MY GRANDDAUGHTER'S WEDDING

 Such a range of emotion has flooded over me since learning of her plans to wed. I was there when she was born and saw the delight in her parents faces as they gazed lovingly at their first little girl.  I watched her grow year by year into a lovely young woman, always respectful and always a total delight to all who know her. 
Her wedding took place in the Cascade Mountains in Eastern Washington. We live in the far western part of the state.

 My daughter Cyndi drove and I rode shotgun! LOL Her dad and his wife led the way. We went as a caravan incase anyone had trouble. We had to go over a pass and  there is usually a lot of snow on the roads. As we started out Cyndi heard an unusual sound coming from her engine so her dad checked it out and asked for a bar of soap, which I had packed not expecting it would be used for car repairs.  He used it to lubricate a belt and the noise was gone and we were on our way. We stopped at the small community of Sultan for lunch then continued our journey. It wasn't long before there was snow alongside the highway. Before I continue I have to say there were a lot of prayers for a safe trip and no snow on the roads. Heavenly Father heard and blessed us with clear roads.

 We are heading into the little town of Plain, Washington near Leavenworth. See all the snow and notice how the Lord cleared the roads for us?
Along a back road in the beautiful Wenatchee National Forest is Plain so named because the Dunkards (Church of the Brethren) asked the post office for a plain name for their town!

 As we reached the town, the huge heaps of snow piled along the roads was a bit intimidating. We brought snow boots and warm winter coats and it's a good thing. Many of the homes we saw had snow half way up their windows. They had to dig out just to get out of their homes. What a job! Many had snow plows in the front of their four wheel drive pick up too and that would sure be handy in a place high in the mountains.

 Beaver Valley Lodge

I borrowed this shot from the net. We stayed at Beaver Valley Lodge and this is pretty much what it looked like with snow piled up all around and packed snow and ice on the driveways. It was beautiful outside and inside.

 After we checked in we all drove the short distance to Mountain Spring Lodge where the wedding would take place the following day. On the way I took a few pictures.  I didn't post a picture of of the lodge where the wedding took place but you can find it on the net. It is a beautiful, rustic lodge and perfect for the kind of wedding the kids wanted. We met some of the groom's family, visited, and had a delicious lasagna supper prepared by the bride's mother who does catering and does it very well I might add. 'Joanie Kate you never cease to amaze me!!! Love you sweetheart.'

 After a hearty breakfast the next morning Cyndi and I drove around to see the sights. Cyndi knew I had recharged all my camera batteries and had about three gig's to fill. LOL!!! Sorry honey girl. I hope I wasn't too much of a pain. She was so patient with me, stopping frequently and backing up just so I could get a good shot,  I just can't thank her enough!

 At Mountain Springs Lodge where the wedding took place this is the light in the main room. A lot of antlers made into a fixture. Pretty clever and certainly fit the lodge theme. It is really fun to see all the different decorating ideas. In the evening the lighting was dimmed so there was a golden glow over the entire room. Very romantic and warm feeling.

The Bride's brother and sister set the fire in the massive fireplace. The rock went all the way to the ceiling.

 This is what we saw a lot of when driving. Snow plowed off the roads was piled high alongside and sometimes was as high as the car. It looks dirty from the sand etc., spread on the road when it was covered with snow and ice.

The newlywed's had chosen white lily's for their flower . They were on the long mantle above the fireplace along with evergreen boughs and pine cones. It was just beautiful!

 The wedding cake was made by the bride's brother's girlfriend. Trena does fabulous work as you can see. The wedding goblets were first used in 1980 by the bride's parents. This was very touching as she lost her father when she was just seven years old. The wedding took place the day after what would have been the bride's father's 50th birthday.

 My grandson Ryan and me. He is the brides brother.

 The wedding theme was so like the bride, but also honored her father who was a woodsman and loved snow and all things woodsy. Here the guestbook sits on fluffy fiberfill that resembles snow, the sleigh holds cards and gives a hint of fun to come!

 In the evening after the wedding ceremony a supper was served. Here the tables were beautifully prepared and each guest knew where to sit because a place card with their name was tucked into a pine cone at their place. This was just precious! See how beautiful the birch centerpieces are? They were hollowed out in the center for candles and decorated with cedar boughs and pine cones. As you can see they were gorgeous! The Bride's family made these.

 These pictures are not in order. We had a sleigh ride 'before' dinner and it was awesome. It was funny too because the snow on the walk to the road where the sleigh's waited was not packed down very well and many of us fell through. It was a common and comical sight to see someone strolling along then have one leg sink to the knee or deeper in the snow. As far as I know no one actually fell but we sure got some laughs. It happened to me a few times too. Cyndi caught me before I became the oldest snow angel. HAHA

 There were two sleighs, each pulled by two horses. The sleighs each had six seats and each seat held four people. Both sleighs were full of well wrapped and very excited people. I wore my winter coat with fur hood, snow boots and we had a blanket over us. I took some pictures but had to keep my camera under the blanket toward the end of the ride because it began to rain, and that rain was so cold!! It felt like ice drops! The ride was about 45 minutes long and we went up and down hills too. It sort of felt like one of the rides at 'Dizzy' Land. Wonderful fun. Try it!

 After the sleigh ride, dinner, lots of toasts and a nice visit with the guests we got back to the lodge and turned up the heat and settled into our warm beds with TV, magazines, fruit and lots of chocolate. Boy did we ever pamper ourselves and what fun. we had.

 Evening at the little town of Plain, Washington was cold and a mist settled over the foothills giving the town a peaceful and sleepy look. It seemed to be saying goodbye. 

Next morning we slowly woke up then did our hair and makeup, packed up and loaded the car then headed to the hardware store where the espresso was waiting. We weren't hungry enough for breakfast so drove on to the dear little town of Leavenworth, enjoying the snowy scenery on the way. This is one of the first sights we saw there. I thought it was funny since the sign says 'parking' but the lot is piled higher than our car with snow.

Leavenworth is a beautiful Alpine Bavarian village nestled in the east side of the Cascade Mountains. My pictures do not begin to do it justice. You can learn about it here, http://www.leavenworth.org/modules/pages/index.php?pageid=1
It was pouring rain when we parked and went looking for shops and a cafe to have breakfast. We ended up going back to the car and finding a Mc*D's and got a breakfast sandwich instead. The heater in the car was like heaven after trudging in the cold rain.

     As we left Leavenworth the snowy mountains were pretty much surrounding us. We had a long drive over Steven's Pass. I had made a couple Cd's with peaceful instrumental music for us to listen too and I can't tell you how glad I am. It was just perfect for what we were about to see. As we drove through the mountains, the scenery was like something in a magazine. The evergreen trees stood strong and unyielding to the heavy snow that severely bent branches, the creeks and rivuletts meandered majestically through the marshmallow snow, stumps from fallen trees were piled with snowy statues and the entire atmosphere was of peace. The music was absolutely perfect.
I wondered about the first travelers here and how they found their way through thick forests, and how did they forge the raging river. I visualized tired horses and battered wagons driven by weary men and women, with more determination than we will ever know and snuggled deeper into my warm coat. 
     Icicles hung like jagged curtains from sheer cliffs, mud slides and small avalanches teased the roadway, and water was running like streams in some areas of the road. The river raged alongside the highway, splashing twelve feet or more high in places. Trees, logs and small shrubs were being ripped from the river banks and tossed like toothpicks in the violent, muddy water.  Thank the Lord we had no problems but I heard later that the highway was closed because of flooding. There were lots of precious loved ones praying for us.
Interesting that I was not concerned or frightened at all. I thought it was wonderful and exciting. I am changing. There was a time I would have been so scared I would have wet myself!
    All in all it was a wonderful trip. The wedding was beautiful, our accommodation's were comfortable and I loved it all. I wonder where the next wedding will be?



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