"We Are...Penn State!" A Wedding in Blue and White! COMPLETED 11/03 About This Page:

[Sandra Bostwick]

When do we get to see some photos?

[Hugmonster]

Great to see you have started the TR. Looking forward to it as your teaser picture was such a teaser!!

[disneymom9092]

Just catching up! Can't wait for the pics!!!

[Colexis Mom]

Just getting caught up Sue! My goodness, that was a lot to deal with! Sounds like it's party time!

[debsta922]

Can't wait to read the rest Sue!

[rescuesk]

And we begin!

The ride out was pretty uneventful, Dad slept in the car, we grabbed lunch at Arby's and we arrived at about 3 PM. The hotel was less than a half a mile from campus, and we were quickly checked in. I had been very concerned about our room, as I wanted a suite, and not just a room. We got up to our room and it was PERFECT! A living room area with a sofa bed for Dad, and a seperate master bedroom for Steve and I. The bathroom was a good size for Dad to get around in, plus it was a straight shot from the sofa bed. We each ahd our own TV and our own heating controls. This was good, because....

As soon as we walked in to the room, it was a bit chilly. We hadn't even gotten our stuff in the room, when my father said "Get that %$#$%$# heat up It's cold in here!" Ummm...Dad?Can we get in the door first and FIND the controls? We got the stuff in, turned up the heat and he was happier.
The front of the hotel:


Steve bringing in the goods:


The kitchenette area:


The sofa bed:


The master bedroom, complete with garment bag:


We called Mike, and told them we were leaving in a few minutes to get to the chapel. With my Dad settled in a chair with the heat on and the TV remote in his hand, we took off for Eisenhower Chapel. We had to park in the parking garage and walk about 2 blocks to The Spiritual Center, home of the chapel. We found it with the help of some students, and arrived just in time to see Peggy and Mark leaving. They had arrived just a little bit before us, and had the flight story from Hades to tell. They flew into Pittsburgh and rented a car from there to drive to State College. Peggy's Mom and Dad were flying in from Nebraska, her eldest daughter Chelsea (Mike's younger half-sister) was flying in from school in Iowa and the rest of the family (Peggy, Mark and the other two girls) were coming from Colorado. First of all, they lost one of their bags, and Peggy ended up staying at the airport until almost midnight to retrieve it. Then, Chelsea's flight got cancelled and she had to reroute to another airport an hour and a half away. She was supposed to be in at 11 but didn't get into Pittsburgh until almost 2 AM! They hadn't even checked in to the hotel yet. They were heading over there to shower and change and they would see us later at the rehersal dinner. It was great to see them again (we all get along really well) and we felt bad that they had such a rough travel!

So we arrived, and everyone was there for the run through!

The chapel outside:






The chapel inside:
This is the front altar. Rumor is that there is a big screen TV behind the curtain, but we thought it might be rude to ask to have the Penn State game on during the ceremony!


The back of the chapel:


The pews:


Stained glass:


The reflective father of the groom:


The bride and groom:


The bride comes down the aisle:


Take 1:


At the altar:


Take 2:


There were two takes because the bride's mom didn't like the girls and the groomsmen standing on the steps, staggered. She wanted them on one level, which they were in the second take. I was personally fine with either way!

The rehersal ended at 5, which gave us just enough time to get back to the hotel, change, and head over to the rehersal dinner. We got back to the room and were hit with.....a BLAST of heat! Whoa! Umm...Dad? Isn't it a bit warm in here? He had found the heater controls, and it had to be at least 85 in there. He told us that he was cold, and we would just have to deal with it. Luckily, our room had a seperate contorl, which we promptly set to 68!

We changed, I confirmed Dad's dinner with Margo as well as pick up time (6:30) and we headed over to Alto. On the way, Mike texted me that Bob, who was Jess's Dad, was already there and waiting. We arrived quickly due to Garmin and going AGAINST the influx of parents and went down to the room to find Bob, Kim and pretty much the whole wedding party already there and partying! We introduced ourselves to Bob and Kim, who were awesome, and ended up sitting at our table.

I took very few pictures that night, but here are a few of the restaurant:






Soon, everyone had arrived and we were seated. They had us at two tables in the private room, which was great. Jess and Mike were on the end, Bob and Kim were next to us, the girls and Peggy and Mark were opposite us and Kyle (best man) and his girlfriend were at the end. Jess's Mom and stepdad sat at the other table with the rest of the bridal party and the minister (Jess's grandfather) and his wife. Jess's Mom and Dad don't get along too well, so it worked out really well this way.

Our wait staff took our orders. Our choices were chicken francais, shrimp scampi, a pasta dish with sausage and veal, and baked manicotti. Steve and I both got the manicotti. The appetizer choice was a green salad or a Caesar salad, but of course, my non-salad eating husband asked for and got soup!

After the orders were taken, Mike stood up to make a toast. I don't recall the exact words, but it was about how excited he was to be here, and about how much he loved Jess and how happy they both were. Then, he thanked his parents for always being supportive of him and loving him and raising him the way we did. needless to say, Peggy and I were blubbering by then. We both looked at each other and said "How are we going to make it through the ceremony if we are crying already?" We decided right then and there that there would be NO mascara worn the next day!

Mike giving the toast:


Mike with Mark and Peggy:


Mike with his sisters, Amber, Chelsea and Beth:


Dinner was great, and we split the bill with ease. We left the restaurant at about 9:30 and headed back to theresort. Dad was already back in his hot living room and we retreated to our cooler bedroom.

After we had settled in, I was playing on the computer and Steve was watching TV. His text message alert went off, and we got the following text from Mike:

We love you guys so much. I'm very lucky to have parents like you! Not everyone is as lucky...

That, of course, started off more tears. I decided to just close up the computer and go to sleep! I had been so worried about today and everything went so well. The weekend was rolling, and there was no going back now!

Tomorrow was fast approaching...

Next....a walk around campus...

[Colexis Mom]

Wow Sue, I'm crying along with ya! What a great day! Love the pictures!

[Nimros]

I'm with Marnie - you made me cry, too.

Mike is absolutely right though - you and Steve ARE pretty special parents.

[goofysdtr]

More tears, here. What great kids!

Sounds like a wonderful day.

[pamcarey]

Mike sounds like a really great kid!! And I think it's great how well you and Peggy get along. Can't wait to hear about the wedding!

[rescuesk]

The morning begins...

I was up at around 7:30 Saturday morning. My father was up waaaaay before that. He is an early riser (although his bedtime is usually around 8:30! ) I made coffee and played around a bit on the computer. Steve got up around 8:30 and we all got dressed. We got breakfast at the hotel. They had a continental breakfast. It was PACKED, but an older couple saw me with my Dad and his walker and graciously gave us their table. My Dad was standing off to the side, and I had to call him three times to come over to the table. It wasn't that he didn't hear me, he just kept saying he was fine where he was. He couldn't eat breakfast standing up. The woman who had given us the table smiled at me and said "Been there, done that". I thanked her again for the table...a brief moment of sisterhood in a crowded hotel lobby! Steve made himself a waffle, Dad just wanted a bagel and coffee, so I got him that. I asked him if he wanted juice and he asked what kind. I said apple or orange. Now, instead of just saying orange, he had to make a loud nasty comment "Yuck! Apple. I don't want apple. That's gross. Why would anyone want apple?" Sigh. Just tell me what you want. I got him set up and got myself a bagel, coffee, juice and a yogurt. The yogurt was in a chafing dish with ice under. My Dad insisted that this dish held hot food and that I hadn't asked him if he wanted eggs. I explained to him that it held the yogurt. "No, it's a hot dish. Can't you get me eggs?" I finally had to stand up, go over to the dish and show him the yogurt before he believed me. It was going to be a long day.

After breakfast, we settled Dad in the room and decided to go for a walk. There was football on TV, he was thrilled. I stopped housekeeping in the hallway and told her that my Dad was staying in the room but to still do the room. More on that later....

State College is a beautiful town, located in the heart of the Nittany Mountains. Penn State University is a sprawling, diverse campus with incredible architecture, awesome views and a fantastic stadium! We decided to take advantage of the beautiful day to walk off some of our anxiety.

We headed up our road to College Avenue. It was all uphill, but at least we knew it would be down on the way back. We walked past the frat and sorority houses, to the Arboretum and one of the Ag buildings:






Over to the PSU Shrubbery:


Steve roars like a lion:


And on to Beaver Stadium, home of the Penn State Nittany Lions:












Senior entrance:


Steve and JoePa's statue:


Mike proposed to Jess at the Michagan State/PSU game:


The team motto:


Some campus shots:










By now, we were getting a bit tired and hungry. We decided to try the famous Berkey Creamery and it's world renowned ice cream!


It was one-size-fits-all, either cup or cone, and we opted for cone. Steve had some sort of peanut butter ice cream (I can't remember the name) and I had Arboretun Espresso:


We both declined to try the most famous flavor, Joe Paturno Peach!

After our ice cream, we headed back to our hotel. We passed the arts center, which was beautiful:

Check out those lion paws!

Through the garden of sculpture past the arts center:


Passing the Nittany Inn, which is now on our list of things to do:


And down the road to our hotel:


We got back to our hotel to find Dad in the same position. I noticed the sofa bed wasn't made up, nor was our room. I was a little annoyed that we didn't have housekeeping. My Dad said she was there, but he didn't know why she didn't clean. When I pressed him a little harder, he said that she had asked if he only wanted the bathroom done and he said that was fine. So I really couldn't fault her, neither could I say anything to my Dad because he didn't realize what he had said. Oh well, I've made beds before, I just made up this one too!

We decided to get a Domino's pizza for lunch. Steve called and ordered it and it was there in 20 minutes. I ate a half a slice. I was still full from the ice cream and I was getting too nervous to eat. By now it was 1:30 and we were T minus 2 and a half hours. The guys finished the pizza, and then we all got ready.

Next....the wedding ceremony!

[cre8fmom]

wonderful! count me among those tearing up!

[Nimros]

What a beautiful campus. Glad you and Steve got out and about for a bit.

Your dad sounds a lot like mine used to! Hope we get to see a photo of him.

[Colexis Mom]

Great pictures Sue! More please!

[wheatenwalker]

Love it so far, I cant wait to see pictures of you and Steve all fancy!