I had so much fun this past weekend! I got a chance to get away and spend time with my family which is always nice. Let's see, where should I start? On Wednesday night, we had dinner with the bride (my cousin, Lynnea), groom (Mike) and her family - my Uncle Bob, Aunt Paula, and cousin Jarrot - at this place called "The Organ Stop." It's a pizza place that has a live organist in the center and he plays all sorts of music. His organ is huge and controls a number of lights, instruments, and even a set of puppets! It was really entertaining to see!
Thursday, we went to my Uncle Don and Aunt Connie's house in Peoria. They live in a really nice retirement community (my uncle likes to call it "age restricted"). They moved out there maybe about a year or so ago and absolutely love it. The houses are set up in a way where there are no fences and that everyone is forced to be sociable with their neighbors. There's a community center where they've got a spa, pool, gym, library, pool hall, cafe, classes, you name it. They also have their mailboxes there so you're forced to go there at least once a day which also allows you to be sociable with the people in the community. Their house is absolutely beautiful! They got to customize it to their liking as the community is very newly built. They also have a spectacular view each night of the sunset, which is the picture you see above. We had burgers and hot dogs, and got to meet their neighbor Lee, who is a nice gentleman, and his beautiful collie, Sammy. It was fun.
We told Uncle Bob and Aunt Paula that on Friday we were available if they needed help in setting things up, but luckily they didn't so we decided to go to the Commemorative Air Force Museum, which was my dad's idea. It was alright. My dad really enjoyed it, which is good. After the museum, we took a little trip to a botanical garden/park in Mesa. That was really nice also. Lots of pretty desert flowers and cactus. There's a tree there that the bark is green! I thought that was awesome! After that, we decided to go to Arizona Mills (developed by the same people who built Ontario Mills) for dinner. We ate at Rainforest Cafe. My sister LOVED it! She loved watching the animals move and make noise. LOL.
Saturday was the big day! We woke up and got ready and went to the church. The ceremony was lovely. And after the ceremony we went to the reception. OH MY GOODNESS! It was so fun! Lots of dancing and having fun just being with the family. Lynnea looked gorgeous in her dress (which I was told that I was the only one that got to see the dress before she wore it - other than her mother - which made me feel priveleged). The couple was so happy and full of love for not just each other but everyone that came to their wedding. They were so grateful of the out of town guests (we got a welcome basket when we checked into the hotel from them, as well as a parting gift). And they made sure to come to each table to greet the guests which was really nice as well. All in all, it was an awesome day!
On Sunday we went to Uncle Bob's house and had a nice gathering of family, including the newly weds (they leave for their honeymoon sometime next week). I got to meet family members that I had never met before (like my Aunt Joan's daughters, Tracy and Kelly Anne, and their families), which was great. Then, we took the trip home and here I am, writing about it at work.
It was such a great weekend filled with exciting new places, family, love and amazing experiences that will stay with me forever!
