New England: The End

We spent some time hanging out back at the Alton homestead. The bride-to-be took some time out of the wedding planning craziness to sit back and chat a more with all of us around good food and good laughs. We all enjoyed getting to know Melissa more...

And some of her close friends...

And even Natie and Happy got to goof off and enjoy playing together. Can you tell they're friends?

And Ethan even got some alone time for perfect his fishing techniques...

The next day proved to be yet another classic New England day which always must involve either the ocean or Portsmouth in our opinion. It was fun to take our little Happy to this quintessential NE town where her parents' young love flourished. We spent many a day walking the cobblestone windy narrow streets holding hands, wondering at our hopeful future together.

Our favorite coffee shop in the center of town.

We grabbed a couple Moe's subs and meandered down to Prescott park. Another favorite spot in Portsmouth.

At Prescott we ran into some familiar faces...

And even got a little squeeze from Grandpa...

The next day was the rehearsal.

The handsome Hunt Boys.

The wedding went just as smooth and with even bigger smiles.

Nathan loves his Grandpa...

Unsolicited hugs are always the best. Looks like Grandpa scored on this one.

The BIG DAY. Wedding bells chimed, a beautiful bride was whisked away by the handsome groom and it was sealed with a kiss.

Next was party time. (Penelope stills refers to Melissa as the "princess.")

Penelope's wish finally came true: Dancing with her daddy. For weeks she had been talking about dancing with him. In fact, any time she would put a dress on the first thing out of her little mouth would be, "I'm gonna dance with daddy, Mom." And here she did......for a looong time. When daddy needed a break I found her...

...with this boy. Who is he? I still don't know. She danced with him for an entire song. Then she danced with Natie, Dylan, Ethan, me and even Donny. She literally danced the entire evening! She barely even ate a thing.

Penelope scored big time on this trip. Besides having Melissa in the family, she got another, Grandma, Grammy Smith.
One last squeeze from The Beloved and Most Excellent Cook...

Our last day at the ocean. We bought some shrimp at the Jack's seafood joint down the road and ate it by the sea.

Penelope's last moments on Moody Beach.

Good bye, Beloved New England.