Vacation 2011: Philadelphia

One of the things that Donald and I were looking forward to was going to Philadelphia with Jackie and Jared for two days! Sunday after church we loaded up and hit the road! We stayed in Cherry Hill, New Jersey and drove to Philly early the next morning!

We got there and checked into our hotel and then we went looking for somewhere to eat dinner.  We had picked an Italian restaurant from a bunch of menus that we got from the lobby.  However when we arrived there it was a little, whats the best word, sketch! I am sure it was a good place to eat, but we were a little nervous! So we happened upon another local place to eat that look a little more established- The Cherry Hill Diner! It was very good!

Monday morning we woke up bright and early and made our way to Philly for our first, and most important, stop of the day, which also happens to be the whole reason for the trip- the Rocky Balboa statue and steps! (Now I know those steps are not actually "the Rocky steps", but to two Rocky Balboa loving boys, they are!)

Now it was about this time that the batteries in my camera began to die.  So, my camera never actually took any pictures of them running up the steps, but thankfully Jackie's did and I just stole them from her Facebook page! Ha! (Thanks Jackie!) Thankfully we were able to get batteries at the gift shop so my camera wasn't out for too long!

After the steps we walk over to see a statue of Abraham Lincoln (Jared's favorite President).

He was in awe!

We then made our over to the Historical district where we got to see the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall.

Independence Hall

But most importantly we found pretzel carts! They were amazingly good and worth all $0.50! That's right they were only $0.50 each! We stopped at the same cart when we got there and then again when we left!

Overall we had a GREAT trip and a GREAT time visiting with Jackie and Jared!

Vacation 2011: Preaching

Not only was Donald a groomsman in Kari and Matt's wedding, but they also asked him to preach a Wedding Message.  He gave an awesome message on what a marriage covenant is and how this covenant, like all other covenants He makes, demonstrates His love for His people. 

On Sunday, Donald got to preach at our church back home.  I had every intention of bringing my camera with me and snapping a few pictures of him while he was up there, but apparently my Matron of Honor duties were not officially over and I got to church as he was walking up to the pulpit and I forgot my camera.

For that message he preached about running the race for Christ and used Philippians 3:12-14 which says:

"Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.  Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."   

But the most awesome thing happened, during the invitation a man came forward and gave his life to Christ! Putting his trust in the one who saves! It was awesome to see how God was working through Donald to help that man see his need for Christ.  Praise God!

P.S. The reason I was so late was because I had to meet Kari and Matt out near the Richmond airport to pick up Matt's tux so it could be returned.

I didn't get any pictures of Donald preaching, but I did manage to snap a few pictures of the 3 girls before church. They are getting so big!

This was them being silly!

Vacation 2011: K&M Wedding- Reception

Since Donald and I were both a part of the wedding we couldn't exactly take pictures during the ceremony and we didn't grab my camera during the first dance since we both had to be introduced with the wedding party.  But I did manage to grab my camera in time for the Father/Daughter dance and then all events following!

Kari and Matt were introduced as Mr. and Mrs. and then shared their first dance as husband and wife to "Smother Me" by The Used.  They were adorable and it is a sweet song. 
After the first dance we had lunch from Q's BBQ- BBQ sandwiches, potato salad, coleslaw, and baked beans! Yum!

After lunch Kari and Matt wanted to take some pictures with family members, I missed the first few because I was decorating their getaway car! But here are a few that our camera caught:

After all the pictures were taken we went back inside to watch the Father/Daughter dance.  Kari and Sean danced to "Ready, Set, Don't Go" by Billy Ray Cyrus.  It was a sweet moment.

After Kari and Sean danced, Matt and Kari had a Money Dance (where you pay to dance with the Bride and Groom).  This a small handful of those pictures.

After the Money Dance we did the toasts and cut the cake.  We didn't get any pictures of the toasts because, well I had the camera and I was giving one of the toasts.  They cut the cake and to my delight, they smashed it in each others faces! (I love when people do that!)

The Happy Couple after cleaning off all the cake!

Then they did the bouquet and garter toss.  Tobi caught the bouquet and Nathan caught the garter!

Then it was finally time to say goodbye to the newlyweds. We sent them off in a sea of bubbles!

It was such a GREAT day! The ceremony was beautiful and the reception was perfect! There is one funny story that I have to tell! During the Father/Daughter and Money Dances we had a real wedding CRASHER enter the reception.  She came in and got a drink and then asked the caters for a plate of food and they gave it to her! She watched a few of the dances and even danced and clapped herself.  Donald saw her come in and he kept an eye on her. Ha! It was too funny!

P.S. Sorry this was such a long post, but there were too many pictures that I wanted to share!

Vacation 2011: K&M Wedding- Rehearsal & Rehearsal Dinner

After our bellies were full and our nails were pretty we headed down to Maymont for the rehearsal!

There is only a few things you can say about a rehearsal for a wedding- we just rehearsed! Here are some pictures:

For the rehearsal dinner we went to Roma Italian Restaurant. It was very good! Here are some pictures: