Seattle Wedding

Seb is so ready for a little girl - he is in love with Esther!

Cute cousins playing on Mama D's jungle gym

Darling little Es

My baby Hud

The beautiful bride making bouquets and boutonnieres

Laura the cupcake making machine!

My contribution - the invitations!

The front side of the invite

Esther girl showing off her jeans

Handsom brothers at gasworks park

Getting his workout in for the day

Here's Huddy's model shot

Enjoying the view together

Enjoying a Rookie Magic shake on the pier

Looking like a little man

Ooh la la! All ready for the wedding festivities to begin!

Happy family

We love our Uncles Scott and Trent and Aunt Nancy!

The happy couple!

Hudson was captivated by the beautiful bride!

Just darling!

My aunt is so pretty!

So happy! We did it!

What a stunning couple!

Proud parents

The Dunlap Family 2012

Doesn't this shot look like it could be in a magazine?!

I LOOOVED all of the lace on Sethrini's dress!

I love my sister! I hope you're enjoying the honeymoon!

Ooh la la - who's that sexy man on the far left??

Love this shot!

Gorgeous colors, no?

The beautiful masterpiece!

Dang, Laura - you really rock. This is so dang cute!

Reception site

Pretty bouquet - I love those caterpillar looking things

Didn't it all turn out so lovely?!

Backyard fire pit

Colorful lanterns

We did it! Now what?!

A quick hike at Mount Rainier

Just kidding ... a soggy trip to the zoo!

What a sweet face

They look like cousins, don't they?

Bonding with grandma

Probably his last free flight [sigh].

Arrival

Last Tuesday, we headed to Seattle for Sethrina's wedding! It was a busy week, and the time flew by quicker than ever! We flew in late Tuesday night. Noah, Laura, and Esther were two rows behind us on the  plane - that was a fun, lucky coincidence. I kept telling Hudson to look back at his "daddy" (Uncle Noah).

The Curse Begins

We spent the first couple nights at Mama and Papa Dunlap's home, where Josh and Sethrina were staying as well. That night, Sethrina got a blessing from her brothers, future husband, and dad in preparation of her temple experience. We munched on pizza and tomato soup. As luck would have it, my Seattle curse began - I started to get a nasty head cold and sore throat. Each visit to Seattle, my health fails me! Here's a list of my past Seattle curses: surf board to the crotch (Aug 2006), root canal (Dec 2006), strep throat (Dec 2008), flu (Dec 2011), head cold and urinary tract infection (May 2012). Joy!

Wetlands

On Wednesday morning, everyone woke up super early to go to Sethrina's endowment. Hudson and I stayed behind, and spent a fun morning together. We leashed up Langley (Sethrina's black lab) and took a walk to the wetlands. It is so gorgeous in Seattle! The wetlands walking path is surrounded by tall, green trees, gorgeous colorful flowers, and other beautiful foliage. We stopped by two fun parks during our walk. It was quite the adventure taking Langley out - that was my first time walking a big dog by myself. He was such a sweet, good boy! Shortly after we returned home, the family returned from the temple and Sethrina looked absolutely glowing and happy! We got sandwiches from Sarducci's for lunch and ate them on the Kirkland water front.

Cupcakes Galore

I think we spent the rest of the day making cupcakes. Sethrina had everything planned out so nicely with all of the ingredients measured out. Laura took charge and baked like a mad woman! She stayed up super late and made almost 200 cupcakes for the wedding! And they were to die for! And poor Laura did all of that having strep throat! What a trooper! That night, Sethrina and I made the bridesmaid bouquets and the boutonnieres as well. The wedding reception was starting to take shape before our eyes!

Relaxation and Fun

On Thursday morning, we met up with some of Josh's siblings and others in the wedding party for a delicious breakfast at The Original Pancake House. Oh man was it good. I ordered an omelet, and it was about the size of a small dog. My heavens! After breakfast, several of us went to the University of Washington to rent canoes. We canoed near an arboretum, where we saw ducks and ducklings, turtles, cranes, and gorgeous flowers and trees. Hudson loved being in the boat. I'm pretty sure that's the coolest thing he's ever done in his two years of living. I even took a short nap out on the pier with my feet hanging in the water. It was serene! Best nap ever.

After canoeing, we headed to the reception site (a split level, modern home situated up on a hill) and checked out our bedrooms. The Texas Dunlaps had a room down the hall from us, and Sethrina's beautiful master suite was next door. Josh and his best man Dennis stayed down in the basement as well as several bridesmaids. We began preparations for the reception, taking down some of the house decorations and bringing in all of the reception stuff. Seb and I snuck away while Laura kept an eye on Hudson, and we picked up Seb's favorite Seattle treat - Pagaliacci pizza! That night, Sethrina and her friends hit the town for a bachelorette party and the boys took Josh to play ball with some of their childhood friends. Laura and I spent the evening putting together a little cake topper from scraps of ribbon we found lying around the house. We also put together a "bun in the oven" basket for the newly weds getaway car. We learned the next morning that Josh turned his ankle at the outset of their game, and his foot/leg was bruised and swollen for the entire wedding and honeymoon! Poor thing!

Wedding Work

On Friday morning, Laura had made us all a lovely little egg and strawberry breakfast. It was delightful to have someone cook for me! Then, everyone hit it hard putting the house together for the reception. Bridesmaids were mopping. Laura made tons of frosting. We set up tables and chairs. Strung lights and lanterns. Put together luminarios. Josh's sisters put together tulip arrangements. I went upstairs to put Hudson down for his nap and when I came downstairs two hours later (my Heavens is it hard putting a toddler down without a crib), everything looked awesome! It was practically done! Woo!

We decided to do some relaxing that afternoon and took the babies to Gas Works Park. What a gorgeous park! The view there is breath taking! Then, we had dinner at Red Robin on the pier. When we got home, Seb's uncles Scott and Trent and his Aunt Nancy had arrived! Yay! We love them so much. We chatted for a bit before hitting the hay.

The Big Day

The morning of the wedding, Laura and I had fun getting ready. I tell you - she is a master woman - having her around is like having your best girlfriend, mom, and sister all wrapped up in one. She's awesome with Hudson, she is an amazing cook, she can do wonders with makeup, and she gives the best advice. She helped me do my eyes, and they looked better than ever!

I think being in the temple together was my favorite part of the entire trip. When Sethrina walked into the sealing room, she was overcome with emotion. You could tell she was absolutely in love with Josh and so excited to get married. It was so sweet seeing the two of them together, so very much in love.

It was fun seeing the newly weds come out of the temple - they looked so gorgeous together! Sethrina's hair and dress were so perfect! We had a lot of fun taking pictures. Hudson really enjoyed spending time with his great Aunt Nancy and uncles Trent and Scott while we were in the temple. You could tell that he really liked Nancy.

We rushed back to the house to get the cupcakes frosted and the tower assembled. I think it turned out so cute! The reception went well. The food was tasty, everyone seemed happy, and the environment was relaxing. I spent most of the night cuddled in a blanket out on the patio enjoying the view. My favorite part of the reception was (like always) the daddy-daughter dance! Oh how sweet!

We spent much of the evening cleaning up and part of the next morning as well. The house turned into an abysmal vortex of death. It would suck you in with endless chores and things to clean. We tried to get out of there as fast as possible!

Wrapping Things Up 

We spent the rest of the trip at Mama and Papa Dunlap's home. Some highlights included a trip to the Science Center and the Cheesecake Factory on vacation Sunday. At the Science Center, we got popcorn and watched a 3D iMax movie about the Arctic. Hudson just loved it! And on Monday, we went to the zoo together. It was raining and wet, but still fun. Mama D bought Laura and I some gorgeous peonies for helping out - those are the most delicious smelling flowers and the most romantic looking. Swoon! Seb snuck me out on Monday night to get my Mother's Day gift - a beautiful white watch from Nordstrom Rack. Everyone enjoyed a trip to a baby clothing store that night and a quick dinner at Red Robin.

Hudson was a perfect angel on the flight home. We lucked out and he got his own seat! I was even able to take a nap, while Hudson sat quietly and played with his cars, colored, and looked out the window. Thanks, Dunlaps, for another fun trip to Seattle! We love you! Josh and Sethrini - we hope you had a wonderful time in Alaska!