Hopes and Dreams: Erin and Stephen's Wedding

Monday, July 7, 2008

Erin and Stephen's Wedding

The weekend of Lily's birthday we took a trip to Illinois for my cousin Erin Crabtree's wedding. We took off on a beautiful Friday morning. About halfway there we got a phone call from my aunt and uncle who were also on their way to the wedding and were a couple hours ahead of us. The Interstate and lots of other roads had been closed due to flooding and they told us emphatically NOT to come the same way and to find an alternate route. Let's just say that phone call was the beginning of a frustrating trip across the state of Wisconsin, through Osh Kosh, Fon du Lac and Milwaukee, and then down to Illinois. What should have taken about 7 hours took 11 hours. We had also planned to stop in Walworth to see our friends Dave and April but because of all the road closures/detours we couldn't get there. Thankfully, we had just bought a DVD player for the car. It turned out to be such a life saver and kept Lily from getting as agitated as we were. When we finally got to our hotel that night she ran the halls many times and I was happy to let her do so after being cooped up in the car all day.

The wedding was beautiful and it was fun to see so many Crabtree relatives. They're spread all over the country so it takes an event like a wedding to bring them all together. There were only 3 cousins - Nate, Sarah and Krista - and one uncle - Tom - missing. We took a big family photo (see below).

The day of the wedding was Lily's 3rd birthday so the three of us had a mini celebration in our hotel room. And we ate at the Food Court in the mall with Grandma, Grandpa, Mandi and Bryan.

After the reception we drove to another hotel near Peru, Illinois. The next morning we got to see my grandma Adele and grandpa Curt. Lily met them for the first time which was really important to me. My grandma has dimentia and didn't know us but it was so good to see her and we took some pictures that I'll really treasure. She is still spunky and has her sense of humor. I have so many wonderful memories of my grandma - playing cards at their cabin, helping her make lunch, hearing her sing as she did things around the house, listening to her pray, laughing - lots of laughing because she's so funny, and lots more. It's difficult to see her in her deteriorating health but I'm so thankful that she's a believer and that one day she will be perfect!

From there we drove to Bettendorf, Iowa to see Andy's brother Dave and his family. Lily had an absolute blast with her cousins. They have a daycare in their home so it is toy heaven and Lily played non-stop when we got there. She didn't get a nap that day and was exhausted by bedtime. It was really nice to see them and we appreciated their hospitality!

We headed home the next morning and only had one road closure to deal with. The flooding in Iowa was pretty bad too. We saw lots of flooded fields and farms that looked like islands. It was a memorable trip! And being 8 months pregnant made it interesting too. We took a few more potty breaks than we probably would have otherwise. :)

Her new "toy camera". She had been asking for one. :)