2 Weddings, 2 Provinces, 1 Day

This summer Chrissy and myself found ourselves in a fortunate, yet somewhat impossible situation. Two very important sets of people to us were getting married and we were invited. But the rub was that they were on the same day and about 500 kilometers away from each other.

We had a delicate decision to make; which wedding should we attend?

• Do we attend my oldest niece Nikki's wedding - the start of a whole new generation of weddings in our family, or
• Do we attend Andrea's wedding who is one of Christina's longest term friends (I hesitate to say 'oldest' with women involved) and who asked for Chrissy to be a bridesmaid after standing up at our wedding less than a year ago?

After some debate we decided that Chrissy would support Andrea as a bridesmaid and that I would head out to Saskatoon for my niece Nikki's wedding. In our short time being married we have learned fairly well to compromise; Or at least Chrissy has. After all, her saying yes to marry me was the ultimate compromise possible for a beautiful and successful woman. True to my nature to pursue her, I would not settle. I would endeavour to attend both weddings.

Nikki and Luke 

Leaving Chrissy in Edmonton I headed out early in the week to Saskatoon to hang out with friends and family. 

Mom and Grandkids

Before too long the big day was upon us and we headed out to the Forestry Farm for a late afternoon (4PM) wedding.  The predicted rain showers were seemingly put on pause and the assembled guests were in good spirits as we awaited the arrival of the bride.

Brother and Grandmas of the Bride

The assembled Kehrig clan

Right on time Nikki emerged from behind the trees escorted down the aisle. My brother Lawrence looked quite dapper in his suit escorting her but it went without notice compared to how great Nikki looked (only now do I actually notice just how well Lawrence was put together).

Both Nikki and Luke looked fantastic and their happiness and excitement was apparent to all those in attendance. Everything about the ceremony fit their personalities perfectly.

It's hard not to look at them and see their relative youth. As someone who was a bachelor for some time I am almost jealous that they found each other so early and get to spend so many of their years together. Marriage can be a challenge but certainly we will all be there to support them and they could not have a better couple to emulate then Nikki's parents, Lawrence and Betty.

Andrea and Ryan

Immediately after Nikki and Luke's wedding I raced back to Mom's place to change out of my suit into comfortable driving clothes and I hit the road. I left Saskatoon just before 6 PM heading west on the Yellowhead Highway. At this time Chrissy was just arriving in Vegreville for drinks before supper and had 12 hours under her belt in makeup/hair prep, a ceremony in Edmonton, and pictures at the Ukranian Cultural Heritage Village.

Thanks to my heavy foot I arrived at the hall in Vegreville around 10PM just in time for the first dance of the night.

Andrea and Ryan both looked great but I had my eyes set on a certain bridesmaid. Maybe, if I played my cards right I could get her to come home with me. 

The bride and groom are both of Ukrainian heritage and have both had long association with the Shumka dance group.  As a gift to the happy couple and the ~350 assembled well wishers in attendance we were treated to a special performance.

The athleticism of the dancers was of course outstanding and the fusion of the music, motion and color propped up the energy of the guests for the rest of the night. 

In fact it wasn't long until the guests got in the action forming a kolomyka (soloists dancing in a communal circle). And it wasn't long after that when the bridal party decided to kick up their heels.

Chrissy and I spent the night visiting with friends and the odd slow dance interlude before we realised that it was getting near 2am. With the clean up for the night done we caught the last shuttle bus back to the hotel and were pleasantly surprised when the guests of honor jumped on with us. Pretty impressive that they lasted the whole night!

And so ended the multiple wedding in multiple provinces day. Each wedding was completely different yet lovely and fitting to the couple in its own right. Chrissy and I wish both couples well as we look forward to many anniversary celebrations in the future.

50 Years of Family

On the August long weekend myself and all of my siblings headed to Saskatoon to celebrate a family milestone. On August 5th 1963 my parents Mary and Francis were married at Nobleville church. In appreciation of that event 50 years prior we gathered to celebrate.

My sister Monica, has already written a fantastic blog post recapping the weekend. Her photography and language skills dwarf my own and I highly recommenced you go and read it before reading the rest of my post.

Have you read it yet? I can wait.....

Alright! Pretty great huh?

Consider this a brother to the sister post where I will share some of my pictures (plus Geoff's pictures), and offer my own brief comments.

Being that all of the 'nuclear family' were present, my sisters Monica and Stephanie thought it would be a good time to formally welcome my betrothed (Christina) into the family with a Kehrig wedding shower. (Another great Monica blog post). While Chrissy was getting all of the attention I thought it would be a good time to spend some time with my brothers. With a very limited plan we headed out in a couple of cars to Humboldt Lake and Lawrence's cabin.

Geoff, Paul, and myself packed into Randy's car and headed out taking a short-cut down a gravel road. As is the case with shortcuts in Saskatchewan we soon ran into an obstacle.

A little back-tracking and a liquor board store stop later we ended up at Humboldt lake. 

The lounging and BS'ing began.

After way too many beers and way too much sun the inevitable one-upmanships and challenges started to go around. My closest brother in age and athletic hero as a child, Geoff, put it out there that he could beat me in a sprint. Egged on by Paul (and booze) we decided that there was only one way to settle it. The race was on.

The spectator judges measured out a 100 metres for us and signaled the race to begin. We both got off to strong starts with Geoff jumping out a bit ahead. Over the next couple of strides, with no shoes on to weigh me down, I found my next gear and passed him. I was ahead for quite awhile before I noticed that I couldn't feel his presence at all. Surely, the old man wasn't that slow! As I breezed past the finish line I looked back to see Geoff brushing himself off not far from the point where I passed him. Apparently while trying to find his next gear he hit a low spot in the grass and did a headfirst role into unkempt field. 

With a few scrapes and bruises to his knee, head and ego he recognized that I was the sprint champ. 

Not long after the race we headed back to Saskatoon and Stephanie's place to catch the end of Christina's shower and receive some surprise gifts.

Old Vienna hats courtesy of Paul

I received a very special, and fitting to the date, wedding gift from my family - custom made cuff links designed with my fathers distinctive signature.

Photo courtesy of Chris Parry - Bespoke Jewelry

I played it cool at the time, but really this is easily the best gift I have ever received. I can't wait to wear them on the big day and will cherish them for all time.

While everyone was assembled we got together to take some pictures. I was pretty boozy and Geoff was a little scraped up but we managed to get one or two decent pictures.

Sunday started low key for Chrissy and I consisting of a little Saskatoon sight seeing before heading back to visit with the rest of the family.

We really like the painted rocks visible along the shore from the Broadway Bridge. Very cool idea.

Back at Mom's the trampoline was the cause of much of the days excitement as the grand-kids bounced for hours on end. 

I eventually found my way inside the bouncing madhouse with the kids where my considerable weight sent them double bounced in all directions.

It didn't take much to wear me out and after about my 3rd shower of the day it was time to eat and toast Mom for all she has done and provided for us over the years.

Mom's gift was a clay replica of the Church where her and my father were married. It was constructed by Toula's House of Clay who I can't recommenced highly enough.  Photo's on Monica's blog site - which you already know as you went and read it first. Good Job!

Wrapping up the day was a trip to Dad at his marker and resting place. Mom prepared some speaking notes and we conducted our own tribute to the man who in partnership with Mom made it all possible.

It was a fitting way to end the day, together with family in a beautiful and serene location.

I can't say enough about how blessed I am to have the family that I do: The fine example and loving home provided by my parents, the camaraderie of my siblings, the acceptance with open arms to the family extended to Christina, I recognize all of this and I am truly fortunate.

Thank you to all of you.

Christmas Family Fun

Family time, feasting and presents.

By far the one of the best things I have seen in a long time was Matt, Liam, Claire and Ren playing Kitchen hockey after supper. 

Ren and Claire both played net by literally sitting in the net blocking any chance of goals.

Claire dress reminded me of the 'controversy' over goal equipment a couple years back. She is the Loungo of Kitchen Hockey while Ren is obviously more of a Hasek type. 

The kids played for a couple of hours until the big trade where Matt (who could be considered a Sidney Crosby type) was traded for Grandma (Gretzky coming out of retirement). BTW - Liam is a Taylor Hall type, all speed is gumption.  Matt took it pretty well as Grandma is a wily veteran playing on her home rink. It was a fair trade.