Josh Bayer's Wedding

Well, it's the last day of September and definitely feels like fall around here.

Last night the kids and I walked up to our neighbor's farm to get a bale of hay and some apples. Michael pulled the "big" wagon, while Emma attached two ribbons to the little wagon so her and Leila could both pull it (prior to that there'd been  "debate" as to who would get to pull the little wagon).

We made a scarecrow for the front of the house. He's kind of goofy-looking and I don't think he scares many birds, but he does seem to have taken a liking to Leila and Emma.

There's a story behind that big pumpkin Michael's standing on.

Emma and I went to a farmer's market in Colfax. We fell in love with a big round pumpkin that seemed a steal for only $8. With help from a couple of teenagers at the market, we were able to load the pumpkin onto the open trunk of our car. I say "onto" because it was too big to actually fit inside the trunk, so we wedged it in there pretty good and crossed our fingers that it wouldn't fall out on the way home.

We had just about made it to our driveway when there was a big thud... the pumpkin had fallen INTO our trunk. At first I was just glad it hadn't smashed into a big orange mess on the road, but soon realized that it's presence in our trunk was now a problem... because how could I possibly lift that big pumpkin out by myself?

The kids and I spent about 20 minutes trying to figure out how to get the pumpkin out. Jon could have easily done the job, but he's still in Colorado and won't be home for a few weeks yet. I had visions of the pumpkin rotting in the back of my car. I even wondered if I should chop it up with an ax so it could be taken out in pieces.

I racked my brain... who do I know well enough to call and ask for help? Who's strong and doesn't have a bad back yet? And then it hit me... Jonathan-!

I made the phonecall, and Jonathan came over after work, still wearing dress clothes and a tie from his new sales job at AT&T. He easily lifted the pumpkin up out of the trunk and helped me position it in front of the house. We fed him supper and he played chess and catch with the kids. As you can see, Michael was very pleased with his big brother.

Jonathan and Lindsey found out a few weeks ago they're expecting a boy. The baby's due the end of January, so Susan and I are talking about co-hosting a baby shower for Lindsey in December, when Susan comes home for Christmas. Stay tuned for more info on that!

This weekend I took the kids over to my sister-in-law Sally's house in Holcombe. She had agreed to watch them for me so I could attend my cousin Josh's wedding in Wausau.

Josh's parents are my Uncle David and Aunt Mary Pat. Here they are at right, with their grandson Jude. Jude is their daughter Jenny's son.

Uncle David is my mother's youngest brother, only sixteen years older than me. He was always the "cool" uncle. It was a lot of fun catching up with him and his family.

Here's me and Uncle David with his other grandchild, Claire. She's only three months old and cute as a button.

The wedding was held outside, and luckily the weather cooperated. It was a beautiful fall day. As we sat and watched Josh and Hilary say their vows, we could look around and see blue skies, colorful leaves and rolling farmland.

 Josh and Hilary were married under a white gazebo in a simple and personalized ceremony. A violin and cello provided the music. We were very impressed with the young relative of Hilary's who did a reading at the wedding.

My brother Bob, sister Laurie, and brother John, as well as my parents, also attended the wedding. It was good catching up with them as well as seeing other relatives from my mom's side of the family that we haven't seen very often in recent years.



Here's my mom with her brother Don. Something about his eyes in this picture reminds me of his nephew, my own brother Don.



At right is my cousin Mitch and his wife, Mary. Mitch is the son of my mom's brother Jim, who passed away a few years ago. It was really great talking to both of them. Mary suggested that next year we have a Bayer family reunion at their house. I hope we do; it's so easy to let the years fly by and lose touch with those special people we share memories with.

 

Another cousin we saw at the wedding was Mitch's sister Christy. Here's Christy and her husband.

 

It was great talking to Christy, too. I don't know if we've ever really had a conversation; she's a bit older and not someone I'd gotten to spend much time with while growing up. But at the wedding I realized she was very warm and interesting to talk to, and that we have things in common. 

 

I should mention that before the wedding started there was a memorial for the people from Josh and Hilary's families who'd passed away; Josh and Hilary wanted them there in spirit. Different people from each family were asked to carry up a flower for the deceased relative. It was a really nice touch that added a lot of meaning for the families, I think.

One snappy little detail from the wedding was that the groom and his attendents wore hats (though not during the ceremony). I thought it added some old world charm... you can definitely see the Italian charisma in Josh's sparkling dark eyes, black hair, and olive complexion.

Of course, he's also part native American on his mom's side, so we can't take all the credit for his dark good looks!



After the wedding we headed back to Rhinelander, to spend the night at Mom and Dad's. It was a good opportunity to see their fall color; they're always about a week ahead of us in seasonal changes, so the color was glorious. We tend to be more rusty and golden, here in Colfax, with all of our oak trees, but Mom and Dad have lots of red maple and yellow birch, so the colors seem more dramatic.

John, Laurie, Mom and I took a walk in the woods and snapped lots of pictures of the fall color (and each other). Of course, John always has to ham it up a little.

Well, I'll end on that note. Happy Last Day of September!!!