The BIG Trip ~The Wedding!!

Hello again! If you have been following the BIG TRIP saga...catch up here if you desire. Today's post is about the BIG day...the wedding, the reason for our trip and the much anticipated culmination of over 6 years of dating for Joshua and Lauren. The day dawned bright and clear...although a bit chilly. Everyone was up and getting ready early in the morning. Mom and I had stayed up into the wee hours of the morning, pressing clothes, practicing music, finding every one's shoes and giving them a quick polish so that today would run smoothly. After a quick breakfast, we began doing the modified stationary panic in which everyone jumps up and down, flapping their arms and yelling, "Have you seen my _____ ((Fill in the Blank))??" To which the rest of us reply, "Of course not, why would I have your such and such?" or "Yes, I've told you 38, 612 times that it's right there on the end of the sofa."*sigh of exasperation** So after MUCH ado, many snappy responses, and much blustering and a few wrestling matches over the bathroom, Dan and I were out the door, since Dan was ushering and I was playing music and singing special. The boys were mostly ready so Dad and Mom offered to bring them so they wouldn't be bored before the ceremony. As the time approached, everyone got a bit tense, but the general air was festive as we all waited to see the moment arrive. At the appointed time, Hannah started playing the prelude, the ushers seated the guests...and then it was TIME. The mothers were seated by Mike and Dan, I sang special, then I started to play Lauren's favorite song while the groomsmen came out and the bridesmaids glided down the aisle. After the appropriate dramatic pause, the bridal march was started, the back doors opened, and a radiant Lauren appeared on Russ' arm as they came down the aisle together. The rest of the ceremony is a blur of happy thoughts, well spoken vows, roses for mothers and playing with Zoe who thought the wedding was boring...but she's two, how much can we expect, right? When Bro John announced them husband and wife, the guests applauded and cheered for this couple that we all love so much. They took their first stroll as husband and wife, and then returned to the altar for many pictures. After that, we were all off to the reception. As we eagerly waited for their arrival, the guests chatted and munched on some finger foods. When they DID arrive, the DJ announced the bridal party as they came down the steps into the church fellowship hall, then Josh and Lauren surprised us by popping out of the elevator...LOL! After that, cake was cut, toasts were made and the dancing started. It was good times...everyone was lovely, the music was a good mix and everything was truly JUST right. As the afternoon came to a close, we said goodbye to the exhausted couple and sent them on their way. We stayed to help clean up and everyone kept saying how well everything went, and it was true. It was one of the nicest weddings I've ever been to, and that's the truth. I'm so glad for them...they deserve all the happiness that life can afford them. Love you both soooo much!!

Kristy

PS. Stay tuned for the NEXT exciting chapter

The Big trip ~Days 11 and 12

Sorry this has taken me so long...truly! If I remember correctly, I left off right as we were gearing up for the wedding, right? Catch up back here if you have forgotten, as I did...LOL~OK, now that we are all caught up..let's move forward!

Thursday was Rehearsal day...and I mostly spent the day in the kitchen making goodies for the rehearsal dinner. Then we headed out to the rehearsal and had a wonderful time. Everyone was laughing and teasing...we walked through the ceremony a few times, answered the last minute questions and then got to the good stuff...THE FOOD!! Lauren's god-mother Deanne and I prepared the food and OH my, did we have some tasty treats!! Fun was had by all and we departed excited about and anticipating the coming wedding!

Friday found me out to lunch with Brother John, at my all time favorite restaurant called Papadeaux..YUM~O! If you like great seafood...this is the place. If you love a charming dinner companion, I can give you Brother John's number *winks* We talked of old times, good times, bad times, the in-between times, the Bible, the demise of the American family structure, told silly stories and ate and ate and ATE! Can I say YUM~O again?? I think I was full for 2 days ; )

He dropped me off for an afternoon of decorating the reception hall which just happened to be at Dad and Mom's church. Lauren, Josh and most of the bridal party worked hard all afternoon getting everything JUST RIGHT for the big day. Tables were set, centerpieces were adjusted one more time, flowers were placed just so, name cards were made and put in the right spot, the DJs table was arranged, the cake table was ready for the lovely confectionery delight, and all was well with the world. And then we all went home and collapsed so we could get ready for the BIG DAY!! More about that in the NEXT post!!

Thanks for taking the journey with me,

Kristy

The BIG Trip~Days 9 and 10

Welcome back to our Grand Adventure blog. If you haven't been reading along, catch up here. If you are current, then away we go! Tuesday was a day of sleeping in to start with...sigh, that sure felt good! as was usual by then...Mom, Jodi and I got our heads together about who was going where, when, why and the all important one...WHO was watching the kiddos?? After that was taken care of, we proceeded to do some rather mundane things, such as laundry, dishes and tidying of the house. After that, I prepared and headed out to lunch with Cindy Turner, who is the delightful Miss Mavis' daughter. We are about the same age, and attended youth group together WAY back in the day at Clearview...and so we had about 10 years or so to catch up on. We met at Panera bread in Libertyville since she lives about an hour south, so that was halfway and after ordering identical lunches without consulting one another (odd, huh?) we sat for 3 solid hours and carried on as only old friends can do. Oh my, we had fun! We caught up on church, family, kids and school, work and fun...it was GOOD TIMES! Reluctantly, we parted with the promise to do that MORE often, not less and to write. We keep up on Facebook quite well and I"m enjoying the renewal of a dormant friendship.

I went home and collected the boys who were quite anxious by then and we headed out to Kermit and Candy's for dinner. Jodi and her boys had been invited as well and we all bellied up to dinner together and shared some fellowship over some tasty lasagna and salad...yummy! We didn't go anywhere, or do anything fancy, just chatted and laughed and shared some sweet time together while the kids played. Jacob was kind enough to introduce the boys to Charlie the Unicorn...thanks a lot, Jake! Everyone had a ball, but we had to call it an early evening since not everyone was on vacation and their kids had school the next day. *rats!!*

Day 10 was a day that I had been eagerly anticipating...Dinner with #27! (that's Laura Hepker for those of you who do not have 20 years history with us Smith's) Wa-hoo! We had been planning it for MONTHS! So we met up after several small setbacks due to construction traffic (grrr!) at the Outback Steakhouse, which I had never been to before, and proceeded to have a 4 hour long dinner...I was full for 2 days! HA HA HA! But, as with all my visits with dear friends, the company was even better than the food~! Laura, I had a blast! Thanks for battling the traffic goons to get there! Anywho, we caught up on everything relevant in our lives and still had an hour or so to dig through some fun old memories, old crushes and some of the HUGE misconceptions we had about ourselves 'back in the day'. It was a great evening, and one that I will long cherish the memory of...thanks again, Laura!

The BIG Trip~Days 7 and 8

For those of you following the BIG trip saga, welcome back. For those of who are just joining us, Check out Days 1&2, 3&4, 5&6 to get caught up *winks* Days 7 and 8 were great days~ BOTH of them! Day 7 was church at our beloved Crossroads Community Church in Island Lake/Port Barrington. We made it as usual, too late for Sunday school, too early for church...see~ Just like old times already...LOL! So we chatted with Kermit in the youth room and snuggled Lisa Decker's new baby until time for church to start. It was so refreshing to walk up those stairs and into the newly decorated sanctuary (which still felt like home) and hug all the familiar faces and do some much needed catching up. We sang, and it was GOOD to sing the favorite hymns with those I hold so dear again. Bro John preached a wonderful sermon that touched my heart and then Candy and Kermit invited us to lunch. MMMM, good Chinese with great friends...does life get any better? ;D Thanks guys, it was awesome...my fave part being Kermit forcing Hannah into complete silence for 15 WHOLE minutes, I thought she was going to expire on the spot...LOL! After that, we headed back to Dad and Mom's for an afternoon of chatter and game playing, and I think even a movie. So restful and calming...*sigh* Mom and I worked late into the night, wrapping up Marleea's album (Kelly had finished her's earlier) and then chatted WAY too late, just enjoying one another's company. LOVE YOU MOM! The next day, was "ALL LIZZIE, ALL DAY" Day : ) This was a much anticipated day! We didn't make any firm plans, just to be together as much as possible for the day...just like the old days...LOL! And so we did! There was much running back and forth, picking up and dropping off of kids, food and running of several errands, but through it all, we chatted about the 'good old days,' looked forward to the the future, laughed over childish antics, lamented over issues we were struggling with, drove up and down EVERY under construction road in lake county and in general had a BALL! In the middle of the day, we stopped being so silly and went to Marleea's visiting hours to give our deepest regrets and regards to Lee, Marsha and Killleean. It was a bustling, active time with people sharing their memories of Marleea, poring over photos and LOTS of hugging! Lee and Marsha, we LOVE you! Later, we headed back out for a few more hours of fun, giggling, silliness and chatter over pie and coffee! Oh my, the times we had! Liz, you are undoubtedly, undeniably, and unforgettably, the BEST, best, BEST friend a gal could ever have! You are always in my thoughts, my prayers and in my heart! Anywho, as time is no longer our friend and we had both been up way too late the night before, we called it an early evening and headed home to spend time with our families....and all was well. And those were days 7 & 8. Thanks for sharing our journey with us!
Blessings,
Kristy and the Man Crew

The BIG Trip~Days 5 and 6

Dad really liked his knife that we brought him. It was shaped like a motorcycle on the outside and really sharp on the inside...LOL Another post about our trip...I want to be sure I remember everything! Let's see, Day 5 was Friday, and Miss Cindy Freeman came to spend the day. It was game night, so throughout the day I was busy, slicing and dicing, preparing for that, but we had a great time playing Scrabble, Farkle and such, all while chatting and carrying on as only she can do : ) Game night arrived and so did the Hanna's, #27 AKA Hepker (who brought pixie sticks and Mountain Dew, OH MY!!) and later, Lizzie arrived to hang out. We ate pizza, laughed and enjoyed ourselves very much! Mike passed out the pixie sticks to the kids, much to our horror...but they did quite well. When they got rowdy, we just sent them out to run it off : ) We played 80s trivia which I stink at since I was still living happily under a rock back then...LOL, played several games of Farkle with Dad and then he went to hide from us when we got to being too silly for his taste. We eventually sent everyone home to sleep off the toxic effects of too many pixie and and way too much giggling. Saturday was Lauren's bridal shower and Kelly, Jodi and I went while Mom stayed home with the kiddos. She gets a saint's honor for that job. The shower was lovely, and full of emotions since Lauren was moving here. They had a cute New Mexico theme and so the house was decorated in chili's and cacti, and we ate chips and salsa, tamales and quesadillas. YUM~O! After that, we went back home and just relaxed for a bit. Kelly, Mom and I worked on Marleea's picture albums for the funeral. (For those who may not have heard, Lee and Marsha Bell's daughter was killed in a motorcycle accident the night before I left for IL, and Marsha asked us to make some albums, not only for them to have, but to show at the visiting hours before the funeral) Mom and I stayed up WAY too late chatting and laughing together, which is something I really miss about living here. Anywho, I guess that about sums up Days 5 and 6. Thanks for reading and I'll try to get another post up about our big trip soon!

~K~

The BIG Trip~Days 1 and 2

The BIG Trip, the Great Adventure, or a Walk on the Wild Side; whatever you want to call it, we began our journey on Monday September 14...at the bright and early time of 5:30 AM. I packed the car, tucked in Dave and Derek, filled up the gas tank and away we went. We had gone all of 31 miles when Derek announced that PaPa and Grma lived far away and he wished we would hurry up and get there...LOL! I learned several things that first few days and here they are in NO particular order...

• Derek has a bladder approximately the size of a large thimble and could be counted on every 45 minutes (give or take 3) to demand the need for a potty break...right NOW!


• David is a great traveller....doesn't complain, helps Derek stay entertained and plays quietly in the back...hurray!


• Each state we went through seemed to get exponentially larger...Texas looks like it will take about an hour to cross, but in reality takes 3 days longer than eternity...LOL

The Largest Cross in the Western Hemisphere...in TX, of course!!


• Oklahoma is the worst state to drive across....ever! It doesn't have asphalt highways...it has concrete block roads! So, remember if you can, riding your big wheel down a sidewalk....ca-chunk, ca-chunk, ca-chunk.....for HUNDREDS of MILES...and for this pleasure, I got the privilege of paying 16 dollars! Yeah ME!


• Missouri takes a really long time because every SINGLE mile of highway is under construction. I'm sure this is a great thing in the long run, but since I just wanted to get across right then....not so much.


• Derek slept in on Tuesday morning...until 10 AM, something he's pretty much NEVER done in his whole life, so that's why we didn't make it in to town on Tuesday, but that was OK with me...he must have needed the rest. I'm sure it helped him be a bit more pleasant for the rest of the trip.


• Did I mention Derek needing to pee every 45 minutes...I'm sure I did, but it does bear repeating.


• No matter how many games, toys and educational activities you bring along...you always forget something that the kids deem really important.


• Along the same lines, no matter how many snacks, drinks and treats you bring, you find yourself buying JUNK at inflated convenience store prices....highway robbery at it's finest.


• Whoever invented the portable DVD player is a genius and should be given a medal of some kind...seriously!

Horton Hears a Who...for the 3rd time....can I get earplugs, please?


• I discovered that having a semi pass me at 85 plus in the dark on an unlit, under construction, unmarked highway makes me want to cry for Hercules and pee my pants...I've become such a baby!


• Getting there is NOT half the fun...whoever said that is a LIAR and if I ever catch up with him in a dark alley, he MIGHT live long enough to be sorry he said it...LOL

The truth is that the first two days, although LONG....were quite pleasant. The boys did great at getting along, I didn't get lost, I didn't lose my temper or my mind and things went along swimmingly. Friends and family alike were praying for our safe travel and it was great! Thanks for reading about our BIG trip~

Kristy and the Man Crew