Going To The Chapel (Escapade, Day 2)

I recommend you read the previous post before this one. It will make things make much more sense! :o)

One thing I forgot to mention about Thursday, and pulling off the surprise is that in the afternoon (after I had arrived in Phoenix, and was about 5 miles away from her), I called my mom to check on any pre-wedding jitters. During our conversation, she mentioned how sorry she was that she didn't plan it so that Dave and I (and the baby, of course!) (it's all about the baby!) could be there. Quietly smirking, I said, "You know, it would be nearly impossible to schedule a time for us to be there. Dave is just incredibly busy at work, and can't take any time off at all. Plus, this is about you and Dale, and your commitment to each other. I wish we could all be there, too, but know that we're praying for you, and we'll be there in spirit." (only one teeny white lie in there...not bad!). It's all to perpetuate the ultimate surprise. :o)

So, back to Friday, September 5th. Mookie and I woke up and had breakfast, and my uncle called to say they were out by the pool, and it was just gorgeous outside. You don't have to tell me twice! Mookie and I got into our bathing suits, and slathered up the sunscreen, and headed out to the cool blue waters.

I wanted a picture of her in her little bikini before we got into the pool. This one won't win any photography awards, but she is the cutest! :o)

And then, more fun than all-you-can-eat barbecue...we went swimming! :o) I've never taken a baby swimming, so there were probably things I could have/should have done differently, but she seemed to enjoy herself, and so did Barb and Phil and I...so that's all that really matters. I basically held her head above water and let her kick her legs as I turned back and forth. Then Barb got into the water, and "swam" with her for a few minutes. Mookie seemed to get tired, and we needed to get on with our day, so we dried off and headed in. This is another "not the best picture" picture, but it is my picture, and this is my blog, and I want to record this moment. :o) This is Barb, Mookie and I just before we got out.

So the next few hours were spent going between Joann's, Michaels, Target, Party City, and BevMo! (an adult beverage store) getting all of our supplies ready. We were a Wedding Planning Machine! Well oiled and timed perfectly. :o)  We got the bouquet (Mom didn't want one), a basket for Mookie (the flower girl, of course), some silk rose petals (for Mookie as well as their hotel room), some bows for the pews, some streamers for the rest of the pews, champagne and glasses for toasting, and...um...I think that's it! We were all set. Now we just had to get back to the hotel, get the baby to take a suitable nap (hah!), and get ourselves cleaned and ready.

When we were all set to go, we loaded everything into the car and got on the road. To further perpetuate the surprise, I called Mom again. It was about an hour before the wedding, and I hadn't talked to her, so I called. Barb and Phil got to listen to the conversation because my car has Bluetooth through the speakers...and they had a tough time not chuckling as I carried the "sorry we can't be there" banner even further. :o)  Sorry for lying to you, Mom! :o)  So we got to the church, got it decorated, and set up the video camera awaiting their arrival. The pastor was the only one who was supposed to be there, so we had to park my car down the road a bit. I certainly didn't want to give it all away in the final moments!

My brother called to say they were at the church, so we got poised and ready inside the sanctuary so that they wouldn't see us until they actually entered the sanctuary. We heard Mom open the door to the fellowship hall (just outside the sanctuary) and start chatting with the pastor. So we waited. And we waited. And we waited some more. Then we turned off the video camera because we knew it would be a while. :o) Finally we heard her wrapping up the conversation and saw the shadows on the wall as they were about to enter.

We were a little ways away, so the picture is fuzzy, but Mom was definitely surprised to see us standing there! :o)  And of course the first thing she wanted to do was hold the baby! Apparently she forgot about getting married!! :o) She had NO CLUE we were there. Never suspected a thing. We were champion surprisers. Yay! Gotta love it when you pull it off, right?

So, the wedding got started, and it was like that scene in The Princess Bride where Prince Humperdink is trying to get the priest to hurry up the wedding saying "Man and Wife. Say Man and Wife!" ... Mom was that eager to get to hold Mookie some more! :o) Zip, zip, zip...kiss the bride. Sign here and here and here. NOW she gets to hold the baby. :o)

We sat around the church just a little more, took some pictures...

...the flower girl...

Then we went back to the hotel to kill some time, had the champagne toast, and then went to a fantabulous place for dinner. It's called "noca" and if you live in the Phoenix area, or plan to visit anytime soon, you should definitely go there (sorry, I can't find a website). The food was a-MAZE-ing.  I think the phrase "gluttonous pigs" was used more than once that night! Oh. Did we eat. Man.

One more photo, and I'll leave you for today.

...the wedding planner at dinner...

(a.k.a. Uncle Rob)

After what felt like an 18-course meal, we waddled back to the cars, then back to the hotel for the night. We had a big day of swimming and lounging scheduled for Saturday. :o)

...oh, and the water slide... :o)