Thursday, September 13, 2012

The Big Trip to Montana

Now some of you may have wondered what could have possibly compelled me to pack up a two year old and a four year old and make a 3400 mile (round trip) road trip on our own, while I'm eight months pregnant.  

Not very many things.  However, the wedding of one of my favorite people in the entire world was something that, short of doctor's orders, I wasn't going to miss.  And so we ordered our dresses, prayed that mine would fit, packed up the car and began the long drive west from Michigan to Montana.  

But first I had one last craft project: Car Seat Covers.

I really need to make a tutorial.  These each took about an hour an a half.  I estimate, because of the minkie, that they cost about $10 to make.  They're pretty simple (I sewed a huge rectangle, rounded the edges, sewed a seam to place the elastic, and then cut slits and sewed around the slits a few times with a zig zag stitch.  And voila... no car seat reactions, emergency trips to the ER, or constant doses of antihistamines:


By the second day the girls were tired of photographs.  Which was unfortunate, because there were plenty more that were going to be snapped in the course of the upcoming days:


I was actually incredibly excited to see North Dakota.  My grandfather grew up in Oaks, and I loved hearing stories of ice skating on frozen rivers and the icy cold winters.  I snapped a picture as we went by the Oaks exit (it was an hour of the road, so we didn't get to stop and see the town this time!):


Almost all the decorating was done by the time we arrived on Friday... and so one of my other best college friends and I got to visit for a while before we headed over to the rehearsal.


I don't feel like any of the pictures I snapped did the church justice.  It was flooded with light from the beautiful stained glass windows:


Here Sadie is in front of her favorite window:


And of course I had to snap a close up:


And then it was time for the rehearsal dinner.  Where I completely forgot that it was Friday.

And enjoyed chocolate covered bacon and pepper maple glaze bacon.  I have to say... Bacon is a migraine trigger for me... but I could not resist:


The next day we were up bright and early to get our hair done.  And found out that Sadie had in fact inherited Mommy and Daddy's super thick locks.  She sat in the chair for an hour getting curls.  Thankfully I'd brought along a Chasing Fireflies catalog:


It was very hard not to wiggle:


But then she was done, with each little strand in place:


And the excitement really began.  Her Godmother looked like a beautiful princess:


Sadie was thrilled to be there:


Although it was hard for her to stay out of the pictures!


And finally, a hug!


This was the best possible scenario.  And the only one in which Mae was completely silent:


After months of worrying my dress fit!  And all the bridesmaids were thankful that the bride was one of those kind brides that let each bridesmaid choose their own style of dress:


Sadie sat with Nani and Grumpa during the ceremony:


I didn't faint!


And the entire wedding was simply beautiful!

Here's a blurry picture of me exiting the Church.  It's one of those rare moments when my hair isn't being wrangled into some sort of bun:


I was so honored to be present while my dear friend married a man who is such a wonderful match for her.  I'll admit that by the time college ended I was a little skeptical when meeting any of my friends boyfriends.  When I met this particular groom two years ago I happily began to wait for a wedding invite.

Congratulations to the happy bride and groom!  Thank you for being such wonderful hosts this week!

5 comments:

  1. Everyone looks lovely. What a beautiful color for the dresses.

    Did you have trouble not having your head covered for the service? I haven't been asked to be in a wedding since I started covering my head, but I've often wondered how I will handle the situation when it does happen.

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  2. Bride was lovely and so were you and your girls. I would love a tutorial on a car seat cover, when you have the time to do one. Did you make the Elmo blanket that I see between them? It looks great and, if its fabric that I can get, would like one for my dd. Thanks.
    T. Ruth

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  3. @ Scottish Twins- Thank you! It was easier than I expected it to be when I first thought about it. The wedding didn't actually have a mass, so that did make it easier too!

    @ T. Ruth- Thank you! I didn't make the blanket. My mom did. It's two pieces of flannel that she stitches together and edges with the satin edging from Joann's (we always watch for that on sale since it's kind of over priced!). I need to learn how to make them too, because Paul has been asking for a big flannel blanket for ages!

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  4. Lovely photos! It was a beautiful wedding, you looked very pretty, and the girls are adorable, as always.

    I a still astonished at the mileage you covered in such a short time. Cabrini did you proud! ;)

    Marie

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  5. Sadie looks so beautiful! That experience and memory alone would have been worth the trip.

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