Duane & Mary... The Wedding!

On Saturday, my brother Duane married an amazing girl, Mary. The day was just perfect. The setting, at the World Forestry Center in Portland, was so beautiful and the weather was perfect. Mary and Duane put so much thought and so many personal touches into the day. It was so them and, therefore, a whole lot of FUN! After pictures (which were so relaxed and easy...thanks Bethany!) we enjoyed drinks and good company of family and friends in the courtyard area until the ceremony began. The ceremony was beautiful and personal with readings by brothers, James and David. Willem did great as ring-bearer, standing next to best man, Uncle Marcus. Gabrielle and her fellow flower girls took their job so seriously (they practiced all morning!) and did great! The bride and groom exited with an instrumental of 'Another One Bites the Dust'! Too funny! The reception was tons of fun and included a slik acrobat, great food, a band, lots of dancing and an ice sculpture drink luge! It was a fantastic day fit for a fantastic couple! Here are pictures from my camera...I'll update this post with more pictures from my sister's camera.

First some of the details...

Their programs were so cool. Duane and Mary painted all 200 of the paint sticks so that the programs could be used as fans. Click on the picture to see a larger version...on the backside (right in picture) you will see a touching remembrance of my mom who would have loved everything about the day.

This was so Duane & Mary...a drink luge ice sculpture! I tried the Rasmopolatin...very tasty. Later in the night, the wedding party and others were forgoing the glasses to catch the vodka with their mouths!

The candy bar was a big hit with the kids and grown-ups!

And the wedding party...

Beautiful flower girls...Athena, Gabrielle and Meleesa

This is such a Willem pose!

The Ceremony...

Gabrielle and Willem walking down the aisle. They did great!

Willem, doing his job! He earned six Lego people from the Lego Store for doing a great job and mostly for smiling in the many pictures (he tells me that he hates having his picture taken!)

The happy couple during the ceremony

The reception...

What are they looking at?? See below!

Yes, they had a silk acrobat to entertain during dinner!

My Dad gave a very touching toast

The first dance

And the kids looking on

Marilyn danced with Duane in the second dance in place of my mom

And, finally, more pictures of family and friends...

Cousins and flower girls

Me and my sisters

My niece Naomi looked so pretty!

My Hubby and Kids!

My sister, Amber, Jacoby & Tony

My brother David and his family

My brother James and his family

My family again

Marcus and Melissa

My sister, Marilyn, and two of her girls who were able to come to the wedding. We missed her hubby and their four other kids but are so glad three Loftsgards were there!

Chad and me with our great friends, Pancho and Julie

Duane & Mary... Rehearsal Dinner

Tonight was Duane and Mary's rehearsal dinner at their favorite stomping ground, Mt. Tabor Park. They are such a great couple and we are so excited for Mary to officially be a part of our family. Flower girl, Gabrielle, and ring bearer, Willem, are excited for their big roles tomorrow and did a great job at the rehearsal. It was great to spent the evening with family and friends and to start the celebration for the big day!

The happy couple

Mary giving instructions to the flower girls and ring bearer

Me and my sisters

Some of our nieces, who we love so, so much!! (Athena, Naomi, Frances, Searra, Gabrielle, Erika, Meleesa & Selene)

Our family!

Me and my siblings...David, Me, Duane, Marilyn, Marcus, Amber, James

They are too cute!

My niece, Erika, is so pretty!

Cade and Pascal had fun playing chess

Willem was done taking pictures already...may have to bride him for tomorrow!

My Awesome Sis!

I am so lucky to have two great sisters! Though Marilyn is 7 1/2 years older than me and Amber nearly eight years younger, we are best friends. Marilyn has been visiting from Nicaragua this past week and I am reminded again and again of how good she is to me! Here's just one example...As I mentioned in my 8 month post, Genevieve's sleeping has regressed a bit and she's been crying and getting up at 3:00 am to nurse. I figured I'd break her of the habit (i.e let her 'cry it out') when our schedules got back to normal when school starts. Well, Genevieve's crib is in the room Marilyn (and her daughter, Erika) are sleeping. The first night they were asleep before I went to bed and I didn't want to wake them to check if the baby monitor was on. I figured it probably was on and, if not, then I would probably hear Genevieve. So I went to sleep and next thing I know, it's 6:00 am and Marilyn is bringing Genevieve to our bed. She had listened to her crying for 30 minutes at 3:00 am making sure she was okay and, being the experienced mom of six that she is, she had no problem listening to her half-asleep fussing. I told Marilyn she could bring Genevieve to me as soon as she started crying but she said it was no big deal. So, the next 3 nights, I got more long (heavenly) nights of sleep while my awesome sis made sure Genevieve was okay; last night she actually slept on her own until 5:30. Thanks, Marely (oh, and can you just move in with us?)!!!!

Here's another picture from this week of dinner at Roaring Rapids with Marilyn, Erika, my Dad and Kathleen...

More Cool Soccer Pics

Here are some more pictures from the weekend tourney taken by another parent. He captured some great shots on his camera. Cade is always easy to spot with his orange shoes.

This is my favorite!

This shot was just wide

Cade and this boy battled the whole game. They are both little speedsters!

A signature Cade 'cut'!

Cade's the one jumping and heading the ball...it was almost a goal!

A little 'step-over' move