To Montreal and Back

Caleb spent a few weeks living in Montreal in June (he was supposed to be there all summer, but that's a long story and is really Caleb's tale to tell).  When we knew he was going to be returning to Knoxville, Terry and I flew up there to meet him and drive back with him.  I was excited to see where he was living.

Here's the view from outside his apartment

And here's the view from inside

We only had one day there, so he gave us a foodie tour of Montreal (this was basically the way I gained all the weight I had lost for Rebecca's wedding in one weekend).  We started out by walking to the closest subway stop:

Caleb told us that one thing he had learned was how he'd really prefer to live in a city where he could drive around instead of taking public transportation.  

Next we visited the old part of the city:

He took us to eat the locally favorite dish - poutine - which is french fries topped with cheese curds and brown gravy.  Even though I like those items individually, I was not a fan of the combination.

He also took us for dipped ice cream at La Diperie (a big thumbs up!) at  just one block from his apartment.  The next morning we went to eat at L'Avenue.  This was probably the biggest and best breakfast I have ever eaten!  

Next we jumped in the car and headed back to the U.S.A.  First stop, The Adirondacks.

Caleb decided that he wanted to return via Scranton, of "The Office" fame.  We enjoyed our time in the "Electric City" - eating another enormous meal at an Italian restaurant there.  We took a lovely walk while waiting for our dinner reservation.

And last, but not least, we stopped to see the newlyweds in Virginia and had some fun hiking down by the river.

Top Twenty Photos

It's so hard to choose, but here are my top twenty favorite photos from the day.  I will let the photos speak for themselves.

Rehearsal Dinner

Rebecca and Joseph's rehearsal dinner was held at the Concord Yacht Club thanks to some friends of ours who are members there and agreed to sponsor us.  Both of our families have spent so much time with water sports that it seemed fitting.

When we arrived for the dinner, they had discovered that the air-conditioning had just gone out.  We waited and took lots of photos in the meantime.

It finally cooled off, Terry blessed the couple, and we settled down to the wonderful BBQ dinner that Joseph's parents had catered for us.

Then came the fun and the tears as we all shared memories and gave some words of love and advice.  

I share some highlights of this part below only in case there are some who know us well enough to enjoy our intimate moments.  

Wedding Day Prep

The day before Rebecca and Joseph's wedding was SO MUCH FUN!  Friends and family started arriving in town, and everything was suddenly REAL.

My friend Cathy picked up the buckets of wildflowers on her way into town and helped us arrange the beautiful bouquets.

We set up the reception, and the dance floor and chairs arrived:

We were still hoping for an outdoor ceremony at this time even though there was some rain in the forecast.  Rebecca was nervous and almost just moved things indoors, but I convinced her that it was not that much trouble to have chairs set up indoors as well so that we could move things if it came to that.  Praise the Lord it did not!  I had been praying about this for months - asking God in his lovingkindness to command the weather for us according to this passage:

"With moisture He loads the thick cloud; He disperses the clouds of His lightning.  And it changes direction, turning around by His guidance, that it may do whatever He commands it on the face of the inhabited earth, whether for correction, or for His world, or for lovingkindness.  " Job 37: 11-13

Then we had the rehearsal where everybody learned where to stand (and put golf tees in the ground to mark their spots), how to do their parts, and how to smile for the camera!