Vacation, Part 1

Not being big on chronological order (numbers are so unwieldy), I will now go from the end of our vacation to the beginning.

I will attempt to be somewhat chronological from here on.  I only promise to attempt it, though.

We left Minnesota on Wednesday, August 3rd, just one day after New Song left us after a lovely weekend of singing and sweating (no a/c for any of their concerts here).

We planned to get as far as Toledo before stopping for the night.  By the time we got to Toledo, though, it seemed silly to stay when we were practically within reach of Beaver Falls.  So, I called Tom and said, "We're coming on through!"  We arrived at about 1:30 a.m. our time, 2:30 local time.

That way, the next morning, John got to sleep in and the kids saw "the cousins" even sooner!  Win/win.

Thursday night, we went into Pittsburgh to see our very own diva, Katie, er, Kathryn, star as the countess in The Marriage of Figaro.

 The opera was staged in a building just across the street from Heinz Chapel (above) and the Cathedral of Learning. 

Katie was brilliant, of course!  I had not heard her sing live for several years so it was extra special to hear how her voice has matured.  I was so proud, I wanted to tell the whole audience, "That's my sister!"

Friday and Saturday, we turned our time and attention back to the Shaw side of the family for the wedding of John's niece, Kirsten.  She married a great guy, Trevor, and we all enjoyed seeing them so happy.  John and I had the joy of doing pre-marital counseling with them (via Skype) and John got to to the wedding ceremony. 

I like the picture above because Val and Kirsten look so surprised and amused.  I don't know what was going on, but the looks on their faces here are great. 

The day was extra special because Johanna was the flower girl. 

The only "bummer" was the she had to walk back up the aisle with the ring-bearer.  Icky! 

All four brothers and all fourteen cousins were there as well as Grandpa and Grandma Shaw.  We were mostly well behaved, although the uncles (Jeff, John and Joel) got a little rowdy at the reception.  Not as rowdy as the swing dancers, though!  That was a lot of fun!

Coming soon: Part Deux