It Has Been A Whirlwind!

We've been at "Ketelsen East" for 2 weeks now, yet, only a couple posts.  No good excuse other than we've been busy!  Between family and friend time, and work on the house, there just aren't enough hours in the day.  I'm endeavoring to do better at bringing the blog up to date!
The big reason for coming up in July was for niece Sarah's wedding!  I look for almost any excuse to go to Iowa City, and the wedding was literally next door to the apartment where I lived for several years while finishing my upperclass coursework.  Melinda and I got to visit a few of the old haunts - tipped a beer over pizza (not literally!) at The Sanctuary, and had breakfast at The Hamburg Inn No. 2.  Don't forget we had our cat Scruffy with us, but mostly, he was happy staying at the room at Motel 6.

The wedding was great, but the reception...  It was held at a place 10 miles outside town called "The Celebration Barn".  A round domed barn, it was built for such celebrations, and while a search shows there are unhappy neighbors, it is a spectacular venue.  Besides the structure itself, milled from trees on the property, and various arches and native limestone structures, it is in a beautiful wooded area in rolling hills.  The surroundings, and of course, major life-events like this invite group photos, and besides various wedding party groups, my brothers and sisters had a group photo taken too.  I also took one of my brother and his wife taking shots of their kids.  Don't ask me why, but I liked the composition, even though you can't see the grownup's faces!

Yes, I've got a camera and took lots of photos, but there was also a professional working the event, so I stayed out of the way.  Given how our family is with pictures, I'm surprised I was about the only one with a camera!  While there were about 300 guests, the caterers were nearly invisible.  A buffet line appeared and we helped ourselves.  With the huge venue, it was difficult to show it properly - shown here is a panorama put together with 3 photos showing the interior!

Of course, part of the joy of events and get-togethers like this is catching up with relatives, especially the youngsters.  Stars of this event for me was my great niece Alivia, and also 3 month old great niece Claire.  Shown here is Alivia chasing bubbles in the Barn's amphitheater, and baby Claire being held by niece (and bride) Sarah taken the next morning at the brunch/presents opening.