Tuesday, August 14, 2012
The Wednesday prior to the big day I cleaned, vacuumed and polished Bella, my convertible VW bug! It was the last time I was going to have her be present in my driveway after 7 yrs. It’s bewildering, but I became emotionally attached to this car ever since I saw her sitting on the car dealership lot. I had to have it. I have had 13 cars in my lifetime and 8 were brand new off the showroom, but Bella was my favorite. It was illogical to keep her any longer, I barely drove her. She only has 45k miles in 7.5 yrs.
 |
| Aeryn & Bella |
 |
| Kevin |
Aeryn, my niece, was now going to be the new owner. We drove her up to Charlotte where Aeryn lives, and left Bella behind. I know she will be taken care of fabulously and I am glad I will still know where she is and who is driving her. Silly, right?
 |
| Mom & Kait |
 |
| my killer shoes |
Once up at my moms it was great. My entire family except for my little brother Eddie and his wife, Diane, were there. My mom had baked ziti and salad and hot bread waiting for us. It was so so good! We filled our bellies, reacquainted with everyone and then headed to the hotel for a good night sleep. My older sister, Cindy, had a room next to mine so I got to spend more time with Emily, her daughter, and Christopher, her son.
 |
| rehearsal dinner |
Friday morning came early; ALL mornings seem to come early to me…lol
 |
| rehearsal |
.JPG)
We had a lot to do. Cindy and I ran around getting paraphernalia to decorate the car after the sacrament. We had to go get mani/pedis. We had to purchase the wine and champagne for the rehearsal dinner that Cheryl, my little sister, was hosting that night. Cindy also had to put together dessert, which is always made from scratch. Cheryl ran around getting all the necessities for the dinner party.
 |
|
Kevin and Lesli |
Cheryl had just spent the last week and a half on a road trip with her girlfriends Laura, and Terri. They flew out to Portland, OR and drove back to NC stopping along the way at Yosemite, Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Deadwood, Sturgis, Louisville and many other places. While in OR she stopped in Corvallis and visited with Aunt Mary and went blueberry picking. What a great way to spend some time with friends.
 |
| Aunt Nancy |
 |
| Timmy & Emily |
At 5:00pm on Friday we were all to be at the church for rehearsal. It lasted about 45 mins and was pretty much without incident. The dinner at Cheryl’s was phenomenal. She prearranged chicken and vegetable kabobs to be grilled. She grilled asparagus along with zucchini and yellow squash. She had a tremendous salad, rice, hot bread rolls, chicken breasts, roasted red potatoes and fruit salad. Dessert was even better. Cheryl made homemade chocolate ice cream, with freshly picked blueberries from Oregon, Cindy’s strawberry layered cake, a Louisiana Crunch pound cake and red velvet cupcakes. We ate like kings. Cindy bought the champagne and there was a pre-toast made by Dennis.
Saturday, the big day, we were dressed and at the church by 10:30. The ceremony was being held at 11:00am. Everyone looked fabulous. Cousins that I have not seen in several years were there, and we had fun catching up. Mom and Paul seemed happy, and as usual, Kevin took a lot of great photos.
 |
| Aunt Bertha |
The reception was held at Afton’s Tavern in Concord, NC. It was simple but nice. A buffet of extraordinary food and celebration. Dennis, my brother-in-law, the best man, made a wonderful speech and again we ate like kings. Kyle wore his Dress Blues which is traditional for US Servicemen and women to do during weddings and funerals.
After the restaurant we headed back to the hotel, changed into comfortable clothes, and headed back over to moms. The ‘after party’ from the party was fun. Mom and Paul opened their wedding gifts and we had a great time.
.JPG)
 |
| Emily |
 |
| Nancy,Mom,Paul,Vinny |
.JPG)
Sunday morning everyone was scrambling to drive or fly up to NY. I had a scheduled flight to NY from Charlotte at 7:45am. My Great Aunt Bertha (age 98), had passed away a few days prior and the funeral was set for Monday. Can you imagine how much change she has seen and experienced in 98 years. Good and bad. Surviving the transition to America, the Great Depression, the space shuttle landing on the moon, the assignation of JFK, the innovative technology of the computer, ATM’s, cell phones, iPods, and so much more.
 |
| Cindy Kevin Mom Sharyn Cheryl |
 |
| Cheryl's family |
Somehow, I missed the plane and ended up driving back home to Florida instead with my kids and Tommy. I also had a flight scheduled from NY to home for Thursday; the 16th but obviously surrendered that flight also. Delta, as lenient as they are, credited me back the cost of both tickets. I am very pleased about that. I missed the funeral but will always have committed to memory my Aunt Bertha for her crocheted hankies, ribbon candy, wild 1960’s psychedelic wallpaper, and her fun loving ways. RIP Aunt Bertha!
 |
| Aunt Rose & cousins |
 |
| Kevin Lesli Mom Paul |
 |
| Timmy & Christopher |
Since home, I have been busy. Kyle is home on leave for almost 2 weeks and we are all very excited about spending time with him. Kaitlyn is taking all her summer class finals this week and she is also very busy. She will do well, as usual.
 |
| the grandchildren |
We plan on having a BBQ this Sunday. It will be our ‘last bash before we dash” for the summer of 2012. In 2 weeks we leave for Alaska for 27 days. I cannot wait! Our friends from Steamboat Springs, CO, Roy and Kim are meeting us in Fairbanks. Roy was stationed in Fairbanks for 4 years and knows AK well. He will be able to take us to all the local places and we are very very excited. Thanks for reading!
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
.JPG)
We had a lot to do. Cindy and I ran around getting paraphernalia to decorate the car after the sacrament. We had to go get mani/pedis. We had to purchase the wine and champagne for the rehearsal dinner that Cheryl, my little sister, was hosting that night. Cindy also had to put together dessert, which is always made from scratch. Cheryl ran around getting all the necessities for the dinner party.
At 5:00pm on Friday we were all to be at the church for rehearsal. It lasted about 45 mins and was pretty much without incident. The dinner at Cheryl’s was phenomenal. She prearranged chicken and vegetable kabobs to be grilled. She grilled asparagus along with zucchini and yellow squash. She had a tremendous salad, rice, hot bread rolls, chicken breasts, roasted red potatoes and fruit salad. Dessert was even better. Cheryl made homemade chocolate ice cream, with freshly picked blueberries from Oregon, Cindy’s strawberry layered cake, a Louisiana Crunch pound cake and red velvet cupcakes. We ate like kings. Cindy bought the champagne and there was a pre-toast made by Dennis.
The reception was held at Afton’s Tavern in Concord, NC. It was simple but nice. A buffet of extraordinary food and celebration. Dennis, my brother-in-law, the best man, made a wonderful speech and again we ate like kings. Kyle wore his Dress Blues which is traditional for US Servicemen and women to do during weddings and funerals.
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
Sunday morning everyone was scrambling to drive or fly up to NY. I had a scheduled flight to NY from Charlotte at 7:45am. My Great Aunt Bertha (age 98), had passed away a few days prior and the funeral was set for Monday. Can you imagine how much change she has seen and experienced in 98 years. Good and bad. Surviving the transition to America, the Great Depression, the space shuttle landing on the moon, the assignation of JFK, the innovative technology of the computer, ATM’s, cell phones, iPods, and so much more. 
We plan on having a BBQ this Sunday. It will be our ‘last bash before we dash” for the summer of 2012. In 2 weeks we leave for Alaska for 27 days. I cannot wait! Our friends from Steamboat Springs, CO, Roy and Kim are meeting us in Fairbanks. Roy was stationed in Fairbanks for 4 years and knows AK well. He will be able to take us to all the local places and we are very very excited. Thanks for reading!
No comments:
Post a Comment