8/6/2018
ATV time! Four of our families rented ATV’s from a place called On the Trail in Grand Lake. Alan and Nancy rented a u-haul trailer to bring their Razor to join up with us. So much fun!! We changed seats and drivers a million times between all of the vehicles. Most of the time 3 or 4 out of the 5 managed to stay together as a group, but we always managed to find each other again. Highlight of the ride – MOOSE!! One went right in front of us as we were stopped looking at his friends. I can’t get over how big they are!! Nolan got to ride with Jason who blasted through mud puddles & spun donuts. Our ATV ride was a little more cautious – safety first!! (Elizabeth called me a grandma . . . but I thought I was pretty dare-devilish!) By the end, we managed to get just as muddy as the rest of the gang. Briggs and I named the toughest trail “Rocky Road – It went seemingly straight up with nothing but rocks to navigate, jostling us to no end. A real gut buster!
We were on a tight schedule because our family had to get the Y for a 3:00 rehearsal. We all had lunch together at Sloopy’s in Grand Lake. It was the perfect place for a group our size. Great burgers and fries that we ordered up at the counter and they passed it out through the side window. We all ate outside at tables with umbrellas. The weather, again, was perfect!
Our family headed over to the Y and met up with Mimi, Earl, Sean (the Pastor) and Alayna (the wedding coordinators from the Y). We tested out the sound, determined who was walking together and where everyone was going to sit and stand. Chewy didn’t make it to the rehearsal so he was going to have to wing it 🙂
Now it was time to race back to the cabin so we could get set up for the I Do BBQ that we pushed to 6:00. What a great night! Although it started off with Chewy getting loose (that part was not so great). He wasn’t tied up and took advantage of a door left open. I was standing on the deck and saw him galloping around the house and under the patio. Cameron managed to catch him – emergency distinguished!! I had thoughts in my head of him never coming back and the wedding was going to be ruined and I’d never sleep again worrying about him . . .lol! As this was all happening, Katie walked in holding a tray of 50 of the most beautiful wedding cake shaped cookies that they hand made and decorated – Amazing!! Thank you Katie!!
The decorations turned out so cute. We had a red bandana/BBQ theme. Chewy and Rory even dressed up for the occasion with coordinating bandanas. The food was great! Our menu was: pulled pork, brats and hotdogs (thank you Megan for grilling), Gretchen’s potatoes (thank you Donna for bringing those), Hawaiian rolls, chips, white trash dip, baked beans, pickle tray, cherry crisp, sweet tea, lemonade, beer and wine.
Instead of a “guest book” we had a “guest corn hole board”. I had everyone sign one of them, so every time we use them, we’ll remember this special day. We played darts, ping pong, hula-hoop and hung out on the deck and chatted. We had the standard things going on at family parties: kids were running around with sharpies, launching the darts in every direction and going in and out and in and out of the sliding screen door on the deck, most of the time forgetting to shut it. This is a notable offense because just a couple of weeks ago, a chipmunk got inside and lived in the couch for 3 days. Mom and Earl had to carry the couch outside and scare the little guy out!
Sean (our pastor) joined us as well. He’s a great guy and fit right in. Everyone thought he was part of the family. We were introduced by Cindy Fiala, a pastor/friend at my church in Frisco that I was close with over several years. She moved to Denver, so I asked her if she could perform our ceremony. Unfortunately she was going to be out of town and introduced us to Sean. We had 6 one hour sessions (over the internet camera) of pre-marital counseling sessions together where he got to know us.
Mom kicked everyone out around 9:00 so we could wind down and go to bed at a decent hour for our big day tomorrow. This girl needs some beauty rest!
To Have And To Haas 