A 50th Anniversary Get-Together

On July 1, The Mr. and I packed our bags and headed over to Leavenworth, WA for a three day weekend. We met up with all but a few of my maternal relatives to celebrate the fact that my C Grandparents have been married fifty years! What an amazing thing to comprehend. Their anniversary is actually April 13th, but it was decided that we would celebrate in the summer so more could attend, and more than 20 did. A lodge was booked for June and plans were made (thank you SO SO SO much to all the hard workers, we really appreciated it) food was prepared, activities were planned and it all went off without a hitch.

We stayed at Brunner's Lodge, which is actually a property with several large cabins on it. This is the main entrance to the property, the cabin we stayed in was a ways past the one you can see in this picture. It was further down the road, down a steep driveway and alongside rushing water. The setting was so beautiful.

This was our Home Sweet Home for a few days..... Jordan Lodge! It was amazing. If you ever want a place to stay that is away from the hustle and bustle of town, in addition to being beautiful and relaxing and great for 20+ guests, check this place out.

Look how close the home is to the Wenatchee River, it's so beautiful! This was the view from the windows in the loft.

A bouquet from Auntie Glenna's garden greeted us at the door as well as a "Happy 50th Anniversary" banner.

Grandma and I.

One of the events was fishing for rainbow trout at Trout Lake. Uncle Jeff (in the EWU hoody) brought his boat, which led to a lot of fun and a lot of fish. Social is learning how to fillet fish and let me just say that you should now thank me for not posting the photos I took shortly after this one. Let's just say they weren't quite as clean looking as this one. If I explain it any other way, I may start to gag.

The kitchen at the Jordan lodge was always full of yummy food!

The guys vegin' out.

Between the river and the huge hot tub was the stone fire pit. This place had it all.

Leavenworth is so beautiful!

One member of the local "wildlife." I added the quotation marks because these guys are kept in a fenced area right on the edge of town.

I love it here! The gals went shopping while the guys did guy things. Fished probably?

The hat shop is always a favorite stop. Social looks great, don't yah think?

Gotta love the nosehairs I am sporting along with those bushy eyebrows.

Emily selling cheese. Well, at least that's what it looks like! She did a good job because after she showed us her wares, we headed right for The Cheesemonger's Shop and spent some moolah.

It's down a flight of stairs and quite the stinky shop. Well worth it, though, for the amazing foods they sell and all the free cheese samples! I never thought I would like sheep cheese, but it's good.

Social and I chowing down on landjäger purchased at The Cheesemonger's Shop.

A little back alley proved to be a great photo opportunity.

On the drive between Leavenworth and our lodge, there was a large area of forest floor covered with Lupins. Mom stopped the car on the side of the road so we could snap some photos.

When we got back from shopping, this was calling our name!

So we listened to the call and climbed on, it was so comfy!

Social and I were soon joined by cousin Nell.

It looks like they really appreciate having my feet in their faces. :)

A group of us went to The Sound of Music. The musical was put on by the Leavenworth Summer Theater group and it was so cool! It was on the side of a ski hill and strings of lights led the way to the seating area.

The mountains in the area really did make the perfect backdrop for the musical. The buildings on the stage were on wheels and turned different ways to make up different sets.

The Abbey

The Alphorn player. This is a beautiful instrument, and this gentleman had quite the talent.

Emily, Auntie Glenna, Auntie Gwen, my mom, Auntie Yvonne and my grandma all warm and cozy.

Myself, Nell, Social and Sara.

I just love this photo of my grandparents. The random man in plaid behind them had given them bunny ears just a moment before, and even though I missed the shot, telling them so made this picture one that I will cherish forever!

As it got dark, you forgot you were in Washington and were transported to Austria instead. The show was so so cool and we all enjoyed it. I would share photos, but we were asked not to take any! You can see the nuns on set here, and this is Maria. My favorite character in the show was the tiniest of the Von Trap family- Gretl. She was SO cute and perfect for her role.

The lights led us back to the parking lot.

When it was time to say goodbye to the lodge, I was sad! The cool thing was that our reunion continued through that day and part of the next because we made our way over to the M's home in Moses Lake.

Dinner that night in the pool house.

On Lord's Day my dad cooked up some rainbow trout for The Mr. and I, since we were the only ones to miss out on the fish feed. It took place before we arrived at the lodge. Mmm, butter!

The guys making sure it is just right, and it was. It was so scrumptious! Thanks so much dad.

If you want to check out my Social Sister's photos from the trip, click here. She has a lot of great shots!