Wedding Round-Up . . .

I could probably tell wedding stories for a month – which judging from the reaction would make some of you very happy, and (to paraphrase the vows) would creep some of you out.  So I’ll finish off the week with a grab bag of pictures and such, and then we’ll finish with another warm feeling . . .

From the reception.  Two things of note – the bottle of lemonade and the big fan next to the table.  Ryan started overheating as soon as they came in, and shedding his jacket didn’t help matters.  We had several bottles of his favorite pink lemonade in the refrigerator, so he started on one of those while I went to the house and picked up the fan – he started feeling better as soon as the breeze hit him.  While I was at it, I picked up Zoe for a few pictures with the happy couple (and one or two with me) – I am looking forward to seeing those along with the other formal wedding pics when they’re ready.

 

First dance.  Very tender – and unseen by most of the guests.  I don’t think I have ever been to a wedding where the bride and groom were among the last to leave – they were having such a good time, and by the time they got to this there were only a handful of us in the room.

 

Out of focus, but it was the best I got of the bouquet toss – by this time, the only single ladies left were my nieces.  Emily threw the bouquet straight up and it hit the ceiling and broke into pieces – Ryan found use for two of them.

 

Times have changed – I have talked to the kids a lot while they have been on their honeymoon.  This was one of their favorite activities – they went zip lining for a couple of hours in the mountains. 

 

I have spent the week watching the grandkitties (coined by my friend Judy Uchida) – allow me to introduce you to Casanova and Freya.  In-between, there have been other activities of note . . .

Ryan asked me to come up with something with their vows on it that they could display in their home – this is my first attempt and they will find a small version of it when they get there later today.

 

We had a “microburst” hit our little town in the middle of one night this week, and I woke up to this in my front yard.  Loved that hard maple – dug it out of a fence line when it was only knee high and watched it grow over the past 15 years or so.  It had beautiful leaves in the fall.

 

But two hours of work with a set of limb loppers and a chain saw the next evening reduced it to this.  And I discovered an interesting shape in the stump – a friend said that it looked like an angel.

I leave this week of wedding frivolity with an image that is about 60 years old.  My dad brought me this picture a couple of weeks ago to scan and print for him – it’s from his brother Orris’ wedding in 1954.  The bride is my Aunt Patty, my Grandma Smallwood is in the dark dress at left – and you might recognize the little bridesmaid standing in the back right.  Yep, that’s my mom – about two months short of her 15th birthday.

This is that same little girl last Thursday, as she visited the oncologist for her six-month checkup.  I was busy and I almost skipped it – but there is something special in hearing "You're doing great ... I'll see you in six months" in person.  It was well worth the time . . .