August celebrations!
My kids went to their first honest-to-goodness, non-covid, non-babysitter, family wedding this August. Their cousin Chris got married in Door County, Wisconsin.
The evening before the wedding there was a cocktail reception, where the families caught up; the kids chatting with their cousins. The girls' cousin Jake is very into the moon right now, and mentioned that a blood moon--as it was recently--meant war. The moon on this night was orange, however, not red; Samantha said "Probably just a skirmish, then."
It was a beautiful early August weekend. The bride and groom both looked insanely happy. The bride, Reagan, is a very elegant woman, with a fun streak--she hugged my daughters, chatted a bit, and then announced, "I have to go talk to people! Because that's what you do--all night long--at a wedding!"
We stayed in a hotel about a 20 minute drive from the wedding church and reception hall, in Sturgeon Bay. Our motel, found just by happenstance on hotels-dot-com, was the Holiday Music Motel. It had a music themed lobby, a dinette straight from the 1950s, and was just wonderfully kitchsy. It was also in a very walkable neighborhood, and we found ourselves at the Sturgeon Bay farmer's market, and a library book sale. We also got baked goods and coffee from a place called "The Gnoshery," which had a dragon theme in the month of August, 2023. Wed definitely need to go back to Sturgeon Bay.
The wedding was wonderful, and had all the trappings of a wedding, while also being just a bit extra. The reception included a band, imported from Chicago, whose past gigs had included Hillary Clinton's birthday party. There were also fireworks. So many fireworks, in face, that the bride and groom even got a little bored with them.
We were happy that all the girls' cousins were able to come; we had originally heard that they wouldn't be all there. (There was some drama regarding this, but it's not my drama to write about.)
Nearly all of us got new outfits--although Matt's sport coat still fit, and Piper wore a dress she had worn to her grandmother's (short-lived) wedding in 2020. Rachel had a purple dress; Samantha wore a nice blue shirt under a suit; and I had a floor length baby blue sundress that I can't imagine every wearing again. (The attire on the invitation was listed as "formal," but I suspect my dress didn't need to be THAT formal.)
We wish Chris and Reagan all the best.
***
We also celebrated Matt's birthday! On his actual birthday, which was on a Thursday this year, Samantha was in Grinnell--working at the library--and Piper had band camp. So, we celebrated all together on Friday, by going to Red Lobster and giving him gifts; a "Book of Maps," and some new hiking socks.
Piper and Samantha had also made a bundt cake, at Matt's request. They started with a box mix, and then added cream cheese, a pudding mix, and a frosting of chocolate ganache. I'm told it was delicious.
They didn't wait for the cream cheese to be room temperature, which meant they spent time arguing with it to get it the proper consistency for the cake filling. Samantha mentioned that the secret ingredient of the cake was "a little bit of rage."
The evening before the wedding there was a cocktail reception, where the families caught up; the kids chatting with their cousins. The girls' cousin Jake is very into the moon right now, and mentioned that a blood moon--as it was recently--meant war. The moon on this night was orange, however, not red; Samantha said "Probably just a skirmish, then."
It was a beautiful early August weekend. The bride and groom both looked insanely happy. The bride, Reagan, is a very elegant woman, with a fun streak--she hugged my daughters, chatted a bit, and then announced, "I have to go talk to people! Because that's what you do--all night long--at a wedding!"
We stayed in a hotel about a 20 minute drive from the wedding church and reception hall, in Sturgeon Bay. Our motel, found just by happenstance on hotels-dot-com, was the Holiday Music Motel. It had a music themed lobby, a dinette straight from the 1950s, and was just wonderfully kitchsy. It was also in a very walkable neighborhood, and we found ourselves at the Sturgeon Bay farmer's market, and a library book sale. We also got baked goods and coffee from a place called "The Gnoshery," which had a dragon theme in the month of August, 2023. Wed definitely need to go back to Sturgeon Bay.
The wedding was wonderful, and had all the trappings of a wedding, while also being just a bit extra. The reception included a band, imported from Chicago, whose past gigs had included Hillary Clinton's birthday party. There were also fireworks. So many fireworks, in face, that the bride and groom even got a little bored with them.
We were happy that all the girls' cousins were able to come; we had originally heard that they wouldn't be all there. (There was some drama regarding this, but it's not my drama to write about.)
Nearly all of us got new outfits--although Matt's sport coat still fit, and Piper wore a dress she had worn to her grandmother's (short-lived) wedding in 2020. Rachel had a purple dress; Samantha wore a nice blue shirt under a suit; and I had a floor length baby blue sundress that I can't imagine every wearing again. (The attire on the invitation was listed as "formal," but I suspect my dress didn't need to be THAT formal.)
We wish Chris and Reagan all the best.
***
We also celebrated Matt's birthday! On his actual birthday, which was on a Thursday this year, Samantha was in Grinnell--working at the library--and Piper had band camp. So, we celebrated all together on Friday, by going to Red Lobster and giving him gifts; a "Book of Maps," and some new hiking socks.
Piper and Samantha had also made a bundt cake, at Matt's request. They started with a box mix, and then added cream cheese, a pudding mix, and a frosting of chocolate ganache. I'm told it was delicious.
They didn't wait for the cream cheese to be room temperature, which meant they spent time arguing with it to get it the proper consistency for the cake filling. Samantha mentioned that the secret ingredient of the cake was "a little bit of rage."