A Carolina Wedding

We just returned from a whirlwind five days to South Carolina to celebrate the wedding of Ron's youngest brother.  As I mentioned in the previous post, both Lia and Ron had come down with the flu the week before and I was hoping and praying that I would dodge this bullet, but as luck would have it, I came down with it two days before leaving.  The thought of flying across the country 33-weeks pregnant and sick with the flu totally stressed me out and caused me to spend my two days in bed worrying nonstop.  However, thanks to many prayers and a priesthood blessing, I felt about 80% normal on our long travel day and made it to S.C. without any trouble and by the next day I felt good as new.  I am so grateful that I was able to go on this important trip and be apart of the whole wedding experience with my family and see my little girl walk down the aisle in all her flower girl glory.  In addition, I was also glad that I was there to help Ron with Lia as she was a little "under the weather" throughout the weekend as it seemed that coming off of a bad case of the flu and an awful cold and dealing with the time change, a busy schedule, and an abundance of strangers was a little more than she could handle at certain times.  So we worked together as a team and made it through the weekend in one piece.  For the most part, we had a great time and are so happy to have our new sister-in-law, Austin, join the family! 

Thursday, December 29th, was the day of the wedding rehearsal at the church in Greenwood.  Here is Lia with her two North Carolina cousins and fellow flower girls, Regan and Addison, before taking the practice walk down the aisle.

Austin and Robbie and their bridal party at the front of the church during the rehearsal.

We were treated to a delicious dinner after the rehearsal at the clubhouse in Austin's parents' neighborhood in the town of Ninety-Six. 

Ron and his brothers and mother in the entrance of the clubhouse.

Ron's immediate family, plus Uncle Oscar, before eating dinner.

I just had to include this picture of Addison and Lia on the stairs inside the clubhouse as it captures one of the many poses that Addison struck throughout the weekend when asked to have her picture taken.

Friday, December 30th, was the big, wedding day!  Since Lola is the hairstylist extraordinaire, she offered to do all of the flower girls' hair before the ceremony.  Here is Lia sitting very seriously in Lola's bathroom while getting all of her locks curled and styled.

More curling and primping.

We arrived at the church an hour and a half early to join in with plethora of pictures being taken!  Both Renee and I were asked to be "honorary bridesmaids" with a few of Austin's friends and so we got to have our own bouquets and walk down the aisle.  Here we all are striking a silly pose outside the church.

Austin with her two official bridesmaids and three darling flower girls.  I just couldn't get over how adorable these three cousins looked all evening long in their matching dresses.  They reminded me of little snowballs running all over the place!

The three girls running down the aisle before the ceremony started. 

Addison, Regan, and Lia stopping for a few seconds for a quick pic.

The groom with his mother and brothers.

Our little family minus the bride.

The Hartland fam all cleaned up and in our wedding duds.

A few minutes before the ceremony began, all of the ladies in the wedding retreated to the bridal room in the church.  At one point, this was the scene I spotted--the flower girls surrounding one of the bridesmaids on the floor.  So cute!

After the ceremony, we all went outside the church to wait for the bride and groom to exit and walk through the arch of the sabers (since this was a military wedding).  We were all given white candles to hold in their honor.  Here is my little Lou looking at hers.  Just precious.

Lia and Addison waiting for the wedding couple with candles in hand.

The newly married Austin and Robbie leaving the church!

One final family pose with the bride before heading off to the reception!

Papa and daughter on our way out of the church!

The reception was held at an art gallery in downtown Greenwood.  Here are Austin and Robbie dancing their first dance after arriving!

After dinner, the rest of the evening was devoted to some dancing!  Here are Lola and Uncle Oscar breaking it down on the dance floor!

Regan busting a move with her friend, Sierra.

Addison dancing with one of the many friends of the bride that she wooed over the weekend!

On December 31st, we kept ourselves busy with one activity or another.  The girls started out the day coloring in our hotel room.

Since it was a gorgeous day in the 60s (a rare treat for us Washingtonians), we headed out to a park for a few hours to get some exercise and Vitamin D.  On the way there, Addison unfortunately got sick and had to go back to the hotel room for the rest of the day.  So we spent the rest of the day with Regan which Lia absolutely loved!  Here is Lia coming down the slide!

Regan looking as cute as can be in the tunnel.

The two cousins coming down the slide tandem-style.

Battling it out in the woods adjacent to the park.

And onto the teeter totter!

In the afternoon, a group of us went to a local bowling alley to pass the time until dinner.  This alley had some special area just for children, so Lia was able to attempt bowling for the first time in her life by using miniature balls on a minature lane!  She and Regan enjoyed playing two games all by themselves.

The cousins doing a "double throw."

Look at that girl's form!

Cheering the girls on!

On Sunday, January 1st, we said goodbye to Ron's family in the morning at the hotel and then drove the hour to the town of Simpsonville to visit my good friend and former mission companion, Shannon, and her family.  It was such a treat to see Shannon in her Southern life as I haven't seen her since our wedding 6.5 years earlier.  She treated us to lunch and a few hours of catching up while Lia ran around with her cute daughter, Eliza.  Here are the girls before we said goodbye and headed to the airport!

Shani and me and our girls in front of her home!