We'd planned for this weekend for a long long time. We knew our friend, Paul, was getting married, and had just recently found out that Russ was to be his Best Man. I had arranged for my co-worker and friend, Lindsay, to come take care of our kids and dogs for the weekend. She and her family have been living with her mom all summer while thier house was being built. Therfore, it was a nice way for her to have some immediate family time for herself. She and her husband have three young children too, so we all knew it'd be a handful, but agreed to return favors, so it's worth it.

Russ dropped off the boys at their regular daycare around 8:30 in the morning on Friday. I finished the last preparations for our time away and packed our suitcases. We headed North around 10:00am. We hoped to arrive at the Hampton Inn around 3:00pm. Lindsay was picking up the boys from daycare later that afternoon and then spending the weekend at our house.

Paul called in a few times while we were en route. Russ was off to a great start as Best Man. We arrived at the hotel right on time. It was a very nice choice - complete with portraits of a greyhound and borzoi in the lobby, no less! Once at the hotel, we settled in a little bit, and then checked in with a few friends who'd also be attending the Rehearsal and Dinner. Paul was due to check into the hotel, however last minute details caused him to just meet us at the church for the Rehearsal. So, we changed our clothes, met our friends, Dave & Terri in the lobby and then traveled together to the Church. We were early, but ran into some other of our friends, Don & Amber who were also early. We enjoyed the time just tailgating in the parking lot despite a slight rainy mist. It was just really nice to see everyone and the excitement was high.

Soon it was time to go into the church and get the rehearsal started. As usual, it had some blips and bumps along the way, but finally the momentum got them all through the basics. We got to meet some other members of the wedding, and say hello to the parents of the bride and groom. Once everyone felt they could pull this wedding thing off, we split off in the direction of the Italian Restaurant for dinner.

The dinner was great. We really liked catching up with Dave, Don, Terri and Amber, and all enjoyed seeing how happy Paul and Sandie were. The drinks were plentiful and the food outstanding.

The height of the evening was when Paul distributed the Groomen's gifts. He and Sandie had come across a rather original idea. Suspicious smiles erupted when the box was unwrapped to reveal a shipping lable from a place called Whoopass! Once the boxes were opened, each Groomsman had his very own personalized BobbleHead!! It was hilarious, and very well done. We hated to call the evening to an end, but knew there was a busy day ahead. The restuarant packed up all the leftovers, and we began loading them into the van. Fortunately, Paul's suite at the hotel came with a full sized fridge.

Once back at the hotel, we delivered the leftovers to Paul's room, and told him to try to get some sleep in the big lonely suite! Russ and I returned to our room, and watched a little TV before we drifted off ourselves.

Russ's adrenaline kicked in about 6:30 am. He needed to meet Paul around 8:00 to deliver some items to the reception hall. He had several duties to accomplish throughout the day, and couldn't help by wake up with his busy brain. The hotel offered a substantial continental breakfast, so we ate our fill before meeting Paul. He was in good spirits, and didn't show any nervousness. I decided to stay at the hotel for a variety of reasons. Paul and Russ were due for some private time together, I needed to wait for Noah to arrive, and I had to figure out how to effectively use my camera.

Also during the morning, I checked in online to see if Liam's football game went on schedule despite the rain. Turns out it did, but they still got in their game. The only downer was that Lindsay couldn't find Liam's football jersey, so he just wore his black shirt. He was the only kid without his jersey, but he didn't mind. Unfortunately, a photographer showed up to take some pictures of the boys, and our little player stuck out like a sore thumb. Oh well. We thank our friend, Rick, for picking him up and taking him to the game.

So, while I geeked out at the hotel with my camera and PDA, Russ and Paul finished their errands for the day and returned right around noon. We went up to Paul's room to eat some leftovers. Noah arrived and met us up there as well and joined us for lunch. It was nice to just have some easy time together, and we all enjoyed keeping Paul's mind in a fun state... the Blue Coller Comedy on TV helped too!

After we'd stuffed ourselves again, Paul remembered he needed a couple of things (and Russ wanted to get some supplies for "the car"), so Noah, Russ and Paul went out to K-mart. I stayed back at the hotel. They weren't gone long, and then we spent just a little more time hanging out in Paul's room before I decided to go back down to our room to get myself ready for the evening. Just as I was heading back, Dave, Terri, Don and Amber arrived in the lobby. I pointed them to Paul's room. Once I had myself ready, I returned to Paul's room to assist... as I got an emergency call from Russ stating that he'd broken a button. Luckily, the front desk had one of those emergency sewing kits.

I fixed the button, and Amber and Terri helped all the guys with their cuff links and collers and all those things that make tuxes a mystery. Finally, all the penguins looked pretty good and it was time to head back to the church. Before leaving the hotel, we spent some time taking some nice picures by the lobby fireplace. Amazingly enough, we managed to fit all of us in our van for the trip to the church.

Back a the church, we had a few minutes before people started to arrive, so Noah, Amber, Terri and I put the bows on the pews. Then we were ushered in by Don and Dave and began smiling as more of our friends arrived - Sue and Perry, Diane, Jim and Danielle. It was so great to see them all, and we were so excited for Paul. While we waited (since the wedding was running a tad late because Paul's sister hadn't yet arrived in from California) we shared pictures of our kids, and chatted about the rehearsal dinner with the bobbleheads.

Finally, Russ and Paul walked out and the procession began. Sandie's sister wore a really pretty satin and sequined blue dress. Then procedded the Flower Girl, Junior Bridesmaid and Ring Bearer. Sandie walked down the aisle with her father. Behind Sandie flowed a 5 foot train and a Train Bearer nicknamed, "Caboose." Sandie looked beautiful, and so very happy. The wedding ceremony continued as most ceremonies do. It was a lengthy Catholic wedding, but every moment was symbolic and cherished.

After the couple was announced, and proceeded down the aisle, we followed outside to get our bubbles and set up our cameras. Outside the church was a limo for the Wedding Party and a Rolls Royce for Paul and Sandie. There was a short delay while the guests hugged and congradulated all members of the wedding. Fortunately, the rain held off long enough for Paul and Sandie to come out amidst thousands of bubbles, for their Champagne toast by the cars.... photo opportunity but one filled with laughs and smiles. Terri, Amber, and Noah were all riding to the reception with me, but no one seemed to mind when I followed the wedding party back inside the church to take a couple of pictures. Surprisingly, the picture taking went fairly quickly, and we were soon en route to the reception.

The hall was very nice. It was a bit crowded at first, but we meandered our way to the patio after getting our table assignments, drinks, and some funky mashed potatoes from the "potato bar." Waiters meandered around handing out hors d'ovres, and we had a good time just relaxing with friends. While we were socializing, Russ said that the rest of the Wedding Party had a great time traveling in the limo.... especially the kids.

Soon, everyone arrived, and it was time to go upstairs for the actual reception. Little did we know, but Paul and Sandie had hired Philadelphia Funk to play all evening. It had been a long time since I'd heard a band that good... and he must have spared no expense. They were awesome! It was nice to be able to get to our table, and were happy that we got to sit with friends. Paul and Sandie had a table of thier own.... all lined with the BobbleHeads... so it was especially cute. Shortly after everyone was seated, the wedding party was announced, and Paul and Sandie had their first dance together as husband and wife. Russ even asked me to dance too!

After everyone was in and settled, Russ and I figured it was a good time to take a bathroom break. We headed downstairs, and just as we were coming back up, Noah was running down to get Russ, as it was time for his Best Man's speech! No time to get nervous! We laughed as I got to our table, and Russ took the microphone. In his hand he held an envelope that he gotten from work and covered with "Unclassified" stickers. He explained that he worked for the government in Southern Maryland, and somehow he'd acquired a transcript of Paul's proposal to Sandie. Unfortunately, however, some of the words were unreadable... so he needed help. At this point, he pulled a large sized version of Mad Libs from the envelope. Everyone laughed. He said that he read something about an exotic fruit... and then paused for the wedding guests to supply him with an answer. There was a slight uncomfortable pause, but then everyone caught on to the little game and suggestions came forth. Soon, Russ had enough words to complete his Mad Lib, and it turned out that Sandie was the Kiwi of Paul's eye, and he loved her more than the Dallas Cowboys... It was cute and a great ice breaker. Once the laughter subsided, Russ took a serious moment to share the story of how Sandie was devoted to Paul when he came to visit us in Maryland, and ended up having to go to the hospital. He paralled that story with a story of how Paul showed devoted friendship to Russ in the middle of a snowstorm. He said that if Paul's devotion to Sandie was anything like his devotion to his friends, then they'd be just fine. It was a great speech, and I think Paul and Sandie were pleased.... if not relieved.

Now that Russ's pressure was off, we were all free to enjoy the evening. We enjoyed our courses of dinner, cocktails, dancing, sharing stories, Mickey Mouse ears, and all the things that come with a good party with friends. When things were going well, Russ, Noah, Don's son, DJ with his girlfriend, Noah and I all snuck out to trash Paul's Mercedes with saran wrap, silly string, window markers, shaving cream, and even Police tape.

I didn't even realize it was pushing midnight when the band announced the last dance of the evening for Sandie and Paul. Then we helped clean up (and even clean up his car a little once he realized and laughed at the trick we'd pulled). We all drove back to the hotel with smiles and laughter even though all of us were pretty tired. Paul and Sandie managed to leave a trail of shaving cream ahead of us. At our room, the guys changed out of their tuxes and handed them to Russ so he could fill his last Best Man duty of returning them the next day. Paul called us up to their room for more leftovers, but we were all pretty stuffed. We did come up so Don could do his traditional "Dance with Boa for Bride" deal since he didn't get to at the wedding itself. We all laughed, but it was short as we were all noticing the microwave clock saying 1:30am. It's tough to see such a good day end. Noah came back to our room with us. We said goodbye to everyone else, and crashed hard.

Paul and Sandie seemed pleased with the day, and excited to be going to Disneyland for their honeymoon.

Take a look at the slide show for more pictures.

Noah's phone alarm woke us up at 7:00am. None of us wanted to get up that early, but we forced ourselves too so we could go help Russ's mom, Marcie move the last few items from the storage area of her old apartment building to her new place. It was raining and miserable, but we the continental breakfast helped a little, and we checked out of the hotel. We hoped Paul and Sandie had the opportunity to sleep late.

We arrived at Marcie's apartment around 9:00. It's really a nice place. Much smaller than her old place, but much newer and with a lot more social opportunities for her as well. So, she came with us to her old place to weed out the remaining items to be moved. It didn't take long and the sun even came out for a few minutes as we loaded the van. We dropped off Noah at his house in Doylestown before returning to Marcie's apartment in New Hope.

We wished we could have stayed a little longer at Russ's mom's place, but after we got things moved, shuffled, and loaded, we really had to hit the road. Lindsay had been cooped up in our house for an entire rainy weekend, so we knew we needed to get back.

The trip home wasn't so bad but Russ and I were just SO tired. I took a couple of short naps along the way, but it barely put a dent in my exhaustion. Russ perservered behind the wheel. We were both so glad to pull in our driveway. We thanked Lindsay over and over, but knew she was probably more than ready to head home. She said the kids and dogs were good (except for Jaxson sneaking out the doggy door a couple of times), so we're glad things went well, and promised to return the babysitting favor soon.

We ordered a pizza for dinner, and managed to find enough energy to get things ready for work and daycare the next day. It was a fantastic weekend, but we were so glad to be home.

On a sad note, on Monday, Russ's mom called to tell us that Katherine, Russ's aunt, had passed away. It is very sad, and we know Marcie will deeply grieve her loss. Katherine had suffered a long long time, so we find peace in knowing that her pain has ended.