Philly: Day Two- Wedding Day!

Saturday morning we met up early for a pre-wedding run.  Our bride was battling a knee injury but still joined us on bike instead.  We completed 5 miles as a group and then M and I headed back out for one more loop to check off our long run for our upcoming half.  Running in new places is so much better as the miles just fly by.

running to the chapel

9.29.12

We spent the morning and early afternoon with an awesome group of girls getting hair done, doing makeup, and prepping for the wedding. One of my favorite parts of friends’ wedding is the girls time you get during the prewedding prep before the craziness of the day begins. Before we knew it, it was time for Alyssa to get dressed, take pictures, and make our way to the wedding site.

A made an absolutely gorgeous bride and looked perfect.

hiding out before the ceremony

j.a.k.e.

Mr. H with his girls

The ceremony was beautiful. We loved all the personal touches and witnessing the marriage of Alyssa and Matt.

with my Mr.

p+e

here comes the bride!

vows

married!

After the ceremony, the cocktail hour was spent taking photos and playing yard games in a courtyard overlooking the picturesque grounds of the wedding site.

me & christina

4 month newlyweds

Our group grabbed our mason jar drinks and enjoyed a game of croquet. I can’t say any of us were particularly skilled at this game but it was incredibly entertaining.

Croquet also has the added bonus of posing for photos that {we decided} would make good Ralph Lauren ads.

Finally, it was time to take our seats at the adorable tables to get ready for a yummy BBQ dinner of brisket, pork, chicken and cornbread, sweet potatoes, greens, and baked beans. Perfect wedding food? I agree.

wedding perfection

girls

boys

The rest of the night was perfect- catching up with friends, amazing toasts, wedding cake, photobooth fun, and s’more making.

bride + groom

with Sam

J+Andy

the talericos making s'mores

photobooth absurdity

mrs. and mr.

handmade cake toppers.

Congrats to the newlyweds!  We loved every second of your special day and can't wait for lots more fun in the future! 

Philly: Day One

Last weekend we went up to Philadelphia to celebrate the wedding of some of our best friends, Alyssa and Matt.  We flew in late Thursday night, checked into our B&B, said hi to P&E who were staying in the next room and got right to sleep to rest up for our day of sightseeing.  

The Liberty Room at La Reserve B&B

Our tour of Philly started off at the Mutter Museum.  E and I had been before on a past visit to the city but knew our boys would love it.  No photos are allowed but it was filled with medical oddities such as the original Siamese twins, Einstein’s brain, abnormal organs, and drawers full of odd objects recovered from peoples intestines.  It’s a definite must-do in our opinion.  

outside mutter museum

Our next stop was to the new Philly Shake Shack.  I started my obsession with the burgers and custards on our trip to NYC and insisted on taking the group there.  

yuuum.

We walked off our food babies on a long walk along Schuylkill (yeah, try to pronounce that) river up to the Philadelphia Museum of Art to see the Rocky statue and steps.  

rocky steps at the museum

rocky

Our tour continued back down Ben Franklin Pkwy with stops at the outdoor Rodin Museum, Logan Square, Love Park, and City Hall. 

We completed our afternoon with a stop at Rita’s water ice.  E and I were very excited to let the boys experience the deliciousness of Rita’s.  

We finally made it back to the B&B to rest up and get ready for our evening fun.  Our first stop was Tangier for a “mystery beer in a bag.”  

Unfortunately, they wouldn’t give us one since it was happy hour.  Instead we settled on continuing our obsession with fall beers and tried out Manayunk Yunkin Punkin and Stoudt’s Oktoberfest. 

Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens was our next place to visit.  It’s located on South Street and definitely lives up to its funky reputation.  The entire place is a giant indoor/outdoor mosaic with all kinds of crazy artwork.  We had lots of fun exploring.

We finally met up with our friends for the Rehearsal Dinner at Supper.  The menu congratulated the bride and groom and contained lots of yummy options- all of which were very well enjoyed.  

Popcorn Day

My parents are both from an adorable tiny town in southern Illinois called Ridgway.  Mike and I are lucky enough to be only a 3.5 hour drive from my Grandparents who still live there and we try to make the trip as often as our schedule allows.  Every year on the second Saturday in September, they hold their annual Popcorn Day Festival.  I was very excited when I realized we'd be able to attend this years festivities as M had never been and I hadn't attended the event in at least 13 years. 

Popcorn Day!

We drove up Friday night after work and awoke early Saturday for a eight mile training run through corn fields.  It was quite different from our usual route and we enjoyed the change of scenery and gorgeous weather.

Once the run was out of the way and our tummies were stuffed with homemade apple bread, we were ready to get in on the fun. The first event of the morning is the kiddie costume parade.  The theme this year was Popcorn and a Movie so most of the costumes were along these lines.

start of the kiddie parade

kiddie float

Next up is a bubble gum blowing contest and a popcorn eating contest (also for kids).  These are entertaining to watch, especially while enjoying unlimited free popcorn.

me and gramps

mike and uncle kent

unlimited free popcorn- yes please

The final competition is by far the most amusing and takes place in the "frog pond."  One by one, kids bring their frogs to the center of the circle and try to get them to jump.  The jumps are measured and the longest three win.  My favorite is when the frogs jump like crazy into a frantic crowd and everyone quickly scatters. 

frog mid-air

big frog

After the morning fun, we scoped out the fair portion of the festival and headed back to the house for an amazing granny-cooked meal.  Next, we claimed our spot in the yard to view the "Giant Parade."  We watched all the floats go by and fought some little kids for a few pieces of candy before it was our turn to jump in the parade. 

my aunt and uncles float

My Uncle drives the "corn car" in the parade which is a very long, very bright, old yellow Cadillac. We had lots of laughs as we rode in the back and waved to the crowd.

corn car in the driveway

riding in the parade

The afternoon was spent visiting with family around town and watching the live music. 

When Mike saw a Demolition Derby on the schedule, he made sure we were all planning to attend the event out at the town park.  I wasn't sure what I was getting myself into...

the demolition derby arena

In case you aren't familiar either, the event consists of a giant mud-filled arena and lots of busted cars.  They spread out around the ring and at the horn, begin crashing into each other.  The last car standing after all the others have died, wins. 

pre-smashing

people were creative with their car designs

action shot- yes that is lots of mud flying, yes you get dirty

crashing

there were lots of fires

post-demolition

Our day was finished off with another yummy meal, a little more family time and a fabulous live band back downtown.  As always, our weekend away went by way too fast but we had such a great time experiencing Popcorn Day!