Wedding Reception and other adventures in MN

Well folks, it has been quite an eventful weekend! It started on Thursday when I arrived in Minneapolis and Kayleen was there waiting with a nice big sack lunch for me. What a good little wife she will be! :) It was so good to be together again, after being apart the entire month of July. I stayed with her family at their home in Lakeville, which is about half an hour south of the airport in Minneapolis.
That same day (Thursday) we took a stroll through the annual Dakota County Fair! It made Enterprise seem like the big city. It was fun to see the historic buildings, the booths, art displays, animal exhibits, and a play (featuring Kayleen's sister Marissa). Here we are in front of the tractor display.Later that night we went back to the Downing's house for band practice. Kayleen's dad, uncle Dean, brother Jake, and brother-in-law Matthew have a band called "The Righteous Brothers-in-law". (also known affectionately as "Jake and the Fat Men" haha) Dean brought over and set up the keyboard so I could play a few songs in the band for the weekend. It was a blast!

On Friday Kayleen and I went to Northfield (half-hour from Lakeville) with her mom and sister Regina to see Regina and Terence's apartment that they will be moving into. They are moving back from Philadelphia so Terence can work at the college there. So now Kayleen and I will be the only ones living outside Minnesota, but they are working hard on convincing us to move back there when we are done with school. Luckily they've still got a few years before we decide!
Another highlight from Friday was going to play the piano for the folks at the Centennial Care Center, where Kayleen used to work. It was sad to see all the people there who can't care for themselves anymore - it makes me admire Kayleen even more for wanting to work there, for the wonderful job she did, and for how much she loves to take care of people. She loves so unconditionally.
Friday night, my mom and sisters Andrea and Rebekah came down to Lakeville to eat dinner with the Downing fam (they had come to the Twin Cities on Thurs also, but stayed at a hotel right near the airport). It was good for everyone to meet each other and enjoy a delicious meal together. After dinner Kayleen and I separated for a bit - I went to play with my fam for the night while she had a little "bachelorette party" with her sisters and friend Laura.
We had some fun at Underwater Adventures in the Mall of America - it was really cool to walk through the underwater aquarium and see the sharks! Here I am with my sister Rebekah and you can see in the background that Jaws is about to get us! But we narrowly escaped...
Saturday was the big day, and we were ready to party! The morning was spent in last-minute preparations for the program and reception at the Downing Residence. Kayleen's dad and brother Jake did a great job getting the yard looking beautiful (Kayleen helped too!) and her mom did great at getting everything organized and getting all the food planned and set up. We were glad to have some good help from Kayleen's aunts, cousins, siblings, and friends. The weather was perfect (we got nervous when we felt some raindrops on Friday night). When everything was in place and the guests had arrived, we started with the Marriage Blessing. It was a short program with prayers, scripture reading, and song. Regina gave the main message and conducted; the parents of bride and groom offered prayers; my sisters Andrea and Rebekah and Kayleen's maid of honor Laura shared some scriptures; Marissa sang worship songs. It was all very beautiful, and all who were present, irregardless of different religions, were happy to have a time to specifically include our Heavenly Father in the celebrations of the day and ponder on the great love of our Savior Jesus Christ, and His importance in our marriage.

After the Blessing, the tables were set up for some delicious food. Everyone got a chance to meet and greet and socialize with one another. It was so good to meet so many people Kayleen has told me about. There was good music and dancing and the band played too! (yes, I joined in on a few of the songs). Kayleen and her sisters and Laura and Jake's girlfriend Brittney also did a "surprise dance" which has been the tradition of the Downing weddings. They basically made me sit in a chair in front of everyone while they danced around me and tried to embarrass me. It was pretty funny. And yes, it is all on video. Haha. They did a good job with it and it made everyone laugh. From there, people just stayed around to chat and/or dance and/or eat more. It turned perfect.

More pics of our adventures: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2202148&l=8f220&id=17829252
More pics of the reception: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2202151&l=1b5e6&id=17829252