Anniversary Party- AKA UmbrellaGate

We just got back from California for Joe's mom and stepdad's 25th anniversary party. It was quite a trip...

The Good:

The actual renewal of the vows was really quite beautiful. It is amazing in this day and age that two people can actually stick it out through thick and thin and still seem to actually love each other. Aida and Reese still seem very happy to be with each other.

I really had a nice time visiting with the girls; Maarqui, Charis, and my Erita! Erita and I got to hang out a lot and she is such a funny girl. She is so much fun to talk to you and has a great sense of humor. I just laugh the entire time I am with her. Shopping with Maarqui was a lot of fun. We were able to find dresses under one hour! Maarqui is doing great with her kids, hubby, and business. I don't know how she manages to do it all. If I get out the door with matching clothes on I am doing great, and I only have one baby and a stay at home hubby! Charis is doing good too. I like her a lot, I love her eeyore attitude.

Jordy had fun seeing other little people. Out here in Nebraska he is only around adults. It was neat to see him playing with other kids. Izzy and Esther were very interesting to him. I am glad that Jordy got to see everyone before we leave for Korea.

The BAD!!

In preparation for the big event I spent two days looking for a dress. At first I was looking for a silver dress, as that was the color we were all supposed to wear. Unfortunately spring is not the time to find a silver dress, so that shopping trip was a bust. Then Joe talked with Aida and she said to get a black dress instead. So I spent an entire Saturday looking for a dress. Finally I found one that looked good. When I got to CA I found that Aunt Romey had the exact same dress. I had to go find another one.

At the renewal ceremony it was really windy. So windy that when the pastor said, "We are all gathered here today..." there was a big gust of wind that lifted all of the umbrellas literally 30-40 feet off the ground! Then they turned and turned into torpedos gunning

straight for the alter. Charis ended up getting hit, I headed for the hills with Jordy. There was mass chaos for a few minutes while everyone tackled renegade umbrellas. I was so shook up I started crying. It really scared me. Poor Aida kept looking around like, "I can't believe this is happening on my perfect day." We sat eating our lunch afterwards in stunned silence. It was so unreal!

The California traffic is awful. We spent nearly 5 hours in the car on Sunday to see Ruth and Joe's daddy. We ended up seeing them for only 20 minutes because we needed to get Charis her car back. Joe was furious, the boy was crying and miserable from being in the car for so long. It was a really awful time. We almost left for the airport then. We were so exhausted and sick of California. I felt really bad that Ruth and Joe's Daddy thought we were mad at them, but really we weren't.

I think Joe and I have agreed that we are not going back to California for vacations anymore. It is never a vacation. We end up running around trying to see everyone. It is hard to get around with Jordy, and he spends so much time in the car that he is really cranky the entire time. Then all of friends and family give us guilt trips for not making time to see them, when in reality we just don't have time to see everyone every time we are there.

When we get back from "vacation" we are exhausted and feeling bad that people are upset with us. No more!!