Twelve hours before we were due to leave for my sister’s wedding, as I was packing like a crazy person, Opie desperately needed to put on his ninja Halloween costume (foreshadowing of things to come at the rehearsal dinner, apparently; see left), which was somewhere in the depths of the dress-up box in the basement playroom, where he refuses to go unaccompanied. So I grudgingly took him down there, and soon realized that something was amiss. Something was, in fact, really smelly. Opie confessed to having spilled something or other on the area rug recently, but I soon realized the entire 5′x7′ rug was soaking wet. As were the two beanbag chairs sitting on it, and the fabric-covered storage bin nearby. Oh, and look, way over here! A giant puddle on the linoleum! I started mopping, and sopping water up with towels, and cranking up the dehumidifier, and actually, I was pretty glad about the ninja costume because at least we found the leak before we left town for eight days, and not after.
The next morning, we got up before 5 a.m. to go to the airport, where we then sat until after the far more civilized hour of 9 a.m. In the end, after lengthy sojourns in both Minneapolis and Salt Lake City, we arrived in California more than 12 hours late after 22 hours of travel (and only one tantrum, in the hotel room at 2 a.m. when Opie felt completely persecuted by our refusal to let him watch a little TV before bed. “Just one show!” he wailed).
But the wedding–the whole vacation, really–was totally worth it. My sister lives in Pennsylvania but spent most of high school and college in northern California, so she wanted to be married there. The ceremony was held on the side of a mountain in California, with pine trees and a stone patio and an incredible view.
The view
We stayed in a small inn nearby, where we–the wedding party, family, and other attendees–were the only guests. I loved being able to spend a few days with normally far-flung family members (my own, and my sister’s new in-laws too. Jo was completely taken with the groom’s 11-year-niece–I mean, how cool is an 11-year-old when you are 8!). The inn had a lounge/game room on the ground floor, with a huge Rock Band/kararoke set-up, another Wii, pool, ping-pong, air hockey, and a poker table. So fun!
Jo and I spent most of the day of the wedding getting purty, while Opie entertained the groomsmen with his best joke: What’s the difference between roast beef and pea soup? Anyone can roast beef, but no one can pee soup (thanks iCarly!). Here we are all dolled up.
With bonus EAR
Doesn’t she look amazing?!
Minutes after these pictures were taken, at the inn, we went to the ceremony site. There Opie proceeded, accidentally, to FLING the wedding rings right off his little ringbearer’s pillow–at the exact moment that my sister’s car pulled up. So basically I greeted her at her own wedding with the words “WE LOST THE RINGS!!” Thankfully, we were inside a small tent when this happened, so at least the rings did not go flying off the side of a cliff or out into the wilderness. My cooler-headed brother recovered them quickly from the corner of the tent.
After that, the hitching proceeded without a hitch and so did the party. Jo and I danced until the DJ packed up at midnight. “Party in the USA,” indeed! Congratulations Susan and Andrew. Happy almost 1-month anniversary!
