Throughout the past few months I have chronicled our “Best Summer Ever” as I have written about the adventures we have embarked on a year after the summer of 2020 was, for all intents and purposes, canceled. Our last official special event of the season took place this past weekend.

We spent this past weekend in Walla Walla/Milton Freewater for a wedding. This is Sid, Sloan, and I at the reception.

My cousin, Taylor, got married on Saturday. She tied the knot on her family’s farm in Milton-Freewater, Oregon. My parents wanted to fit the event into a special weekend for our larger family. So, by early Friday evening, the four of us, my sister’s family, my brother and his wife, and my parents all converged on a VRBO in Walla Walla, Washington. Despite the different state, Walla Walla is moments away from the Oregon border, with Milton-Freewater being the first town you come to.

This was the VRBO that we stayed at in Walla Walla.

The VRBO my parents rented was beautiful and spacious. All four couples had their own rooms and the kids slept together in a large area in the basement. Although we had our own spaces throughout the house, we spent most of our time together in the upstairs living areas or in the backyard.

Mik, Johnny, and Sloan getting ready for bed.

On Friday, my dad’s siblings came over to join all of us for a big pizza party. Later that night, my siblings and our spouses sat around the table in the backyard and played games well past midnight. Doesn’t get much better for a summer evening, right?

On Friday night we all stayed up late in the backyard playing games.

On Saturday, we took the kids to the swimming pool at my uncle’s house. With the temperature soaring above 100 degrees, it was exactly what we needed. The kids had a blast splashing around in the pool while us adults were entertained by my uncle.

The kids playing in my Uncle Bob’s pool.

Later that day, us men were summoned to the wedding site to help with some setup. Back at the VRBO, the kids jumped on the trampoline while the women got ready for the wedding. The guys returned and we took our showers and then our group of 12 caravanned back to the farm for the 5:30 p.m. ceremony.

The VRBO had a trampoline in the backyard that was a big hit with the kids.

The farm was a gorgeous setting for a wedding. Horses roamed on the land while the bride and groom said their vows. The heat did make it a little tough for Beau to focus but I took him over to a couple giant ice buckets where he was content to pick and eat the cubes while Taylor and Kade got married.

Beau, Sid, Carrie, Mikayla, and Miranda on the farm prior to the wedding.

The reception took place in the barn and was a lot of fun. The kids danced themselves silly and I had the honor of speaking with several people on my mom’s side of the family who I had not talked to in years. As darkness fell the weather became milder and it was much easier to relax.

The kids swarm around Taylor and Kade during the “Coin Dance.”

After the wedding, we came back to the VRBO and we put the kids to bed. Then, all of us adults, including my parents, sat around a long table and talked late into the night. It was the perfect way to end the main festivities of the mid-August weekend.

During the ceremony, I kept Beau entertained by looking at the horses and playing in the ice.

When Sunday morning arrived we worked to pack up by the designated checkout time. This was one of those weekends where you just really wished you could stay another day or two. We visited my uncle on the way out of town before we all made the drive back to our respective homes in Spokane.

My mom and my uncle with the kids before we headed out of town on Sunday.

What a blessed family weekend it was and what a treat our parents organized for us. We are thankful for this experience and thankful for each other. Congrats Taylor and Kade! Don’t Blink.