Heading toward Gloucester

What an amazing week!Sunday nightI drove straight to my mother's house in preparation for my sister's wedding. Itwas a long drive, but beautiful. I was driving through little back roads

for an hour.

The only thing that

kept me company on

the road were the

bight yellow

signs of tru

cks tipping over because of how cu

rvy the roads were. And I was in Brandy (my truck) no less. It was fun. I like the challenge of driving the truck through such crazy places.

And I'd done it plenty of times before, so I knew what to expect and that a truck was safe. It was Rt. 8, through MA and upstate CT (before it becomes a highway) for those of you that know that area. I drove past Lenox (my favorite

area) and Kripalu (my Yoga center). And, it is so

lush out here! Even though it was pitch black - the road was beautiful with trees and the little river next to me.

As soon as I woke the next morning, I was set to work. My poor mother had to go in to the office for part of the day, so I got to working in the kitchen. I decided that I wanted to make the wedding cake and the meal following the ceremony, so I began as soon as I woke. Yum yum!

That evening, my sis, future bro-in-law, grandmother and uncle arrived. I finished off the cake and the ladies headed out to dinner. My mother's closest friend took us out for dinner and Art, my step-father through a bachelor party for Jonathan. J is from England and has never been to the Eastern US, so we introduced him to everyone. After a fabulous dinner in Litchfield, the ladies headed back to the house to find our bar packed with men - I don't think I've ever seen this house so packed with just men. It was amazing! We all caught up with the boys and then headed to bed to rest for the big day.

In the morning, we headed into the day full-blast. By Noon we were ready, with bouquets in hand. Abbey and I hopped on the neighbors boat and floated along the lake for a bit and headed in the direction of my mother's lake house. Along the way, neighbors came out to take pictures and watch the lovely ladies go by. It was very sweet. Once we arrived, Michael Buble playing in the background on the boat, my father took Abbey's hand and walked her off the plank and through the little family up the "aisle." Jonathan was waiting for her in front of our justice of peace, who was dressed like a Revolutionary soldier (ha!).

After the beautiful ceremony, we headed in for one of the best meals I've made. And then cut the wedding cake! :) The rest of the day we spent swimming in the lake and getting to know Jonathan. My father and younger sister had never met him before. Craziness!

It was truly a lovely day.

Wednesday I took Abbey and Jonathan to the ring shop so they could pick out their rings and we went shopping for beer and food for our party later on. We had the "reception" at 5pm, which was local friends that came over for a cook out. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and we drank lots of beer. Mike Gould, a good family friend, showed up to the party in his scuba diving suit - he came in on the water. It was hysterical.

Thursday, we went for a swim in the morning, and then I got in my truck with my sis and father and headed to Providence, RI, to drop off Z and pick up Giovanna at the bus station. It was fun travelling with the family in the truck. :)

Of course, we got stuck in traffic passing by Boston, but we made it to Gloucester and my father and I walked around the area. We had dinner at a Mexican restaurant and slept well in our big rental house. The few hours we had before set up, my father and I walked the town, visited the harbor and found an extremely old cemetery that we wandered around. My father is a genealogist, and absolutely loves cemeteries.

The event went smoothly. We were right beside the water, and it was a whole lot of fun having my Dad work for me. It's not often that happens. :) We had some really great staff working for us this weekend, and Dave was with us again. The weekend was pretty great.

Gosh, only 3 weeks left!