Friday, December 10th, I got up at the crack of dawn to catch my 6am flight to Chicago. I met up with my sisters, Erika and Andrea at the airport so that we could fly on the same connecting flight. We had just enough time to eat lunch at Wolfgang Puck's before boarding our small plane. The flight to Cedar Rapids only took 55 minutes. We were able to get the rental car quickly and we were on our way to Burlington (about 100 miles southeast of Cedar Rapids).
We arrived with some time to check into the Comfort Inn Suites, which had a beautifully decorated lobby (see last picture). We dropped our bags off, freshened up and were on our way to the church for the rehearsal dinner. My cousin's daughter, Elliemae was getting married and Erika had volunteered to decorate the church and reception area. Andrea and I were her helpers. Of course, we were also there to see our cousins!
Our cousin, Sally, walked up to us to greet us and we barely recognized her (she had just darkened her hair)and frankly with the darker hair she looks like Elliemae alot!
After the rehearsal, we went to Perkins with our cousins, Suzanne, Sally and Lyle along with Elliemae and Lyle's granddaughter, Harmony. Suzanne and her husband, Larry, had given us a gift card to pay for dinner for us as a thank you for helping. It was really nice!
The next morning we got up and went to the church to decorate. Here is the before picture:
Jennifer, one of the bridesmaids, was so helpful. She helped me put all of the sashes on the chairs and also helped with the centerpieces. Jennifer's mom, Pam, also was a huge help to us!
Here I am putting on a sash. As you can see, Erika (background right behind me) was directing all the decorating!
Here is the end result! Elliemae's theme was snowflakes and we were all pleased with how things turned up.
Here is a closeup of the centerpieces with the snowflake ornament favors. I had ordered those and was surprised at how well they turned out! Sometimes it's difficult to tell how they will be in person when you order online. I was happy.
Here is a closeup of the bridal table:
Here is the snowflake decorated cake. The baker came by and set it up. I have to tell you, it was the best wedding cake I have ever eaten! She also brought the traditional buttercream mints that are common in the midwest (I learned this when I was in my friend, Ginny's wedding...hers were shaped like roses). I thought I had taken a picture of the mints but I guess I didn't. They were snowflake shaped and were done in white, ice blue and dark blue.
Here is a closeup of the cake and cake topper:
Here is Larry walking his daughter down the aisle:
Here is the happy couple as they first greet eachother at the altar.
During the ceremony, Nick (the groom), took Elliemae's hand and kissed it. It was very touching. Later, he said that he had wanted to kiss her lips, but they weren't at that part yet, so he opted for her hand. It brought tears to many an eye.
Here we are with the bride and groom.
Here is a picture of my sisters and I with our cousins. From left to right: me, Andrea, Erika, Suzanne, Lyle and Sally.
This was during the latter part of the clean up process. Elliemae and Nick were able to get the church for free as long as it was put back to it's normal condition so everyone pitched in to help. It was decided that the ornaments used in the centerpieces and the favors would be given to the newlyweds so they would have something to put on their tree.
After everything was cleaned up, the six of us went to Bid Muddy's On the Mississippi for dinner. Andrea and I had gone there years ago for our birthday (ours are a day apart) so we wanted to go again. I discovered that they had frog legs on the menu, so I had to order them since I've been wanting to try them for years.
They taste like a mix between chicken and fish. Unfortunately they were so deep fried they were too oily for my taste. Lyle finished them off for me. I found out he used to go gigging for frogs all the time as a kid.
Since we were still dressed up, Andrea, Erika and I asked the hotel desk clerk to take our picture with the Christmas tree in the background.
We ended our night with a dip in the jacuzzi. All I can say, is Andrea went right in--she really can handle the hot water. Erika and I had to slowly ease in!
The next morning as we were about to load the car, we found out our flights were cancelled. We decided we should drive to Cedar Rapids and see if we can be rebooked on flights. We were helped by a nice gentleman named Jason and we thought we were all set to go when we were walking away, until he called our names again! Apparently, the flights he booked us on were cancelled too! So Phyllis helped us and we had to fly out at 7pm to Dallas and then fly to our ultimate destinations the following day.
We still had the rental car so we drove to downtown Cedar Rapids for lunch. We went to the Texas Roadhouse and had a great lunch! Then it was back to the airport to catch our flight.
I booked a room at a Marriot in Dallas where a friend was staying (that's how I found a good hotel). We met him for dessert in the lobby until we all started turning into pumpkins!
The next day we arrived at the airport just in time for our flights, except Erika had to wait for her flight for 4 hours (it was the only way). It was a wonderful trip. It was so nice to be able to spend some time with my sisters and get to see my cousins. :)
Here they all are:
Brian cooked the steaks and Scotti did the rice pilaf. I cooked the carrots and prepared the lobsters. Everyone said the lobsters were good (I personally do not like lobster...yep and I'm not a fan of apple pie...so un-American). 
After dinner the kids played for awhile. It was so adorable!
Kaylenie is so cute!
I had to cuddle with her!
Here is Rebecca, Erika, Brian and Kaylen before the kids had to go prepare for the Christmas play.
Here I am with my cute ornament. You can't see but it lights up! 
