Erin Loves Brad: Becoming Boswell: Minnesota edition

Two weeks after we moved in to our place in DC, we headed to Minnesota for Brad's brother's (Tim's) wedding (to Jenna). Our time in DC had already felt like a whirlwind in those two weeks, and adding on the Minnesota trip made it even crazier (but in a fun way).

Rachael lives on the Maryland coast (~3 hours from us), and BLESS HER, she offered early on to meet up with us in DC and fly with us to help with the girls. Stars in her crown, y'all. She drove down, hopped in our van, and we headed off to Dulles.

One girl in each picture was looking good...so I posted both.

We had a direct flight, which was perfect. Brynna had never flown before, and we'd never flown with all of the girls at the same time. They did quite well, and I was really grateful that I'd packed mountains of snacks.

Our first afternoon/evening in Minnesota was fun- meeting up with family and out-of-town friends, although Brynna's and my evening was curtailed by her being DONE with the day around dinner time. I literally asked Bill to stop the van on the way to dinner (we were at the edge of the parking lot- not on the interstate or anything) and let Brynn and me out. My mom instincts told me dinner was a bad idea, so she and I ate snacks in the room, and she was out cold in 20 minutes.

Saturday and Sunday were SO BUSY, and we were hustlin'. Saturday was bachelor party for the guys (rock wall climbing, lunch, and some misadventures in rented suit acquisition) and wedding shower for the gals at Jenna's parents' house.

Got them ready first and left Curious George to babysit them. I stand by that decision.

JUST SO EXCITED about the wedding shower! If it involves presents (even if not presents for themselves), they are HERE FOR IT.

The girls were so excited that Jenna's parents had the exact doll house that we have at our house. Brynnie claimed it immediately and was loathe to move away from it at any point.

"Helping" Jenna open gifts at the shower. Which mostly means that Jenna barely opened anything herself... I tried to rein them in, but Jenna let them help, so why would they even bother listening to me?

I tried my darnedest to get the girls to nap, but it was almost entirely in vain. There was just too much excitement in the air (plus the novelty of being in a hotel room), and naps were simply not in the cards. Wedding weekend, on the whole, was utterly exhausting for me, trying to wrangle 3 extroverted little girls who had traveled from eastern time to central time and were with some of their favorite people and were constantly surrounded by sugar. That task was my EVEREST. I barely made it out alive.

After not napping (Brynnie slept for almost an hour, so I guess it's not fair to say that NO napping happened...), we headed back to Jenna's parents' house for the rehearsal. Because the wedding was going to be at a venue on a Sunday, we couldn't rehearse there on Saturday evening (as someone else was using it). A fiesta-themed rehearsal dinner was planned immediately after the rehearsal, also at the house. Thus, Lily was wearing a "No Probllama" shirt. With tassels.

This one was a holy terror for me to guide and herd.

Rehearsing

This one was very diligent about her task and did not cause any ruckus, thankfully.

Three-fifths of the kid contingent.

Standing practice

#ham

We were at rehearsal/dinner from about 4:00-almost 10:00, so we corralled the children with a movie for a bit, so that Brad and I could eat a smidge.

I wish I could tell you about how lovely all of the speeches and toasts were, but Brynnie kept me just out of earshot. I'm told it was delightful. And that Brad said really sweet things.

On Sunday, the wedding wasn't until 5:00 pm, so my in-laws and my husband were gone for most of the day, getting ready/preparing. The girls and I held down the fort at the hotel, along with some of Brad's aunts and cousin. Again, I tried desperately to make naps happen, and again, I failed. Lily was FULL OF MISCHIEF, and there was nothing to be done about it. So, I accepted my fate of napless children and got everyone dressed.

At least they're cute.

We arrived at the venue just in time for family photos. Tim was right by the door when we walked in, and I snapped these sweet pictures of him and Lily.

Just so cute!

Originally, the wedding was going to be outside in the courtyard area, and we took the bulk of the pictures out there. Literally ten minutes (maybe five?) before the ceremony, it started raining, and everything had to be moved inside. Thankfully, no one got drenched and everything went super smoothly.

Lily wrapped herself up in Rachael's dress and wouldn't let go...

Then she finally did.

All the siblings jumped in

And Jenna

Some outside pictures before the sprinkles started

The inside pictures were so pretty, too.

Lily attached herself to the second photographer. LOVED her. Which worked to our advantage, as this photographer was able to get Lily (and Brynna) to cooperate for pictures.

Just some Boswell women

The wedding paraphernalia was successfully moved inside, the children did a lovely job with their flower girl duties (technically, Lily was a ribbon/bell stick waver- and she did her job admirably), and I went with them to the back. Apparently, the sound was out because, although I could see the wedding party from the back, I heard not a thing of the whole ceremony. The children weren't being too loud- the microphones just weren't working. The scuttlebutt was that it was a really sweet ceremony, so I'll just have to take everyone's word for it.

Corralling

They did a really good job of being quiet and *fairly* patient during the ceremony. It did take almost an entire bag of yogurt drops + 3 granola bars, but we did it.

After the ceremony, there were cocktails and hor d'oeuvres, and as the rain had stopped, the girls had a blast playing in the courtyard.

I love this one of Claire running so happily! She looks so magical.

When it came time for the sit-down dinner, these three were far more interested in watching VeggieTales, so we parents ferried supper plates and napkins out to them. Everyone was happy and content, so who were we to stand upon ceremony?

Dinner was yummy, our table company was fun (aunts and cousin), and we had an excellent vantage point for the dance floor.

Brynn was checking up on the menu.

Surprisingly, Lily wasn't super into the dancing; she had hit her limit and was DONE pretty early on. All of her hard living (see: not napping) caught up to her big time, and she was very much not herself. Claire, on the other hand, CUT A RUG. She tore up that dance floor, and it was delightful to watch.

A view from the courtyard. So pretty.

Brynn was done...

Just some shenanigans

The little girls and I ended up going back to the hotel about an hour before the send-off. Lily and Brynnie just couldn't hang any longer. Lily fell asleep while I was helping her change into her jammies. Bless.

We headed back to DC the next morning, some of the children a little worse for wear. It was rather a long day, I must say, but we made it home and got everyone into bed early. Like, 6:00 pm early. (which was good...given that we had a White House tour the next morning!)

Yay for Uncle Tim and Auntie Jenna! We were glad to be a part of your special day!