A Couple of Reception Candids

My brother Mike and his wife Becca were married 3 days ago. Click HERE for photos of their wedding day. They are very adorable.

My 2nd favorite pictures from the reception. . . my two little girls with my cousin's daughter, Olivia. I googled this whole cousin naming business and apparently, they are SECOND COUSINS.

Rachel adores her new Aunt Becca. As does the rest of the family.

My mom and her two oldest grandkids, Emma and Josh.

Grandma is trying to get Katrina to be in a photo, but after the family photo session and pictures at the temple, Katrina was DONE. For someone with severe anxiety about pictures, I am really proud of all the good ones she did take!

We brought our babysitter, Hillary along on this trip. She is an amazing young woman. I think I'll devote a whole week's worth of posts to Hillary. We've driven for 21 hours so far and she has kept the kids happy and entertained, she's watched the kids while Damian and I have gone out, she helped iron tablecloths for hours, and she does ALL the family hair (except Damian) beautifully and repeatedly. Not only that, but she can spell her name in pretzels. It doesn't get much better than that!

I was thrilled to see two of Michael's best friends at the reception. Zack, a boy I used to babysit and our cousin, Jaron, grew up in Valdez with Michael, from birth. They were all born within 12 months of each other and raised a lot of HECK together!

My FAVORITE picture from the reception: THE VALDEZ GIRLS. All these women at the reception lived in my hometown of Valdez, Alaska. It was a mini-reunion!

I REALLY had a great time with my cousin Andrea over the weekend. She and her brother, Jaron, are the only cousin I knew well as a child, since we were raised in the same Alaskan town. Andrea's about 6 years younger than me, but now that we're married and raising kids (she's Olivia's mom) it seems TO ME like we're the same age! I read her BLOG everyday and probably comment that much. She is so funny, has a great playlist and adorable kids. She also loves her honey as much as I love mine, which I appreciate. And she loves TWILIGHT. Enough said.

Andrea's mom is my beloved Aunt Linda. She pretty much spoiled me and loved me like I was her own little girl. She watched me when my parents traveled, she introduced me to "Gilligan's Island" and "I Dream of Jeannie" and if I got sick while at her house, I could stay home from school and drink 7-up. Her bathtub had no time limit (other kids needing the water) and best of all, she had little animals that I could soak and play with for hours! Of course, then Andrea came along and I had to share, but Linda still loved me and I knew it. We did special crafts together and she taught my Primary and Young Women's classes at church. I love her very much and ALWAYS enjoy spending time with her.

My good friend, Jeanne was like a second mother to me. She and my mom were pals and both had their babies every two years. Four of my siblings have Best Friends that were Jeanne's children (Michael's was Zack). I'm the oldest of them all, so I was the supreme babysitter. I loved those kids and I loved Jeanne. Her home was warm and inviting, she always had a listening ear and an open mind and heart. She loved my parents and siblings no matter what and I have turned to her for advice and friendship for the last 30 years or so!!

Lastly, my mom and I. Aren't these dresses cute? My mom made them! She designed the pattern for mine and whipped it out in about one day. She's a genius at sewing and is a wonderful mother. It was pretty busy and we didn't get to spend much time together, but we did enjoy ironing all the tablecloths for the reception. OK, we hated it, but we enjoyed being together!

This is my little man, Benny hanging out at the Candy Bar. And daring me to try and stop him from rotting his teeth.

Damian took the kids home early and I stayed to party with my brother Paul and his kids. They took me home and we took turns taking photos in the car. Ariana took the photo of Matthew, I took the photo of Ariana and Matthew (the 3 year old!) took the photo of me. I must say, I think those two might have a future in photography! This is the best photo of me I've see since my Senior Pictures, back in 1992!!