So! Tomorrow is The Big Wedding. An old friend of ours from our university days is getting married in a traditional style ceremony tomorrow, and we are bringing the kids.

That’s right! Have kids, will travel! Do you think that when people give wedding invites to “Mr. and Mrs. TurtleHead and family,” they assume that you won’t actually bring, you know, the family? I hope not. Because we RSVPed for a full five.

We decided to bring the kids because ever since Gal Smiley was born, Sir Monkeypants has had a fantasy of dancing with a prettily-dressed young daughter at a wedding reception. Since we don’t have any obligations at this wedding (no speeches, not in the wedding party, nothing to do except show up), it was the ideal chance to give it a go.

Of course, Gal Smiley swears up and down she is Not! Dancing! She is rather shy and doesn’t like people to look at her. Meanwhile, the other little girl we have, Little Miss Sunshine, only likes to dance if it involves a lot of spinning. So either Sir Monkeypants can spin her until he pukes, or he can put her down so she can spin herself until she pukes.

Now that’s a memory in the making!

Really, though, I think it is going to be a great time. The kids are really excited. Captain Jelly Belly is wearing a little tie and vest ($6, with the shirt, at the used kids’ clothing store up the street!). He also has real dress shoes that fit him perfectly, inherited from a friend of ours about five years ago when we laughed at how big they were — as if the Captain’s feet would ever be that big! The girls will be wearing matching dresses from my mom, Gal Smiley’s in blue, Little Miss Sunshine’s in pink. My mom is VERY big on the matching — I had an identical wardrobe to my older sister for the first 10 years of my life. The dresses are cute, though, and by far the most appropriate thing in the girls’ wardrobe, so a-matching they will be.

We haven’t been to a wedding in years — I think since 2002 — so I’m looking forward to a great time catching up with old friends, dancing like my shoes are on fire, and introducing the kids to a new experience.

I’ll let you know if anyone pukes.