The best of times…

We had the greatest time in Fredricksburg Texas. I was totally thrilled to be able to go through Homestead. I have been a fan for a very long time. I was not disappointed, it was gigantic, everything was old and cool, even the building. I loved the floors the ceilings and everything in between.

The upstairs the downstairs even the staircase was amazing. So many old chandeliers, lamp shades, cabinets and unusual treasures, my head was spinning. It also could have been the fact that it is HOT in Texas!!
I know I mentioned that before but seriously it is VERY HOT in Texas. Perhaps your thinking the end of June is not the perfect time for a visit… could be you have something there..

But as I was going for a wedding, I didn’t get to choose the time. Everyplace we visited was interesting and fun because it is so different from the northwest. I had heard that San Antonio was wonderful, and indeed it was! It was actually magical, the River Walk, the Alamo, the beautiful cathedrals were incredible; my only regret is that we didn’t have a longer visit.

My niece Krissi lives in Lubbock Texas, she chose San Antonio so that if people were coming all the way to Texas for the wedding she wanted them to have lots to do and see during their stay. The mansion that the wedding was held in is situated near Trinity University. Typically I forgot to get a picture of the outside, maybe I was in too big of a hurry to get into the building for the air conditioning! The first 7 floors were for tenants, the 8^th floor was the ballroom, where we had dinner and the roof top was were they had the ceremony and dancing. What a perfect place for a wedding, a fantastic view of the city and on the roof there was continuous breeze. In Texas they call it a breeze anywhere else it would be called a wind storm, or maybe even a tornado! The good news was we were thrilled to have it, cooled us off to the point we were comfortable being outside.

Since the setting was perfect, there wasn’t much to do for decorating. We put these bright pink gerbera daisies in vases,

hung lanterns,

set up the cake/candy/dessert table, press a few words on the wall and that was it. It only took the aunties, cousins, mom,

baby girl and bride 2 days… Why does it always take so long??

The only hiccup we experienced was the small daisies were totally the wrong color! She ordered bright pink not light pink or peach!! All the nice people, everyone except me, kept saying, its not so bad they look okay, and when I couldn’t hold back any longer I had to say uck its not going to be okay. What to do, what to do??? These were ordered on line and when she called, and sent a photo to them, they agreed definitely not hot pink; unfortunately they wouldn’t be able to send more before the wedding!! After hashing it out, weighing the options, we decided to use florist paint and make them hot pink. Couldn’t be accomplished outside because of the wind, sooo.. After practically asphyxiating the work crew, mission accomplished, perfectly matched hot pink gerbera daisies!

We’d only met the groom once, last summer when he came to Oregon for the 4^th of July. We liked him fine, but seriously would anyone be good enough?? After spending a few days with Daniel, under the most stressful of times, I’m here to say, yes indeed, what a perfect match. He is a wonderful compliment to our most precious baby. Krissi is a young woman who has experienced more than her share of life’s hard times and deserves someone as special as she, in my opinion she found him.

All set ready to go. It is obvious to all, that they adore each other.

One of the other highlights of my trip was seeing our nephew Tim, he is Lilli’s dad. I have known him and adored him for many years and the fact that he is no longer married to Krissi doesn’t remove him from my list of loved ones. I am very proud of him and of Krissi and Daniel for the amazing way they have been able to overcome all the obstacles and remain best of and totally focused on what is best for their daughter. I have ached for them, and worried about their transitions, but I am relieved to have been able to see for myself that they are happy and comfortable with their lives. I loved seeing our niece Livy with her husband Brian. Here are Brynne and Jared with our GRAND niece Addie. What a doll, she is so grownup for just 2 years old. She wore a vintage dress her dad’s mom wore as a baby; that was pretty cool.

My sister Terri dancing with Keith, the big brother. Brynne dancing with Sam

Dancing is hot work, if you a great bod you may as well take your shirt off?

We have a sister, Diane who lives in Oklahoma she came with her husband, daughter, and grandchildren. It was wonderful to have some time with all of them. We haven’t spent much time together, but the time we to get is always precious. Here I am with my sweetie, the driver and all around great guy.

The only thing that could have made it more perfect would have been if my middle 2 big boys had been able to get time off work to come. What could be better that?