Seth and Rob's Wedding

Great wedding, hectic day!

We left our house around 11am to drive to my parent's house for lunch. Then Lisa and I went to have our hair done, which seemed to take forever. When we got back, Eli was struggling to dress the boys and himself, but I couldn't help because I needed to get dressed and put on makeup.

Lisa, Brian, and I left early to have our pictures taken, but it turned out to be unnecessary because the photographer was 30 minutes late. The cousins arrived shortly after we got started and proceeded to run around the grounds and get dirty. When the pictures were done we had to wait for almost an hour before the ceremony started. Thankfully, Nani thought to bring Color Wonder and Color Explosion activity books for the kids and some sandwiches to snack on.

Finally it was time for the ceremony. Avery and Zachary made it down the isle, but got extremely antsy soon after. Poor Eli spent the rest of the time chasing after them in the back, trying to keep them quiet. Then all the guests gathered in the garden for a champagne toast. Once again the cousins were disruptive and destructive: throwing rocks in the koi pond and pulling flowers off the bushes.

After appetizers and a quick dinner, Martin and Barbara took the boys home so we could enjoy the rest of the wedding. But somehow we ended up watching Lisa's kids instead! Gigi was upset and overtired, but couldn't find her mommy. Sammy was wandering around taking drinks from random cups. He was probably looking for soda, but who knows what he was actually drinking. After the cake was cut we finally tracked down Lisa and then left to head home.

In my mind, one of the greatest things about this wedding was seeing more guys on the dance floor than girls. I loved it! I know Seth and Rob had a blast. And, I got to see my parents going wild on the dance floor.

Seth and Rob's Wedding Rehearsal

Tomorrow, Seth and Rob are getting married. It's ceremonial at this point, but we hope someday soon they'll be able to have a legal marriage. At the rehearsal we had to practice the wedding processional. All of the cousins were involved, so it took some effort to get them to pay attention and follow instructions. I have to say that given the time of day (dinner time!) they all did pretty well.

After the rehearsal we had dinner at Mom and Dad's place. All of our close relatives were there along with many of Seth and Rob's out-of-town friends. There was enough food to feed a small town. It was great to catch up with everyone, especially my cousin Beth who I hadn't seen since her wedding in 2004, and her 14 month old son Tyler.

ASI Shootout

Our company has a group of dedicated gun-nuts and they have gone shooting a couple of times. I tagged along last night and got to do some target practice and try out a couple of rifles. Here's a picture of me shooting a Saiga 308, which is an AK-47 knockoff incapable of automatic fire.

Photo highlights: bald spot, muzzle flash, bizarre terrorist skeleton target.

A Place to Call Home

We bought a new house!!! A new playhouse for the kids, that is. It took a couple of hours of hard labor, but Eli finally got it all put together. The kids have had so much fun playing with it. They love to eat their snacks inside, and Avery likes to pretend there is mail in the mail box. Maybe one day I'll surprise him with real mail :)

Between the play set in the neighbor's back yard, the sand box in our yard, and the new playhouse, the kids are very well entertained. They also enjoy painting on the driveway. The sidewalk paints are perfect because they are washable and I don't care if it gets all over them.