Tuesday, August 21, 2007

loving life in real time

The wedding has come and gone and I am moping around with the prospect of not having my family together again until maybe Christmas 2008 or the next wedding. And now Abby is available for sleepovers by appointment only. My sole consolation is beating Charlie on the new ping pong table.

It was so fun; family dinner Wednesday, sibling dinner Thursday, bachelor/bachelorette parties Friday, rehearsal at the ranch Saturday, and wedding Sunday. Those friends of Abby's I didn't know I now want to steal, and loved seeing our mutual friends. There was energy and exhaustion as people pitched in on every project from pruning the tree patch to lighting to the lanterns.

It was a beautiful wedding as Tracie's pictures will show. My mother is our benefactor until then.

Unfortunately, some thirty (more?) people will remember it for the 24 hour flu they got within two days of their arrival to the festivities. A true snowball, the mothers had it two weeks before the wedding, six of our seven grandparents the past week, Tara and Jer two days out, JBU friends two hours before the wedding, Ben's brother during the wedding but battled through his toast, and others who will have been to the wedding are now wondering where they got the pukes (and otherwise) yesterday.

The other catastrophe we are already laughing about was the simultaneous booking of the Kiwanis community building for a wedding and adjacent park for a Mexican fiesta. The rain cleared just in time for our ceremony and their mariachi band. It looked like someone was going to open a can of bridesmatron but finally the crabby parks lady negotiated a 25 decibel reduction.

Dinner was Filipino food made by Filipino ladies Ben's mom found in Cheyenne, a Faroese marzipan wedding cake made by a Danish chef in Seattle, and best desserts made by my aunts, ladies of the church, and Kyle Pollock, 9-year-old winner of the 4-H junior foods championship with his raspberry tarts.

Abbs and Ben will be back for about a week before flying to Europe. Sigh.

At the wine & cheese shower thrown by cousins
TJ & Michelle, respective officiant and bridesmaid

Pruning for the rehersal that got rained out to the basement

Abby became an aunt on Sunday and I'm so jealous

Decor

All Sumps' sisters

The Pollocks, Kyle in blue

In the photo booth

The Jets snapping as they go

Travis and Teeny, Bob and Joan

Chas & Pat

Vows

Kransekage

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU!! Most happy decompression greetings to Lynn, Dan and Hannah, and love to Charlie! It was lovely, mariachis and all. Flu-free (so far?) in Arkansas -- Pat