5:20 am 9/3 to 1:00 am 9/7

AKA: Our vacation/Allie's wedding

We left Manhattan last Thursday morning at 3:30 am to catch a 5:20 Amtrak train from Topeka, Kansas. The train ride was alright. It was very bumpy and I often felt like I was on a roller coaster (which pregnant women aren't supposed to do!) but it was relaxing all the same. The rocking motion of the train does seem to promote sleep but then the jerking wakes you back up. Go figure! We had a "sleeper car" family room for the trips from Topeka to Chicago and back and were in business class from Chicago to Royal Oak, Michigan and back (Royal Oak is a suburb of Detroit but safer to commute to and from). The train had lots of different cars: several sleeper cars, several coach cars, dining cars, and an observation/sight-seeing car with a cafe. I'm sure there were also areas for the crew and for luggage and cargo shipping as well.

We took the train because Shaun has never flown and we'd never taken the train either so this was a good alternative. It was a good experience and one that maybe we'll someday repeat, but not while I'm pregnant! I was very uncomfortable while trying to sleep because the mattresses were thin and I couldn't move around very easily. Also the motion got to me a little bit, although I tried to ignore it. If we take the train again someday we hope it's to Utah or somewhere in the mountains as we think that might be more senic. My sister Allie and her new husband Cory might be moving out that way either in late December or May, depending on Allie's job and Cory's finishing his Master's in Engineering degree.

Shaun and Logan especially loved the train. Shaun keeps referring to it as a "good experience" and one that he wants our boys to always remember. Shane and I were a bit less excited but were still able to enjoy the ride. Each way to Michigan and back, total train time, was around 15 hours. We had layovers in Chicago for a few hours each way.

On Labor Day, yesterday, while in Chicago, we met up with some friends of mine from church who had lived in Manhattan for a couple years and then moved back to Chicago about three years ago. It was great to see Edna, Edwin, Trisha, and Phillip again! Edna and I have exchanged occasional emails over the past few years and kept in touch a little bit. I'm horrible about keeping in touch with people that move away, always have been! It was great to be around their sweet spirits for a couple hours as we enjoyed lunch and a short walk in the city together. I hope to attend Trisha and Phillip's temple marriage next June. I was one of the few people who witnessed them get married a few years ago in Junction City and just really have a special place in my heart for them. I'm soooo very excited for Edna and Edwin because I know how much this means to them. I took a few pictures the day of Trisha and Phillip's marriage and was asked to bring my camera along to the temple as well to capture that day for them. I can't wait!

Between train rides was most of the action. We spent lots of time with family and we were able to enjoy some fun sister time getting our nails and hair done as well as a couple lunches. I'm so very blessed to have such a wonderful family! We've been through a lot together but we always pull through just fine and even stronger. I'm sure there is much more to come.

Allie was a beautiful bride as we all knew she would be. She is the last of "the four sisters" to get married. It was a bit bitter sweet, but mostly sweet. :) Each of our weddings have been very different and have shown our personalities. At Allie's I realized what a close-knit and emotional family Cory has. He and his brother cried all the way through the ceremony! Of course there were many others of us crying with joy and many more tearing up, including Allie. It was beautiful and full of the spirit. I think it was also the shortest Catholic wedding we've attended. One of the best things about the church was the layout and the lighting. I was really kicking myself for not bringing my camera to the wedding! (I didn't take any pictures all weekend although Shaun did take a few. I just took it easy and enjoyed myself although I still got tired out quickly.) We did tease Allie and Cory a bit about all the times children came up during the ceremony. I think they only promised once to accept/care for the children God would put in their care, however children were mentioned several different times. This was most funny as they have said they don't want children of their own, at least yet. The rest of the family is hoping that they do have kids, and I hope they don't wait too long (sorry Allie but I just had to mention this :p).

Allie and Cory's reception was wonderful as well. I think this is the point of most weddings, right? The receptions are where everyone just gets to relax, eat, and have fun. Everyone remembers the beauty of the wedding and everyone remembers the food and fun. One thing unique to their reception was a photo booth. You know, the kind that you see in malls and such. What a great idea! Cory's sister had seen a photo booth at a friend's recent wedding and loved it so she and their brother paid for the photo booth as their wedding gift (quite expensive from what I've been told). The way it works is that you schedule the booth to be there, someone comes to set it up and run it, the machine takes four pictures of each group who enters, and then each group gets a set of the pictures (or more if wanted) to keep as well as the pictures being put immediately into a scrapbook in which the group can write messages to the newlyweds. There were props to play with in the pictures as well. I hope I'm describing this well. It was a wonderful idea and gave all the guests something fun to do and a chance to participate in this gift to Allie and Cory, all for one price and paid for fully. The photos are unlimited so some people returned often. Shane and Logan had at least three photo booth sessions and the girl running the booth even commented to us on how well behaved they were compared to most children she meets at the events she has done. This photo booth idea is fairly new and is popping up in the midwest and in some western states. There are none here yet so it's something I might consider doing in the future (as an addition to my photography businesses). The couple that owns the franchise in the Detroit area has 12 booths and hires college-aged girls with lots of energy to run the booths at wedding receptions, family reunions, high school reunions, parties, and other similar events.

Another highlight of the trip was meeting and mingling with Cory's family. We've known Cory for around two years now and he's really just blended right in with our family. Apparently Allie fits right into his as well! Cory's family were wonderful hosts for this event. As Allie has lived a few different places and didn't have a "home" city to have her wedding in, they did it at Cory's home instead. It was a great decision for them as the Detroit area has lots to offer and Lake Orion, where his family lives, is georgeous. His mother, father, brother, and sister welcomed us as if we were all family. We loved our time with them and they were even generous enough to bring us back to the hotel after we visited with them on Sunday and then to the early train on Monday. We hadn't rented a car because we knew we would just be carpooling everywhere before that anyway. They were great and didn't seem to mind doing this for us. We hope they consider visiting Kansas sometime in the future as we'd love to somehow repay their hospitality. They are a lot of fun too!

Wow! Long post! Other than the wedding-related activities the boys and Shaun went to Bass Pro Shop and bought baby items- a camo onesy, adorable camo shoes, a camo pacifier, and a camo bottle (see the pattern?). This had been planned before getting there and they had fun with it. I stayed at the hotel and rested while they did their baby shopping and then we went together to the nearby Rainforest Cafe and then Shaun and I hung out by the hotel pool and watched the boys play.

We returned to Topeka around 1 this morning and then to Manhattan about 2:30. I have today off to catch up on laundry created by the trip and to get rested before returning to normal crazy life as we know it.

That pretty much sums it up! :) One day maybe I'll try to do several short posts. What can I say? I love to write and tell others about our fun life.