Thursday, May 22, 2014

And Then We Danced.....

Once the bride and groom were married it was time to PARTY!  One thing we are pretty good at, as a group, is partying!  After our oldest daughter's wedding the woman who ran the venue said, "I never knew white people could party like that!".  The DJ at this wedding said basically the same thing.  We are starting to get a reputation.  What can I say....we like to dance!

Before the dancing could begin we had to take care of a little business.  There were toasts to be made, a delicious meal to be eaten, and cake to be cut.

First the Best Man shared his toast to the couple

then the Maid of Honor delivered her toast

 the couple was touched by both and relieved no embarrassing stories were shared!
 The couple danced their first dance to "Feels Like Home" by Linda Ronstadt,

and they looked completely at home in each other's arms.

Father and daughter danced to "The Rose" ....Dad's favorite!
Daniel waited and wondered when it was going to be his turn to dance.
 One of my favorite moments of the entire reception was when the groom and his mother danced.  They danced to "Sweet Baby James"  by James Taylor.  A fitting song since the groom's name is James.  The "moment" happened when almost everyone in the room joined in and sang the chorus to the song...."and rock a bye sweet baby James".  By the end of the song everyone in the room was swaying back and forth and singing to the groom and his mother.

It was priceless!


When the "must do" list was covered it was a free for all!  The dance floor was full in the blink of an eye and did not slow down until the DJ played the last song.  It was just what the bride had hoped for all these months.  She wanted that happy reception when you wake up the next morning and realize your feet really hurt because you danced all night!
 At about the mid point of the reception we had an Anniversary Dance.  All the married couples were asked to the dance floor and the DJ dismissed couples beginning with the ones who have been married for the shortest amount of time and ending with the couple who has been married the longest.  The last couple standing was my parents, the bride's grandparents, who have been married for 57 years!  It was a "moment" and alas, I have no photo.  Their advice for a long and happy marriage was....from my Mom, "Love and respect each other always and say "I love you" every day."  From my Dad...." Say  "yes" and "OK" a lot."  He has always been a man of a few well chosen words!

After that poignant moment this happened....go ahead click on the link....I'll wait....it's totally worth the detour!

It was a great night that did not end when the official reception ended.  Of course not...we continued the party at a nearby watering hole and all slept very well that night!  I heard from many people that this was the happiest wedding they had ever seen.  It definitely was one of the happiest weddings and hopefully the marriage will be just as happy!

I thought once the wedding was over things would slow down.  That's what I get for thinking.  No sooner had the leftover cake been eaten and all the friends and relatives returned home than it was time to start thinking about our son and daughter-in-law moving to Dubai.   We went straight into making sure we ate at a few of Houston's finest restaurants with our son and daughter-in-law before they left town and that we spent as much time as possible with them over the next week and a half.  Yes, it was only a week and a half after the wedding that we kissed and hugged and said goodbye to them.
Happy Mother's Day!  Brunch at a new restaurant!

They have brains in their heads and feet in their shoes....Oh, the Places They Will Go!
I thought once the wedding was over and Michael and Jehnna moved things would slow down.  Again, that's what I get for thinking!  May really is the busiest month of the year!  We found a little time to rekindle our own social life with a few outings with friends.  I got to play a few rounds of guilt free golf in the lovely spring weather.  We enjoyed one entire Saturday by doing absolutely nothing.  That has not happened in many, many months.  Things were finally feeling a little normal again.

But....normal is a little boring right?  Why be normal when you can be different?  Our empty nest now has five...going on six, new residents for much of the summer.  Our friends who are living in Saudi Arabia are here for two months with their three boys.  Mom will be having number four while they are here.  We will be in Nova Scotia for most of their stay but will overlap a few weeks.  And since three boys are not enough, our nephew is here for a couple of nights.  I am once again very thankful for having my children when I was young and energetic.

Our house is still partying...just a different kind of party!

In one more day we fly to Nova Scotia for eight days.  It's time to plant the garden, open the farmhouse and get things ready for the summer.  I am really looking forward to a little vacation even though it will be a bit of a working vacation.  I don't think there will be any construction dust to deal with this time which will be the realization of one of my goals ever since we started renovating the farmhouse!  The end is near!  Let's dance!

No comments:

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...