halloween-ish

Well I didn't have a Halloween costume this year, probably for the first time in my life, but I did have... pumpkins! ^ And lots of trick or treaters too...

Jared & Stephanie's wedding

This past weekend was the wedding of my friends Jared and Steph in St. Joseph, MI, a very picturesque town on Lake Michigan. I've been friends with Jared since my early days at MSU and when he met Steph our sophomore year, the rest became history. Since I stood up in the wedding, there was a lot of anticipation for the event over the last few months and I'm happy that it finally arrived because it was so much fun! The ceremony was really lovely and Steph looked beautiful in her dress. Afterward we took about a million photos around town and on the beach, from which I stole a couple thumbnails for this post - I'm eager to see the rest. Since I know the bride and groom spent a lot of time working on the wedding plans and personalizing it, it was a really happy result.

It was incredible to be a part of the wedding party and really get to participate in the event. Jared had asked me to stand up on his side so I was the infamous 'groomsmaid' or basically a girl standing up for the groom. I think a lot of people were a little perplexed by the idea, but it turned out to be really cool - I wore a brown dress that matched the groomsmen's suits and got to hang out with the boys for the weekend. I have to say, it was really a unique idea and brave of them to break tradition!

Anyway, a great time was had - fun to see friends from college again and also to have Patrick accompany me for the weekend (he made a long road trip a lot of fun). I'm so happy for Jared and Steph and thrilled to have been part of the wedding! Hope they're having fun in Key West!

my papa

It's been a particularly tough end to September. My grandfather, who had been living with cancer for over a year, became very sick in the last month. Last week he passed away and since then its been a pretty sad and exhausting time. Got to remember the good times - spending time at his house in Orchard Park, rides on the lawn mower into the woods to pick blueberries, him taping our every family event with his video recorder, dancing at every opportunity and, of course, his never ending cycle of stories. Papa definitely marched to the beat of his own drum and I'll miss him.