I am currently in South America and scheduled this to post while I'm away - enjoy.....
Over a month ago, we left home to begin our trek to Wisconsin for
Aaron and Joyce's Wedding. We left several days early and vacationed through some new territory. We had a wonderful time touring old landmarks (which included LOTS of walking) and meeting up with good friends! Once arrived in Wisconsin, we had a lot of preparations to complete for the Rehearsal Dinner and then the Wedding itself. Wish it could've lasted longer, but regardless of the length of time spent, it was definitely wonderful.
After a first day driving all the way to South Dakota, we spent a relaxing evening at our motel - which included a "mini-waterpark" {slides, waterguns, etc.}. Then we were up and on our way next
morning. First stop: DeSmet and all things Laura Ingalls Wilder. :-)
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| The Ingalls Homestead - on the left, my siblings check out the well Pa dug |
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| We walked a LONG way to see this church |
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| Wagon Rides |
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| Here we pose by the Cottonwoods that Pa planted {If you've read the Little House books, you know where these are} |
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| A monument to the Ingalls Family - True Pioneers |
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| Pa, Ma, Mary & Carrie's graves at the DeSmet Cemetery |
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| The School Laura & Carrie attended in DeSmet - where Almanzo's sister Eliza Jane taught. We also toured the Surveyor's House, and the final home of Ma & Pa in DeSmet, but were not allowed to take pictures inside. |
After we finished, we drove on to Minnesota where we stayed the night - and I found that I don't like roads in that part of the Country. Speed Limits of 55mph get old really fast. After a good night's rest, we drove the 30 minutes on to Walnut Grove and the Dugout Site of Laura Ingalls Wilder.
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| Asa as Charles Ingalls - Caroline as Caroline Ingalls - Amelia as Mary Amelia Ingalls - Laura as Laura Ingalls |
Playing "Pooh-sticks" - LOL
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This big rock was most likely the big rock Mary & Laura raced across - side-by-side.
Time has a way of changing things a bit! |
After finishing in Walnut Grove, we made our way to Bloomington, Minnesota and the Mall of America. Catching the shuttle at our motel, we spent the entire afternoon & evening there. It was so fun!
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| Those "paintings" behind them are actually lego mosaics! |
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| We met up with our friend Meagan for supper and then spent the rest of the evening chatting and catching up. I can't wait to spend three weeks with Meagan in Ecuador! |
Next day we were on our way to Wisconsin and super excited about the Wedding. After arriving around noon on Thursday, we spent the afternoon shopping, picking up Aunt Donna from the airport and cooking for the Rehearsal Dinner. Friday was spent decorating the Rehearsal Dinner venue and more cooking and prep. The location was gorgeous and we loved the end result.
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| Norwood Pines Supper Club in Minocqua, Wisconsin |
Then of course, the wedding followed the next day. And it was amazing - what a great day! Then we had a long drive home, and it was right back to work. Mostly preparing for Aaron and Joyce's Oklahoma Reception which was held the 30th. We wanted to give an opportunity for anyone who could not attend the wedding {since it was so far away!} to be able to meet and congratulate the couple. We had about 100 people come to the reception - all of whom {save two} had been unable to go the wedding, so we were glad we had put it on.
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| We held the reception at Camp Clearview |
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| We showed the wedding video in the chapel |
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| We served refreshments in the Multi-purpose building {it still needs some work, but it's getting there!) |
