Tuesday, October 30, 2007

This calls for a celebration

There are some people who make a permanent imprint on your life. And I realized this weekend that it's really important to be there when something special happens in the lives of these people.


My freshman year of college was a rough one. Some people go away to school and live it up the first year, but I had a really tough time. And I literally don't know how I would've made it through that first year without my friend Dawn who lived across the hall from me in the dorms. And then, the poor thing, she proceeded to live with me for the next 2 years until she graduated, and those years were no picnic either, due to other life circumstances. But man, we had some good times. She's one of those people who can make me laugh until I cry, and I have some really fun memories from those years. But then she graduated and moved to the west coast, and we've only been in minimal contact since then. But this weekend, she got married. It was worth driving across the state of Pennsylvania to be there (and if you've ever done that drive...ugh).


The wedding was so nice. To describe it in one word: elegant. An outdoor evening ceremony followed by a formal cocktail hour and a 5 course meal and dancing. Dawn is a Professional Organizer (literally - did you know such a thing existed?), so of course, every minute detail was perfect. She even bought individual favors for each guest, wrapped and labeled with nametags. No joke. It was sincerely a pleasure to attend. (thanks for those who offered advice regarding Brian's attire. He went sans jacket, and although most of the men were wearing suits, I really didn't feel uncomfortable about it. There was one other guy who didn't have a jacket, and when I saw him walk in, I felt better. Besides, once the reception starts, most people take off their jackets anyway...)


There were a couple of other things that made this experience so fun. One, we dropped Katy at my mom's house on the way and stayed at a hotel! By ourselves! Living the high life... Two, we got to spend the evening with one of my other close friends from college, Cathy, and her fiance, Arvind. I hadn't seen them since my own wedding, so it was great to have time to catch up.



Cathy, Dawn, and I...we haven't dressed up like this since the SAA semi-formal




The groom works in television - isn't this a cool groom's cake?





Cathy and Arvind are next - June 2008


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Meanwhile, Katy saw lots of grandparents this weekend. In addition to staying at my mom's house, we met my dad for dinner at the dairy farm for his birthday, and Brian and his mom took Katy to the zoo during my last day of work. Here are the highlights...

Katy and Grandpa on the tractor

Katy's first roller coaster


Up close and person with a gorilla

Warning...Katy is interested in everyone's "belly" these days

1 comment:

Oma Froehle said...

Neat! That looks more like a Merry-Go-Round than a Roller Coaster to me.

I am getting ready to post my pictures from the weekend on Oma's Place to tell "the rest of the story" on Katy's weekend.