A Brand New Sister

That's right, my baby brother got married!

Not long ago, in beautiful California, Brother got his Mrs.  I will be calling her Lalew in this blog and she is a doll.  She's sweet, thoughtful, considerate, funny, silly, christian, calm, and every other trait I could ever want for my brother's wife (and on top of all that, she's a knockout!).  I've told Brother and Lalew this before, but the first time I met Lalew was at a family Christmas at my parents' house over 5 years ago (yeah, they rushed into it, huh).  In walks my dorky brother and behind him is this blonde, beautiful barbie doll.  My sister and I looked at each other totally perplexed.  Not that my brother is some hideous beast, mind you, but he's my brother - I was shocked that this stunner of a girl agreed to fly to Arkansas with him to meet the family.  He's a skinny little goofy guy from the south and she's a sunny californI.A. bombshell.  What in the world could they possibly have in common?  I didn't have to wait to long to find out, because soon enough, Lalew opened her mouth.



We all understood and we all fell in love with her.
:)
Really, honestly, I always tell people that I couldn't have handpicked a better girl for my brother to marry.

Here are some of the highlights from our trip.

* A crotchety old bag refused to let us all sit in the same row on the flight there.  I secretly wished Little would throw a huge hissy fit right in her face but instead he (predictably) turned on the charm and made said bag fall in love with him by the time the plane landed.


* Lunch @ La's parents' house where Little repeated "It's ridiculous!" with full dramatic effect after her dad said it while fighting with the new high chair he had put together.

*Rehearsal at the Nixon Library where I got snapped at by the wedding planner and my brother at the same time for talking.......even though Christie, my mom, my dad, and everyone else was talking too.

*Rehearsal dinner where I lost my lens cap for the 2nd time that day and I got to watch my brother cry over a guitar.



*Trip out to Long Beach and the Aquarium of the Pacific where Little got to pet a sting ray, a shark, and a horseshoe crab and we hung out with an old friend.

*Cince de Mayo @ Mother's Beach in Marina Del Rey where I mistakenly sent my mother to go after Little as he toddled towards the marina.....

* A 3 hour nap for Little Face then Pho for dinner.
*Sunday before the wedding, we took Little in the pool for the very first time.  He was a bit timid at first, then had a blast.

Don't try to figure the tattoo out - it's not finished yet.



*Finally, wedding time!

These next few images are priceless to me.  I wanted so badly for Andrew to walk down the aisle - he's 2.5 so there was no guarantee, you know.  But just knowing that one day he won't be able to walk anymore made this particular moment on his feet so significant.  I will always have the memory of my son walking down the aisle at my brother's wedding and that means so much to me.  Prepare yourself - this is the cutest ring bearer in the history of all ring bearers.

















Brother and New Sister, I love you so dearly.  Thank you for letting Andrew (and us) be a part of your day and letting us all have this memory to hold on to in our hearts.  I wish you all the best things in life and love and my God keep you and hold you near.