the beach, the game, the wedding

This is going to be a LONG post, so I am warning you in advance!

We spent Thursday through Monday in Traverse City, Michigan with the Brand Family. We started with a horrible 8 hour drive full of crying, whining, stopping the car, and screaming on Sam's part. She did not enjoy being in the car that long, did not sleep well, and I didn't know if we would ever make it. (Amazingly the trip home only took 6.5 hours and she was perfect thanks to some new toys and a DVD player, which we had for the first trip but wouldn't work for some reason.) Our luck changed when we arrived to check into a FABULOUS condo that Orlie and Kathe (Dan's parents) rented for the weekend. They, along with Jenny (Dan's sister), her husband Scott, their two boys (4 & 1) and us stayed in the condo together. I wish I had taken a photo! It had 3 bedrooms, 3.5 baths, full kitchen, living room, dining room, laundry room, loft with play area & flat screen, and a porch that was on a path that lead right out to the beach. It was perfect!!! Thank you, Kathe and Orlie, for our fabulous stay!

A few "real" photos that Dan took...

We had two agendas: to get Steve and Krystal married, and to attend the annual Brand Family Reunion, strategically planned for the same weekend. :) Sammi went to the beach for the first time on this trip, and she DID NOT like the sand! I had hopes of taking her to the beach to build sandcastles, but it took her three days to get comfortable enough just to stand on sand in shoes. She is such a girly girl, and does not like to get dirty. She did not like the feel of the sand. We enjoyed walking up and down the beach with her on our shoulders though!

Sammi holding on tight to grandpa!

She finally tried walking...only with shoes on!

Friday evening we attended the rehearsal for Steve (Dan's brother) and Krystal's wedding. We left the kids with extended family and headed out to the end of a peninsula right on the lake to have a four-course filet mignon dinner. YUMMMMMMM!!!

Orlie and Kathe at the rehearsal with Grandma Brand in the second row!

Orlie has 6 siblings, and every year one of them plans the family game for the reunion. Whoever wins plans the game for the following year. The rest of the family is divided up into their teams. This year it was Neal's turn, and he led a game of writing "Wait Wait -- Don't Tell Me!" news stories. Each team wrote two stories and read them aloud along with a real one. Each team had to guess which one was true. It was a lot of fun!

Ryan and Brad, Sammi's cousins, hanging out with her. (Brad's poor ankle is wrapped because he sprained it on the beach! He was a trooper though!)

The Brand Family Game (about 50 people came this year)

Self portrait.

Soooo.....then came the most important event of the weekend! THE WEDDING! My sinus infection last week turned into a terrible cough which kicked in a full gear at the wedding (maybe the heat and stress of chasing Sam)...so my face and nose is red in all the photos! Dan helped a ton, but being the BEST MAN, he had responsibilities most of the night. :) The wedding was a gorgeous outdoor wedding followed by an intimate BEAUTIFUL reception with tons of flowers, individual cakes on each table, an entire DeBrand chocolate table, sincere toasts, laughter, and lots of dancing.

Steve and the groomsmen. (Sammi started signing and loudly saying "Dada, dada!" when Dan walked out!)

Sammi with her Uncle Scott, who helped me tremendously with her during the ceremony!

Sammi and her handsome daddy. :)

Telling me she's with her daddy.

Sammi playing the game where mommy tickles her with strands of her hair.

Dan's speech/toast was SO SWEET and SOOOOO good! He did such a good job and he didn't sound the least bit nervous! I was so proud of him!!!

Steve & Krystal's first dance.

Sam gettin' down on the dance floor with Aunt Krystal!

Brooke, Krystal, Sam, Steve, Dan

Aren't they such a cute couple?!

Dan and his wonderful mama. :) She's the best!

Steve and Krystal are enjoying their honeymoon in Hawaii right now. They sent us a photo of their view from their phone when they arrived. How jealous are we?!?!? :)

We are so happy that their marriage is official, even though Krystal has been part of the family for almost 8 years!!! Congratulations, Steve and Krystal! We can't wait to see you when you get back but we hope your time in Hawaii seems long and relaxing!