Brent and Kristen's Wedding

This last week here was SO beautiful... a real "spring break" for those of us who can't hop into a plane and fly somewhere tropical. Every day hit the 60 degree mark. For Wisconsin in March, that's extremely nice weather.

Of course there's a chance we'll become a deep freeze again: "March is the snowiest month." But when it's nice for this long (a whole week!), that turn of events becomes hard to imagine. I mean, wearing sandals and capris, the long underwear tucked WAAAY back in the closet, I am firmly committed to optimism.

It was cooler over the weekend, but still decent, with plenty of sunshine. We raked the front yard and swept the decks off. I moved the wicker chairs outside and carried houseplants to the green house.

It was actually fun raking mulch off the strawberry bed at the front of the house. Underneath the mulch were small green strawberry plants, just waiting for sun. It may take a few months, but blossoms and berries will come next.

I couldn't wait for Jon to come home this weekend-- last time he was here there was about two feet of snow on the ground. I knew he'd enjoy walking around the bare yard and seeing which flowers were sending up shoots as much as I. I wanted him to see how the chickens were everywhere again (they add a lot of life-- and poop-- to our yard).

Jon had hoped to get home early on Friday, but since he was coming for an extended weekend (he had Monday off, too) there was a long list of things he had to finish at work before he could leave for home. So it was well after dark before he pulled into our driveway.


But he made it home in plenty of time for the main event of the weekend-- Brent and Kristen's wedding on Saturday.

The wedding was held at Our Savior's Lutheran Church in Cornell... the little family church just a block away from Jon's parents' house, where all kinds of Hurlburt family baptisms, weddings, and so on have been held over the years.

The wedding itself was a small gathering, with just immediate family present.

I thought there was a relaxed, comfortable feeling to this wedding. There didn't seem to be any of the excessive formality or tension that you see at so many weddings.

I'll venture the opinion that the relaxed tone of their wedding has a lot to do with how Brent and Kristen are as a couple. They found each other later in life. They know who they are and what they want. They are not in a power struggle. They keep it simple, enjoy one another, and laugh when a ridiculous situation presents itself. They keep busy, share common interests, and have a healthy outward focus.

Kristen the Bride was quietly confident, warm and gracious. Brent the Groom was maybe a little nervous but mostly really, really happy.

We wish them the best.


One interesting thing about the wedding was that it was conducted by the church's brand-new pastor (and was, I think, the pastor's first wedding ever).

Above right: Mark, Phil, Bud, Jane, Kristen, Ann, Brent, Sally, Eric, and Jon.

(I have a somewhat wobbly video of the Hurlburts posing for this photo at the end of my blog, if you want to check that out).


Because the Hurlburt family is so large and the church so small, the kids stayed with a babysitter during the wedding. They had a good time with her and their cousin Sam, who helped take them outdoors to play.

Since Emma was all dressed up and willing to pose for the camera, I took a few "glamor shots" of her, which I'll post here. Guess that's as good a way to end this blog as any!











Hurlburt Family at Brent's Wedding