A beautiful wedding in a glass cathedral!

Last weekend we had a decision to make. Do we try to get to our friend's wedding east of Kansas City with a snow storm on the way?  I contacted others who had planned to go and they said they weren't going to chance it.  We decided that as long as we spent the night, we could outrun the snow that was coming from the west.  The snow was moving in fast so we quickly packed for overnight and headed out.

These dogs seem to enjoy the cold air!

The bison don't seem to mind the cold.

There were so many hawks out!

Before we had gone 45 miles, we left the snow behind us.

A few hours later, we arrived at the location where the reception would be held and found us a hotel close by to spend the night.  After checking in, we drove on to where the wedding was.

We parked the car and took this path to the glass cathedral.

Amazing!!

Breathtaking!  Janelle told us that Abigail wanted to get married in a glass cathedral.  Her aunt told her about this one.

The flower girls.

Or maybe we call them "leaf" girls.

They spread leaves on the floor!

Doug and Abigail

It was all so beautiful!

I love this!  Parents praying blessings over the couple.

 It brought tears to my eyes.

Didn't get my camera out in time to snap Abigail and Jacob coming down the aisle.  But I got Doug and Janelle.  Lots of bubbles!!  So much joy!

After the wedding, we were invited to take in the Festival of Lights at the gardens.

The reception was at the Gamber Community Center.

Snow was falling as the couple left.  The snow storm had arrived.  We were glad we had chosen to spend the night.  We heard that our area got 8-12" of snow!  Not as much here, but we waited until 10am to head home to allow streets to clear.

There were LOTS of cars in the ditches!

The snow plow had cleared the left lane so we stayed there.

I was texting with our friends Dave and Marilyn.  We found out that we were behind them just a short distance so we made plans to stop at Applebees in Emporia and have lunch together!  What a good time we had and it also allowed the sun to melt Highway 50 a bit more.

Not sure why someone would own a snowmobile in Kansas.  We don't get that much snow at all!

Home!

That night there was a full moon and you could see quite well with the reflection of the moon on the snow.  Evidently it is called a Beaver Moon.

"Why the “Beaver” Moon? This is the time of year when beavers begin to take shelter in their lodges, having laid up sufficient food stores for the long winter ahead. During the fur trade in North America, it was also the season to trap beavers for their thick, winter-ready pelts."

We had a young willow tree around our pond that recently got gnawed down, probably by a beaver (according to the local college biology teacher).  We'd watched it grow from 2 feet to about 10 feet tall.  Sadness.  The teacher told me that willow trees are a beaver's favorite tree.

FedEx footprints in the snow?