Easter in New Hampshire

I was fortunate this year to spend Easter with my family, the Cummings, and Hartleys.  We started the day by going to my parent's church, Bedford Road Baptist Church, where they were singing in the choir.  Can you spot them?  Mom is in the front in blue and dad is in the back row in white.  They did an excellent job.    

We hurried home from church to get the food ready for our guests.  Anoli had dyed eggs the night before, so she put them all in a basket.  Aren't they fun?!  My favorites had faces on them.

Meanwhile I was working on assembling cookie platters.  As you may know my mom makes some of the best sugar cookies on the face of the planet.  They are amazing.  She made some Easter ones for me to decorate, so when Anoli was dying eggs, I was elbow deep in frosting.  Here's how they came out - not too bad for someone who doesn't decorate cookies very often.

Soon, our guests arrived.  My family, papa (my grandfather), Anoli's friend Nick, the Cummings, and the Hartleys were there.  I love celebrating holidays with this group.  I'm so glad I was there!

Smile, kids!

Two lovely ladies hanging out on the porch.

Tulips from Noa - we all wished he had been there.  But, he's doing good work on his deployment and we are all so proud of him.

Papa with his grandchildren.  Don't ask me why I'm squinting - the flash was off, so I don't know what my problem was.  We joked that Anoli was dressed as a governor's wife that day, complete with her hair up and pearls.  She's so fancy, you know.

We were happy that the newlyweds hadn't left on their honeymoon yet.  We still had a wedding gift to give them.  One of the gifts was a hand carved wood cutting board in the shape of Massachusetts, with an engraved heart on the location of their home.  I think it was a hit.

And a visit to New Hampshire isn't complete without spying the wild turkeys that roam the neighborhood.  Dad puts out a flock block (pictured) during the colder months so that the turkeys have some real food.  I only got a photo of the females.  The males are quite the site to be seen - they puff themselves up and strut around like they own the place.  Next time, I am determined to capture them with the camera.

Gobble, gobble!  Hope you had a happy Easter too!

Wedding Season

And, no, I'm not referring to the royal wedding (although I did catch some of it on TV today).  I recently arrived back home after traveling to the east coast to attend a couple of important weddings and spend the Easter holiday with family.

My first stop was Washington D.C. to attend Adam and Cindy's wedding.  Adam's family, the Sikes, were a big part of my childhood.  His parents, my parents, and one other set of parents - the Cummings - were all pals.  We all attended the same church, spent many holidays and vacations together, and had many playdates as children.  It only seems fitting to be a part of each child's big day.  Here is Adam with his mom, Nancy, and dad, Dale.  They all looked smashing!

The wedding was held in Georgetown at the historic Holy Trinity Catholic Church.  The church was undecorated due to the season of Lent, but even without decorations the wedding was a beautiful, personal event.  The bridal party wore simple black and cream dresses with red flowers.  The bride, Cindy, wore a lace-covered strapless gown.  The men wore black tuxedos.  They were all such a classy bunch.

I love this photo that Cristyn took.  Adam looks so happy.  Oh, and see the priest in the background....that's Cindy's uncle!  No wonder he's smiling.  Cindy looked beautiful coming down the aisle.

The vows.

Here's the dapper, stylish wedding party.

And the Sikes boys with the bride.  From left to right: Tim, Phil, Cindy, Adam, and Joel.

The reception was held at the historic Willard InterContinental Hotel in downtown Washington D.C.  Almost all of the presidents since Franklin Pierce have stayed here, as well as Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mark Twain.  The place is absolutely beautiful.  Here's the hallway (often used by patrons for high tea) that leads up to the appetizers.  Oh, and notice the cherry blossoms.  They were everywhere since the city had just celebrated the Cherry Blossom Festival.

The bridal party weren't the only ones who got all dolled up.  Cristyn and I made sure to take advantage of photo ops in the hotel lobby.

While the bridal party and relatives got photos taken, the rest of us dined on appetizers and enjoyed the string quartet.  Soon we were ushered into the main dining room, where a live band was playing and spirits were lively.  Look how beautiful the tables were!  The funny thing is that just as when we were kids, we sat at the "kids' table."  Guess some things never change.

After a delicious meal (I had steak), there was lots of dancing.  We all got into the action - even my parents!

Anoli got to practice her cha-cha.

It was a great time.  Since we were in Washington D.C. my family decided to stay an extra day for some sightseeing.  We walked to several of the monuments, including the Lincoln Memorial and the  Washington Monument (there was a kite festival happening as well)....

....the World War II Memorial (yeah, the Washington Monument is still in the background)...

.... and almost to the Jefferson Memorial (we turned around here, since we were headed in the wrong direction).

We were going to walk back to the capital, but frankly, we were pretty tired.  So, we hailed some pedicabs and enjoyed a tour on the back of a bike for a couple of miles.  We enjoyed chatting with Carla, our driver.

So we did finally make it to the capital after all.

Fast forward another week.  ZZZZzzzoooooopppp!  Yeah, that was me fast forwarding things.  Don't blame me.....it's been awhile since I've been here.  Anyway, a week later, we attended the wedding of Pete and Jennifer.  Their wedding was held at Searles Castle in New Hampshire.  Even though I call New Hampshire home, I've actually never been to this place.  Here's a glimpse of the castle before the ceremony as the guests are heading towards the ceremony area.

As you can see the weather was perfect for their outdoor ceremony.  Jennifer was a beautiful bride.  She couldn't stop smiling the whole time.  Isn't her dress lovely?

The vows.

Can you tell they were just pronounced husband and wife?  Look at those smiles!

One thing I really loved about their wedding was how they incorporated family.  Both Cristyn and her husband Aaron were in the wedding party, as well as several of Jennifer's relatives.  They even included their two sweet children in the ceremony.

Appetizers were held outside and on the first floor of the castle.  It was a good time to get photos of family and friends and congratulate the bride and groom.  I like this photo of the family on the castle grounds.

Cristyn and Aaron looking oh-so-cute in their wedding party attire.

The parents: Sikes, Bragdons, and Cummings (parents of the groom).

Dinner was in a heated, decorated tent on the castle property.  Once again, I found myself sitting at the "kids' table."

I LOVED the cake!  The silver ribbons were a nice touch.  Also they had cookie favors (that Pete's mom, Nancy made) that matched the cake.  Sweet!

Soon, the dancing started, with the first dance by the new bride and groom, of course.

Soon, we were all dancing late into the night.  I think the most enthusiastic dancer of the bunch was Pete and Jennifer's little boy.  He rocked the dance floor.

Congrats to the happy couples!

Photo credits for some of the above photos go to Cristyn Hartley, Anoli Bragdon, and Nancy Sikes.  Thanks for sharing, ladies!

Llook!

I was driving home today and was behind a van with a set of eyes staring back at me.  At first I thought it was a goat, but then I noticed the bumper sticker and realized there was a llama in the back of the van!  Hilarious!