Congratulations Auntie Kayla and .... the guy that goes with Auntie Kayla

Two weekends ago we packed our van with nearly all of our earthly possessions, loaded the DVD player with movies, packed enough snacks to feed three families and hit the road to Green Bay, WI.  Why?  Because my little brother was getting married :)

My two big boys were commissioned to be ring bearers and they were SO excited to be in Uncle Adam's wedding.  We talked about it, bought matching outfits, shopped for "fancy" shoes, talked about it some more.  They couldn't wait!

And they did awesome!  They carried out their ring bearer duties with keen attention and precision.  Well, Carter had his grumpy pants on tight that day, but even so he managed to walk 20 steps down an isle without incident.  That was huge!  The ceremony was beautiful.  The reception was a blast!  All in all the wedding was fantastic.  I'm so proud of my little brother and his new wife Kayla.

But as fun as the wedding was, I will mostly remember that weekend not as the day my little brother got married, but the day my big boys fell in love with Auntie Kayla.  I mean, fell.in.love with her.  She's been dating Adam for several years and it certainly wasn't the first time they'd met her.  But this weekend was different.  Perhaps it was wedding ceremony.  Or the party.  Or the fact that she looked absolutely stunning in her dress.  But my boys were smitten.

After the wedding, we had several hours of down time before the reception,  The baby took a nap, Carter rested on the couch, and Brooks worked diligently to make wedding cards for Adam and Kayla.  He carefully folded the paper, wrote out the words and drew them pictures.  At the reception, he kept asking to give them their cards.  It was such a busy day and they were always surrounded by people that I even suggested that Brooks just drop them in the card basket on the gift table.  But he was insistent.  So we weaved through a sea of people, found the happy couple and gave them their cards.

Several times throughout the night, he found Adam & Kayla and gave them hugs.  And each time they were so gracious and took the time to talk with him.  Then the best thing happened during the dance ... Brooks got to dance with Auntie Kayla!!  He loved the dancing anyway, but with Auntie Kayla??  That kid was on cloud 9!

We danced for quite a while, but when it was sufficiently past their bedtime and Benny was running on fumes, we loaded up and headed back to Grandma & Papa's house for the night.  Carter was tired beyond words, but as I was tucking him into bed, we had this conversation.

Carter:  Mama, I want the sheet over my head.

Me: Over your head?

Carter: Yeah, like this.  (he proceeds to put the sheet over the back part of his head)

Me:  Why do you want your sheet like that?

Carter:  Because I want to be like Auntie Kayla.

Me: ??

Carter:  Auntie Kayla had that thing on her head (a veil) and I want to be like her.

I couldn't help but laugh.  And sure enough, he slept all night long with his bed sheet "veil" on his head.

Then he started talking about his birthday, because, you know, why wouldn't you discuss your September birthday at 10:00 at night??  He says to Chris:

Carter:  Daddy, do you know what I want to do for my birthday?  I want to go to Thunder Road and ride the go-karts.  And you know who I want to come with me?

Chris:  Who?

Carter:  I want you to come.  And Grandma Marty.  And Papa Dave.  And Auntie Kayla.  And ........ who's the guy that goes with Auntie Kayla??

Chris:  Uncle Adam?

Carter: Yeah, Uncle Adam.  He can come too.

We laughed.  Oh, did we laugh.  So now my brother is no longer Uncle Adam, he is "the guy that goes with Auntie Kayla" :)

(Note: In an attempt to be more "unplugged" at the wedding, I didn't take a lot of pictures.  I kinda wish I had, but I was also glad to be able to enjoy the people I was with that day without sticking my nose behind a camera or phone.  All their wedding photos are loaded here.)