Bill's Blog

A Wedding in Portland

The Mountains Surrounding Bozeman - Montana

On Monday morning, the 2nd day of 2006, we loaded our car - a 1998 Passat - and headed west on I-94. It was cloudy, but not snowing. The temperature was a few degrees over freezing. We drove all day and stopped in Dickinson, North Dakota. The next morning, we headed for Ekalaka, Montana. I wanted to see some courthouse records about some shirttail relatives on my family tree. After an hour we headed back to I-94 and drove to Bozeman, Montana. I spent most of the morning, researching some of Betty's family. Then we headed down I-90 driving through Butte and Spokane and finally to Portland, Oregon, and to the home of my nephew, Bjorn. His home has been our home for the past week.

I continued my genealogical research. I went to the Portland Library and across the Columbia River to the Fort Vancouver library. I also visited Joanne Galloway. Her grandfather, Carl Falk, and my great-grandfather, John Martin Sundstrom, were first-cousins. Carl had a sister that also lived in Vancouver. She married a Norelius. Both the Falk and the Norelius families have roads named after them in Vancouver.

My brother Brian is Bjorn's dad. He arrived on Thursday night. It was great that he could make it out. We had a good time with him. The rest of the family arrived on Friday. Most stayed at the downtown Marriot. It was at the wedding that we saw everyone together. It was the first time that we had all been together in four years, and before that I cannot count the years. Everyone was pretty much the same as the last time I saw them, the one exception was my sister Katherine's daughter, Belinda. I was surprised by how much she has changed. When I last saw her four years ago, she was a bright, young tomboy who was deep into school and playing soccer. Now she is a stunning young woman who loves polo. It was an amazing transformation.

Shelby and Katherine

We had gathered for the wedding of Shelby Tyler Sundstrom and Katherine Rachel Loewen Robinson. Shelby is the son of my brother, Steve, and his wife, Ellen. The wedding was in a large old church in downtown Portland. I had not met Kate before. She was a lovely sight. The wedding was short and sweet. The reception was at a nice hotel down on the Willamette River. The food was excellent, the wine was very good, and the company was wonderful. My pictures from the wedding and the reception will have to tell the story. Here is a list of family not mentioned above: Sid and LaVera Sundstrom, my parents; Ann and Clara Teitel, my sister and her daughter; Ed and Sara Baggenstoss; Shelby's brother and his wife; Annika Sundstrom, Bjorn's daughter; Dawn Sundstrom, my sister; Dain Sundstrom and Marleta Young, my son and his partner.

Shelby, Groomsman, and Ed	Belinda and Dawn	Clara and Annika	Dain and Marleta	Ann
Bjorn	Steve	Katherine and Belinda	Annika and Clara	Dawn and I
Ed, the Best Man	Ellen Dancing with Shelby	More Dancing	Cutting the Cake	Enjoying the Night

Belinda, Brian, Ellen, Sara, Steve, Dawn, Kate, Shelby, Eddy, Sid, LaVera, Katherine, Betty, Me, Bjorn and Annika

The newlyweds went on their honeymoon on Sunday. Steve and Ellen went to the Oregon coast. Brian had to return early to Minneapolis, so he left that morning. Katherine and Belinda had early flights that day too. But the rest of us gathered at Bjorn's home. It was fun to be with everybody. We barbecued some steaks, drank beer and wine and had a fine ole time. Late in the afternoon I brought Dain and Marleta to the airport. By the time I got back, everyone else had returned to their hotels.

Yesterday, Betty and I got to visit with my good friends Lenin and Kelly. They have a lovely home in Beaverton. We only wish that we could have seen them sooner.

Today we are headed for the Oregon coast.

The View for Bjorn's Balcony of the Willamette River

Posted by bill at January 11, 2006 11:34 AM