We’re finally finished with February. In the spirit of appreciating the sweet because I’ve experienced the bitter, I’ve tired to tell myself that February makes me appreciate June more, but I’m thinking now that there is way too much February and not enough June. Do people who live in places like Tahiti not appreciate the year-round paradise they live in because they’ve never suffered through weeks of gloomy sub-zero weather? I don’t think so. At least the month ended with a great event.
Stacey and I left on Thursday morning, headed for Detroit and The Wedding. We drove through some snow, but it wasn’t too bad. We drove Kurt and Julie’s Yukon, which has 4-wheel drive, which was nice. We stopped in Cleveland to pick up Sasha, our friend from Russia, who came up from Pittsburgh on a Greyhound bus. We arrived in Detroit that night and checked into our motel. Other family members had arrived ahead of us and others continued to arrive after us on into the wee hours of Friday.
On Friday Sarah and Taah-shee went through the temple to receive their endowments. Stacey had prepared names for deceased members of Taah-shee’s family for the rest of us. It was nice to be in the temple with so many family members and to meet Taah-shee’s family and friends. More family arrived during the day on Friday. That night we had a Mexican fiesta at the motel catered by Sarah and Taah-shee’s favorite restaurant. It was delicious. After dinner we played games and visited.
 |
| The fiesta. |
 |
| Playing games. |
Meanwhile, back home in Pennsylvania – Daniel and Seth flew into Elmira on Wednesday night. The plan was for them to drive in the Subaru with Hannah, who stayed behind so she wouldn’t miss classes, down to Oil City on Friday and attend Josiah’s Regional Chorus concert then all of them would drive on Detroit. Well, despite using the GPS, Daniel, Seth, and Hannah got lost on the way to Oil City and were so late they completely missed the concert. They picked up Josiah and drove through the night and arrived in Detroit at 3:30 a.m. on Saturday.
Saturday was the big day. We all gathered at the Detroit Temple where Sarah and Taah-shee were sealed for time and eternity. After the sealing we took pictures around the temple. It was a cold day, but we managed to pose for pictures despite some shivering and numb hands and feet.
 |
| In the foyer of the Detroit Temple. |
 |
| Taah-shee and Sarah. |
 |
| Add caption |
 |
| The parents on both sides of the family. |
 |
| Sarah and Taah-shee with Sarah's grandparents (my parents). |
 |
| Our family. |
That afternoon we gathered for the wedding banquet at the Courthouse Grill. Due to a change in plans, Sarah ended up making her own wedding cake. She also made the desserts at the dessert table. We had a very nice meal, mingled and got to know everyone, and took a lot more photos.
 |
| The banquet room at the Courthouse Grill. |
 |
| The wedding cake. |
 |
| The dessert table. |
 |
| The newlyweds. |
 |
| The family. |
Saturday night, those of us staying at the motel gathered for another evening of games and visiting. Some of our group left that night to go home. There was a winter storm headed our way and we were worried about traveling. Most everyone planned to leave on Sunday, some by car, some by plane. A few were staying until Monday.
Stacey and our group originally planned to go to church on Sunday and then drive home, but with dire predictions of hazardous weather, we considered staying one more day and leaving on Monday. Sunday morning we made a hasty decision to leave immediately and try and beat the storm. We said our good-byes and headed for home. Stacey drove the Yukon with Hannah as copilot, I drove the Subaru with Josiah as copilot. The drive home was treacherous. It snowed the whole way. We saw a dozen or so accidents. It took us nine and a half hours. We got home just before 10:00 p.m.
So we’re home again. The wedding is over. Sarah and Taah-shee are somewhere (we’re not sure where) on their honeymoon. It was wonderful to have so much family together for such a happy event. It’s hard to settle back into the routine of things after so much fun and excitement. I miss having all that family around.
Now we have March ahead of us with the official beginning of spring quickly approaching, though that doesn’t mean much in reality. By the end of the month I will have some of my seeds started and that will help. In the meantime, we are bracing for yet another winter storm midweek. And so it goes.
P.S. I've posted a lot more photos on my facebook page.
