A Missouri wedding

It has been a while since I've posted to this blog; it is not that we haven't been doing things...just too many things going on without a handy camera or photo opportunity.  I've pieced together a few things for this update, starting first with a quick Easter weekend visit by Hope's parents.  Rick and Ann Pruden have made a bit of a tradition of coming to Arkansas before Easter to help decorate eggs.  Below, Ann inspects the messy hands of the kids:

We also feasted on crawfish boil on the last Friday of Lent, walked around in the pollen-filled haze that was the atmosphere of southern Arkansas, and enjoyed some warm days before the rains came and cooled things back down.  The following weekend, Bragg Family South traveled slightly north to southern Missouri to help celebrate a wedding.  Below is a picture of the stone facade of the small Catholic Church in West Plains, Missouri, where the wedding occurred:

The groom, Will, was the son of my boss, Jim Guldin.  Jim has a wonderful baritone voice, and isn't afraid to use it--below, he's singing "Ave Maria" as a part of the wedding ceremony:

And here is young Will Guldin, with his bride Megan:

From left to right:  Jim, Megan, Will, and Melissa Guldin (mother of the groom, and Jim's patient wife):

I'll note here for the curious that Megan has a condition known as alopecia, which has caused her to lose her hair.  Below is the Megan's family farm, where the reception was held:

This is the shed that was cleared out to serve as the dance hall for later this evening.  Note for all the quilters in the family, the seating is straw bales with homemade quilts on top.  Melissa Guldin works at an estate sale operation in Little Rock, and was able to accumulate a lot of these quilts quickly (and fairly cheaply, too), as apparently few people buy quilts at estate sales...

Below is the wedding party, posing in front of the redbuds, which were just starting to flower:

Did I mention that Megan's family are dairy farmers?  Apparently, this part of southern Missouri is a dairy producing area.  Megan's family are most from southern Wisconsin, so it was great to hear all the familiar accents.  Megan and Will are actually moving very soon to the Lodi area, where the recently graduate veterinarian Megan will start working at a large animal hospital... 

Stephen and Kenny waiting somewhat patiently to start digging into the luncheon:

Neither Will or Megan are fans of cake, so they had family bring homemade pies to serve instead of wedding cake, which was a very nice touch!  We only stayed until mid-afternoon, and then drove towards Springfield, Missouri, about an hour away to the west.  Along this drive, we stopped at a place that Mom would really like...Laura Ingalls Wilder's home for most of her life near Mansfield, Missouri:

This home and museum (http://www.lauraingallswilderhome.com/), run by a private foundation, does a very good job in interpreting her life.  Laura and her husband Almanzo lived on this property from 1894 until their deaths in the mid-1900s.  The house pictured above they built one section at a time by themselves (they originally had a small cabin).  Both Laura and Almanzo were quite short, so the house was built to suit their needs.  It was plain but homey and quite cozy.  Later, their daughter Rose Wilder Lane, a very successful writer on her own, bought and had a stone English cottage style home built for her parents about a quarter mile from the previous house:

They live in this house until the mid-1930s, when homesick they moved back into the white house!  Both homes are preserved and open for tours, and the tours and museum are well worth the modest price of admission, especially for fans of the Little House on the Prairie series. 

After spending that night in Springfield, we visited Wilson's Creek National Battlefield (http://www.nps.gov/wicr/index.htm) just on the outskirts of town. Wilson's Creek is one of those relatively small but important battles from the western theater of the Civil War, and was important in shaping how the war was fought in Missouri and Arkansas.  Below, Kenny stands by a cannon that marks a spot where an Arkansas artillery unit engaged the Union army on the ridge in the distance:

The rest of April and early May have been filled with school activities, work travel, and the other busy work prior to the onset of summer.  We've only recently had a chance to enjoy a few of the quieter activities of spring, such as catching a minor league baseball game in Little Rock:

We also attended a concert by Kenny's 7th grade band (Kenny play clarinet):

This weekend we got out for a night's camping, but decided against making it two nights after thunderstorms and severe weather threatened the second day.  The kids are getting excited about summer, and so are we! 

Happy Mother's Day, everyone!