Crazy Weekend

This weekend was insane to say the least. Anthony and I left Thursday morning, drove to Kalamazoo, picked up his tux, drove to his parents' house (a half hour past Kzoo), relaxed for a few, got dressed, drove to a rehearsal at Western, then to a dinner in Kzoo, and back to his parents'. The next afternoon we got partially ready, and went back to Western for the wedding. It was very nice. I sat around knitting for the first couple of hours. Anthony was a groomsman and had to put on his tux and be in the pictures. I waited to dress until just before the wedding. No point in ruining the gorgeous dress my mom bought me. I inadvertently matched the bridal party, which worked out, because I sat at the head table. It was a nice wedding. Not exactly my taste, but anyone who knows me should know that when I get married things are going to be a bit creative...The ceremony was gorgeous though. On a deck behind the building, overlooking the trees. It was very pretty and the ceremony was sweet. Anthony looked incredibly hot in a tux...it's official, guys should wear them more often. After the ceremony we went inside for cocktails and hors d'oeuvres. Then we went to the reception. They had very yummy crab stuffed salmon, and an ice cream cake. The cake was made by Coldstone Creamery. Apparently it was the first wedding cake they've ever made. Kendalyn talked them into it. It was really really good. I am never a big fan of wedding cake, but if you include ice cream...much better. We hung out with Anthony's friend Trevor for a while at the wedding. He and I spent quite a while discussing what wine snobs we were.

The rehearsal dinner the night before was great. It was at a little bistro. Mixed greens and vinaigrette with goat cheese, chicken and mushroom pasta and berry crisp with vanilla ice cream. Plus, a good chardonnay. Mmm. And it was free...even better. Anthony got a great groomsman gift. A box of 10 Beers of the World from World Market, and an engraved bottle opener.

When we got back to his parents' house after the wedding, a couple of his sisters were there. It was a family reunion weekend. We slept in as late as we possibly could the next day. Luckily we had his old bedroom instead of having to stay in a tent like the rest of his siblings. I am still kinda overwhelmed by the whole family. Mostly just the amount of people, especially kids. I haven't been around that many kids at one time since I was in elementary school. I have finally met ALL of his sisters and brothers. Plus, I got a little time to sit down in smaller groups with them. It's no longer scary, just still something I can't quite wrap my brain around. I do really like how much they look after each other. As his sister Leanne said "we may fight with each other, but if anyone outside the family tries to say something bad about one of us, the rest are there to back them up." It's a nice thought. That was the one thing I hated about being an only child. I apparently am being adopted into the family. One of his nieces gave me a hug when she left and said "cause you're part of the family too now". It was sweet. We also played Bingo (a demented version) late into the night for various prizes. I suck apparently....my luck is non existent. But Anthony won a giant jar of pickles. Erin and I always said we'd buy one at some point. Well, now I have more pickles than I know what to do with. I did get a cookbook as a consolation prize. (sigh) There's some good recipes in there though. We also roasted marshmallows and made hot iron pies. They are something Anthony has been raving about for months. They're two slices of bread, with butter on the outside, and pie filling in the middle. You put them in little metal presses on sticks and put them in the coals of the fire. QUITE delicious.

Ugh, all I've talked about for the weekend was food. I expected to have gained 5 pounds when I got home, but amazingly enough, I lost a little. That is nothing short of miraculous. We headed out Sunday morning, and drove back to Lansing. I collapsed on the couch, and Anthony went to work. Like I said, the weekend was nothing short of insane.

Ooh, also, on the way home we stopped at a garage sale. We got a big oval mirror and candle sticks for my new apartment, a wooden salad bowl set, and a mesh splatter cooking screen for his place. All for under $15.