Mandy and Paul's Party

Before we begin the party story, I will post two titles that I should have used for this post.

1. The Bridal Registry Is Still Missing, So We Wrote Checks Instead.

2. Kendal, Amy Marie, Hayden, and Emily: Together at Last

Last night, we had a celebration to celebrate the marriage of Paul and Mandy. It was a barbecue at their house. They eloped in a civil ceremony on December 18. (I just learned that date yesterday.) The food was enjoyable. It was your "traditional" barbecue fare. I missed a lot of it, but what I had was enjoyable. We'll skip the cast of characters because there are too many unknowns. My birthday party in October is the probable next time you'll see a list.

However, I will mention that all my great nieces were in one place for the first time ever (See Title 2.). Unfortunately, I came to the party after they all arrived. Also, I observed them separately so I can't give any stories of interaction. There was a mention of a picture, but it wouldn't be from their parents' cameras since they forgot theirs. (Maggie forgot hers, too, and we don't have a functioning camera at this time.) By the way, my conversation with Marnie confirms the first time status of this event as she had never seen Amy Marie, let alone Emily in person until yesterday. I hope that my readers appreciate the significance of this event!

It rained during the early afternoon. We were caught in a heavy downpour as Bob and I were on our way to St. Columbkille's Church in Parma by bus, but the rain ended by the time that we made the party. (Actually, Mike Schabel drove us to his house to wait for Maggie to come home from a wedding shower for a former co-worker's son.) At least we had a large garage that prevented a total damper that would have rained on our parade. (Excuse all the puns!) It was a fun event, although it was a little crowded. If we didn't have the garage, occupancy limits may have been "violated". Also, there is now a bathroom in the garage now that was recently constructed. Since the garage is not connected to the house, I can call it a fancy outhouse. (Think Port-a-Potty for most of our generation.) I must stop with all these water references

The next major event without a full cast of characters on this blog will be Emily's Baptism on September 5. Details will follow. Of course, if anything interesting happens, I'll report it.