Back from Arizona...

Well, the last BIG deal of our year has occurred. It seemed like such a long time coming... and then bang, the moment is here. Jay told us the date and we of course put it on the calendar and had all kinds of careful plans…. Arrange for the time off, book the hotel, the car, the airfare, get the cards, the gifts. Make arrangements for the dog (kennel), pack the suit cases. Our plans were to go out a couple of days early… no real reason why, just that we could.

So we’ve made the plans and figure, that we know what time to leave the house for the airport, set the alarm and hit the hay. Wednesday morning, O’Dark Stupid, the alarm goes off… 3:30 a, into the shower before coffee while DH has coffee, switch places… and I finish the packing of the last minute items. We are ready early… so we decide to head to the airport. We get there, parking lot shuttle driver drops us at Air Tran, for US Airways… go inside, no US Airways… Wrong airport!!! We are at Midway and need to get to O’Hare. We discussed which airline and airport before purchasing the tickets -several times, and promptly forgot. We fortunately have some extra time. Get back to the car and head to O’Hare. We have less than hour and a half to get on the plane. To save nail biting and shorten the story, we made it with a few minutes to spare-parking, check in, baggage and TSA! The flight to Phoenix was uneventful. The rental car was also simple. It was an HHR… 4 cylinder and a bit slow on the get go… but otherwise fit our needs.

"The Dads" are pictured here.

On the way from Phoenix to Tucson, we call the hotel to see if we can check in early, it's only 10 a. DH does the calling, room is not ready, but the name of the hotel just isn’t what I thought I booked at. Then we are just 2 far south, and as it turns out, not where we needed to be. Hotel desk clerk, gladly canceled the reservation and called the hotel I needed, and booked our room for us, (part of the same chain). Back the car… Our room was ready, so we checked in.

"The Groom and 3 of the Groomsmen"

We had hoped for a nap… since we’ve already been up since the wee hours… but we have to go see the new house the kids just bought. So back into the car, and an hour south… Cute little house. It will serve them well for a few years. It’s new with 4 bedrooms, so room to grow a little. We stay for a bit, and back to the hotel for the badly needed nap. We are hosting the happy couple and her parents for a late dinner.

"The Bride, Groom and Brides Parents"

Dinner was fun. Linda and Curtis, the bride’s parents, are very nice, warm, wonderfully caring and giving people. Really glad we could all get together and share for an evening. The dinner went off without a problem, well for us. We keep some of the dining room staff a little late.
Thursday, we slept in… partly because we were on Central time and Arizona is on Pacific time!!! Yea! We got an extra 2 hours. We made our way to the venue, which just happens to be Linda and Curtis’s home. Final preparations are underway. We pitch in and do whatever we can. Rehearsal is at 4:30 and then a barbeque for everyone.

We leave a little early, and head to the hotel for our preparations with word that we will be back at the parents home, between 11 and noon on Friday. The kids have asked if I would play photographer for all the little things. Their “Pro Tog” is only going to do formals and the ceremony.

"THE BRIDE & GROOM"

Overall it was a great family event. It was a close warm friendly celebration. I have posted a couple of photos here. Not much of a chance the kids will see them… they are in Ireland.

ps: These photographs were all taken before the vows, so they still aren't really married in the pictures.

** And VACATION is back on!!! DH got the word, on Friday morning that he will be going back to South Africa. Not sure when -yet… but it could be in 2 weeks or a bit more?