Wedding in Laurens

What a great weekend. The rumors I heard about this wedding were largely untrue, although it was still an interesting weekend to be sure. I'll start by debunking the myth that there were 350 people. More like 200. The BBQ pork was actually pretty good, although Caroline now has a rash and a fever. Here is the first of many pics to come. Good times had by all.

This could be interesting

This weekend we are headed up to Laurenes, Iowa (pronounced LA Renz) for our kids babysitters wedding. Apparantly, Laurens a.k.a. "The busiest little town in Iowa" has quite a history, and suprisingly a web site.

All three of my little dudes will be in the wedding. Drew as the dashing ring bearer, and Caroline and Bella as flower girls. I anticipate blog posts of this event to much to list in a single blog post, so I am planning on a 4-5 part series. Here's why:

The food at the wedding is going to be leftover bar-b-q beef sandwiches. They have been frozen since June when our babysitter's cousin graduated from highschool. There will also be potato salad that a lady in Laurens is making. Did I mention that there will be 350 people at the wedding? Yeah, that's a lot of mayonnaise for the masses if you ask me.

The flowers are plastic, but don't worry. They were spray painted to match the fall color scheme theme. I am hearing orange and brown which only makes me wonder how ridiculous Drew is going to look in an orange tux. I am presuming that its orange, plus it goes well with the Dumb and Dumber picture.

I'd get into more of it but it hasn't even happened. I'll be back Monday with evidence including photos and potential some YouTube videos that you will see here first. I am both frightened and elated all at the same time. Tom Arnold's show will have nothing on this shin-dig. 

Tom if you're reading, bring a film crew to Laurens.

The story behind finding the picture of me on the phone

So I called my mom and told her to send me the picture that's in the previous blog post. She and Dad just moved and have all their photos in boxes. The idea of her finding this picture was a challenge. Another challenge was that she and my dad would have to figure out how to use the scanner even if they did find the picture. They had a scanner, they just hadn't used it. This is the equivalent of having a stove but eating your meat raw. They are somewhat technically challenged but they are gaining on it. I tried to talk them through it on the phone.

So I told my parents to try scanning any old picture just to see if they could accomplish that. If they could, and only if they could, they would look for the real picture. Below is the test version I received.



Now if you know my dad, this is pretty funny. If you don't know my dad, you're missing out. He drew characters like this all the time when we were kids. You could say he has his own style. That's me with with the purple Napoleon Dynamite hair and my mother in her maternity prime. So, the good news is that I got the real photo for a sappy sentimental post, and I got this little beauty as well. I am going to try to convince my sister to use it as her birth announcement but that conversation won't last too long.

All My Life's a Circle

I love this picture. I am three years old standing in my grandparent's living room wearing a t-shirt that reads "Shady Oak Fish Camp." The look of amazement, bewilderment, concern and surprise is due to the message coming from the other end of the phone. My parents are calling me from the hospital and telling me that I have a brand new sister. "Her name is Erica" they told me. I am so grateful my Grandma thought to take the picture.

I got another phone call today. This phone call was from my little sister, Erica, who is now all grown up, 31, married and living in Boston. She called me from the hospital. She had a baby girl.

Funny how life always seems to find a way to work itself out, to make the edges round, to become the same all over again, to come full circle.

These are the best parts of life, aren't they? There is nothing I enjoy more than seeing the face of a friend who is a father or mother for the first time. Knowing what they are going through, the experiences and emotions I have felt, they now have too. They are different, but in the end, they are very much the same.

All of us, humans, if you will, just trying to carve out a space in this world, trying to build relationships with people from father, mother, brother, sister, friend, co-worker or the stranger walking by that nods and smiles, hello. We're all better because of each other. Today, I am better because my sister and her husband know one of life's greatest joys. They are the parents of Austin Elouise Maite Archabal.

So I welcome my niece into this world and hope that in 25-30 years or so she has the same experience her mother is having now. I hope she realizes that this is a joy passed down through every generation, through every person that has ever lived.

I would be remiss if I didn't reference my favorite Harry Chapin song here. As you many know, Harry Chapin is best known for his song "Cats in the Craddle" but his best work is burried on albums that aren't mainstream, with songs that never made it to the radio because they were deemed too long. Why are we in such a big hurry?

Here is Harry Chapin singing, "Circle" - it runs about five minutes long, but I am sure if you look close enough you can find the relevance in your own life, and more importantly, the lives of everyone around you. Don't be in a hurry, sit back and enjoy.

The lyrics are below.





Circle
by Harry Chapin

All my life's a circle;
Sunrise and sundown;
Moon rolls thru the nighttime;
Till the daybreak comes around.

All my life's a circle;
But I can't tell you why;
Season's spinning round again;
The years keep rollin' by.

It seems like I've been here before;
I can't remember when;
But I have this funny feeling;
That we'll all be together again.

No straight lines make up my life;
And all my roads have bends;
There's no clear-cut beginnings;
And so far no dead-ends.

Chorus:
I found you a thousand times;
I guess you done the same;
But then we lose each other;
It's like a children's game;

As I find you here again;
A thought runs through my mind;
Our love is like a circle;
Let's go 'round one more time.

Chorus

My sister is in labor!

She has allowed me to co-author her blog while she waits. You can read about it here: http://littlearch.blogspot.com/

Caroline perspective

I picked up Caroline from dance on my way home from work yesterday. Its always nice to have one-on-one time with any of my kids so I usually shut the radio off and we talk about things.

So I asked her what she thought Bella and Drew were doing at home with mom.

"Well, Bella is probably being good, watching tv or something," Caroline said, "Drew is probably going crazy because he's pretty much a meatball."

Caroline has a boyfriend

So there is a young man in Caroline's preschool class that apparently is head over heals for my sweet Caroline. To protect the innocent, I'll call him "Conner." So anyway, this Conner kid doesn't just have a little crush on Caroline, he like LOVES her. (Daina's words.)

Apparantly at the pretend center the other day, Caroline was making pretend pizzas and this kid started crying that he couldn't make pizzas with Caroline. He tries to hold her hand. He basically worships the very ground she walks on. Caroline likes him, you know, as a friend. She doesn't get the whole thing and just thinks its a boy being nice.

I'm onto you Conner. This is too early for me to be worrying about this. I knew the day would come when I would start sweating this stuff, but I imagined it was Bella when she was 15, not Caroline when she's five! I mean, the kid isn't even in kindergarten yet.

So Daina assures me that this Conner punk is actually a fine outstanding young man. A class act. When Caroline grows up she wants to be a pig farmer. Its cool to have dreams when you are five. This Conner kid, when he grows up? He wants to be a financial planner. Just like his dad, apparently.

Caroline came home from school the other day with pictures that Conner had made for her. These weren't made at preschool, they were brought from his home in his back pack and delivered to Caroline at the end of her half day class. I mean, I wasn't making mix tapes for girls until at least junior high. Passing notes with girls started around the same time. And now I have Pablo Picasso giving my little girl his art. What gives?

Caroline and I spoke. She can hang with this kid. Two conditions. No hand holding and no kissing. Caroline thought this was cool and agreed.

So come to find out today that Caroline and Conner had a lunch date at Happy Joe's today. I asked Daina who drove? Mom's were there with siblings so it was a controlled environment. They apparently had a great time and partied at the ski ball machine. Daina assures me that Connor is very nice, polite and comes from a good family.

And as much as I am joking throughout this post I am concerned how I am going to handle punk ass teenage boys making the moves on my girls. It aint going to be a pretty time for me. I have now turned into the Dad that I dreaded meeting as a kid. Those dad, like me now, know exactly what a young boy is thinking.