Minimoon at Edgefield

Some pictures from our mini-moon at Edgefield. (There are more pictures on Kenneth's computer, like from when we hiked to the top of Multnomah Falls. I'll try to post those next.)

The day after the wedding, we had breakfast with my family and friends, lunch with Kenneth's family (who was celebrating his uncle's 50th birthday) and opened our wedding gifts at Kenneth's parents. Then, it was off to Edgefield. The drive only took about 3 hours, so not bad at all...

What we found in our room when we arrived! 2 bottles of champagne and Moonstruck chocolates! One was from Kenneth's mom and the other was from Kenneth's cousins. (Note to self: Must remember to do this for other couples.)

Seen around Edgefield...

The distillery. We didn't get to tour it or the winery, but we did tour the brewery. 

(Grape vines... which apparently look dead in April.)

Main entrance to Edgefield. Love the beautiful old building with the bizarre statue in front. It sets the tone for the entire experience.

Murals. These are depicting the series of events that would have led to someone becoming a resident at Edgefield when it was a poor farm, way back when...

 Lucky Staehly was a resident when Edgefield was a retirement home. And apparently, he was quite the player...

This garden supplies a good portion of the produce and herbs used in the restaurants at Edgefield. Hops grow up the old water tower.

How cute!

Such a quirky place. We loved it! We ate such fantastic meals, had massages (I enjoyed it, but Kenneth didn't), and just relaxed. Oy-- -that is NOT something I'm good at, so it was wonderful! We also went in to Portland for dinner one night, hiked to the top of Multnomah Falls (I've never been to the top!) and took a long drive through the Columbia Gorge.

The Gorge from Crown Point

Vista House-- beautiful, isn't it. It just seems to fit so well with the landscape.

Pictures from Multnomah Falls next, once I pull them off of Kenneth's computer...

Wedding Pictures: Finale

I love this picture because to me, it's what family is all about. Here, my sister Sara is joking with my mom and cousin Patty-- clearly having a good time. And, my step-sister Piper (my step-dad's daughter) is hugging my half-sister (my dad and step-mom's daughter)-- there is no blood connecting them. They aren't even sisters by marriage. But the way Piper acted with my little sisters that weekend, and acts whenever she is with my half-sisters, is no less than sisterly love in action. I joke that my family is as blended as they get-- I've got 2 step-parents, sisters, half-sisters, a step-sister, and for 2 years I had a foster brother.  Piper's mom once said something that stuck with me... "Family is what you make it."

It's not blood or marriage that makes all these people family, it's love. We hope that kind of love came through in our wedding, and that it resonates in us through the next 60 years (at least!) of our lives.

 The End.

Wedding Pictures Part 23: Dancing, and the end of the day...

And until the time our photographers left at least, people visited with each other, and danced...

 

And when everything was over, we went back to the hotel and met up with our out-of-town guests who were staying the night in Seattle for one last visit together. Nothing formal, just aunts and uncles, parents and siblings, and friends that flew in for the weekend, meeting for happy hour at the hotel bar. (No pictures--sad!) After the group started breaking up, we walked down the street for ice-cream with my Californian friends, but before we left, we got one of the hotel guys to take a group photo...

And with that, we left to get Haagan Daaz, then went our separate ways. I'm not sure what S & her husband M did--- we didn't see them the next day since they flew out right after church. From what I understand, M, C, T, & J had quite the night out at some bars though, since when we met up with them for breakfast the next morning they were hung-over. Ha. And all they would say was "wow, J is such a crazy guy." I'm still not sure what to make of that. 

(One more wedding picture post to go! ALMOST done!)

Wedding Pictures Part 22: Tosses

Kenneth and I weren't wild about the idea of doing bouquet/garter tosses. Most of Kenneth's friends are married at this point, so there would be a total of 3 men around for the garter toss, assuming they would all be willing to get on the dance floor... not to mention, I'm too much of a prude to have Kenneth rustling under my skirts in public--- especially when my parents and grandmother and Kenneth's grandparents were in the crowd. Then, since the bouquet toss would require a bouquet that I didn't have, that didn't make sense either. Plus, we just didn't think most of our friends would be into it. Solution: gift cards, and a co-ed crowd! I think one was for Jamba Juice and the other was for Amazon.com, and Mom tied ribbons around them to make them a little prettier.

And now, the most hilarious pictures from the day...

Sara's feet are planted firmly, ready to leap the moment the cards flew... Margarett has positioned her hands to push people out of the way... Alexis has taken prime real estate directly behind us...

 Notice my friend Nicole, who is soooo too cool for this. So cool, she's doing a hipster fingers-through-the-hair pose while everyone (ok, at least my sisters) are diving for the gift cards... hilarious! (She's doing it in the other photos too...)

Sara DIVING for the cards. Not surprising... at the last wedding Sara and I went to together, Sara actually stomped on my foot wearing those same stiletto heels during the bouquet toss. *Not joking.* We should all be thankful no blood was spilled this time.

I think Sara and James got them, but I'm not sure. Let me know if I have that wrong.