To Love and to Cherish

I got back from Pennsylvania, slash, New Jersey, yesterday night. I am so glad to be back. I enjoyed being a bridesmaid in my cousin's wedding, but I also got a little homesick, I think. Iam a country girl and nothing else. But despite that, I did manage to pick up some of the Philadelphia/NJ accent. Yeaeh. Unfortunately, on my return home, all I can remember is"yeaeh." Anyway, here are some pictures from the wedding, and our other parts of vacation.

May I present to you the newlyweds, Mr. and Mrs. ---- ! Alas, the tragedy of online security. Ican't tell you the last name. But I can give you their first names. The groom is Jimmy, and the bride is my lovely cousin, Larissa.

And here is yours truly as a bridesmaid. This was after the wedding, but before the reception. Jimmy and Larissa hired one of those little carnival carts to come and sell pretzels and Italian ice/sorbet things. On the East Coast, these are called, "wooder ices." :) Anyway, I thought that was a very cool idea.

Here are my two cousins, Larissa, and her brother Frank. Sorry, girls, he already has a girlfriend. ;)

I thought this picture was cute, even though we're all smiling for a different camera. I'm the girl on the left, in case you didn't recognize my kelly green dress. The other girls and the little boy are all my cousins in some way, shape, or form.

Here is my uncle and me. We both look rather frazzled because we had just finished dancing and losing brain cells from the ear-splitting, techno music.

After the reception, which, of course, was still going on when we left, my family and I drove back to our hotel. My eyes hurt and I was so tired that when we got up to our room, I collapsed on the bed. My hair was all crushed, and I groaned at the thought of getting up to drive and drive and drive and then stop for lunch and drive and drive and drive some more.

No, being a bridesmaid is not all punch and wedding cake.

Here are some pictures from our sightseeing day. This was actually the day before the wedding, but I figured that if you got sick of reading my post, I'd rather have you hear about the wedding first. :)

We toured a ship, the U.S.S. Olympia...

My brother, John

And a submarine, the Becuna...

Here's my dad next to the tiny little hatch that the submarine guys had to fit through.

We also saw the Liberty Bell. That was amazing, but I can't find the picture I wanted of it, and you guys most likely know what it looks like, so instead, here's a picture of me talking to a re-incarnated Ben Franklin :) He was sitting right across from his grave, too.

And now, since my brother is only a few steps away from dropping to his knees and begging me to get off of the computer, I shall oblige him. :) I might include more pictures in my next post, which I think will be somehow writing-related. Til then,

- Ellyn