Wedding Weekend!!!

The whole Moody family

The four of us dressed to impress

The boys wandering before they have to sit

The beautiful newly weds!!

I have waited to make this post because I didn't know where to begin. Colin said just start from the beginning, so here goes.


The weekend began Thursday. It was CRAZY!!! Colin was at work and I was in charge of packing. This would have been much easier if it weren't for the changing weather. There was one point in time snow was forecast for the area the outdoor wedding was located. By the time Colin returned home, the pickup was loaded and we were off to Cody to celebrate my mother in laws birthday. We arrived to find that Colin's little brother and some of his friends were there. There was a little time to visit before that crowd left for a bachelor party camping trip. After they left we had a gift opening session and took some time to reflect. It was a very relaxing break before the beginning of "WEDDING WEEKEND ADVENTURE".



Friday morning came in like a whirl wind. Connie, Jay, Colin, the boys and I ate right away before the camping crew arrived. I quickly prepared breakfast for them while Jay gathered everything for the wedding, Connie ironed (there was a mound of clothes to iron) and Colin took care of the little men. As soon as the camping crew ate Colin and I were off to the store to get groceries for our stay in MT. With a pickup loaded we were ready to set off to the Big Sky state.




The trip there was quite uneventful. It turns out that is the best way to have it. After doing a couple of loops out of town we found the location without directions. It was a few miles outside of Red Lodge and very beautiful. This was the calmest day of the weekend. We settled in and then went to explore town before the rehearsal and dinner.




Rehearsal was at the outdoor location with the stipulation if the weather was too bad it would be moved to the tent (reception location). It was obvious that no matter where the wedding was located it would be beautiful. Some of Brian and Cari's friends played music as people entered. It was amazing but we couldn't have even known how amazing it was until the next evening. Post rehearsal brought us to a dinner of vegetarian chili. Talk about good food. We ate like kings over the weekend. Jason was ready for bed right after dinner and we thought Jake would be too. Connie offered to watch the boys while we had fun with the wedding party. The beer on location ran out quickly so many of us headed to town for an experience we will never forget. Our first stop was pretty normal but then we moved on to another bar. As we walked in we witnessed a couple dancing. There moves included fake choking.... I don't even know how to go into more explanation other than it was very strange. As we were leaving Cari (the bride) nearly got hit by broken glass from a glass that the choking couple threw. It was quite back woods and obvious this was not our speed. Cari was the dd because she didn't want to drink too much before her big day so she brought three of us home. I returned to the Lodge and Colin still wasn't at the house we were staying in. After walking around in the dark I found him building a huge fire with Cari's brother. They ran out of beer so they decided a bigger fire was necessary. It was quite the sight. This is basically where our night came to an end. Colin and Dan put out the fire and while everyone else decided to go hot tubbing we made our way through the darkness to go to bed.




The next morning the sun came up over a cooler day... the wedding day. There was a thick cloud cover and a chill in the air. Colin and I had a golf date planned with mom and dad in town. Connie watched the kids while we got our game on. There is no doubt that we will not be confused for pros. The water was very hungry Saturday morning. It was a great time though. As soon as we finished we went out and got the kids to eat lunch with us in town. We ate at a place called the Kitchen and Wine Bar and it was such good food. I would go back to Red Lodge just to eat, not for the night life.




We quickly made our way out to the Lodge as soon as we finished lunch. It was time to get ready for the wedding. People were running around, getting dressed, and setting up. Just as the bridal party and parents gathered where the wedding was supposed to take place, it began to rain and rain and rain............. Most of the pictures were taken before it really started coming down. Then guests started showing up. At this point there were very dark clouds coming toward us. To protect the instruments and keep the guests dry Brian and Cari decided to move the wedding into the tent. It was a good thing since it was coming down so hard. The boys loaded all of the chairs and everything was moved down to the tent in a flash. It worked out so well. The tent was transformed into this beautiful retreat. The whole area glowed when it was raining outside. It was just beautiful. You will have to look at the pictures to really understand how perfect everything was. Cari looked like an angel and everything fell into place.




The reception was full of tasty food, a lot of dancing, and great company. We had so much fun. There was one point when Jason told me he had to go potty. We ran outside and saw some flowers that were just asking for him to pee on them. So he starts peeing and then says... Mom, these flowers sure are pretty.... I said yes they are....... He peed some more and then after thinking for a few moments said... They are going to stink.... That boy is a nut. We had to end our night fairly early. Jason told dad that there were only old people there so it was time to go. He was quite tired so we made our way back up to the house and put him down. Jake didn't give in right away, but was quite tired as well.



After we left the reception it really picked up. The crowd picked up Brian and Cari and passed them over their heads dancing. It was quite the sight and we have a few pictures of it. Everyone enjoyed themselves. To end the night Brian and Cari rode of into the night on a bicycle while their friends sang Sweet Caroline. A perfect end to a night that came straight out of a story book. The wedding party then gathered at the cook house with the remainder of the beer and danced late into the night. All of them can dance too. It was just so much fun.



The next morning was pretty calm. We loaded our stuff and went to the cook house to eat. Connie and Jay once again out did themselves with biscuits and gravy. We visited with family and said our goodbyes... and ended the event with the traditional kids chasing the chicken. It might not have been tradition before this, but when a random chicken showed up to breakfast, we knew that this would have to become the norm.



As we were leaving we decided to go the scenic rout home. We went up through the Beartooths up into the clouds and snow. It was a lovely trip and was going so well until we were almost through sunlight when Jason said he had goo in his mouth. His face was pale and he was feeling very very bad. This was our first experience with car sickness. We parked on the side of the road and took everything out of the pickup, stripped Jason down and used many water bottles just to make the rest of our trip tolerable and less stinky. It was a long stop because there was a lot of cleaning to do but Jason seemed to be doing much better after our stop. We made our way home as quickly as possible after this stop. I guess that winding road was a little too much for our little man.



We made it home last night to two very happy dogs and warm beds. It was a wonderful weekend that we will never forget. Thank you to everyone who made it possible. Congratulations to Brian and Cari as well. I will post more excitement soon... we always have some and now we have to start thinking about working on the playground. Have a great week everyone!!!




You can find more pics of the wedding and some from the last week here. The boots Cari is wearing were Grandma Moody's. My first quilt is in one of the pics.





Enjoy!!!