Kellie's Wedding

 We arrived into Northeastern Iowa Friday evening and went out for supper at a local pizza restaurant. It was a one of a kind very popular, and very tasty pizza place called Mabe’s.  At the hotel we all went  to the pool, which was too cold for us older ones, but the boys made some friends in the pool and were having fun. Luke warms up to kids and in a matter of 5 minutes he had made friends and was having a great time. Jake takes a bit longer and a little more coaxing. Eventually he and another boy were doing jumps into the pool. They swam until the pool closed at 10PM. 
Saturday morning we had a continental breakfast, then took a scenic drive to the Mississippi river. The area was so scenic and there were still a bit of leaves on the trees to enjoy. It must be amazing in the heart of the fall leaf changes. We saw lots of farms, many dairies, and rolling hills. It was so pretty. We also crossed the Mississippi near Lansing. After a light lunch, it was time to get ready for the wedding. Weeks ago, the boys had been planning what they will wear to the wedding. Luke has never been to a wedding and it has been a few years for Jacob. They were excited to get all dressed up. Luke wanted to wear his “tuxedo” referring to the little suit I had gotten last year from a consignment shop. I ordered Jake a sports jacket on ebay. I only paid $40 for it and it took a long time to ship. I figured out why, it came from the UK and was made in London. It was quality made with fancy lining on the inside and in a slim fit. They looked pretty sharp and handsome. The boys were feeling good all fixed up. Jayden and I wore our dresses from our shopping trip. Jayden and Makenna picked out a dress and shared their dress each for s separate occasion and it worked perfectly for both of them. Jayden looked lovely. It isn’t often that we get to see her in a dress. Mark looked sharp wearing a jacket and tie. When we got to the church, we took a family picture with the leaves in the background before going into the church.
We were preparing the kids for a long ceremonial and unique catholic wedding.  Surprisingly it was not mass, but a very nice traditional wedding.  

Kellie was beautiful in her gorgeous dress. She had her 3 sisters as bridesmaids and roses were her flowers. The wedding guests were all close friends and families as was the reception. After the wedding, a trolley took most of the guests to the reception. The boys were all about that! It was a very chilly day, and I was cold in my little dress. The trolley was somewhat heated. It was a neat little ride out to the reception which was held in a picturesque country home with a big red barn. The barn was an elegant reception barn with neat hard wood floors, fancy rafters, complete with chandeliers. The entire day was planned out hour for hour. Wedding at 2, our derv's at 3:30, dinner at 5:30 and dancing at 7. The our derv's were amazing and never seemed to end. There was an open bar for drinks and plenty of punch and tea. The girl cousins ranging in age from 14 to 21 looked so pretty all in their dresses. Outside in the perfect back yard there were games for the kids to play and lots of room to run in the grass. The boy cousins and the girls' boyfriends lingered out by the games. Luke had no problem finding kids to play with and of course the girls found him. There were two cute sisters that loved running around with Luke. At one point I watched as each girl had a hand on each side of Luke as they were running and giggling through the grass. I think we will be in trouble when he gets older!

Dinner was a full course with bottles of wine of every table. The food was excellent and the décor was so elegant. The best man gave a toast and Suzy gave a very long toast. I think the bottle of wine at the table had something to do with that. The dance was a blast with every kind of music you could imagine from Neil Diamond, country, modern, oldies, pop, and everything in between. The families danced and enjoyed it together. The boys danced the whole night. Luke got to moving and dancing like no other. I have never seen his feet move so fast. He kind of reminded me of an Irish dancer. He was living it up. Jake had no problem getting into the music and danced like nobody was watching. he also liked to dance with any girls that would including his mom. Mark and I did some two stepping too. I think everyone danced. Duane had two buddies that were brothers and very entertaining. They could sing and they could dance. They were big guys and even flipped each other on the dance floor. They were a lively bunch. Mid-evening pizza was brought in for a snack from none other than Mabe's. They just thought of everything. It was late, we were tired when we all made it back to the hotel, and slept well. After 20 years of dating and all of us wondering if they would ever tie the knot, they sure did it up big. I am happy for Kellie and Duane and pray for a great marriage for them both. For the time, he will continue living in Ottumwa, and Kellie in Minneapolis, a state away.



To top off and finish the weekend, Duane and Kellie had family join them for breakfast in the morning at their hotel. It was a neat historical older hotel. Everyone ordered their own brunch off the menu. They were so generous in their weekend of celebrating. On the ride home, Jaynie rode with us and Jake rode home with Rylie with Karen and Orrie. Their ride took them on a very long drive home.