Brightwood Lights

KK, the youngest of the sisters, and Mike were the last to be married in the “great year of weddings.” Their wedding took place in the Finger Lakes region of New York on September 25, 2010.

Festivities to celebrate KK’s big day officially began on home turf, though: Her bridal shower and bachelorette weekend took place here in Georgia. Since I’m currently back to being a Georgia Peach, I was the lucky one who didn’t have to travel this time!

The shower was down in Peachtree City, so the night before, we had an old-school family dinner- Mom, Dad, and 3 of the 4 sisters! I don’t know when the last time was we all sat in our “assigned seats” and ate mom’s cooking without any spouses/friends/kids/others at the table. It was just too bad Janice couldn’t be there. . . then again, Oregon is a long way from Georgia. . .

. . . Little did KK know, though, that Janice actually WAS en route to surprise her and attend the festivities. She arrived on Saturday morning while KK was “out and about” with bridesmaid Anamanda.

The surprise!

The shower was beautiful, and KK opened great gifts, including one that was bound to please Mike:

Next, the party pared down to the “bachelorette” crew, who completed a fun video scavenger hunt before heading up to Atlanta for a night of good food and fun.

Matron of honor Linda had arranged for a great dinner, dessert, and night in a beautiful hotel with a rooftop pool in Midtown.

The next three weeks flew by, and before we knew it, we were all in Ithaca, NY for the big day! We stayed at the same house in Brooktondale we had rented for KK’s graduation, so it was fun to have the family mostly together. Simona and Andreas enjoyed some down time with Uromi.

Unfortunately, I don’t have any pictures of the rehearsal dinner or Polterabend, which took place at Mike’s parents’ house. It was a great evening, including delicious roasted pig, a bonfire, ice cream, and, of course, the requisite plate breaking and sweeping.

The next morning, we headed up to the beautiful Aurora Inn, located on the shores of Cayuga Lake. Though the day was windy and cool with occasional raindrops, it was anything but drab. (And actually, that’s exactly my favorite kind of weather- like a good fall day along the Elbe River in Schleswig Holstein!)

The bride was beautiful, and the bright colors she had chosen contrasted beautifully with the gray sky.

The ceremony took place at a church a few doors down and was followed by a salute from KK & Mike’s crew friends. (I should also note that the groom himself rowed in a race (with his bride watching) THAT MORNING!)

(I should note that the flower girl was QUITE practiced for the event and performed marvelously, once again. She will be available as a consultant-for-hire to train any upcoming flowergirls for a reasonable fee. Please contact us if you are interested in her services!)

After that, it was back to the Aurora Inn for a night of dancing and fun.

The newlyweds honeymooned in Hawaii before settling down in their current home in Nashua, NH. We’re so happy for you, Mike & KK! Congratulations!

If you’ve kept up with the out-of-order accounts of our summer of weddings, you are surely eagerly awaiting the next installment in the series.

Wedding #3 for us was that of my older (but not bigger!) sister, Janice. She and her (now husband) Gus met in Eugene, Oregon as grad students at the University of Oregon in 2005. Gus has been an unofficial member of the family since about 2007, and we all welcomed the chance to formally induct him to the clan. Whether Gus, an only child used to small, calm family gatherings, was equally eager to join our crazy, busy family. . . well, let’s just say that he loves Janice an awful lot! We have tried to go easy on him, but you know how it can be with the ever-changing, ever-dramatic dynamics of four sisters. Especially in a year in which each of them is experiencing major life transitions. (As my uncle famously says, “Our family puts the FUN in dysfunctional!”)

In seriousness, though, we looked forward to our trip to Eugene for many reasons, not least of which was seeing Janice marry the man she loves. Linda flew to Oregon with S, A, and me, and the kids did really well on the long flight. KK had possibly the craziest schedule, graduating from her nutrition program at Vanderbilt only to fly directly to Oregon. But we enjoyed the final pre-wedding festivities, which included decorating Janice and Gus’s backyard for the “Polterabend” and having an impromptu bachelorette party in Eugene.

The Polterabend was a casual barbecue in their backyard, which was great fun. Between jet lag and tired children, our family couldn’t stay for the bonfire and late-night festivities but still enjoyed the time to catch up with friends and family.

Next, the party moved to the Eagle Rock Lodge, located on the banks of the McKenzie River in the beautiful Cascade Mountain range. Caleb and I thought we had the best room in the bed and breakfast, but so did most everyone else- that’s how beautiful the entire lodge was! In addition to fabulous rooms and gorgeous scenery, the hosts served the most amazing breakfast spread. If you ever find yourself vacationing in Oregon, we highly recommend this place! Our only regret is that we didn’t have enough time to take in the natural beauty and explore the area more.

The wedding ceremony and reception were very “Janice and Gus.”

Flamingos and gnomes have taken on special significance in their relationship and were ubiquitous, lending a very personalized touch to the festivities.

The rest of the decor was simple but beautiful.

Despite the rain, the ceremony went off without a hitch.

After family pictures, we headed to the tents for an evening of celebration.

As the matron of honor, I had to give a toast. Though public speaking is not my favorite activity, it was an honor to be able to say a few words to mark the occasion. Janice is only 14 months older than me, and we shared nearly every moment of an eventful childhood. Even though I’m the “bigger” sister, she’ll always be the older, wiser, wittier one!

More toasts, good food, and dancing rounded out the night.

The flower girl got to dance to “her” song- “Mony Mony.” She hammed it up and loved every second of it!

We’re happy for you two- welcome to the insanity family, Gus!

*Credit for most of these photos goes to my cousin Kai- Danke!

I have been meaning to finish writing about our BUSY summer full of travels for quite some time, but it seems like each trip not only delays blog updating but also adds new material about which to blog! Not that anyone’s probably sitting around home dying in anticipation of new updates, but really, I keep this blog up as much for myself as for anyone else and would feel better about “completing” my chronicling of these trips.

SO. . . rewinding to Memorial Day Weekend and Summer Wedding #2:
Mere weeks after our move to Atlanta and my sister Linda’s wedding, we flew up to Maine for my cousin’s wedding. We now have had the opportunity to spend time in Maine during 3 of the last 4 summers, and we have grown to LOVE those visits. Not only is the weather and scenery gorgeous, but it is also great fun to catch up with the wonderful extended family we have up north.

The wedding took place in Damariscotta, a picturesque coastal Maine town, on an absolutely perfect early summer afternoon. The bride and groom’s joy was evident and permeated every aspect of the day, from the elegant ceremony to the festive reception.

Another highlight of the weekend for our family included an afternoon exploring Fort Williams Park and the Cape Elizabeth lighthouse in South Portland, which proffered stunning scenery and a chance for Caleb to practice skipping rocks with Simona.

This excursion also included another Maine favorite: Lobster!



Our trip was unexpectedly extended by about 16 hours, courtesy of Delta Air Lines, which allowed us to spend another beautiful afternoon enjoying the great outdoors, this time on Mackworth Island.

The next summer trip took us to the “other” Portland, this time on the West Coast. After flying into Portland, Oregon and then driving down to Eugene, we got to enjoy the equally beautiful scenery of the Northwest. The purpose of this trip was, of course, my sister Janice’s wedding, which will be detailed in my next post. We wished we had more time to enjoy the great outdoors (and the blissfully cool weather), but that just means we’ll have to find a way to make it out west again before too much time elapses.

After a sweltering seven weeks in Atlanta, we were off on our Midwestern roadtrip. The first part has already been chronicled here, but the second part took us to new parts of the country. Since our good friends Sam & Sarah moved away from DC in early 2008, we have made it a goal to visit their home in Kansas. That opportunity finally came during Caleb’s semester break in August.

From Iowa, we drove to Wichita, Kansas, where we spent about 4 days reconnecting not only with Sam, Sarah, and their two kids; but also with friends Anna, Justin, and their two kids. Their family was also part of our small group in DC, but they moved back to their home state of California during the summer of 2008. The fact that all TWELVE of us were able to reunite was nothing short of amazing. Sam and Sarah graciously hosted all of us, and we all LOVED not only their beautiful old home, but also the state/city of Wichita, Kansas. Best of all, of course, was creating new memories of cooking delicious dinners, making ice cream, playing in the sprinkler, going to the playground, and generally enjoying fellowship with dear friends.

Sadly, all good vacations must come to an end, so we left Wichita and drove through Oklahoma to reach Arkansas, where stopped for dinner with our friends Jake & Trisha and their boys, Eliot & Oliver. The next day, we got to stop for lunch and playground time with Dave, Heidi, and their daughter Rosie in Memphis, Tennessee before finally finishing up the LONG roadtrip and arriving back in Atlanta that night. We estimate that we drove about 3,000 miles and visited with 22 friends from our times in DC and/or Chicago along the route. Definitely a well-needed, refreshing break to a hot summer in Atlanta!

After Wyatt’s wedding, we (mostly) stayed in Iowa for another week. (By mostly I mean that the kids were there all week, while Caleb and I did some additional traveling.)

Much fun was had at Grandma & Grandpa’s! One of the kids’ favorite activities was simply riding little bikes out on the driveway.

Grandpa also let them play in a puddle out front right after some rain, which Andreas especially enjoyed.

Grandma took us to the Iowa Children’s Museum, which was a highlight for Simona. She got to be a doctor, a cashier, a dentist, a pizza-maker, a ballerina, and much more.

Andreas found plenty of “Flugzeuge” (airplanes) and other entertainment, too.

And Grandma treated us to a ride on the carousel after lunch, which both kids adored.

Other kid-fun during the week included a trip to the splash park, rides on the tire swing, and lots of reading books and playing on the living room floor with Grandma & Grandpa. (More pictures are on the “photos” page).

Meanwhile. . . while the kids were having fun with Grandma & Grandpa, Caleb and I got a chance to go to Chicago by ourselves! We enjoyed an evening with Northwestern friends Anne, Wei-Lin, Brett, Mary Ruth, and Cordell, eating Chicago style pizza and home-made ice cream; wandered around the NU campus reminiscing; visited Dan, Hilary, and their new son Drew (more NU friends); and generally enjoyed Chicago in the summertime.

On the way back to Iowa, we detoured through Dyersville to see the Field of Dreams (ie the cornfield / farm where the famous movie was filmed). As huge baseball fans, it was about time we made it to this site!

If you build it, they will come!

The next big item on our agenda was the 60th wedding anniversary celebration of Caleb’s grandparents, the Neils. All six of the Neil’s children were home for the reunion, and all spouses/grandchildren/great grandchildren but one were able to come, too. Unfortunately, I was a bit under the weather and didn’t get many photos.

A breakfast with Great Grandpa Brenneman and a bonfire at the cabin rounded out wonderful week in Iowa.

(More on the travels to come, but the next post will likely be an update on Andreas and his eyes.)

We have yet to blog about our trips to Maine and Oregon for cousin & older sister weddings, but we’ll come back to those. For now, here’s the most recent update, of our August road trip and latest wedding adventures.

Simona and I left on the first leg of the trip on August 4. We drove from Atlanta to Nashville, where we stopped to have lunch with our friend and former church small-group member, Kyla. It was Simona’s first time in Tennessee, and a HOT day it was. Still, it was great to see Kyla and spend some time catching up with her.

Our drive took us through Kentucky, Illinois, and just across the Mississippi into St. Louis, Missouri. (KY and MO were new states for Simona, too.) She did VERY well on the drive but was quite fussy and unhappy about taking a quick peek at the Arch before checking into our hotel. Turns out, the poor girl had a fever and got sick upon our arrival at the hotel!

Fortunately, she felt MUCH better the next morning and got her wish of “Pfannkuchen” for breakfast, courtesy of IHOP.

The four hour drive from St. Louis to Iowa also passed quickly, and before we knew it, we were at Grandma & Grandpa’s! We even beat Caleb and Andreas, whose morning flight was delayed in Chicago.

We were quite happy to be in town for summer wedding #4, which was Caleb’s brother Wyatt.
Wyatt and Grace met as young children and grew up just a few houses apart from one another. Despite a shared childhood, they didn’t start dating until shortly before graduating from high school. They dated long-distance through four years of college and were married on August 7.

The wedding ceremony was a small, family event that took place in the woods behind Caleb’s parents’ house, next to the cabin at the back of the property. It rained the morning of the wedding, but that couldn’t put a damper on the occasion. Caleb made a handsome groomsman, while Simona did a wonderful job of spreading flower petals in the special dress her Grandma made for the wedding. And, most importantly, the bride and groom were thrilled to become Mr. and Mrs.

The flower girl and groom, waiting out the rain before the ceremony:

Wyatt even wore the same suit his father wore when he got married, almost exactly 32 years before!

The reception took place that evening, which allowed the kids time for naps (and us time to dry off!) before heading in to Cedar Rapids. We had a great time catching up with family and friends, though I unfortunately didn’t get to take pictures since I was mostly busy with the kids.

It was a privilege to watch Grace and Wyatt become husband and wife, and we were honored to be part of the ceremony and reception. We’re excited to have Grace part of the family, and I am excited to have my very first sister-in-law!

Congratulations, you two! We wish you many years of happiness!

(More on the rest of the time in Iowa and the remainder of the road trip to come. . .)