A great opportunity to get dressed up...

My cousin and her fiance had a lovely wedding this summer in Washington state. We packed up all five kids into the van, along with many many other things (like 2 playpens, 2 highchairs, a double stroller, 5 carseats, 4 suitcases, 2 packs of diapers and wipes, 1 big bin of books, 3 backpacks full of stuffed animals and toys, 2 bins and 1 cooler full of gluten free food...). It was a wild trip across the mountains. We stayed in Kamloops overnight and then arrived in Washington very tired of driving.

The wedding was so beautiful, however. And it was such a nice chance to visit with family that we rarely see. Cousins and second cousins, and great great aunties and various relatives in between. We were, as usual, the spectacle of the week, toting our five kids behind us (or maybe I should say, trying to catch up to our dispersing 5 kids in front of us).

Luckily we had the cute 'twin factor'. And oh, they were cute.

Thanks to a very very kind and generous relative, we had enough money to get formal outfits for each child.

The two girls were flower girls, and Z was also in the procession (carrying flags... a little unorthodox, but very fitting for Jen's wedding).

The twins were these adorable miniature grownups in their 5 piece suits. SO CUTE!

The kids ate and danced and ran around charming everyone. They even had time for a quick movie down in the basement with a hired babysitter.

E was thrilled to make a new friend, and they played with each other for hours and hours. It was a lot of fun, and I"m so glad we made the effort to drive down there.