Home is where the Heart is

I was so excited and blessed to travel home for Ashley's wedding. I left on Wednesday Oct. 20th after school was out at 1:00. We had an early release and I was excited to get away as quickly as I could so I wouldn't have to drive unfamiliar roads in the dark. I went through Malta and then South into Billings. I had to make a few stops because my curiosity got the best of me. I ended up spending about 45 mins. in the C.M. Russel National Wildlife Refuge south of Zortman. I drove the hilly gravel roads on an auto tour route. It was absolutely beautiful but the sun made it difficult to take any pictures. Around the same area I saw signs for Elk crossing. I looked but I didn't see any. ;-( Also saw a glimpse of the Big Snowy mountains that I enjoyed driving around in when I was in the Lewistown area back in March.

 

 

I ended up driving the last hour or so to Billings in the dark and was thankful to get behind a truck so I felt ok with having to go slower.Arrived in Billings and went to Bed with an early start in the morning. I arrived at the airport around 5:00 am and had a great flight into Denver. I had over a 3 hour layover in Denver. I ended up finding a quiet place and watching a movie on my ipod. I even nodded off for a few minutes and was able to put my feet up.

I finally arrived into Dayton in the afternoon (Ohio time.) I spent some time with my family, Ben, and the Rife's on Thursday then headed into Chillicothe for the wedding on Friday. Before I left I took a few minutes to enjoy the beautiful colors around our house. The red leaves was the best because Montana doesn't have any maple trees. It was quite a bit greener than here in Montana as well. So many trees make me happy!

 

We arrived in Chillicothe on Friday afternoon. I went to the rehearsal and then the rehearsal dinner at a swanky place called The Brick. It was so great to see everyone. I got to spend some quality with Nat and Tyler, and I had some really good food. Although I had to pick some meat out of the salad it was really. Even better was my slice of pecan pie with a large dollop of whipped cream!

The wedding was on Saturday. I went to the church around 10 to get my hair done. I felt so bad for the lady who was working on the bridesmaids hair. When I walked in she took one look at my long locks and her eyes got so big. It turned out that my hair was one of the easier ones to do.

Ashley was absolutely gorgeous and the wedding was really beautiful. It had a fall/harvest theme so there was beautiful colors all around. (All the colors I miss up here in the Hi-Line.) They had this cute little video during the wedding called The Missing Piece.  It reminded me that in Christ I am already complete, I don't need a husband to complete me. After the wedding we took some pictures at the church and then went to a park take some pictures. Then the reception began. There was some dancing, toasting, laughing, and eating!!! I was SO hungry by then. I sat with my parents after the main meal, and was able to spend some time with them too.

 We left around 7:30 and drove up to Mindi's house. My parents hung out for awhile before saying their goodbyes. I had some trouble falling a sleep and was upset when my alarm went off at 4:30 Ohio time (2:30 Montana time.) Mindi took me to the airport in Dayton, and I made the journey back to Billings and then home to Lustre. I also stopped in Miles City on the way home to do some grocery shopping at Wal-Mart! I rolled into Lustre around 6:30 and was in bed by 8:00.
Overall it was an amazing weekend. I'm so glad that Ashley had me in her wedding because I had the opportunity to go home.
Last night I had parent teacher conferences. It's hard to come back from a trip and get right back in the thick of it, but I didn't really have a choice. I'm looking forward to Christmastime even more now!


Toodles.