party on.....

The vows were said, the couple's wed, let's party!!! This picture is me and my dear friend E - ok, technically she was my mom's friend first - from before the time she dated my dad even! Even so, E and I have become good friends all on our own, but since we live so far apart, it was fabulous to get to spend some time together! We had grand plans of spending an afternoon together, but things were just too crazy, so that didn't happen, sadly. Anyway, this is proof that we were actually near each other for more than 10 seconds!! Someday we'll get that afternoon we planned!

My new nephews P and T practicing some sort of secret handshake - I guess it's not a secret now - ooops!!

the happy couple sharing a private laugh! isn't that view gorgeous?

my darling family! ain't they cute?

look at those eyes! what a doll!

THE cake

Baby sister bride's slice - what a nice touch! my piece didn't have any writing but it was super yummy!!

my new BIL toasting his new family - 4 boys - wow! baby sister is totally outnumbered!!

BIL dragged Little S out on the dance floor - she's so shy, but I could tell that she was very pleased - she even stayed and danced with a few other people afterwards - a first for certain!!

Big S has a minute bit more dance experience than her sisters but she was a little shy getting out there the first time too - it didn't take her long to warm up tho!!

NEVER to be outdone by her sisters, Little G was cutting a rug with BIL before long too! How cute are they?

Baby sister bride and darling nephew J have some serious dance moves - I suspect that they had practiced a bit beforehand!!

It is always dangerous for the band to take a break and leave the microphones unattended - as you can see! bridesmaid K, E, L and G were not shy and certainly that out does talent any day ;) actually, they weren't all that bad! L sang us a tune in the van later that night on the way back to the hotel - she can definitely carry a tune! thanks for the serenade!!

next stop, San Francisco.........

Day Seven, Napa Valley California - part one

The countdown continued and after a day full of last minute details, it was time to concentrate on the details that really mattered - the wedding ceremony! We met at Auberge for the rehearsal and the happy couple were beaming!!

Baby Sister, Hubby to be, his three boys H, T and P and my nephew - soon to be one big happy family!! Check out the view behind them! It was an amazing place to stand and look out over the valley!

Of course I had to take a picture of my three crazy girls too!! Look like trouble don't they!

Little G and Little S practicing walking down the aisle together - they were the flower girls!

Big S walking down the aisle - she's got the red shirt and white skirt on - I know it's far away, but I wanted to show the whole decking area where the ceremony was going to be!

I loved this part of the ceremony! Dad walked Baby Sister half way down the aisle then her passed her off to my nephew for the second half. It was a really special moment!

Then my nephew passed her off to Hubby to be! Also very sweet! Hubby to be ready to make this happen for real!

Later that night, all the wedding guests who were in town gathered at a place called Hall Rutherford for the rehearsal dinner. It began with a cocktail hour and I actually got someone to take our picture before I ran off to take pictures of everyone else!

The Canadian faction of the family (well not all of them, but the representatives!) - my aunt S (mom's sister), my uncle M(mom's brother), Mom, my uncle's wife J, Dad, my cousin C

This is what boys ages 10 to 14 do at a cocktail party....

and what the girls do.....

We then had to walk down the hill to the "cave" where dinner was to be served - hubby and Little S were so cute!

That is the end of part one. Sorry, but the "cave" was so amazing that I decided to divide things up again - too many fun pictures so you'll have to wait until tomorrow!

Day six, Napa Valley California - part one

Yes, I know there's no day four or five, we spent most of them in the car and although we had a lovely dinner with some friends that Hubby used to work with on day four, I failed to take a single picture - bummer. Anyway, some memories must find away to stay intact in that tired little brain of mine I guess! Day five Hubby left us again to play golf with the father of the groom and a couple of the groom's friends, so the girls and I meandered up to Napa and spent a little time by the pool and connecting with some of the other early arrivals!! Days six and on have way too many pictures, you'll be glad I skipped a day or two!!

So, our first full day in Napa started with a siblings wine tasting! That meant Baby Sister, her hubby-to-be and his twin brother along with me and my hubby! Hubby to be (soon to be referred to as BIL - brother in law) had a little "work" to take care of so the laptop went on the road with us, but we were able to get it out of his hands and replace it with a glass of wine pretty quickly!!!

Baby Sister and Hubby listening to the tour guide explain the differences in the soil all around the Napa and Sonoma area - she can't even fake looking interested in dirt! Just waiting for the tasting part of the tour!!

Wish my basement looked like this!

Yummy, yummy, yummy!! Nickel and Nickel wines were fabulous!!

The entire group we tasted with - one couple was from Chicago, the other from Seattle - it was a fun group and we were sooooo excited when they gave us our "boxes" to take home!!

The fake entrance to Nickel and Nickel - cool pix huh?

Their labels look just like this sign - very pretty!

Baby Sister and Hubby-to-be at lunch. Aren't they cute?

Hubby and Hubby-to-be's twin brother!

Lunch was super yummy, but we didn't allow enough time to actually enjoy it - we had missed our first tasting to sleep in (still jet lagged?) made it to Nickel and Nickel for the "2nd" tasting and did not want to miss the third, so we ate half our lunch in 5 minutes and took the rest to go! The Rutherford Cafe was tasty and accommodating!!

So, that was the first part of the day, tomorrow, part two! I know you can hardly wait!!