Leaf Peeping, Coal Mining, and a Wedding

When my brother announced his engagement earlier this year and told us the wedding place and date, I got really excited since I LOVE fall in the north!  October in Pennsylvania sounded great and besides a little rain, it was perfect!

My mom rented some awesome homes in the Pocono Mountains and out whole family and some friends had a little vacation before the wedding.  We had two houses just down the street from each other so one was designated the main eating house and all 17 of us managed meals around the mish-mash of tables that we assembled.  Both houses had pool tables and one had videos games and air hockey so the boys had lots of fun.  We got there on Tuesday and most of the gang was already there.  We spent Wednesday sleeping and hanging out at the houses since it was raining, but Thursday we ventured out and took a coal mine tour since the rain wasn't a problem 250 feet underground! 

This was the coal mine we visited.  Travis really wanted to go see the mine and of course, by the end of the tour he was ready to sign on and be a coal miner.  It's been closed for a few years though (after operating for more than 100 years!) so he'll have to find another location.  He decided he would open the first mine in Texas and I had to break the news that you have to mine where the coal actually is.  Slight problem...

The yellow train/trolley is what we used to descend into the mine.  This is Justin's new "smile" face.  I am anxious to see the wedding photos with this expression.

Most of the pictures in the mine turned out well, dark, so they're not worth reporting.  Here's a 1,300 pound chunk of coal that was pulled from another mine nearby (I think).  It was starting to drizzle by this time so we didn't last very much longer outside.  That plus our tummies were growling.  Meals were a little off since the people in the meal house were not early risers!

And finally the next day Ami, Uncle Jerry and Thatcher arrived.  Travis took our picture.  And Ami and Uncle Jerry learned that it's all about Thatcher! 

And the boys love Uncle Jerry too!

Travis was so anxious to meet Thatcher.  And he wanted to hold him too.  And so he did.  A lot.

Since our camera is acting up, this is the best group shot I could get.  Travis looks a little buried!

And then there was the wedding.  It was Uncle Jon and Olivia and it was beautiful.  Travis was the "ring bringer" so he wore a tuxedo along with Randy (a groomsman) and I borrowed a suit for Justin.  My three guys looked so very handsome so we took some family pictures.  (You might see them on a Christmas card coming your way later this year...)  Here's one of the little guys.  They were so cute.  Justin didn't last very long in the whole ensemble, but at least as long as the pictures.

Olivia looked gorgeous and Jon, well, handsome and all.  Travis was a ham coming down the aisle looking each way and flashing big smiles.  Check out Uncle Jerry as the best man!

The flower girls were antsy and tipped over their baskets of petals.  So of course they had to recollect them.  Twice.

All the groomsmen and ring bringer:  Isn't Travis the cutest ring bringer ever?

Praying during the ceremony:  Travis was so serious!  My heart was melting.

The reception was so fun.  Travis discovered his love of dancing.  He wanted to dance with me every chance we got, but he got a little upset when the dance floor got crowded.  He told Randy, "Daddy, this wedding changed me.  Before, I didn't know I liked to dance.  But now I love it!"  Justin enjoyed the dancing too.  He was more into the dinner than dancing though.

Sunday morning after the wedding we all got together at the meal house and had a little church service.  Travis led singing and did a bit of interpretive dance.  Residual from the night before maybe? :)  My aunt is learning to play the clarinet and she played Amazing Grace for us, after only three lessons.  My mom shared some thoughts from the book The Blessing, which I just bought to read.  My uncle shared some awesome stories about his experiences of God's protection.  Travis recited one of his Bible verses and Randy shared some thoughts about the verse.  I have been reading the book Pagan Christianity which describes how a lot of our church traditions actually have pagan beginnings and roots.  One of the traditions it describes is the worship service.  In my opinion, the small home gathering that we had that Sunday was the ideal embodiment of what Christ envisioned.  Everyone sharing and learning from each other, asking questions and being spontaneous.  It was beautiful.  It clarified what is lacking in traditional services and how much richer small, give-and-take experiences can be.

One of the very cool things about the week was getting to meet my brother Ben's new wife, Iris.  They got married the weekend after Randy cut his thumb so we couldn't go to the wedding.  Because it was out first family get-together with the almost the whole new family, we took some pictures.  Of course, Jon and Olivia weren't there so we'll have to photoshop them in later!  The clan (L-R): Randy, me, Travis in front, Justin, Mom, Mireille (holding Thatcher), Jerry, Iris, and Ben.  Whew! 

I love my family, everyone who was there.  Staying in the houses gave us lots of time for talking and being together.  And the houses were far from town and the wedding so we got to see lots of beautiful fall foliage during the drives.  I wish I could have gotten better pictures with everyone I love so much.  (We are so buying a new camera the day after Thanksgiving!)  Times like that are so special and we will cherish them forever.

A fun bonus was that we got to fly back to Chicago with our great friend Mary.  She used to live in our house in Madison a few years ago when she was in college.  (I think I was 6 when she lived with us.)  Both boys love her and we enjoyed the extra time together on the plane.  We even discovered one fun fact during our trip:  She just celebrated her 30th wedding anniversary the week before Jon's wedding and all of my siblings and I were in her wedding!  In fact, Jon was the "ring bringer" in her wedding! 

Sorry this is so long in coming.  After the trip, both boys were severely sleep deprived and so we have been taking family naps in an effort to catch up on sleep.  Now I am slightly addicted to naptime and I am forcing myself to stay awake today during nap to do some long overdue computer work!