Flower Girl

If I had a nickel for all the funny things that have come out of Bradyn's mouth, I would be a very rich woman. One of the funniest was the day we told Bradyn that Grandma and Grandpa were getting married. As confused as she was in Ontario about having so many cousins, she was equally confused about who Grandma was getting married to. In her world, Jane & Glenn lived together, so that meant they were already married. Bradyn's confusion was quickly forgotten when Grandma asked Bradyn to be the flower girl. You could not have found a more excited little girl.

On March 10th, after 17 years together, Jane & Glenn were married in front of a small group of friends and family. The rain held off at all the right moments, and we all had a wonderful time. For our wedding gift to the bride and groom, Dallas & Ita, Kevin & I brought in my favourite photographer, Nadine Inkster. You may remember that she took my maternity and newborn photos. Although we have only seen a few sneak previews, I can't wait until we get the final CD of her shots. In the meantime, you'll have to settle for mine (sorry!). Oh, and by the way, this is another one of those really long postings, so get comfortable!

After Glenn was banished to the club house where the ceremony and festivities were to take place, we girls finished getting all gussied up and posed for some photos. Here is the Bride and her favourite girl. I know it's fuzzy, but she is so proud to show off her dress and flowers (which she shared with Grandma). By the way, Bradyn's dress was actually a rich purple - gotta love how my poor photo taking talents make it look royal blue!

As I'm sure you can imagine, Bradyn was an absolute Ham (that's right, with a capital H) for the camera. Nadine had a good chuckle getting the shots.

Our beautiful girl....

... and the beautiful Bride.

I was very proud of my curly masterpiece, and tried to get all artsy with this shot.

The Groom and his best man, David.

Handsome brothers, Dallas and Kevin.

As the ceremony got under way, Bradyn executed one of her official duties - rose petal dropper.

And this is why I was worried about Bradyn being up at the centre of attention. She made so many funny faces, but of course everyone thought she was adorable.

Another official duty - helping untie the rings from the ribbons on her basket.

Exchanging vows.

Witnessing the signing of the registry. Look at that smile.

The happy Newlyweds.

A very special moment between Grandpa and his girl.

Say 'Married'.

We had to tie a ribbon around Bradyn's special glass, to make sure nobody stole her gingerale. (Who am I kidding? I just didn't want her accidentally drinking champagne and ending up drunk as a kid like Aunt Sherri did. Totally innocent - she was just drinking the orange juice in mom & dad's fridge. How was she supposed to know it had been mixed with vodka for the dance they were going to that night?) You gotta love the annoyed look on Bradyn's face here. I think by this point she was starting to get tired of the camera.

Uncle Dallas & Aunty Ita - what a great looking couple!

Family shot.

Nadine pointed out how Bradyn has changed just a wee bit since the last time she saw her. Take away Kevin's hair and 6 years off of Bradyn, and the picture below turns into this: Reeves Family February 2006 (click the link)

The last official duty of the Bride & Groom... cutting the cake.

I love this shot - just the way Bradyn's dress is flowing, and Jane has her arm around her granddaughter... the perfect end to a perfect day.

Congratulations Jane & Glenn - May you have many more happy years together.

We love you.

Clean-Up Entertainment

After the festivities, Bradyn and Daddy shared a brief dance. I admit that my heart jumped as I looked forward 20 years. However, before I was able to shed a tear, our little star dumped Daddy and permormed a solo.

Party's Over

I love this video, as I think it sums the day up perfectly.....

Wound up all day, followed by the crash.

Good night folks!

Family

5 weeks ago I had a very tearful phonecall with my sister. My Nana (Dad's mom), my last living grandparent, had passed away. Nana just turned 91 on December 3 and, while her passing may have been a blessing, it was still very sudden and a shock for all of us. The hardest part for me when it happened was that I wasn't there to grieve with my family. I quickly bought plane tickets for Bradyn and I, and we were on the red-eye flight to London the next day. Kevin and I decided that although she may not understand it all, it would be good for Bradyn to attend the visitation and funeral. Bradyn never ceases to amaze me. She was so good, and even if she didn't fully understand, she was very sympathetic to all of us who were crying. At Nana's grave, she was rubbing my back as I said my good-byes. My cousin Brian did an amazing job with the eulogy and I think we all had grumbling stomachs as we remembered the oatmeal cookies Nana used to make. We all have our own fond memories of 'Moo' but mine will always be the 'Nana bowl' - the beige and white ceramic bowl Nana used for mixing the cookie dough. I have my own set of Nana bowls, and they always bring a smile to my face when I pull them out of the cupboard.

Although it may sound inappropriate, the best thing about the first night of visitation was Bradyn's utter amazement at having so many cousins. On Kevin's side of the family there's Grandma & Grandpa, Uncle Dallas & Aunty Ita, Great Auntie Molly & Great Uncle Brian, and that's it. No kids and no cousins (or at least none that she knows). My dad has 2 brothers and a sister - each of them has two kids - and almost all of us have kids. Every time I introduced Bradyn to someone at the funeral home, you could see the confusion. "He's my cousin? But he's an adult!" "Baby James is my cousin?" "That's ANOTHER cousin?" "How can I have so many cousins?" It really was sweet.
No matter how many cousins she has, there is absolutely no doubt that her favourites, hands down, are Kiera and Robee. Although the trip was made for sad reasons, I'm glad we had the opportunity to go because Bradyn hadn't seen Sherri, Jason and the kids for over a year. Despite running on about 5 hours of sleep (our 11:30 p.m. flight was delayed until 2:30 a.m. so B slept 1 1/2 hours in the airport and 3 1/2 on the plane), Bradyn was full of energy all day Saturday.

Here are the superheroes.

Going for a ride on their rocket ship (check out the video in my next post - I only wish I'd had my camera to record the earlier part of their adventure - it was hilarious!)
While Kiera and Robee were at school on Thursday, Bradyn and I checked out her beloved Children's Museum. This time they had an Arctic exhibit....

... and an Egyptian exhibit. After some coaxing, she fully embraced being a mummy.

Aunt Sherri and the kids played hooky on Friday, so we all went to Kidscape, an indoor playground. This photo is the first of 2 I got this trip that are truly rare shots. Rare shot #1 - Kiera wearing pony tails! Is she not adorable?

I loved listening to Robee while climbing the wall - "Aunt B - look how high I am!" (Yep, you're a whole foot off the floor sweetheart)

For our last night in London, we had our traditional family birthday celebration dinner - Chinese food. Aunt Sherri's 37th birthday was February 5 and as you already know, Bradyn's 6th was February 13. Grandpa Bill's birthday (Jason's dad) was also on February 5 so we had a full house. After dinner, I told the kids that I wanted one really nice picture of the 3 of them, all looking at the camera. I know it was one of those 'you had to be there' situations, but these 4 pictures just make me laugh when I remember trying to take them.

"That's a nice one, but can I take one more with you standing up Bradyn?

Everybody smile."

"Kiera, you weren't looking at the camera and Robee, you look like you have a lizard neck. Let's do another one."

"Come on you guys. You can't go watch TV until I get one nice picture. Bradyn, you weren't looking at the camera and Robee, you've got that goofy neck thing happening again."

"Never mind - go watch TV."

Later, as we were getting ready to go home with Nana and Poppa, I decided we had to try and get some family shots. While we were trying to convince Kiera to participate, I got this awesome one of Sherri and Robee.

Here is Rare Shot #2 - a Moody family photo, with all of them looking at the camera!

Me and my little sis - I love you!!

Nana and Poppa with their grandbabies.

I love Kevin and Bradyn, my home, and the life I've built in beautiful BC but, some days I really miss Onterrible. When Sherri and I were pregnant at the same time and separated by 3000 miles, it was hard. Now that we have kids and they can't play together whenever they want, it's even harder. As I get older, I am realizing more and more how much my family means to me and wish that we could spend more time together. I also realize that I've spent too many years not appreciating how lucky I am. Remember to cherish your loved ones and make sure they know how much they mean to you. You never know when there won't be tomorrow.

Rocket Ship

At one point on Saturday afternoon I got nervous because I realized the kids were being very quiet, so I went off in search of Kiera, Bradyn and Robee. I found them, or rather I heard them, in the middle of an adventure in Kiera's closet. After listening for several minutes and having a good giggle, I realized I should be recording it....