Birthday turkeys...

Seeing as we were in Prince George on Naomi's birthday and couldn't be home to celebrate with her, Susanne, Juergen, Jon and I spent last Friday evening babysitting the kids so that Mom & Dad Esau could take her and Erich out for dinner. While they were gone, we put together some really cute cupcakes for Naomi's birthday dessert. I'm pretty sure the kids ate more than they helped, but it was fun to do it with them :) Susanne has a really awesome cupcake book, FULL of cute ideas and thought it would be neat to stick with the Thanksgiving/Autumn theme and make turkeys.

I think the final product was quite something...

Konrad was quite "hands on" with the whole cupcake-making thing, probably simply because he's older. But I must say, Ava and Calvin sat so nicely while we crafted the turkeys. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this picture of Ava especially. Look how patiently she was waiting for her turn...

Without further ado, Aaron & Carly's wedding...

After leaving Chilliwack at 10:00pm last Thursday night, we finally arrived in Prince George at 7:00am on Friday morning. Exhaustion had taken over but that didn't change the fact that we were absolutely thrilled to be sharing in our friends' special day. We have a VERY special place in our hearts for Aaron & Carly and couldn't have been more excited and honoured to be a part of their wedding day.


The "festivities" began on Friday afternoon with a rehearsal at the church. Here is the wedding party and the happy couple...


Bestman: Silas (brother to Aaron), Groomsmen: Conrad, Darren, Jon & Manolo (all friends of Aaron)

Maid of Honour: Millie (Carly's best friend), Bridesmaids: Amanda, Michelle, Geralyn (all friends of Carly), & Kenia (Aaron's sister).

The rehearsal was followed by a DELICIOUS Columbian/Mexican themed dinner that Aaron's parents, Trever & Joan, put on for everyone. The food was absolutely incredible!!


And finally... the big day arrived. I told Carly that I would help out with the "details" on Saturday and get things co-ordinated. I wasn't thinking when we got to the church early and I placed my purse (with camera inside) near one of the aisle seats, and went off to complete my wedding day duties. Turn's out I ended up helping my friend Erica with opening the doors for the wedding party, closing them after everyone had gone down the aisle, and then re-opened them for Carly & her Dad's big entrance. This meant that I had to sneak in through the side door and ended up at the opposite end of the row that held my purse. So unfortunately, I didn't get a single picture of the ceremony. Just didn't feel right about starting the game of "telephone" with everyone in my row, asking them to pass me my purse, while they tried to take in C & A's vows and such. :) Thankfully my wonderful friend Traci sent me her pictures of the ceremony so I could put them up here for all of you. Thanks again Trac!

Aaron & Joan making their entrance...

My handsome hubby and Geralyn...

The stunning couple...

And of course, "the kiss"... Aaron did not hold back :) hehe

So cute!

I went with Trever & Joan to the formals and managed to get a few shots. It was THE perfect time of year for outdoor pictures. Though it was FREEZING, the fall leaves were absolutely breathtaking...

Aren't they a beautiful couple!?!

Michelle & Darren, the other newlyweds.

Seriously... you guys are far too attractive for your own good :)

My gorgeous friends...

Michelle, Geralyn & Amanda

The wonderful Godard family...

Silas, Kenia, Joan & Trever

The reception was held at the Hart Centre on the outskirts of town. The decorations were just beautiful! It was like a fairytale...

And of course, the dance was an absolute riot! Here are Carly & her brother Stu, ripping up the dance floor...

Stealing Jon away for a quick picture...

The "Hepburn" girls...

Michelle, Tessa & I

Getting ready to throw the bouquet...

Geralyn & Amanda's joint effort on winning the bouquet toss, complete with bowling over Carly's cousin in order to get the flower victory :)

The garter toss...

I told Aaron he had to use his teeth but for some reason, he opted not to :)

Enjoying Joan's delicious wedding cheesecake...

Buddies for life...

Now, some people might be a little embarassed that I am putting this on here, but I just had to add this short clip of the dance. This was near the end of the night and I snuck away from the dance floor action in order to get a little bit on camera :) It was SUCH a fun night!! Though I must say my body HATED me the next day for dancing the night away in bare feet. My knees and back are still recovering :)

It was definitely a tiring weekend with very little sleep, but totally worth it. We feel truly blessed to have friends like Aaron & Carly and enjoyed every minute of their wedding weekend! We love you guys.

Giggly cuteness...

Naomi and I discovered that Calvin loves the game of peek-a-boo. We managed to catch some of his delightful laughter on camera...

... now you know why I love this kid so much. Warms my heart to the core.

PS: Pictures to come of Aaron & Carly's wedding. I've started the post but its tough to choose between all the photos, so its taking me a while to finish it. Hopefully I'll have it up by this weekend!

Road trip...

We're off to Jon's home town, Prince George, for the long weekend.  Going to share in Aaron & Carly's wedding day and we're looking forward to it immensely!  We've awaited this day for a long time :)  I'll post pictures of their special day when we get back.  See you in a few days and hope you all have a fantastic Thanksgiving!!

What does love mean...

Email forwards aren't usually something I put on my blog, but after receiving this one from my sister in law today, I just had to share it. Some of the quotes below are just too precious...

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A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds, 'What does love mean?' The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined. See what you think.

'When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love.' Rebecca- age 8

'When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth.' Billy - age 4

'Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other.' Karl - age 5

'Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs.' Chrissy - age 6

'Love is what makes you smile when you're tired.' Terri - age 4

'Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK.' Danny - age 7

'Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss' Emily - age 8

'Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen.' Bobby - age 7 (Wow!)

'If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate,' Nikka - age 6 (we need a few million more Nikka's on this planet)

'Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday.' Noelle - age 7

'Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well.' Tommy - age 6

'During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling.
He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore.' Cindy - age 8

'My mommy loves me more than anybody. You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night.' Clare - age 6

'Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken.' Elaine-age 5

'Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford.' Chris - age 7

'Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day.' Mary Ann - age 4

'I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones.' Lauren - age 4

'When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you.' Karen - age 7 (what an image)

'Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn't think it's gross.' Mark - age 6

'You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget.' Jessica - age 8

And the final one, the winner, was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife.
Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there. When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said, 'Nothing, I just helped him cry.'

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Hope this made you smile as much as it did for me. There is so much to learn from the little ones in our lives...