The Wedding Story - Part 2

So now that I was properly shod, we went back to SSS's house to get ready to go. The funny thing was that both of the girls were ready to go before e even got in the shower. We were totally waiting on him. When he finally made his appearance, we headed out.

The traffic gods had been against us all day, and the trip to the wedding was no exception. We had to get from one end of town to the other on the busiest cross-town road. Arg! When we arrived at White House Ranch, the ushers were immediately upon us telling us to RUN! The wedding was about to start. It is not nice to tell a woman non-accustomed to heels to run anywhere. We ducked into the garden with all eyes upon us, though we were only the next to the last people there. Of course, there were no seats together, so I sat with e and SSS found a seat further up.

When the groomsmen came in there was a guy with gray hair standing next to the preacher. Never having met the groom, I thought to myself, "How sweet! The groom asked his dad to be his best man." Nope. He was the groom. Ooops!

The bridesmaids were lovely in dark purple gowns. Each selected a gown that suited them best. SSM was a vision in strapless cream chiffon. She wore a fingertip veil over gorgeous loose curls. Just beautiful. I love weddings! Everyone looks so pretty! It is nice to have an occasion to to gussy up for.

The service was very nice; sort of non-denominational. The bride is Jewish and the groom is Protestant. There wasn't a chuppa, but they did stomp the glass and yell moseltov, which was a treat. Afterward, we adjourned to the house for the reception.

The White House Ranch is a beautiful house that used to be a private residence, but has since been converted into an event center. We were all agog at the sheer vastness of it all. What could the former owners have possibly done with it all? And the cleaning? Forget about it. But I suppose if you owned that sort of house you would have minions to do your cleaning. Interestingly, the kitchen was kind of a disappointment. It was all '80's laminate and cheap painted cabinetry. I am sure it was cutting edge when it was built, but it seemed incongruous given the grandeur of the rest of the house.

The wedding was small-ish; under 50 if I had to guess, but I'm not sure that is a good estimate. Immediately after the service, everyone hit the bar. Much to the bride's chagrin, the red wine was gone in a matter of minutes. I think the keg made it all the way through, but since I don't drink beer (or wine, for that matter) I can't be sure.

The food was great and the cakes were pretty. The groom's cake was an homage to the University of Texas, which was the alma mater of many in attendance. It was shaped like the state of Texas with a U.T. longhorn in the middle. It was surrounded by white chocolate-dipped strawberries with a tiny U.T. logo on them. The perfect cake for the guy that put the fan in college football fanatic.

The music was a little too easy listening for my taste, but there were some fun songs, too. In a stunning display of loyalty to U.T., they played U.T. fight song, and the school song, The Eyes of Texas are Upon You. We all sang and flashed the hook 'em horns sign. Afterwards, a very earnest woman - who was a complete stranger - came up to me and corrected my hook 'em etiquette. It seems some woman in some obscure U.T. history text said that you were supposed to keep your hand still during the school song to show your unwavering loyalty to the school. I was all, "She can't be serious." She was. Seriously? unclench. This gal seemed to not be picking up on many social cues, but she did notice that my reaction was incredulity. She kind of mumbled, "But you can do what you want." and slunk off.

Finally, the other sorority sisters and I gave SSM a candle light (a silly but harmless sorority ceremony) for her in the foyer. There is singing and the passing of a lighted candle, so I was glad we didn't have to do it in front of everybody. It was sweet. The same girls gave me one at my wedding, so I was happy to return the favor.

The bride and groom left in a cloud of bubbles at the early hour of 10:00. That left us with a fair bit of time for visiting. SSS, e, and I stayed up ridiculously late chatting. Or more accurately, SSS and I did. e fell very soundly asleep on the couch next to us. At 4:00 a.m. we finally cried uncle and crawled off to bed.

My body is totally unaccustomed to all-nighters, so I felt like death in the morning even though a.) I had only had one drink; and b.) there weren't any small people demanding breakfast at the crack of dawn. Left to my own devices, I woke up around ten. We decided to do Ugly Breakfast (when you go to breakfast without doing anything more than getting dressed) before I headed back for my dad's house.

After what seemed like a million delays (I may or may not have had to drive back and get my cell phone), I was finally on the road. I got back around 3:00 to find that Daddy had accomplished the near impossible: both kids were napping at once!

They had a big time while I was gone. My dad's Rotary Club held an adoption awareness picnic on Saturday, so he took the kids along. There was a bouncy house, a scary clown (whose bright idea was that?), hot dogs and toys. Did I mention it was held at the local zoo? Z was in heaven. I made my dad promise not to give my babies away, even if there were days where I felt like that would be a good idea. Z and Q played with the kids that were there to meet prospective parents and had a blast.

That night, Daddy and his buddy MFS took to kids to Chuck E. Cheese. They had a big time. Q like anything with a steering wheel, whether or not it is moving. Z ran from game to game and raced around with all of the other kids. The only downer was that someone swiped her fancy flashing mouse cup and all of her tickets, but they got the cup replaced. I wonder how you wash something that has a flashing light in it. It doesn't seem like it would be dishwasher safe. On Sunday, MFS took Daddy and the kids to the Tokyo Grill for lunch. That is a good place to take kids because the cooking of the meal is great entertainment. All in all, they had way more fun than they ever have with me! I guess that's what grandparents are for.