A Fairytale Wedding

I had the privilege of being in one of my best friend's wedding this past weekend and it was one of the most beautiful weddings I have been to. Not only was Mark and Amanda's love radiating for all to witness, but the location of the reception was in Hills, MN, in Amanda's parent's pole barn they just built. It was breathtakingly beautiful! When I was first told that the reception would be held on the Tilstra farm I expected more of a barn, hay bale, cowboy type theme. This wedding had a completely different feel.  Amanda had us wearing black dresses, red shoes, red accessories, we carried red roses, and the decor made me feel like I was in a fairy tale the way the many lights draped the pole barn along the walls and ceiling. The night even ended with fireworks. It was a beautiful day to celebrate Mark and Amanda.

Since the wedding was in Hills, MN (4 hours away from Minneapolis) I ventured down on Friday and stayed at the Tilstra farm until Sunday. I was able to help decorate the church, see the tri-state marker, climb some hay bales, spend some much needed time with dear friends, celebrate a beautiful love and new marriage, hug windmills, four wheel, and enjoy the open country. On the way home on Sunday, Mike, Becky, and I stopped at Minnesota's largest candy store. It was so overwhelming! There was every kind of candy you can think of plus a huge selection of soda in a glass bottle. It was a fantastic weekend! Here are some photos of my adventures:

Beautiful sunset down a country road.

Here is the tri-state marker. It marks where the state lines for Iowa, South Dakota, and Minnesota all meet. So, technically I was in three states at once! This is my friend Nina in the picture with me. She was another one of Amanda's bridesmaids.

This photo is tradition. Every time I visit the tri-state marker, I hug it and take a picture.

Kelsey, Becky, and me being a trio around the tri-state marker.

Beautiful sunset on the way to the farm that night.

Loved the flowers with the red shoes and how they popped on the black dresses.

The beautiful bride hanging out before the walk down the aisle. 

Amanda with all of her bridesmaids.

At the reception Becky and I climbed the hay bales.

As if we weren't high enough already, Becky made me get on her shoulders… nothing like conquering my fear of heights.

On top of the hay bale stack.

The view was so beautiful!

The sunset on top of the hay bale stack.

Another lovely country sunset the night of the wedding. I love that you can see all the barn silhouettes.

The fireworks at the end of night that were lit off to send off Mark and Amanda. I could not get a good picture - they were so much more beautiful and bigger in person.

The beautiful country view on my four wheeler ride.

I seriously love windmills. This is my favorite shot I got.

Just a small taste of the huge candy selection.

The store had a licorice section.

Just one of many soda walls

The building was bright yellow and very hard to miss.

It was a ginormous building!

I wish I would have gotten more shots of the wedding/reception because it was so beautiful, but I was having too much fun shaking it on the dance floor. Mark and Amanda, the love you guys have for each other is beautiful. I pray that you two will never loose that and that you will carry it with you many years into marriage. Thank you so much for letting me be a part of your lovely day! 

July

Well the month of July sure flew by!  I had intentions of blogging at least once every week, but apparently that didn't happen.  Today is August first and with the first of the month comes a new start.  I will be better about blogging in August.  Here is a recap in pictures of what I did in July:

I shaved Andrew's head to start out the hot month of July.  For those of you that don't know Andrew this is a big deal.  He's always had long hair, hated hair cuts, and he's only shaved his head two other times in his 23 years of life.

I think he looks handsome with long or short hair.

We celebrated the 4th of July by watching fireworks from the roof of our apartment building… One of the perks of being the managers.  The fireworks were phenomenal!  We could see them everywhere we looked! (Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of one going off)

We went up north the first full weekend in July to celebrate the 4th with Andrew's aunts and uncles.

I caught a mouse while we were up north.

We checked up on Andrew's parent's house while they were on a missions trip in Ireland.  This is a photo of Andrew watering the plants.

I got a new summer hat.

I attended the 2012 Monticello Royalty banquet.  My mom and I are both past Monticello princesses.

I did some wedding hair

We celebrated the new marriage of some friends.

I met Captain Jack Sparrow

My Queen Kristine and I were nostalgic and watched the new 2012-2013 Monticello Royalty get crowned.  I can't believe we were getting crowned 5 years ago already! 

We had some lovely thunderstorms in July

Leo and I took advantage of the shade at the park quite a bit this month.

I celebrated the life of a dear friend when he went home to meet his Father.

This was the beautiful sunset the night of Derek's wake.

We got some ice cream with friends at Hometown Creamery (more on this later).

We hung out with Audrey, Luke, and Laura as much as we could before Luke left for training.

A rainy July morning

Here is Lake Harriet where I love to go on morning runs.  I started lifting weights in July, running at least three times a week and eating healthier.  I have more energy, I feel healthier, and my body is becoming toned.

We went up north again just this last weekend in July for some family time with Andrew's family, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.  We visited Paul Bunyan land long enough for me to take a picture with Babe.

I took Leo swimming in the pool for the first time yesterday to end the hot month of July on a good note.

He was more interested in the duck than the water.

I hope everyone was able to stay cool during the hot spells we had in July.  I can't believe it's already August!  Part of me is ready for the fall, but the other part doesn't want it to come.  With the fall comes big changes for Andrew and I (more on that later).  I hope you all enjoy your last month of summer!