When we were booking our flights, we decided to fly into Seattle and drive up to Vancouver to save on the price of flights. It also meant we could hopefully see Aunt Susan & Uncle Alan and Greg, Renee, Winter, & Ronin. We made plans to see Aunt Susan the day we arrived before we made the drive across the border (Uncle Alan was working). We met for lunch at a Mexican restaurant chain I have fond memories of - Azteca.
When we got to Vancouver, we settled into Rita, Joe, Siena & Alyssa's basement suite. There new house is beautiful and the location and view are stunning. The kids were so thrilled to see each other, and we all stayed up REALLY late visiting.
The next morning we went to get Roy's tux and Riley's flower girl dress taken care of. We got to see Clyde & Melinda and Leslie & his two oldest boys - we hadn't seen them since we visited in New Orleans 4 years before - Riley and Adam were just babies! Then we went to Clyde's apartment and got to see Roy's parents and Veronica & Kevin & the kids. It had been over 5 years since we had seen Roy's parents (I was newly pregnant with Riley and Leighton was just a little guy!) and almost 12 since we saw Kevin, Veronica & Isla. And we had never met Kieran and Tristan!
Riley and Leighton were excited to find a whale to pose with for photos - it made them think of the guitars in Austin and the cows they've seen around Houston.
We then went up to Leslie's mother-in-law Pat's where they were staying. We got to see Juliana and Aiden and Mia, Pat, and her sister and brother in law and their sweet girl! It was so nice to see everyone again and to meet the new little kids and babies! Riley was feeling a little shy of all the new people at first, but was super comfortable with her Uncle Clyde and then warmed up and played with her cousins and granny, too. Leighton played with his cousins outside like they'd known each other forever - it was so lovely to see!
The next day we spent the morning at Stanley Park and English Bay with Rita and the girls. It was so relaxing and the weather was so perfect for being outside! NO humidity! Heaven ...
We went to help set up the wedding location later on, but Riley fell asleep in the car, so I sat with her while she slept for a long time and Roy & Leighton went in. My parents arrived and then there was the rehearsal. Riley was a little shy to do the flower girl walk on her own, so she stayed with Roy!
After the rehearsal, we went to Earl's for dinner with my parents. Roy used to work for Earl's and he was really looking forward to taking the kids there and to eat & drink some of his favorites that were still on the menu! We may have ordered one of everything we ever liked, lol. The kids ate so much and had such a great time. We all did,!
The next morning we went to the playground with Rita and the girls and my parents. Celia and her two boys came to meet us, too. We hadn't seen Celia since her wedding 8.5 years ago!
The view from Rita & Joe's house and neighborhood is so spectacular.
Then we got ready for the wedding. We were running a bit behind schedule and didn't get to do some nice photos of us all together before we had to go, unfortunately. Boo. My mom did try to take some pictures of us during the wedding but Riley wasn't being so cooperative. Boo again. But I got lots of pictures of everyone else!
The ceremony was really lovely, and Melinda looked stunning. I can't believe Clyde is old enough to get married, ha! I still think of him as the 15 year old I first met almost 20 years ago. Riley got a bit nervous for her walk down the aisle but made it! She just didn't smile or throw any of her petals - sorry, Melinda!
After the ceremony there were pictures down by the water.
It was then time for the reception.
Finally it was dancing time. Leighton didn't stop dancing the entire night. Him and his cousins and Melinda's little brother, Chance, were too cute! And Riley loved to twirl in her dress.
During the last hour, Riley just couldn't stay awake any longer and fell asleep on me.
During clean up, someone spilled a glass of water on Leighton and he was very excited to reenact it for me with an empty glass so I could take a photo of how it happened!
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