Ivy Six-Pack: October 2009

Last weekend my cousin, Kristin, a cousin I remember being born, got married. Talk about making me feel old!!! On top of that, I took my thirteen year old daughter to the wedding with me! It was such a special time of visiting with family and I think Mikalah enjoyed the time of feeling like she was "grown up".

Looking over the pictures we took, I realized I need to be better at taking pictures. I am glad that my cousin's wife (would that make her my cousin-in-law?) was taking a ton of pictures too!

The view from our plane ride to Minneapolis.

When we arrived at the hotel we were greeted with lots of family. The hotel manager gave us a list of local restaurants. Perkins was on that list. As soon as I saw that I knew that was where the crew would want to eat. Yummy food, homey atmosphere. Not Bucca di Beppo, but at least we were staring at large naked women while we ate!

When we got back to the hotel the game between the Yankees and Twins was on - don't remember which game, but the one that went into many extra innings. My brother, Jon is a Yankees fan, but the hotel was full of a football team that was vocally cheering for the Twins. Here is Grampy, his sister, Aunt Ellen, and his good friend, Nessie, watching the game.

My cousin's wife, Amanda. She's the one with the awesome camera that took lots of pictures. It was great to get to spend some time with her and get to know her more. If you want to see more pictures, bug her for them!

Even though we were celebrating Kristin's wedding, it was also Grampy's 85th birthday.

Nessie, Cousin Sean, Cousin David (married to Amanda), and Grampy.

However, we discovered there were many October birthdays and Grampy wanted to spread the joy!

Uncle Kenny - next year he turns 60! That makes me feel a little younger!

Nessie. Grampy brought the crown all the way from Jersey with him. What a fun prop!

My mom, Sherry. It was so good to see her! I wish we could have had more time to visit, but I know that she was visiting with family she hadn't seen in over two years. And I know I will see her soon...I hope. This was her 31st anniversary of her 29th birthday!

Grampy's sister, Aunt Ellen - she turned 80!

That night we - the cousins - went to the Mall of America. We really only saw about 1/4 of the mall, but we did get to enjoy some of the amusement area in the middle.

Jon, Sean, and Dave chose to try the rope course. Basically get into a harness, clip yourself to a cable, and climb to the ceiling following beams, ropes, and rope bridges. Especially since both Sean and Dave are nervous about heights. I think Jon gave them confidence. Of course he was confident because he couldn't see. His glasses dropped fairly near the beginning. Thankfully we were able to find them and he could still wear them.

Hard to see, but Dave at halfway back down.

My sister, Juliet, and I and our purses at the MOA.

The cousins! Jess, Jon, Dave, Sean, Me, Amanda, Mikalah, and Juliet.

That night we got to stay up way too late and played games. It was a very neat time to connect and realize that even though we don't have a lot of contact on a regular basis, we can really just have fun together. I am so thankful for grandparents that instilled a wonderful family heritage.

Now...on to the wedding!

Cousin Scott, Kristin's baby brother. He's now taller than her!Kristin & Ryan. The wedding was at a country club and we watched the ceremony from our reception tables. It was nice to have a comfortable seat and a drink while you watched. Pleasant setting for a wedding. And cost effective! Bonus points!It was very fun to watch Grampy and Nessie together. They took good care of each other. Amanda got a cute picture of them holding hands...again...Amanda...we are waiting for your pics now!!!Kristin and Ryan are such a cute couple. I'm looking forward to getting to know them as a couple. Sean and Uncle Kenny - you can tell they are father and son!Kristin and her sister, Amy. Talk about family resemblance! Kristin made her dress - beautiful! And the brides maids all wore "little black dresses". Finally a brides maid dress that might get worn again!On their way to Hawaii.After the wedding Mikalah and I headed to the airport and home. The Colts were playing Sun night football and we were able to watch until halftime. They were trying to board the plane with 45 seconds left in the the half (which we all know means 5 minutes) and no one would board. We were all waiting to see Peyton drive the Colts down for another touchdown. We actually left 15 minutes late. Priorities people!!!