Welcome to the family, Uncle Mike!

Two weekends ago we took a trip to Illinois for my sister Cindy's wedding to her boyfriend of 6 years or so, Mike. We were there from Thursday through Tuesday and in addition to the wedding we were able to fit in time to visit with a lot of our close friends. It was great to see all of them, but the wedding itself (and getting to see relatives from as far away as Denver and Seattle) was the real attraction, so we figured we'd share some of our photographic memories.

Ellie was quite excited about the necklace Mommy received as a gift at Aunt Cindy's rehearsal dinner. Check out her eyes in there!

Here's Ellie hanging out with some members of her far-flung family. There's Great Grandma Kost (Palatine, IL), Grandma Sue (McHenry, IL), Great Uncle Gordon (Longmont, CO), and Great Uncle Glenn (Bellevue, WA). Those uncles are my mom's two brothers.

Ann, Cindy and I.. pre-ceremony.

Cindy & Mike sharing a laugh during the "sand ceremony" part of their wedding. They alternated filling a vase with different colored sand. (It was new to me, despite having been to about a dozen weddings since college.)

Cindy & Mike at the reception.

Ellie was very curious about the wedding cake, and Ann had to keep her a good distance away because the little one most definitely would have stuck a hand or two in it.

Ann's family (her sister Susie and her parents, Mike and Pam) came to the wedding to help celebrate.. and help us take care of Ellie while we had fun at the reception. Thanks to them for all their help.

Believe it or not, Ellie was the first one to hit the dance floor.. and everybody tried hard to get her attention for a couple funny photos -- little did they know *they* were the real funny ones..

Ellie made it through this round of pre-dinner pictures before zonking out. Then she slept through dinner in her car seat, which was next to my feet at the table.

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You know it's a party when the mother of the bride ends the night with the groom's tie around her head.. and one of the wacky uncles breaks out the glow necklaces to help with his air guitar routine.

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We'd like to thank Cindy and Mike again for inviting us, and wish them all the happiness and luck in the world. The three of us had a great time helping them celebrate their special day.