush into their room and pray together as I cleaned up the mess.

Almost 8 years old - K was talking about some other singers and said they were the best singers in the world, to which J replies, "Don't say that about yourself, (K). YOU'RE the best singer."

8 years old - "God, help me not to panic when I get baptized."

Almost 9 years old - Just as we walk inside Aldi he says, "I'm not wearing any shorts."  Long t-shirt covered him but shorts is still a must!

9 years old - When J threatened to call 9-1-1 on his sister for calling him names, I told him it was only for something serious.  He responds, "It was serious to me!"

The boy is 11!

J with his cousin who is just 4 days younger.  Cousin is on the left, J on the right.  They were only a few months old.  J's birth was very normal...with a 27 hour labor.  He was 2 weeks early.

When Seth and I worked at a camp for a year, 3 of us full-time staff were pregnant.  Here,  a year later, the 3 babies met again.  J is the naked baby.  lol



Yesterday was a big day.  My son turned 11 years old.  He is my oldest, my first-born, the child that made me a mother.  And that being the case, he is very much a typical oldest child.  He is very obedient, does what he's told right away (usually), and tries to get his younger sisters to do the same.  hahaha  He is a great big brother.  If I had a brother, I would want one just like him.

He took on his big brother roll right away at 2 years old.

Still a loving big brother at 3, holding his sister's hand while she sleeps.

Since yesterday was Sunday, we attended church like we do almost every Sunday.  Our church has 3 meetings on Sunday and as hard as I tried, we didn't quite make the first meeting.  I wanted to, but the kids were harder to get up yesterday.  I just assume we are still recovering from our trip to Idaho and the time zone.  I was late getting them up too.  As soon as I could, I went into J's room bounced on the bed shouting, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY 11 YEAR OLD!!!  IT'S TIME TO GET UP, BIRTHDAY BOY!!!"  Then I went into the girls' room to stir them awake.

For his 4th birthday, we invited some friends to join us at the zoo for Wacky Water Wednesday.  They bring a fire truck out and make it a big sprinkler park.  J got to sit in the fire truck.

I left to get my breakfast and none of my 3 children were up.  I went back to J's room and bounced on his bed again and added some tickling.  That got him.  :)  Anyway, we arrived at church 15 minutes late.  Not too bad, I thought.  But it was potluck.  And I parked too far away from the kitchen door.  My chocolate fudge pie that J wanted me to make wasn't coming out right.  I had never made it before and found a recipe online I thought I could do.  I followed the instructions exactly as it read, but the pie was not baked thoroughly.  It spilled as I drove.  I thought maybe if I put it in the fridge in the kitchen, it will solidify.  No such luck.  I also had a crock pot of meatballs, also requested by J.  I guess those were a success since my crock pot was emptied and cleaned before I took it home.  The pie stayed in the fridge and I baked it more later at home.

No cake for his 5th birthday, just candles on pizza!

So, once I carried everything into the kitchen, it was 15 minutes later.  We would now be a half an hour late and I felt that was just too late to walk into a church service.  So we sat in the back and waited.

Since I now teach a Sunday School class, we went into J's class and sang to him.  Then his class went out for donuts for his birthday.  Later, we enjoyed our potluck, and we headed home discussing what J would like to do with his afternoon.

His 6th birthday also landed on potluck Sunday.  Here he is with a girl from church.

He celebrated his 7th birthday with his kindergarten class.  He's the one standing with K sitting next to him.

Seth is on-call so we couldn't plan on him being around.  J decided to go swimming.  With it being over 100* yesterday, I thought that was a great idea, especially since it doesn't cost that much.  We let Rambo out for an hour or so, and then we headed to the pool.  We all had fun.  J and K are getting much better at swimming so I let the lifeguards watch them while I kept a close eye on Little A.  It was an afternoon well spent.

We celebrated his 8th birthday in Idaho.  Baby sister A helps him lick the candles.

We spent the afternoon of J's 9th birthday at a sprinkler park.

At the age of 10, we sent him off to camp for the first time.

We came home and Seth was there.  He actually got home shortly after we left.  We had goulash for supper, J opened presents, then we had cake, ice cream, and that pie.  The pie was ok.  The cake was rushed and didn't turn out well either.  Maybe it will taste better today.  J also got a video call from Auntie Mati and her family including his grandparents.  It was fun "seeing" them and talking with them.  J shares a birthday with Uncle Mike so we exchanged our "happy birthdays".

It was a fun and exhausting day.

Happy birthday, J!!  It is so exciting to see the young man you are becoming!  I love you!!!

It's been too long

We just returned from a somewhat spontaneous trip to Idaho.  We did not plan on going but when my father-in-law asked for help to reshingle his roof, we started packing.  It had been 3 years since we had visited and about that long since we had seen Seth's parents.  That's a long time to go without seeing family.  Little A didn't even remember them.  But she was just as excited as the rest of us to make the long 19 hour trip.

Rambo, however, wasn't that thrilled.  The 6 hours to Iowa was long enough.  19 hours was almost too much for the little guy.  He didn't whine or bark or become a nuisance.  He just looked depressed.  He didn't eat as long as we were traveling.  He mostly curled up on my lap and slept.

We left on a Saturday morning around 6:00 AM central time and arrived Sunday afternoon around 3:00 PM Mountain time.  Seth's grandma has been staying with his aunt in Utah so we stayed in her house by ourselves.  It was kinda nice having a place to go to when chaos errupted (and when you're around in-laws for long periods of time, that tends to happen  lol).  Not that my in-laws are stereotypical.  In fact, far from it.  I must have the best in-laws ever.  Chaos just tends to happen with family.  :)

Anyway...

Seth worked on the roof with his parents, sister, and brother-in-law.  The kids helped a little too.  It had been 5 years since we saw Seth's younger sister and her family.  Of course Little A didn't remember them since she was about 6 months old the last time we saw them.  Mike and Mati and their 4 kids just officially moved to Seth's hometown.  Mike is the new pastor at their church.  Their kids really hit it off with our kids.  2 of their kids are the same ages as our older 2.  They got along as if they had never been apart.  It was awesome.  Little A claimed their youngest as her buddy and enjoyed picking on the 2 older boys.  It was just amazing how much they all had in common and how well they got along.

Our kids introduced the art of becoming a ninja to their cousins.

J and K are on the roof while Little A watches from the ground.

Since we missed K's birthday, we celebrated her birthday there.  We also got to watch my niece and youngest nephew play softball.  Twice.  It was fun to watch all the kids play.  Little A bonded with older nephew during the game.  And Rambo escaped his leash like Houdini and took off just before the game ended.  We still have no idea how he did it.

Once they decided to stop working on the roof, we enjoyed some fun outings.  We went swimming at the hot springs which is usually my favorite part of going to Idaho (besides seeing family, of course).  After coming home, we enjoyed some homemade pizza and ice cream.  We also got to see our oldest niece and nephew who joined us for pizza and ice cream.  We hadn't seen them in about 8 years.  Little A had never even met them and K probably didn't remember them.  Their mom came the next day.  It was soooo good to see them all.  8 years is just insanely too long to not see family.

We bought some fun things at the farmer's market and made tie-dye shirts. There was a lot going on while we were tie-dying. There was sword fighting and rubber band wars. And if you read my blog on facing your fears, you would know my phobia with rubber bands. So, I hid inside.

We decided to grill out at the reservoir for supper.  The kids thought they would wade in the water.  We adults thought they would be crazy.  But they did.  And it was very cold!!  The next day, Seth's older sister and her 2 kids had to leave.  It was so hard to say good bye to them, not knowing when we'd see them again.  My nephew will be heading to boot camp in November and my niece will be starting her senior of high school.

For our last hoorah, we headed up into the mountains and roasted hot dogs and had s'mores.  The kids had fun building dams and bridges in the creek with sticks and exploring the hills close-by...and others that weren't so close-by.  We adults talked and shot guns.  By the end of the evening, I was in 2 sweatshirts, my in-laws were in sweatshirts, and K was in her winter coat and gloves.  Even Rambo was shivering in his sweater.

The next morning, we said a teary good bye to our family and left around 10:30 AM mountain time Monday.  We always take it a little slower getting back.  None of us wanted to leave.  We have been praying to be able to move there but God has not yet opened that door.  It's hard to be patient but we know God's timing is perfect.

With a little mishap of running out of gas, we made it home around 9:30 PM central time Tuesday.  Rambo was sure glad to be home.  He was the only one of us who was happy.

So, here we are, trying to get back into the grove of being home.  It was an excellent vacation, but exhausting.  And my house just isn't as clean as Seth's grandma's.  :)

The mountains of "home".

My K

Today is a bittersweet day.  Normally I love birthdays and I want to make the best out of them for whomever is celebrating theirs.  Today is my daughter, K's birthday.  She is 9 years old.  Wow, how time flies.  However, I can't celebrate with her because she is at camp having the time of her life.

As we looked at the calendar to decide which week for them to go to camp at Kansas Bible Camp, we had 3 options: during K's birthday, starting on J's birthday, or during our VBS.  They both wanted to go during K's birthday.

So, today, I sit in a nearly empty house and mostly quiet as it is just me and Little A.  I know they are both having fun.  But I sure do miss my K and hugging her and telling her happy birthday.  That's all I wanted to do this morning when I woke up.

Her big brother was almost 2 years old when she was born.  That was a very emotional birth.  Long story short: flipped around the night before I went into labor, started coming feet first, emergency c-section, wasn't breathing, began to cry, my life would never be the same.  At 6 lbs 14 oz and 17 in. long, she was my little bundle of spunk!

Her personality came out quickly.  She is not quite a year old here and you can see she loves to be the center of attention - as long as she brings it on herself.  She sings, she dances, she is queen.  She began talking around this time.  People stopped in stores to ask how old she was because she talked so well at such a young age.

Here, at nearly 2, she and her brother decided to spread lotion onto our bed.  Wasn't that nice of them?  K is the one who always has the "great ideas" and naturally takes the lead.

On her third birthday, she dressed up in her prettiest dress because she is the princess of all princesses.  That was our first year being in the Toys R Us birthday club so we went to Toys R Us to spend birthday money.  She wore a crown and several people told her happy birthday.  She had a ball.

At almost 4 years old, she is now a big sister.  She isn't afraid to be herself and let her goofiness come through.  She may be my sister's mini-Amanda, but she gets a lot of her goofiness from me.

At 5 years old, she LOVED to dress up.  And still does.  She gets that from me, too.

After she turned 6, she got to celebrate her birthday in Idaho.  She helped her grandma make her birthday cake.  Of course she gets to lick the beaters.

For her 7th birthday, she finally got a big bike.  She loves her bike.  She keeps asking for accessories.  Now she has a horn.

We have been told that her name means "beautiful".  Doesn't she fit her name?  At 8 years old, she had lost a few teeth but she still has a smile that can light up a room.

This is the last day I saw her.  We left her and her brother at camp.  She was excited and nervous but I hear she is having fun.  I even got a letter from her today.  It helped make today a little better.

A few K-isms...

   3 years old:  She told me she was painting in the kitchen.  She was....with ketchup.

   3 years old:  She comes into our bedroom with blue and green marker striped all over her.  "We wanted to be tigers."

  Almost 4:  She prayed this prayer, "God and Jesus, thank You for saving my life. Thank You that I can go to heaven and live with Jesus. Amen."

   4 years old: While watching the Prince of Egypt, she began crying.  "That girl had to give Moses away."

   4 years old:  While tossing a ball up and down the stairs with J, "Exit the game, I have to go potty!"

   4 years old:  When my mom visiting, she asked where we wanted to eat.  K responded, "The one with the farm!"  Confused my mom asked what she meant.  "Old MacDonald's!"

   Almost 5:  K pushes the emergency exit at McDonald's.  "I'm sorry!  I didn't know!"

   5 years old:  After seeing a man with a spiked mohawk she says, "He looks like a dinosaur!"

   5 years old:  After I commented on how thoughtful she was for getting a drink for her dad she says, "I'm being serveful, Mommy!"

   5 years old:  She prays, "And when I get fat and old, I want to die and go to heaven. Amen."

   6 years old:  After coming home from VBS and seeing that her huge decorative castle wall sticker was on the floor in pieces, "Awww, my castle! Alie must have done it. But it's a treasure that doesn't last."

   6 years old:  "I know how God put the wool on the sheep. He takes snow, because it's white, heats up and then puts it on the naked sheep!"

   6 years old:  After J accused her of pushing him for no reason, "Yes I did. I pushed him for a reason."

   7 years old:  "Mom, you're a perfect Mom.  Because you're pretty and nice."

Happy birthday, K!!  I love you!!!



A Precious Moment of Goodbye

I seemed much busier in my head this summer than what I really am.  Yesterday we dropped off our two oldest children at camp.  K was a bit scared but we knew she would have a blast.  J had gone last year and had plenty of fun.  Little A sobbed as she had to say goodbye.  I wanted to take a picture, but I felt that might be too invasive on such a precious moment between A and her siblings.

Little A often has trouble leaving someone or watching someone else leave.  It absolutely crushes her heart every time.  I've never seen such a sweet and caring person as she is.  I tell her she will be a wonderful wife, an amazing mom, and a great nurse.

K had gotten her anxiety out in tears on Saturday as she hugged her dad and curled up on my lap.  A week can be a long time away from your parents when you're 8, almost 9 years old.  She will actually be celebrating her birthday at camp this week.  I'm not sure how I'm going to feel on that day...knowing my daughter is turning 9 and I can't be with her to help her enjoy her special day.  I love celebrating birthdays and if I had the money and sanity, I would throw each of my children huge birthday bashes with all of their friends.

Yesterday, we pulled up to the camp, unloaded their things and got them all signed in.  I helped K pick out her bed and Seth helped J get his things set up.  Then they both could get ready to go swimming.  We hugged and said our goodbyes, but Little A wanted to see them in the pool first so we waited.

First K came out.  We watched her enjoy the cool water and eventually J joined her.  We chatted for a bit, I took a few pictures (on my digital camera and I can't upload them directly onto this computer so they will have to wait).  We talked with other parents we knew.  Then it was time.

Seth said his goodbyes and walked back to the van.  That's when it hit Little A.  She couldn't even talk.  K and J got out of the pool and held her hands through the fence as she sobbed over having to leave them.  I hope it's a moment I never forget.

After a few minutes, I finally pulled Little A away.  I picked her up and carried her back to the van as she continued to cry on my shoulder.  "I want to say goodbye some more."  I told her she would want to say goodbye all day if we let her.  I buckled her into her seat in the van and drove around the pool area.  "I want to say goodbye again!"  I drove slowly and stuck my hand out the window to wave while Little A yelled out "Goodbye!" as best she could in her teaful voice.  J and K both saw us and waved as we drove away.

Daddy started to talk to her about other things and eventually got her to cheer up.  Soon she was smiling and chatting away as we drove the hour-long drive back home.  She played her dance game on the XBox and was back to her normal self in no time.

This morning she cried again as Daddy had to leave for work.  And I am just sitting here being lazy, wondering how my daugher at camp survived the night.  Last year I was sick to my stomach leaving J at camp for a week.  This year I'm doing much better, but I'm sure the week will get harder...especially on Thursday which is K's birthday.  Little A and I will have to find things to do to keep us occupied and our minds off of the 2 greatest older siblings in the world whom we miss so much.  We'll have some fun together and do the chores together.  And Friday we will get to see J and K again.

We will all be ok.