~Home For The Holidays in Oregon Part II~

~It was time to leave the beach for a couple of weeks and join up with the McLean side of the family. There were so many things to look forward to! All of the 5 siblings would finally be together after many years. Wedding, sledding, reunions, so many memories were made on this trip. We all gathered together at this rental house

which was big enough to fit the whole gang~

~The Youngs (Steve's sister Sarah, and her family) were the first ones to arrive! They got in from Atlanta very late.. so we had to welcome them in the morning. The cousins started out being very excited to see eachother and it was very cute to watch them play. This is Cole & Maryn enjoying some good bonding times on the sled~

~We all have been so excited to see Nana & Papa.. but Cole & Kade were out of their heads when they had their pals back! They were able to sneak away to sled before all the events would start to fill the week. They had fun sledding and enjoying all of the snow~

~The boys decided to separate from the women and go and take care of business! This was trip #3 in a week to the airport.. this time it was to welcome the arrival of Uncle Matt from Arizona! There was still a lot to do.. the boys hurried off to downtown Portland to enjoy some boy bonding time and get some of their chores done before the wedding rehearsal that was going on that night~

~Nothing warms the soul like some good old-fashioned Starbucks hot chocolates with creamy - yum,yum! This was a staple when we lived in Portland.. and it was definitely needed to warm the soul.. it was so cold and the boys were being champs with all of the hustle and bustle~

~Stop 4.. get fitted for the tuxedos.. check! And my boys are looking so incredibly handsome modeling their tuxedos! I think they enjoyed being a part of the big event. They were the ring bearers. Cole & Kade practiced it over and over again. During the wedding rehearsal, Cole walked down the aisle and then got down on one knee and presented the ring on the pillow to Dan just like he was a king.. it was awesome.. I don't know where he saw that.. but it was so cute. On the day of the wedding... they were doing so good walking together down the aisle.. but then Kade froze, and tried to pull Cole off the path with some serious peer pressure, and we decided that Cole could finish the rest of the way without his naughty sidekick~

~After the rehearsal, we rushed out for trip #4 to the airport! This time it was to welcome Uncle Jesse home from his 2 year mission for the church in McAllen, Texas - just in time for the big wedding. The kids were getting impatient.. but were so excited when he finally showed up! Welcome Home Uncle Jos~

~The whole gang was finally together for the first time! It was a great McLean Family Reunion. We had a good time catching up and Steve made a delicious Italian dinner for everyone to enjoy~

~The wedding day was finally here! We were so worried that the record snow from the "Arctic Blast 2008" would make it impossible for anyone to make it.. but it was so exciting to see the effort that everyone made to be there. Just a few of the guests were not able to make it. We had fun getting the boys in their tuxedos and they looked & felt so handsome!

I was definitely a proud momma & wife~

~The entire McLean family.. Jesse, Matt, Mark, Dan, Barb, Sarah, Steve - What a great looking bunch. You could feel the excitement in the air.. the siblings were having a good time being together again. Lots of laughs.. and things said that will never be forgotten~

~Have I mentioned that I love to see my man in a tuxedo! It was fun being able to sit back and watch and not have to feel the stress of being in the wedding party! Kade & Cole had a blast dancing to the music, and were so excited when they finally cut the cake and they were able to eat some. They had been staring at it the entire night~

~Leave it to Danny.. to take a break from his wedding reception to unbutton his shirt and have a little competition with his younger brother about who was the manliest with the most amount of chest hair.. I must say - it was close.. but I think Dan wins! Don't worry Jos.. you are still maturing and in a couple of years.. you will win the title~

~Congratulations Dan & Stephanie! We are so excited to have a new addition to the family. Stephanie was one of the most beautiful brides I have ever seen. The wedding was perfect and I could tell that everyone was having a very good time~

~We were getting a little nervous at the wedding.. we were really afraid that we would not make it home! This is what it looked like in downtown Portland after the wedding.. it was crazy how much snow had come down while we were in the wedding. The weather definitely made things exciting on this trip~

~After the wedding.. we decided that we wanted to take advantage of a down day and go and see my brother David and his family. This is Cole & Kade with their cousins Corry & Lizzy. The kids had fun playing games and opening presents.. we were definitely spoiled! Thanks David & Cathy for taking such good care of us. I wish we could have seen you more.. but the time we got was definitely enjoyable~

~This is just a "casual" reminder to Laura.. that she needs to find some of these arm warmers in the store for me!! I will not stop bugging you until they are in the mail - hint, hint, hint! I love you sista - it was good to be able to see you again~

~Sledding, sledding, & more sledding! Can you believe that this is one of the few activities that you can really do as a family.. when you cannot get around because of the snow? Good thing we were able to get the last two sleds at the store! There was only a little dramatic stuck car situation.. but nothing a lot of pushing, pellets of snow to the face, and some broken chains couldn't fix~

~Boys will be boys! I loved watching the boys make new paths and have competitions for who could go the furthest! We really didn't have the right clothes on.. and we didn't have boots, snow pants.. but it was hysterical and well worth it~

~This marked the end of our wedding week adventure! Everything went very smooth & the wedding turned out beautiful. We packed up the rental house and got everything (amazingly) into the cars.. next stop Roseburg for Christmas! The roads were insane and it should have taken only 3 1/2 hours to get there.. and instead it took close to 6 - ughhh! It felt good to be there! Next blog will be about our Christmas day events and other fun times in Roseburg~