A Michigan Adventure for a Wedding...

Yep, we had a wedding. Our Katelyn Nicole tied the not with Drew Roper. Katelyn is our oldest grandmonsters. She and Drew have been living together for some time and determined they would make it legal.  We drove to Michigan Thursday. Stopped in Dundee to orient Aubrey in a REALLY BIG Cabela's. Stopped in Chelsea to pick up Jake. Stopped along the way to have dinner (Jake's treat) at a Subway. Our sandwiches were prepared by a Daniel Drysdale look-alike. Daniel is our nephew, the kids cousin, and works in food services in Utah. Just a little ironic and very amusing to have his look-alike serve us. On to Muskegon to help with the finishing touches on our KTNickles wedding.

The wedding was at 3:45 at the Courthouse in Muskegon, Michigan. Those invited to attend were parents and grandparents of the bride and groom. Here are pictures of the wedding portion of the day. 

Todd loves this step-daughter and she thinks of him as a father. She calls him Dad and Poppy. This picture is very tender to me. 

We got to the Courthouse before Drew and his mom. The bride was very happy to see the groom arrive.

I would say this is one brave groom allowing his soon-to-be mum-in-law put on his boutonniere. 

Nissa & Todd Tyler, dad and mom of the bride.

Claude, Sandi and Jake Christensen, parents and brother of Nissa Tyler. Grandparents and uncle of the bride.

The bride's feet. Something blue was her toenails!!! 

Katelyn Nicole Squires and Drew Roper in the judges chambers before saying "I Do". 

The bride, Katelyn Nicole Squires.

The groom, Drew Roper. 

The rings. 

The classic picture of Claude hugging this precious grandmonster. I love these pictures and Katelyn was so happy I got another. We have them of him at her graduations and baptism and other things. She collects pictures of her Grandfather and the love he has for her. 

I was the pushy Gramma and asked the judge if I could stand at the front and take pictures. He said that was fine as long as he wasn't in any of them. It was nice to get the pictures of the ceremony for Katelyn and Drew. Sometimes a Gramma just has to be a little pushy. 

Katelyn has one of my genes coursing through her veins. I really like casual and simple. Katelyn wanted that for a reception following the wedding. So Todd rented a gazebo by Lake Michigan and made pulled pork barbecue. And we all totally enjoyed a picnic reception. Here are a few pictures.

Drew & Katelyn cutting the wedding cake. I have video of her smashing poor Drew's face really, really well with cake. They laughed and had a good time with that cake experience. The cake was made for Katelyn by a dear friend. It has a picture of Drew and Katelyn in the lower corner and a picture of 'Sweet Pea' in the top corner. There is a Red Wings logo on the cake as Drew is a HUGE Red Wings fan. 

Took lots of family pictures. Drew's parents are divorced. His grandparents on his father's side arrived from Texas just in time to witness the wedding and attend the reception. Drew had not seen these grandparents since 2009. It was important that they have family pictures since they are so separated and so spread out. We took all the pictures of his family first. His mother, her parents and her siblings were there. Then Drew's dad and his spouses and the kids from them with his father and mother. Then we moved on to our family pictures. Those are the ones I'll post.

L-R: Mitch Tyler, Aubrey Thompson, Derrick Tyler, Drew Roper, Katelyn Roper, Nissa Tyler & Todd Tyler. 

L-R: Jake Christensen, Sandi Christensen, Claude Christensen, Drew Roper, Katelyn Roper, Aubrey Thompson, Nissa Tyler, Todd Tyler, Mitch Tyler & Derrick Tyler 

L-R: Jake Christensen, Sandi Christensen, Claude Christensen & Nissa Tyler. We are missing Andie Marx, our middle child and other daughter in this picture. I asked Jake if he could Photoshop Andie into the picture. He asked me what color light sabre she should have. Goodness. We are Star Wars fans from when it first came out. Love my family! 

Jake, Claude and I took a stroll as Drew's family was leaving over the dune to view Lake Michigan. Such a lovely view. I managed to sneak a picture of my boys, Jacob and Claude. 

Clean up took place and then home to the Tyler's to put everything away. Katelyn stayed with us for a few hours while Drew helped set up for another party with their friends to celebrate the next night. The girls, Aubrey and Katelyn, asked their mom to play the piano for them. They did some music together. They even had me video the three of them singing "How Great Thou Art" to take back to Papa. When they finished, Nissa came back into the dining room and Todd looked at her and said, "You're not through yet are you?" She asked him if he wanted her to play more. He said he did and she mentioned a song he likes.  Next thing I knew, their family was in the room with the piano. Katelyn had been sleeping in there on the air mattress. Todd joined the girls and Nissa played the piano. (Aubrey, Katelyn, Todd, Sadie the dog, and Nissa)  How precious is that moment in time?!?! 

Saturday Nissa and Todd had to work. The rest of us slept in and then met up at the Tyler home. Claude and I took the kids to Pita Place for our ritual falafel/gyro run. A trip to Muskegon must include at least one stop at the Pita Place. So very yummy!! 

In the evening, Nissa and Todd joined us for dinner at the Pizza Ranch. Drew and Katelyn went off to celebrate their nuptials with friends. Todd led the way and we drove to Whitehall, a little north of Muskegon. At Whitehall there is a big lake separated by a thin strip of land from Lake Michigan. A channel has been dug through this narrow bit of land so that boats can enjoy the lake as well as Lake Michigan. There is a long pier on each side of the channel going out into Lake Michigan. There is also a lighthouse there purported to be haunted. We did not stay long enough to verify this fact. We did watch the sunset and totally enjoyed the evening on the pier.

Katelyn and Drew had a nice wedding and reception done just to their liking and accommodating all those attending as best they could.  We are very grateful we could be there for them. 

There was much concern through the weekend. Katelyn is pregnant with 'Sweet Pea'. Thursday she spent several hours in the emergency room. This was her second trip to an emergency room. She lost about a cup of blood and was not sure if she would carry the baby. The doctor's gave her the possible scenarios to watch for and told her to stay down and rest. Right. She is to get married, reception, party with friends, family in town. But we all had her take her to do list and, from a sitting position, point us in the right direction to get things done as she wanted with her not being on her feet. During the reception she was bleeding and concerned. Tears filled her eyes as she talked with her mom. Drew talked with her and they decided she should go back home with Nissa and Todd and he would set up for their part with friends the next night. If she was still bleeding after he set up, then he would take her to the emergency room. Fortunately she slowed down and they felt like a night of sleep at home would help. Katelyn has lost 10-15 pounds and was not keeping food down or wanting anything to eat. It did my heart so much good to see her begin to eat again while we were there. She first craved cookie dough. I found the recipe for a cookie dough Claude and I made with no eggs but using bananas. Aubrey and I put it together. It only makes a batch big enough for a dozen or so cookies. Katelyn ate most of that. When we went to the Pizza Ranch she had some pizza and then ate mashed potatoes and gravy. Yeah!! Her appetite is still a bit iffy but in a more normal way for a pregnancy. She is doing well and being careful. The doctor's have declared her high risk and will watch her closely. For now, she is good.

What a full weekend. Jake was dropped off in Chelsea on Sunday after having a nice lunch with him. Then Claude had us home by 7:30pm. It was great to be with family and celebrate the marriage of Drew and Katelyn. They truly were happy with their special day...weekend.