Wedding Time

Thursday:  We are off to Montana to celebrate and photograph my niece's wedding in Bigfork.  I am not even a week out of surgery and so am moving slowly but off we go.  The first flight out of Dallas goes well and we are able to hop on, but once we get to Denver, we must go our separate ways and so Mister heads to Missoula while I wait for the flight to Kalispell.  He arrives first and so picks up our rental car and drives 2 hours to get me.  Well, at least we are here.  We head down to my mom's house and I just kind of fall in a heap -- I am shot.  Mister takes a drive out to the wedding location to scope things out while I just rest and prepare for the next two days.  Visits with my sister, mom, and niece are fun since it has been awhile since I have been up here.

Friday:  After breakfast, we go out to the farm location for the wedding and help with setting up the tables for the reception.  Then it is rehearsal time with the rehearsal dinner following out in Somers at Vista Linda.



We even are able to get a quick 4 generation picture snapped.

We manage to make several wrong turns in getting to the dinner, but arrive with plenty of time to spare and enjoy a nice evening.  Rhiana and family arrived during the rehearsal and so are there for dinner with us and we love the time with them so much.  Elena is such a doll and so very well behaved at the restaurant and she shares many "tales"  with us while enjoying ice as much as her Gammy does.


After dinner, we go back down to Mom's and after Rhiana puts the kids down for the night, we take over and babysit to give them a night out in Bigfork.

Saturday:  Wedding Day!!  We are up early and pick up flowers and Jill and head into town to the salon to start documenting the day with pictures.  From the salon, we go out to the farm and the rest of the day is spent photographing anyone we can get to stand still for a few minutes (ha ha) and the wedding and reception.

It turns out great and we get to sit down and relax long enough to eat and visit with Rhiana and family for a few minutes.  I have learned so much today from Mister and we are both so hoping that these pictures will be wonderful.  The reception winds down and we are blessed by an impromptu performance by Elena who has taken over the drums during a break in the band -- she surprises us all and is soon playing and singing and drawing a crowd (which she chastises to be quiet and listen to her).

What a great end to a truly great day.  However, I have been on way too many pain pills and am crashing quickly -- time to go to bed.

Sunday:  Rhiana and Kyle are leaving first thing this morning so we join them for an early breakfast at the grill before they get on their way.  It is so nice to spend time visiting with them and we are loving seeing Malea again as she has grown oh so very much since we saw her in the hospital.  What a couple of sweethearts the girls are.  After breakfast, we say our good-byes to them and go into Bigfork to the Festival of the Arts.

It is just starting up for the day and so not many crowds and we enjoy walking the booths and seeing the local art.  We find a couple of "collage" pictures to take home and are soon on our way down the lakeshore to my sister's house for a gathering to watch Jill and Brock open their wedding gifts and take more pictures.

After a few hours, I am toast again and head down to Mom's to curl into a little ball and sleep off the meds.

Monday:  Travel day and we head to Kalispell for me to try and catch a flight out, but alas, nope.  So, down the highway to Missoula where we are both able to get out on different flights and work our way home.  I arrive much earlier than Mister, so hang out in the airport with Cassie waiting for him and then off to home we go -- arriving around 2 in the morning -- OMG - now to crash for a few days and try to recover from the surgery and the trip.