More importantly, however, Petoskey is now know for being the home of the 2017 Kazor-Hill Wedding. Make a cuppa tea and settle in, folks... this is going to take a while.
Fresh from our Mackinac Island wedding pre-party, Best Man Mark was all smiles as we cruised the Lake Michigan coastline and savored a few days of down time with Mark's parents (our awesome babysitters) and a trip to the Freshwater Grill for some well deserved fried food.
Petoskey folks, like Traverse City folks, love their Family Video stores. Spying one near our campground, Max took the opportunity to rent and master a new Wii U game from his bunk... with his window open... and two blankets to fight back the 60 degree temperatures. Cozy and cooly.
We awoke on Thursday, June 29 and exclaimed "Wedding Day!" as Mark went about practicing his speech and April dressed the boys in Uncle Hill provided camouflage socks. Being that this was their first wedding, it's fair to say that the boys were more than just a little bit excited. The first to greet the Bride as she arrived at Pond Hill Farm, Andrew promptly made himself available for wedding photos.
"Andrew," April said, "You're not in the wedding party, you'll need to hang back here with me."
Andrew looked up at her, tears streaming down his face, and erupted into what would be the first of four wedding meltdowns. "What? I want to dance! I want to eat cake! Now you tell me I can't even go to the party?"
April's explanations were ignored as some much-needed snacks arrived. Andrew took his pretzel to the window and looked out, refusing to speak to anyone. Four or five bites later, he spun around, smiling from ear to ear once again. "Oh.... I get it! Party like group. I'm not in the wedding group. That's fine. But I get to go to the party! Boy, that's confusing!"
With pretzels and a solid mastery of the English language, one can get through any misunderstanding.
Somewhere around 6pm, the nuptials began! Perfect weather, perfect sunset, perfect couple.
Totally married. They do. Let's party.
Now, I'm sure many of you have been to a wedding before. Maybe on a cool farm, maybe with a cool hayride or bonfire. Maybe with cool animals (including itty bitty baby pigs) and organic, amazing, delicious food. But we bet our camouflage socks that none of you have ever been to a wedding with The Squash Rocket.
Two things:
1. Squash is not in season. Substitute: potatoes.
2. This thing has got to be an insurance nightmare. We personally obtained or witnessed at least a dozen injuries. Both children cried from "potato burn" as the slingshot ripped out of their bloodied hands... yet they kept going back for more. The big boys were no better... Mark personally leaving the Squash Rocket field with at least one band-aid. No worries, fun trumps danger at Pond Hill Farm.
Aunt Christine busted out some amazing background vocals as the guests danced to many of Jelly Roll's greatest hits, including our personal fave, Mustang Sally. Andrew and Max helped out by playing some mean tambourine.
Finally, it has to be said that the very best moment of the night occurred when Brett Van Der Heyden took over the mic during the cake-cutting and did a play-by-play to the tune of his favorite Moana song. If he's not adorable enough, Carla cracking up in the background made it even better.
We fully expect to see these pics hanging over their fireplace next time we visit.
Somewhere there is video of this. We must have it.
As the festivities came to a close, the fine folks at Pond Hill Farm brought out glorious platters of grilled cheese with farm fresh tomatoes and basil. Best snack ever. Ever.
Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Hill! We love you crazy kids!
Friday came all too soon, as we awoke to a kiss from Max and some very intense morning sunlight. Mark may have stayed in bed all day was it not for the discovery of a hilarious Facebook post made by Kevin Dees. Seems that Dees had a digital meltdown after finding out that Hill was getting married via our Mackinac Island post. Don't feel too badly for Dees, his invitation is right next to all of our invitations for his wedding... in the nowhere pile. Funny stuff, buddy. Funny stuff.
Belly laugh in the books, we showered and set off for our last day of 2017 Michigan adventures. While we use the GPS to get around, we often reference an old Rand McNally that April's Dad had given us when we pick and plan our destinations. Near Petoskey , we noticed that Jerry had circled Charlevoix, Michigan and made a note about the famous Earl Young Mushroom Houses. Intrigued, and wanting to encourage Andrew's newly discovered love of mushrooms, we fancied ourselves a mini road trip!
Hasta, Michigan. Our livers will never be the same. Buckle up, we're heading for Canada!
It looks an outstanding ceremony. I loved reading through this entire post. We also got married recently at the hillside Chicago event space and what an epic ceremony it was. My wedding planner did awesome job and everything was beyond my expectations.
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