4-Hour Flight Delays Can't Stop Me!
Aaah, the good trip home. It's taken me three years to get to this point, but I was excited to go to Arizona for the weekend last Thursday because I hadn't been there in almost a year, and hadn't seen my mom, stepdad, and brothers since April, hadn't seen Kerri since she moved in June, and hadn't seen my Channel 8 friends in almost a year either (and in some cases 3 years).
My cousin Douglas' wedding was a good excuse to fly home and see the peeps. Although Douglas is on my dad's side of the fam, he is close with my younger bro Greg and, by extension, my mom & Tom, so he invited them to the fête as well. That made for some interesting dynamics, let me tell you. Anyway, we got there and Nathan & I sat with Mom & Tom.
Douglas was as serious as ever as he waited for his bride, Austin, to come down the aisle.
Greg, a groomsman, escorted our Grandma Jackie to her seat.
And soon out came Austin, looking for all the world like Mae West with her classic hair, makeup, and dress.
It was just lovely.
Soon the socializing began, with Mom gabbing with Aunt Linda...
...while, of course, the men did their man thang.
.... and the women did their woman thang.
The whole family was involved in the wedding process, as my dad shot video for those two crazy kids.
Later we all enjoyed a delicious art deco cake.
Douglas & Austin looked gorgeous & happy all night.
Don't worry, we fit in some obligatory family photo time.
Nathan took the time to stop and smell the roses (groan!).
And Mom & Tom got romantic on the dance floor.
Of course, no wedding would be complete without some embarrassing dancing!
Soon the time came to accomplish those same old wedding traditions, like throwing the garter...
And catching the bouquet. Which I did, thank you very much. This is a weird photo, but I thought I put a lot less effort into achieving the honor than it looks like.
I thought, "Ha ha, whatever," and tried to give the bouquet to a little girl who wasn't tall enough to catch it. Then the DJ commanded the person who caught the garter to put it on my leg. This was an impossibility - the person is my cousin Christopher. I was like, "Hmmm, let me think about this - NO."
I passed the responsibility down to Austin's friend Rachel, who was well-dressed for just such an occasion.
Yowza!
Nevertheless, my family thought the whole situation was hilarious.
And we ended the night with more dancing.
Congratulations, D&A!
The next day was another anticipated event, as we (on my mom's side) were having our photo taken with Grandma Mickey. We met in a parking lot somewhere in Tempe.
Doesn't Grandma look beautiful?
We took a stroll to a photogenic park and the photog guided us into our positions.
While they were setting up the next shot, I took the opportunity to get a good pic of me and the bros.
While Mom & Aunt Marsha got into some kind of heated debate.
Look at my Grandma. She's the most gorgeous grandma around! I only hope I can age as well as she has.
Later, Greg and I traded fashion advice and shades.
We all had dinner at Riazzi's, our old standby Italian restaurant near my old apartment on Mill Avenue.
Unfortunately, Grandma's lasagna was not up to par. But then again, how can one expect any lasagna to be at the level of her homemade Italian dishes?
Afterward, I went out with my girls. I hadn't seen Kerri in so long, it was lovely to be back with 3/4s of our girlie quartet.
My camera ran out of battery shortly after this, but if Shannon sends me some good pics I'll put 'em up. That night we had a Channel 8 reunion of sorts, and I got to see many folks I haven't seen in months or years, such as Ashley, who is pursuing her Special Ed degree, Carrie and Justin, both in graduate school, and Jim, who just won 3 (count 'em, 3!) Emmys for his work at Channel 8. It was great to see everyone again and catch up. The next day, the girls and I just hung out at Kerri's house, making a late breakfast and watching DVDs. Sometimes that's the best kind of time to have with your friends.
love,
*jenna*
My cousin Douglas' wedding was a good excuse to fly home and see the peeps. Although Douglas is on my dad's side of the fam, he is close with my younger bro Greg and, by extension, my mom & Tom, so he invited them to the fête as well. That made for some interesting dynamics, let me tell you. Anyway, we got there and Nathan & I sat with Mom & Tom.
Douglas was as serious as ever as he waited for his bride, Austin, to come down the aisle.
Greg, a groomsman, escorted our Grandma Jackie to her seat.
And soon out came Austin, looking for all the world like Mae West with her classic hair, makeup, and dress.
It was just lovely.
Soon the socializing began, with Mom gabbing with Aunt Linda...
...while, of course, the men did their man thang.
.... and the women did their woman thang.
The whole family was involved in the wedding process, as my dad shot video for those two crazy kids.
Later we all enjoyed a delicious art deco cake.
Douglas & Austin looked gorgeous & happy all night.
Don't worry, we fit in some obligatory family photo time.
Nathan took the time to stop and smell the roses (groan!).
And Mom & Tom got romantic on the dance floor.
Of course, no wedding would be complete without some embarrassing dancing!
Soon the time came to accomplish those same old wedding traditions, like throwing the garter...
And catching the bouquet. Which I did, thank you very much. This is a weird photo, but I thought I put a lot less effort into achieving the honor than it looks like.
I thought, "Ha ha, whatever," and tried to give the bouquet to a little girl who wasn't tall enough to catch it. Then the DJ commanded the person who caught the garter to put it on my leg. This was an impossibility - the person is my cousin Christopher. I was like, "Hmmm, let me think about this - NO."
I passed the responsibility down to Austin's friend Rachel, who was well-dressed for just such an occasion.
Yowza!
Nevertheless, my family thought the whole situation was hilarious.
And we ended the night with more dancing.
Congratulations, D&A!
The next day was another anticipated event, as we (on my mom's side) were having our photo taken with Grandma Mickey. We met in a parking lot somewhere in Tempe.
Doesn't Grandma look beautiful?
We took a stroll to a photogenic park and the photog guided us into our positions.
While they were setting up the next shot, I took the opportunity to get a good pic of me and the bros.
While Mom & Aunt Marsha got into some kind of heated debate.
Look at my Grandma. She's the most gorgeous grandma around! I only hope I can age as well as she has.
Later, Greg and I traded fashion advice and shades.
We all had dinner at Riazzi's, our old standby Italian restaurant near my old apartment on Mill Avenue.
Unfortunately, Grandma's lasagna was not up to par. But then again, how can one expect any lasagna to be at the level of her homemade Italian dishes?
Afterward, I went out with my girls. I hadn't seen Kerri in so long, it was lovely to be back with 3/4s of our girlie quartet.
My camera ran out of battery shortly after this, but if Shannon sends me some good pics I'll put 'em up. That night we had a Channel 8 reunion of sorts, and I got to see many folks I haven't seen in months or years, such as Ashley, who is pursuing her Special Ed degree, Carrie and Justin, both in graduate school, and Jim, who just won 3 (count 'em, 3!) Emmys for his work at Channel 8. It was great to see everyone again and catch up. The next day, the girls and I just hung out at Kerri's house, making a late breakfast and watching DVDs. Sometimes that's the best kind of time to have with your friends.
love,
*jenna*
posted by jenna at 9:32 PM
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