Before I get started on part two of our Wisconsin trip, let me tell you what’s going on with the Floridian Smiths.
These pictures may give you a clue.
Nathan and Meagan have sold their old house and bought a new one. In a perfect world, the transition would happen with Swiss clock-like precision with the moving out followed immediately by the moving in. Unfortunately, the transition is going to be a little complicated since their new home won’t be finished until the end of November.
So where are the six Floridian Smiths going to hang their hats in the meantime?
To find out, go visit Sheri’s blog (And be sure to leave a comment while you are there.)
One of the great joys of the trip was getting to see my 86-year old mom.
If you can’t tell, she is well-loved by humans and canines alike. She occasionally slips little bits of bread off the table and the diligent doggies are always on hand for clean up duty.
She is surrounded by beauty and brings beauty into all the lives she touches.
One activity we did with mom was to go on a hayless hayride.
In order to get to the hay wagon, she made use of the elevator that her talented son-in-law, Arnold, designed and built for her. Steve rode with her while she showed him the ropes.
We were also joined on the hayride by a certain young couple who had gotten married a scant twenty-four hours earlier.
Since Caleb and Amanda had to delay their honeymoon (neither could get time off from work) they decided a great thing to do during their wedding weekend would be to hang out at a family reunion. Love these three faces.
And speaking of Caleb and Amanda, I guess this would be a good place to take a detour from the hayride to post a couple of pictures of the wedding.
Caleb and Amanda are both blessed with amazing parents.
A sister shot.
You may recognize this pair.
And this pair was also fairly important to the goings-on.
Since I don’t get to be with my family often, it was especially meaningful to sit beside my sister (the beautiful mother of the groom), with mom a few feet beyond her, all of us celebrating the joining of two lives.
And my favorite photo from the day? The bride in a white gown and white tennis shoes (she also wore tennis shoes during the wedding) playing catch with her dad at the reception.
Amanda’s dad had made a beautiful father-of-the-bride speech and referenced all the times they had gone camping or played sports. He said he wanted to have one last game of catch with Amanda before she started off on her new chapter. Of course, everyone in the audience immediately started sniffling over the beautiful poignancy of that moment.
Which brings me back to where I left off with Caleb and Amanda joining us for the hayride.
All of us took a stroll to where the wagon awaited.
With ages ranging from 2 to 86 and a couple of dogs along for the ride, much merriment ensued.
I especially love this photo of Mom.
We had stopped by a neighbor’s house to pick up some extra blankets and mom was cheerily greeting them.
Here’s Arnold (our intrepid hayless hayride driver) bringing the stash of blankets to his shivery riders. Nothing like a good neighbor!
Sarah got some footage of the Wisconsin countryside which she was sending to her boyfriend, Gage, so he could be included in the outing. He very much enjoyed the glimpse into her Midwest roots!
Is this little face not the cutest? (Keziah gets her looks from her mom.)
As I was looking at my great-niece I couldn’t help but think how much she reminded me of her grandma. (My sister Ruth.)
Here’s a side by side comparison. What do you think?
I love looking into a child’s face, fresh from heaven, and seeing reflections of my sister there.
I also love looking into my mom’s face, not far from heaven, and seeing my own reflection there.
My great-niece and my mom were the youngest and oldest on that wagon, representing the span of a family stitched together by DNA, love, memories, and the timeless turning of the seasons.
In the years to come, I will pay other visits to this beloved land of my childhood. I will witness the shifting of generations as some are lost to us and some are born to us.
And I will think back to the joy of October 2020. I will remember the feeling of being under a blue sky, surrounded by laughter, embraced by the generations, and riding down a country road through Wisconsin’s healing hills.
What about you?
Do you have any memorable moments to share from weddings you have attended? (Or maybe your own wedding?)
Amanda and her parents love to camp. Are you a camper? Or a glamper? Or a non-camper? If you love to camp, why do you love it?
Hi Becky,
Glad to hear that Nathan and Meaghan sold their house so quickly and were able to find one to buy. Hopefully, when it is ready to move into it, everything goes smoothly. Sounds as though you all had a great time on your journey. Best wishes to Caleb and Amanda! The most memorable wedding I’ve ever been to was a traditional Jewish wedding complete with all the age old traditions. Well, all except for keeping genders separated. Looks like everyone enjoyed the family time together. How ingenious of Arnold to build an elevator for your Mom. The hayride looks like it was great fun and good time! Family time together is always so precious and I know that many treasured memories were made. I hope Sarah and Gage have a wonderful time while he is visiting and that all their plans and adventures work out perfectly. I am looking forward to hearing about their adventures and seeing the photos.
Hugs and blessings to all of the Smith family,
Linda in Pittsburgh
Linda,
I think it would be so interesting to go to a traditional Jewish wedding. I love learning about the traditions of others.
We got good news today that Nathan and Meagan can move into their new house two weeks earlier than expected. Everyone is doing a happy dance over that!
Thanks for your comment and for mentioning so many parts of the post.
I think the most memorable wedding I have been to was my cousin’s in Texas. They lived in a suburb of Dallas and the wedding was in a park. I don’t remember the time but it was something like 6:24 AM! I think that might have been the time of sunrise that day. Of course when we got to said park, it was dark so it was a trip trying to find the wedding spot. The cake was made of donuts. After my aunt insisted we come back to their house for lasagna. What she didn’t tell us was it was frozen solid so it took quite a while to bake. I remember my dad being upset that there wasn’t any coffee. I think we had to stop at McDonald’s on the way back to the house so he could get his morning caffeine fix.
I am not a camper. I’ve been a few times – a couple float trips and one night on the Breast Cancer 3 Day Walk. That was 15 years ago. It rained the first night and our tent leaked. We opted to go back to my house the second night.
Phyllis,
A wedding starting before sunrise? Yikes! And a donut cake and frozen lasagna? Definitely, a day to remember.
Yeah, when your tent leaks on a camping trip, that’s a good time to call it a day–or a night. I would have done the same thing. 🙂
I grew up camping in the rocky Mountains. In a tent. With a down-filled sleeping bag. No air bed. And then I got married, had kids and we camped with them the same way. I do believe that I am all camped out. IF I were to go camping now, I could still do the tent but I would HAVE to have an air bed. My back could not take sleeping on the hard ground. It sure was fun though and evenings by the campfire and the sounds of nature all around are so awesome. We sure did have some great times!
My wedding was interesting….my groom broke his leg a week before the wedding and it required surgery and lots of hardware to mend it. This happened in Nebraska and the wedding was in Colorado. He got out of the hospital on Wednesday and his parents drove him to Colorado on Thursday. He rode in the back of the pickup, in a lounge chair with his leg elevated. (The truck had a topper on it so he was quite comfy.) His siblings painted his crutches white to go with his tux, and he spent the entire reception in a wheelchair except for one dance that he danced with me while on crutches. When I returned to him from doing the dollar dance, he was in his wheelchair, smiling, with a bunch of money sticking out of his vest and shirt. He’d been selling kisses! LOL When we left, I drove the car to the hotel and I carried the luggage. It was sure a day that I will never forget!! We got off to a rocky start but we learned that we can weather anything that comes along, so long as we have each other and do it together. In May, we will celebrate our 40th anniversary!
Lee Anne,
What a great story about your wedding! Talk about perseverance and family stepping in to help and you being a hugely good sport about it all. So much more interesting than a wedding that goes perfectly.
I’d never heard of the dollar dance so had to look it up. Always learning something from my readers. Sounds like your husband was quite the entrepreneur, even not being able to dance. Too funny!
I love to think of all the memories you made with your family while camping. The quiet nights around a fire are one of the things I would truly love about camping. Everything else? Not so much.
First, I’m so happy that the Florida Smiths have found a new home. I’m looking forward to seeing pictures of it when the are moved in and settled. Moving is tough, so I pray it goes as smooth as possible for them.
Your trip to WI looks just wonderful. It’s so good to see family and spend quality time together. Plus, you got a taste of what us Northerners get for cold weather. I’m sure you’re happy to be home in warmer weather. So glad you were all able to get away for a bit.
i look forward to hearing about the big visit coming up with Gage!
Lord’s Blessings!
Krista,
Yes, that cold weather was a bit of a shock to these southerners’ systems! I will have to say the cooler temps were invigorating, though.
I admire you folks who live with the cold all winter long and don’t think twice about it. I think I have grown a bit wimpy in my older years. 🙂
We are definitely looking forward to Gage’s arrival.
What wonderful pictures! That hayless hayride looks like a lot of fun. Aren’t great nieces the greatest?? Have a wonderful week!!
Sue Ellen,
I guess that’s why they’re called great-nieces–they are truly GREAT!
Hope the rest of your week is a good one.
I’ve only been to Wisconsin one time quite a few years ago, during the summer. Your pictures are beautiful! I’m so glad you got to go and see all of your family. We hope to visit our family next summer in WA and OR. We have been camping since our kids were young. We started out in a tent, but now have a big fifth wheel with all of the amenities. It’s so much fun to go on a vacation and when we get to our destination we have our own stuff, our own beds, etc. The best part is that our vacation home is everywhere we want to go! We always have such a fun, relaxing time and feel so refreshed when we get home.
Hope you all had a safe trip back home!
Gayle,
An RV is definitely the way to go if you want to camp in comfort. A tent camper I am not, but I’ve been thinking recently it would be fun to try it, just to say that I did.
It is definitely an advantage to not be unpacking and packing over and over; an RV means your toothbrush is always in the same place. There’s a lot to be said for that!
I know you and your kids have made a lot of happy camping memories through the years. Love that!
Aunt Becky, this was so sweet! Amanda and I both got a little teary-eyed reading this, and the pictures were beautiful!
Y’all have always been so special to my parents and I , and I am so excited that my lovely new wife finally got to meet you. 🙂 We love you!
Caleb and Amanda,
What a happy surprise to see both your names pop up here. Hooray!
We were thrilled to get to be there for your big day and especially blessed that you spent the day after your wedding with your family. So fun. Love to you both.
Fun to see the blog today… lots and lots of laughs we had on that wagon ride, I about cried from laughing.
Glad I live in a funny family!
( maybe they escaped from a local “funny- farm” that day—that would be my place…)
Our neighbor who loaned the blankets said, we looked like a cage full of animals from the circus–I agree.
Was a good weekend and a huge treat to have the Smiths and Wilcox here, since they came from afar to join the festivities.
Ruth,
Yes, there were a lot of laughs. Laughter definitely does good like a medicine. Arnold is so nice to put that ride together for the wacky relative . . . from near and far.
Thanks again for a wonderful visit.
Such a grand blog! You always capture the essence of what’s happening with your words and pictures. Thank you!
Can’t believe my son is married–what a gem of a girl God sent him. And now we have a daughter– hooray!
I loved your line about seeing the reflections of other family members in a loved one’s face–so true.
So thankful you guys were here with us–such a precious time of a family together, celebrating the love and the life of the generations.
Love, Deb
Deb,
Yes, Caleb definitely got a gem. So nice of him to leave a comment here a few minutes ago. And hooray for you for getting a daughter!
Already looking forward to another visit up your way . . . whenever that time may be. Being with sisters is extra special.
I’ve been following the Smiths since sometime around 2006-ish. This may be my favorite post you’ve done. Beautiful family and beautifully written.
Cheryl
How sweet of you to say such a nice thing. I truly appreciate the encouragement.
And thank you for being a long time follower. Fourteen years is a significant period of time to hang out around here. We are honored.
What a wonderful family! Your mom is so cherished. Love the doggies waiting for their tidbits 🙂 The hayride looks like so much fun. Isnt that little grand niece just the sweetest with the echoes of your sister. I always love searching for family resemblances. I also love the picture of Sarah and Steve.
No camping for me, no no no. As far as weddings, I always find that the unplanned happenings are the most memorable. Here’s one little story. My oldest son was getting married in Illinois, or was it Missouri, I’m not sure where we went LOL. Anyway, at the last minute, he decided he wanted my sister and I to bring GALLONS of Clam Chowder (from a special restaurant he had frequented while growing up on Cape Cod) on the plane with us for the reception. So we got it frozen from the restaurant and had to move it to tupperware containors and pray it didnt melt before we got it to the reception venue. We packed it all up in a huge suitcase, which was unbelievably heavy and checked it before the flight. We decided that if there was chowder dripping out of the suitcase on the carousel at baggage claim we would not claim it! Ha! Fortunately, the suitcase was intact. Then we had to get it into the rental car trunk and drive 3.5 hours in 100 degree heat(summertime) to the venue. By the time we pulled up, we were sure it was all for not, it had to be melted. But we lugged that suitcase into the venue at 9pm the night before the wedding, found the kitchen, told them what was in the suitcase and handed them the directions for adding the cream. We told the cook to keep the suitcase! He looked at us like we were crazy and I realized that Jimmy had not told them we were delivering anything at all. Not to mention a huge suitcase full of chowder. My sister and I had a huge laugh and left with them staring at us open mouthed. In the end, they cooked the chowder, it was a hit at the reception, but needless to say, neither my sister nor myself ate a drop 🙂
Lesley,
Oh my. The Clam Chowder story takes the cake.
Gallons of chowder in a suitcase? In an airport? Dragged into a rental car? Lugged into a venue? Turned over to the cooks? Served to an appreciative crowd who had no idea what went into getting it into their bowls?
You and your sister deserve some sort of huge Chowder Award. Thanks for sharing such a great story.
Well Becky, as usual you made me cry first thing on a Monday morning!!!! What beautiful words about your family….I lost my Mom 11 years ago and our family is spread out throughout the country…..so yes, the time you just spent with your family is so precious and the pictures are beautiful. I am headed out to Kansas City tomorrow to spend a few wonderful days with my son, I was supposed to leave today but they are under a winter weather advisory and since I’ve lived in NC, I forget how to drive in snow!
Dale,
So glad you get to spend some time with your son. We had 6 inches of snow up in Minneapolis so I can definitely relate to not wanting to drive in it.
Enjoy every sweet moment.