Memorial Day Weekend and the Rural Rush

We had a very fun-filled and busy holiday weekend. My cousin Jennifer and her now husband Tyler got married on Saturday night, and Grant was the ring bearer! My cousin's daughter Tori was the flower girl. The wedding went very smoothly (despite the drama with the tuxes - I will NEVER recommend Diane Keith Bridal to anyone) and was very beautiful. The kids did SO well (phew!). Here are a few pics from the event:

My little show off :)

Say cheese!
The good lookin' wedding party

Had to get a pic with my little stud

Our Sunday was spent at Eric's brother Steve's house with family celebrating our nephews Tim and Aaron's birthdays. I've probably mentioned it before on this blog, but Grant just absolutely ADORES his cousins and loves every minute he gets to spend with them. (He also prays for them before dinner EVERY day. It's too cute!) So, needless to say, he was super pumped to spend not one, but two days with them over the holiday weekend, as Monday was spent with family as well. I cannot believe that Tim is going to be entering the world of double-digits already!! It just seems like yesterday Eric and I drove out to Iowa to visit Steve and Joy after he was born and now he's so big already!!

Luke and Brooke - sportin' the red, white, and blue
Brooke just loved it when Tim would pop up from under the water
Aaron and Grant with their freeze pops!

As eluded to in the previous paragraph, we spent Monday with family. In the morning we went to the Memorial Day parade in Hamilton. It's hard to believe, but even though I grew up in Hamilton, I don't think I've ever attended a Memorial Day parade there! We decided to change things up a bit this year from years past where we've gone to the Zeeland parade, as Eric pulled a wagon of students from his school with one of his dad's tractors. The weather didn't look promising, but everything turned out well (aside from the fact that Brooke got over 35 mosquito bites on her body - poor thing!). I have honestly never seen so much candy thrown out in one parade in my entire life. It was unbelievable. Grant came home with quite the stash. Seriously, a TON more than what is collected at Halloween (even after we bagged a bunch of it up and gave it to his cousins!).

The crew from Blue Star Elementary
Grant and Grandpa
Amidst all the candy, we managed to snag a strand of beads, too!

After the parade we grilled out at Eric's parents' house with family and the evening was spent with my family, as Chad, Kathi, and Brielle were in town for the wedding.

This past Friday night I ran in the Rural Rush for a Cure 5K race in Overisel. This was the 10th anniversary of the race, and in honor of that, runners were able to decorate their shirts in honor of those who've been affected by cancer. I had the privilege to run with a group that Lynnae, a friend of mine from high school, put together in memory of her brother, Matt, who had lost his battle with cancer over 8 years ago. It was a great event, and I am thankful to have had the opportunity to run in memory of such a special person and with such a great group of people.

Lynnae and me after the race
Eric, Grant, and Brooke came along and cheered us on, too (along with MANY others!).