Our Seattle Family Vacation: Part 2

Catch up on our Seattle Family Vacation by checking out Part 1 HERE!

Saturday
Lesley & Ben’s wedding day!

After a full day of travel, followed by a day of hitting the tourist sites plus a party, we decided to lay low during our second full day in Seattle in hopes that Kate would make it to (and through) the wedding.

The last time G & I were in Seattle I had the pleasure of meeting “jbhat” – one of my blog readers!  We exchanged phone numbers at the time so I texted her up and we arranged a late morning Seattle play date with our kiddos!

Kate, G and I started at the park below the Kerry Park overlook, which actually wasn’t very toddler friendly, but Kate had fun giving “Pink Otter” (her souvenir from our trip to the Seattle Aquarium yesterday) a spin, and racing her down the big slide:

 

Once “jbhat” (Jennifer) arrived with her darling kids Stella and Atticus we headed to a different park nearby that was a little more young kid appropriate.  It was so great seeing her again, meeting her lovely children, and having an impromptu Seattle play date!

THANK GOODNESS that Kate actually took a nap once we got back to the rental house!  It was a blessing for sure, because I don’t think she would’ve made it through Ben & Lesley’s evening wedding had she not!

(Neither would her parents.)

Kate was Ben & Lesley’s flower girl – a spot of honor in the wedding, along with Ben’s niece Sarah and his nephew Sam!  When we arrived, Kate wasn’t so sure about joining Sarah and Sam for pictures with the bride and groom.  At first she wanted to keep a little space between herself and them…then she joined the group…and soon she was comfortable enough to showcase her beautiful sweater dress and tights – ta-da!

Once Kate got her little flower girl bouquet, she was ALL ABOUT showcasing it, and no longer shy about pictures!

Kate’s pretty shy around new people and places, so we weren’t so sure she’d be willing to walk down the aisle all on her own.  Our plan was that G would walk his mom down the aisle and take his seat, I’d hang in back with Kate, and then tell her “Go walk to Daddy!” when it was her turn.  To sweeten the deal we decided Daddy would have a lollipop waiting for her:

Lesley and Ben had the most beautiful nontraditional ceremony.  It was officiated by Lesley’s best friend Melissa and Ben’s brother-in-law Dave – a couple of fun-loving, crazy characters!  Lesely and Ben wrote their vows and most of the ceremony, and it was absolutely perfect.  I’ve never cried as much during a ceremony as I did for this one!  Most of my tears were tears of laughter, and all were tears of joy as we listened to stories of how Ben & Lesley met and made it to their wedding day, followed by Dave and Melissa sharing loving marriage advice for this beautiful couple.  I’ve never witnessed a more personal or more perfect wedding ceremony!

Our little girl didn’t make it much longer once the evening ceremony ended, but we did find time to fit in one little private family dance while the rest of the guests enjoyed cocktail hour in adjacent rooms:

Kate crashed shortly after dinner was served, so G and I took her back to the rental house (and crashed ourselves).  Even though we weren’t able to stay for the entire reception, it was an evening that left us feeling so happy, blessed, and loving.

Sunday was another long travel day home, but once again Kate did great.  Overall, it was a phenomenal first big family vacation and I can’t wait to make the trip back to Seattle again to visit Lesley and Ben – and our little nephew who’s due to arrive this summer!