Aftermath - Big Fork to Missoula, October 15, 16

  October 15 - A long day! Jecca, Mark and Barbara got up at 4 a.m. to drive Jecca to the airport in Kalispell for a 6 a.m. flight. It was still dark when we got home.
    David came over by 9 and he and Nick went to the venue and gathered up the rental equipment and then sorted out the rest of the stuff that needed to be picked up and taken back to Missoula - flowers, centerpiece items, decorations, cards, presents, lots of leftover wine and beer..... Dennis took some to his house. David and Maura packed their cars to the top and used our truck as well. But, they finished by noon which was quite amazing.

   Michael, Nancy, Marwan and Shelley left around 10:30, although they had to come back after about 10 minutes as Shelley had forgotten a pair of boots. They drove to Gardiner, MT outside of Yellowstone for 4 nights. Their windshield broke and they had to replace their Jeep in Missoula, but managed to get to their rental before dark.
   Ted and Bev left the house around 10:30 for their flight. They took Ben with them as he was flying out at the same time, although to different places. Ted and Bev went to Seattle and on to Phoenix and then rented a car to drive to Sedona for a few days. Ben went home to Boston.
  We followed Dennis home in his truck and said goodbye to Jordan. We drove around and took a few photos out toward Echo.

   Last to leave was Nick. We took him to the airport around 4:30. Unfortunately, he was very delayed and would have missed his connection in Seattle except that that flight was also delayed. He took the red-eye into Boston, landing around 6 a.m. and then drove to N.H.
   We took the evening to relax, clean, eat leftover and sit in the sauna and decompress.
   October 16 -
 We puttered around the rental in the morning, taking our last sauna and doing the last-minute cleaning and chat with Ann Lamm, our landlady, a very nice woman.
    We drove into Big Fork and bought some t-shirts and then drove to Missoula. David and Maura seemed quite relaxed and happy to be back home and unpacked and with their pets. We went out to a restaurant called Eza  for a lovely dinner and then a relaxing and early-to-bed evening.

Big Fork Wedding Day - October 14!

  The morning started with a beautiful full moon for David and Maura's wedding day. And, the weather improved all day long and the sun was out for David and Maura by the time of the wedding which was magical with the amazing backdrop of the mountains along the Flathead River.

  We thought we'd all have to go in to do set-up for the wedding at the Diamond B venue, but we didn't. Jecca, Nick and Shelley got up early and went to breakfast at Echo Lake Cafe. David came over around 9:30 and he and Nick went to get rental equipment. Mark took Jecca over to the venue where she stayed ALL day, taking her wedding clothes with her. She did a variety of tasks including working with Cody to shore up and decorate the arbor for the wedding ceremony. She put decorations on the walls, set up tables/chairs.... She was a great best man for David.
   Mark, Barbara and Nick went in around 2 for photos. Nick had to give his belt up to David who forgot his.
   The floral centerpieces looked beautiful. The corsages and boutinnieres were also dried flowers. Jordan was Maura's Best Attendant and Marcy James was the officiant who married them.
   Photos were able to be taken outside and the light was gorgeous.

   Maura's golden yellow skirt with ivory top highlighted by her unusual hanging basket bouquet of dried flowers and grasses were exquisite. She wore a matching tiara.
     The ceremony was simple. Dennis and Jordan walked Maura down the aisle. David and Barbara followed. Mark and Jecca followed them. Jecca and Erin recited two poems.
   After the ceremony there were more photos. Dinner (barbecue/macaroni and cheese, salad, corn bread) was served and toasts were given. Dennis, Mark, Jordan, Jecca, Maura's aunt Irene, and David's friend Brian gave toasts. There was dancing and a delicious array of beautiful cakes - carrot, chocolate, lemon poppy seed, cookie dough....we have probably forgotten one.
   We sat with Michael, Nancy, Jecca, Nick, Ted, Bev, Shelley and Marwan. But, there was a lot of mingling.
   As it was a do-it-yourself affair, many hands pitched in to clean up, but we were home by 10:30, so....not bad.

Big Fork Open House, Oct. 13

  Another busy and festive day!
  All morning was taken up with prepping for the big Open House. Jecca made a double batch of Congo bars. She set up the bar area outside - wine and beer, non alcoholic seltzers with various things to add in - Huckleberry syrup, Pom juice etc. Bev made labels for all the varieties of food. The outside deck furniture was arranged nicely and the firepit going in the tall table. Nick set up the food on the big table just outside the kitchen and the desserts on the counter. Everyone pitched in and ran extra errands, such as Shelley and Marwan getting extra garbage bins and more bread for sliders etc etc.

   The Open House started at 2 and, once they all started to arrive, it was quite a gathering. We think there were between 60 - 65 people, but lost count. There were about 10 children and they played downstairs and in the backyard mostly. Every part of the house was utilized including the big screen room and the two smaller front rooms upstairs. There were 11 of us east-coasters and the rest were Maura's family and David and Maura's friends. Nick's menu included, among other things: mini beef Wellingtons, salmon with cheese on crackers, shrimp cocktail, bleu cheese puffs, egg rolls, steak sliders (Marwan did barbecuing) Mark McNuggets, roasted eggplant/peppers dip, sausage and cheese charcuterie, fruit platter with a homemade dipping sauce and a veggie platter, also with a homemade sauce. There were lots of baked goods. With all that, we did have leftovers, but not many. We'd have had more desserts left over, but people took baggies of them home.
    Most of the people left by around 5:30 and then many of us went into cleaning mode. Maura and one of her friends, Josie, went into the lower level and worked for hours on the dried flower centerpieces. A few of their friends stayed later, including Ben.

   Mark and Barbara spent some time in the sauna to relax, feeling very pleased with the outcome and proud of everyone who helped and especially proud of Nick and Jecca for working all day.

Big Fork, October 12 - Jecca, Shelley, Marwan!

 Today was very exciting with lots of preparations going on and more arrivals!
 Bev, Barbara and Nancy ran errands, mostly food-related. David and Maura checked into a hotel with cottages in Big Fork. over.

 Jecca arrived around 1 after a long trip via Minneapolis, but it went smoothly. She was on the same flight as Ben Webb who is staying tonight at a hotel in Kalispell and moves on to Big Fork tomorrow. Ted and Michael picked up Shelley and Marwan who flew in from Florida via Salt Lake City.
  As the day was spectacularly sunny, Jecca, Barbara, Marwan and Shelley and Bev drove to look at Flathead Lake. They hiked down to the water and took photos and some skipped stones.
   Nick was busy in the kitchen and we all tried to leave him alone to do his thing. Mike and Nancy, Ted and Bev got sandwiches and Bev made soup. It was another nice family gathering and David and Maura also came over.

Big Fork, October 10, 11 - Family arrives!

   October 11 - We made a big pot of chili today because it is easy to eat whenever. Mark also made cornbread to go with it.
  Ted, Bev, Michael and Nancy had spent 2 nights in Whitefish before coming here. They were able to get into Glacier, but snow had closed some of it. They had a good time together.
   They arrived at the house in the early afternoon and they settled in.

   Nick arrived, after having awakened in N.H. at 3:30 a.m., driven to Logan and then flying to Seattle and then to Kalispell. So, he was exhausted. He pretty much arrived and went to bed.
  October 12 - We are all very busy with wedding preparations.  Mark went out to Echo to get Dennis's truck to use for carting rental things around. Barbara made a double batch of brownies - very labor intensive ones. She also made 9 dozen molasses cookies and Mark made cranberry shortbread cookies. Nick started his preparations as well for the big party. David arrived to spend the night with us and Maura arrived a little while later which was great. Mike and Nancy, Ted and Bev explored Big Fork and got some t-shirts. David had not seen Michael and Nancy in a long time, and they had never met Maura, so it was lovely to all be together. David and Ted played a few games of cribbage -shade of the past! We invited Dennis over for dinner and it was very festive. Beverly made a chicken dinner with roasted veggies and English trifle in memory of Doreen Almy which was a lovely gesture.