Wedding Recap

Well, hey, did you miss me at all last week? Turns out I was all MIA for a couple of days, and here's why. My cousin Kelli got married in Park River, my dad's (and hers, too) hometown which is about 2 hours away. And since we were a Highly Involved Family, with Leah being a flowergirl and me being a personal attendant, we headed up Friday afternoon.

Our "hotel" when in PR is known in the Meberg family as the River Bottom Inn - also, Grandma's house. Can't beat the rates. All she charges is hugs and kisses - and a jar of olives doesn't hurt, either.

Leah was awesome at her flower-petal scattering duties. Ben helped her pick them up after the rehearsal. What a good helper!

My artistic shot of the bride and groom at the rehearsal. My camera's little flash was totally useless, so I turned it off and used the pew as a tripod.

Kelli and I joke that we are more than cousins. Our dads are each other's godfathers, roles taken very seriously by these two brothers.

Kelli pretty much made all Leah's dreams come true by giving her a tiara and lipgloss as her thank-you gift. That, a pretty dress and lots of attention? What else could a princess ask for?

The girls were so shy for this photo!

Kelli and Bobby were so happy and excited to be getting married - it was fun to be involved. Isn't Kelli gorgeous?

That's spray cheese on the car. And that's a leg and a ball & chain. Just in case you were wondering.

I guess you shouldn't take people's photos while they are eating. Thanks, Dad.


My Great-Aunt Leona, Grandma Gail, and Great-Aunt Marion. Grandma Gail (or GiGi) had her gall bladder removed about a month ago, and for while she looked pretty rough. Other than missing some weight and tiring out a bit earlier than before, she's pretty much back to normal. We are so relieved.

Before we knew it was her gall bladder causing problems, Mom thought it may be a bug - she said, "These bugs are hard on the elderly, you know." And I said, "What are you talking about! Grandma's not ELDERLY!"

Apparently all the new people were just too much for Ben. His shyness came out in force, as he tried to make himself invisible at meals by covering his face. Not conducive to eating, it turns out.

Dad has 3 brothers and about 20 cousins who all originally started in Park River. All the brothers were present, as well as about 11 of the cousins. Brother Lynn and his wife Shotzie live in Colorado, and brought with them their granddaughter Hailey, age 7. She and Leah became fast friends - and it didn't hurt that Hailey had Leah watch The Princess Diaries 2 with her.

The wedding reception featured a live band, which was remarkably good considering there were only 3 members, and all of them sang. Leah danced like a crazy person, and thoroughly enjoyed herself and all the other little kids going nuts on the dance floor.

At one point, there was an announcement for all the Meberg cousins to go to the back of the room (for the requisite reunion photo). Leah ran up to me, and in all seriousness asked, "Mommy, am I a Meberg cousin?" No, honey, you are not. But just wait until Dave & Jess have their baby!

She eventually sat down for a couple songs to drink some water, and then looked at me and said she was tired. And wanted to go home. There wasn't much discussion about it, and since it WAS 10pm...Mom took her home and put her to bed, and then rejoined us. Ben had gone to bed before the dance even started.

Fun was had by all, and we are just about caught up on our sleep. Congratulations, Bobby & Kelli!