Back home from Nephew Brian's wedding in California for a week and a half, then it was back on the road to Nephew Scott's wedding to Jesse in Colorado Springs - with a host of other activities thrown in for a full measure of celebration.
Sheri and Tony hosted a dinner at PF Chang's for those family members representing the groom's side of the celebration. I sat across from Aunt Marjorie and Uncle Norm who flew in from Virginia, and it was great to see them after many years. Grant and his sweetheart Kaileen were expected from Columbia, Missouri, a straight but very long drive west on I-70 from middle Missouri. They did not make it for dinner, but arrived late evening at our hotel suite. Upon his arrival, we sprung an early birthday on him, delivering a few gifts before dispensing ear plugs so as to endure the snoring of the old folks in the same room.
The next day all of the family guests from Scott's side checked into the Big Horn Lodge accommodations as guests of Sheri and Tony on the beautiful grounds of "Glen Eyre Castle", a private conference center for the Navigators, a Christian college campus organization. The Castle was tucked into the foothills, next to the famous Garden of the Gods Park. The wedding was to be held on the Castle terrace Sunday afternoon, and in the mean time it was so nice to gather at such a beautiful retreat center and be together with family.
Grant and Kaileen exercised there freedom to explore both Colorado Springs and the Castle Glen Eyre grounds. Sue and I teamed up with the Best Man i.e. Nephew Daniel, to visit the Garden of the Gods (along with thousand of other tourists/sightseers).
Mainly as the result of secret planning by my sisters, Wendy & Sheri, after our breakfast in the St. James room of the Castle, we adjourned to the patio of the courtyard and unfolded a Father's Day tribute to dad/grandpa. There were cards and thoughts of appreciation, and Grant had put together a touching and well executed audio tribute to his Grandfather based on a phone interview he had done as part of one of his journalism courses a year earlier.
At 3 in the afternoon, we all filed onto the terrace to witness the exchange of vows between Scott and Jesse, and then celebrate their marriage. After the completion of a multitude of family combinations and poses for the wedding photographs, we gave the bride's family a decent head start to get back to their home on the north side of Colorado Springs where the reception party was to begin. There was dancing and dining, origami and toasts and bubbles into the night, until Scott and Jesse bid us all farewell and drove away.
Grant and Kaileen had to leave early Monday morning, as they both had to be at work at Newsy by 9 PM. They reported that they got back into Columbia, MO at 8:50, and set to work producing digital content until 2 AM. A long day of driving back, but as journalists, they did not miss that deadline.
The rest of the family (that is my parents, my two sisters and their husbands, and us) stayed in town for one more night. Again, my sisters had secretly planned to surprise my parents for their 59th anniversary as we all joined up a Dickey's BBQ with festive anniversary plates and cheers for my parents.
For those of you who have lost track of the party score in The Springs:
Wow! That's a lot!
And it was a lot of fun.
Post Script: Scott had just accepted an offer from Intel near Portland, Oregon
a week before the wedding, and the couple will return to Portland where they met at Portland State University. They both have an abiding love for Japanese culture and speak Japanese.
Sheri and Tony hosted a dinner at PF Chang's for those family members representing the groom's side of the celebration. I sat across from Aunt Marjorie and Uncle Norm who flew in from Virginia, and it was great to see them after many years. Grant and his sweetheart Kaileen were expected from Columbia, Missouri, a straight but very long drive west on I-70 from middle Missouri. They did not make it for dinner, but arrived late evening at our hotel suite. Upon his arrival, we sprung an early birthday on him, delivering a few gifts before dispensing ear plugs so as to endure the snoring of the old folks in the same room.
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| Grant's early 22nd Birthday in our hotel suite |
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| Grant and Kaileen try to guess the gift wrapped contents |
The next day all of the family guests from Scott's side checked into the Big Horn Lodge accommodations as guests of Sheri and Tony on the beautiful grounds of "Glen Eyre Castle", a private conference center for the Navigators, a Christian college campus organization. The Castle was tucked into the foothills, next to the famous Garden of the Gods Park. The wedding was to be held on the Castle terrace Sunday afternoon, and in the mean time it was so nice to gather at such a beautiful retreat center and be together with family.
Grant and Kaileen exercised there freedom to explore both Colorado Springs and the Castle Glen Eyre grounds. Sue and I teamed up with the Best Man i.e. Nephew Daniel, to visit the Garden of the Gods (along with thousand of other tourists/sightseers).
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| Mark & Sue Having fun storming the castle |
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| Mark & Aunt Marjorie |
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| Grant & Kaileen On the grounds of The Castle, Colorado Springs, CO |
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| Kaileen & Grant Breakfast al fresco on the Castle Terrace |
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| Grant & Kaileen (I made them pose like this) |
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| Castle Terrace |
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| The knight in the Castle |
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| Sue at the Castle door |
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| Castle Garden |
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| Sue sits on the bridge above the moat |
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| Sister Wendy at the Castle |
Mainly as the result of secret planning by my sisters, Wendy & Sheri, after our breakfast in the St. James room of the Castle, we adjourned to the patio of the courtyard and unfolded a Father's Day tribute to dad/grandpa. There were cards and thoughts of appreciation, and Grant had put together a touching and well executed audio tribute to his Grandfather based on a phone interview he had done as part of one of his journalism courses a year earlier.
At 3 in the afternoon, we all filed onto the terrace to witness the exchange of vows between Scott and Jesse, and then celebrate their marriage. After the completion of a multitude of family combinations and poses for the wedding photographs, we gave the bride's family a decent head start to get back to their home on the north side of Colorado Springs where the reception party was to begin. There was dancing and dining, origami and toasts and bubbles into the night, until Scott and Jesse bid us all farewell and drove away.
Grant and Kaileen had to leave early Monday morning, as they both had to be at work at Newsy by 9 PM. They reported that they got back into Columbia, MO at 8:50, and set to work producing digital content until 2 AM. A long day of driving back, but as journalists, they did not miss that deadline.
The rest of the family (that is my parents, my two sisters and their husbands, and us) stayed in town for one more night. Again, my sisters had secretly planned to surprise my parents for their 59th anniversary as we all joined up a Dickey's BBQ with festive anniversary plates and cheers for my parents.
For those of you who have lost track of the party score in The Springs:
- Grant's (early) Birthday
- Family Reunion kind of thing
- Rehearsal Dinner
- Wedding
- Festive Wedding Reception
- Father's Day
- 59th Wedding Anniversary for Parents
- A road trip - includes Garden of the Gods (State Park)
Wow! That's a lot!
And it was a lot of fun.
Post Script: Scott had just accepted an offer from Intel near Portland, Oregon
a week before the wedding, and the couple will return to Portland where they met at Portland State University. They both have an abiding love for Japanese culture and speak Japanese.
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| On the grounds of Castle Glen Eyre A magnificent sandstone spire, a remnant of the formation of the Rocky Mountains |
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