First of all, I want to say congratulations to my friends Nichole and Mike on their wedding this past Friday night! Nichole and I have been friends for years. She was in my wedding here and I had the privilege of being in her wedding and sharing her special day with her as well. I look forward to now being able to share another new step in our lives together as married women learning to be the wife that God intends for us to be and to support each other along the way. Congrats! So happy for you and may God bless you in this new stage in life.
Today was an absolutely beautiful fall day! Andrew and I were both home all day (for once) and had lots of time to do all kinds of chores around the house! I organized the pile of wedding supplies that were sitting in the corner of our garage staring me in the face every day, waiting for me to have a day off! Andrew on the other hand, worked outside cleaning up the multitude of fallen leaves and pine needles that we have accumulated on our roof top, gutters, and driveway. He bought himself a new toy (a blower / vacuum-mulcher) to help with this process and was excitedly showing me how it worked! So, I thought I would share his excitement with the rest of you all! :)
Gorgeous weather and lots and lots of sunshine! Couldn't have asked for anything better. We both LOVED it and would love to go back for another visit someday and may take time to travel around and see more of the state.
We left the night of our wedding and flew into LAX around midnight California time (which was 3AM Grand Rapids time). So, as you can imagine, we were exhausted. We booked a hotel room in LA for the night, just down the street from the airport, and then traveled the next day to our destination in Palm Springs, a 2 1/2 hour drive. Along the way, the scenery was beautiful, as we drove through the mountains to our resort. We also drove through Windy Valley where they have hundreds of wind turbines lined up in rows and on the mountain sides. It was interesting to see.
Downtown LA
Driving to Palm Springs
Windy Valley
Sunday was a relaxing day, while we wanted to make sure we still observed it as the Lord's Day, we listened to a couple sermons off from Sermon Audio. What did they do back when Sermon Audio wasn't around? I don't know, but it was nice to have it. Monday and Tuesday were relaxing days spent at the poolside, enjoying the sunshine. In the evenings we walked around the resort checking things out.
That's me in the chair, reading a book. :)
Wednesday we went on an adventuresome trail hike up a mountain. We packed a backpack with goodies - water bottles and granola bars, purchased a couple sun protecting hats, and made sure we were ready for this strenuous trek. It was only a 5 mile hike, can't be that bad, right? We have both climbed mountains before so we can do this! 2.5 hours later of beating down sun, we were running low on water, legs and feet were hurting, hitting every shaded spot possible, and we were STILL not to the top! We both had enough! It was time to turn around and head back down. We had no idea how much longer it would take for us to reach the top, or even how close we were to the top! The path snaked up the mountain side so bad that we couldn't see one end from the other and get a feel for distance! So, back down we went and 45 min later we were at our car. Amazing how much faster you go when you are heading down hill and knowing you are heading back to the car! It was quite the experience, but we both still enjoyed the opportunity we had to do it.
The winding road we drove to the lookout before stopping to hike
Sawmill Trail!
Taking a breather in the shade!
The road we drove in on, in the distance
Another breather...
Thursday and Friday ended up being additional relaxing days by the pool, as we didn't have the energy to do anything else, after what we did not Wednesday. Friday night, we headed back into LA and to the airport, as we were flying out later that night back to Grand Rapids.
I couldn't have asked for a better day, than the day of my wedding! No rain, not too hot, not too cool! Here are some snap shots throughout the day from our photographer.
We started the day with the girls getting up at 4am and meeting at the church at 5am for hair appointments. Many thought we were crazy to get up that early, but we did it!
The Ceremony started promptly at 10am with Andrew's dad officiating. A few extended family pictures after the ceremony and then on to the reception, which was held at Post Family Farm. Every one had a great time, as well as they Bride and Groom! :)
If any of you were wondering when you can come over for your sleep over or dinner, just give us a couple weeks notice and we will make sure to make room for you! ~ This is coming from the bingo game our MC's played on us. The winning ticket was a fancy dinner served at the Bergsma house and it lead to a weekend getaway at the Bergsma house! Guess who won? EVERYONE! Yes, I said everyone who was at the reception! Can we borrow anyone's house for that weekend, 'cuz ours just isn't big enough to hold 150 people? Regardless, I believe everyone enjoyed the game! You all are still welcome to visit, just maybe one family at a time, ok? :)
