Honey, we're home!

Yay! We survived to tell the tale!

Kudos to my intrepid daughter, Micah, who drove more miles than I care to remember from Nevis to Minneapolis (four hours) and then from Dallas/Ft. Worth to Angleton, TX which is supposed to be a 4-1/2 hour drive, but took us about six hours. Then she did it again in reverse! The city traffic was horrific and DFW and Houston both had construction with those wonderful cement barriers that hug your lane. She managed it with aplomb and the lazer focus of the black belt she is. I never could have gone by myself, and I'm so glad she and Sully were able to come along. :)

Besides the car portions of our trip Micah experienced her first airplane rides and was a little nervous when we boarded a minuscule Delta plane with only four seats across. It was cozy folks! I felt sorry for the taller guys who kept bumping their heads and had quite a time wedging themselves into the seats. Micah had the added stress of Sully deciding to cry loudly for the first 30 minutes or so. She couldn't take him out of his carseat and nurse him until we were airborne, so it got a little nerve wracking. We did better on the return trip, armed with little melt-in-your-mouth baby snacks. Also, the return trip felt positively luxurious with six seats across, and little TVs to watch, lol.

We got to board first since we had a baby with us. Later the plane was packed!

 After the flight to Dallas/Ft. Worth it took a lot longer than we expected to get to the car rental place and get our car. We had to take a ride on a large bus to the rental car garage (it's like a small city of its own) and then realized we didn't know which company we had rented from. We made arrangements through Orbitz and they had decided to wipe her email from their memory so she couldn't log in and find information. She said all of their emails disappeared from her inbox as well. We called son Josh and he got on the phone with Orbitz customer service and quickly found out that we had a Dollar rental car. Still, as newbies, we managed to take forever getting the car. 

After finally finding our car we headed south from DFW to Angleton (south of Houston) to visit my step-dad, Glenn. We originally planned to also see my brother on the way, but due to car problems he wasn't able to meet us. As it happened, we didn't make it to Angleton until about 10 p.m.! Tired, but glad to have entered a safe harbor.

Micah and Sully, safe at Grandpa's house.

 We visited until midnight and then hit the hay. We had all day Thursday to catch up on each other's lives. Micah had never been to the ocean before, so we made the ten mile drive to Surfside Beach, which is where I played as a child. We combed the beach for shells to bring back for the girls and even managed to see a small jellyfish which had washed up on the beach. A small boy was poking it with a stick and all of us tourists were taking photos of it. We also saw pelicans diving for fish.

Micah, Glenn and me

My girl really enjoyed her ocean experience!

We also spent some time driving around Angleton looking up all of my childhood homes. We lived in about eight different houses in Texas before I turned nine! I'm not sure why and it will remain a mystery. It was so nice just spending the whole day with Glenn, relaxing and being spoiled with his cooking. I hope it won't be so long before the next time I get to visit!

On Friday we planned to head back up to the the Ft. Worth area about noon. I was able to see my cousin Dennis and his mom, my Aunt Dixie, before we left Angleton. Dennis and his wife Eileen were able to meet us at Aunt Dixie's at about 10 so we had a good couple of hours to visit. It's hard to fit 40 years of living into two hours! (It's really been that long since I've seen him in person, though we've visited some via email and Facebook.) Anyway, we did the best we could and enjoyed every minute of it. Dennis is a storyteller by nature and regaled us with many a tale. Micah just loved meeting her older cousin and Dennis was pretty smitten with Sully. He carried him around most of the time. Maybe next time we'll have more time and be able to see more of my cousins. I have some awesome family and I'm so glad we'll be together forever in heaven, even if we are far apart here on earth.

Eileen, Dixie, me, Micah, Sully, Glenn and Dennis on the floor. :)

I would have loved to spend more time with Glenn, but there was a wedding brewing up north, so we headed out a little past noon. Back through the Houston traffic and miles of Texas landscape to southwest Fort Worth where we had a motel waiting. It was late so we stopped at Trader Joe's (a place we were both curious about) and bought salad and fruit to eat at our motel.

On Saturday morning Micah was scheduled to get her nails done with some of the wedding party. Sully and I watched and visited. At 11:00 we met Jordan (Brooke was detained elsewhere on wedding business), Josh and Jess and my oldest step-son, Bob and his wife Tiffany at a Mexican restaurant called Rosa's. We had a wonderful meal and such a fun visit. I can't believe nobody thought to take a picture! Afterwards, Josh and Jess took us to a store called Kid to Kid so Micah could pick up a stroller to use while we were there. Later, Josh and Jess took us to the botanical gardens in Ft. Worth, which was one of their favorite places to go when their family lived in the Ft. Worth area a few years back. Once again, no photos! But here's one of Josh and Jess at the Ft. Worth Zoo on Monday after we flew home. Wish we could have gone! We owe so much to sweet Jess. She took care of Sully throughout the entire wedding and reception. Micah was worried sick about how she was going to pull off being a bridesmaid with Sully to take care of. Jess was a lifesaver!

 Saturday evening there was a family barbecue so that both families could get together and meet each other. Brooke had lots of family from Oregon there, and there were seven of us from Jordan's side of the family. Brooke's parents, Annette and Brian, had rented an AirBNB house in a little Ft. Worth neighborhood. There were lots of guests, so it was amazing that the weather cooperated because there's no way we all could have fit in the house! For an introvert like me these sorts of events can be a little awkward, but with my own family around me, I think I did okay. Her family is really nice and they made me feel welcome. (I know...it's not all about me. I keep telling myself that!)

Jordan and Sully. Notice any resemblance?

Me between the groom and bride.

The Richards brood: Micah, Sully, Tiffany, Bob, Brooke, Jordan, me, Josh and Jess.

The chapel.

Brooke and her dad, Brian. That's son Bob over Brian's right shoulder, and me peeking around his left one. :) This venue was sort of Texas shabby chic. Very pretty!

You may kiss the bride! (The very enthusiastic bride!)

 

After the nuptials Jordan sang to his bride. *sniff*

The bride and groom invited everyone back to the chapel for a worship service before the reception.

It was a wonderful time of praise and worship.

 The reception was great. The meal was a taco bar along with an assortment of non-alcoholic beverages, followed by wedding cake and cupcakes. It was all arranged so beautifully. I wish I had more pictures. What I've shown here are other people's photos I've nabbed from Facebook. I'm sure a wedding video is forthcoming.

Sully wore his snazzy fedora.  For a few seconds...

One of Brooke's friends, and her maid of honor, enjoyed a dance with Sully. He was quite popular all evening.

Micah was also a bridesmaid (do they still call you that if you're married?). She pushed her way in among the groomsmen, much to everyone's amusement. That comedic moment was planned because there were more girls than guys.

The wedding party's table.

Showing off the toofers and bowtie. :)

Pretty decorations in the trees.

 I must admit, the mother/son dance was awkward for me. Ever the introvert, the last thing I want is to be the center of attention. I don't know how to dance and Jordan assured me, in his humorous way, that he too would be faking his way through the evening. He said, "Just stand there and wobble, Mom." We did. He made me laugh and we tried to make conversation. He knew it would be hard for me, but I wasn't about to miss being "the mom" to dance with my boy!

After the father/daughter and mother/son portion of the dancing was over there was quite a bit of lively line dancing which I enjoyed from the safety of my seat, lol. Jordan and his friends and all the attendees enjoyed dancing and singing and generally having a jolly time. I enjoyed every minute of watching them!

 Another high point of the evening was when Josh did a little speech about his brother.  It was filled with humor and love. Josh, who is studying to be an accountant, in addition to other things, ended by raising a fist in the air and crying, "Married and filing jointly!" A friend (Jedidiah Wick) leaned over my shoulder and loudly whispered, "Your boys are hilarious! You did a good job!" I agree!

The bride and groom share a moment wearing the sunglasses provided as favors. They have their names and wedding date on the bows.

Posing with little Sam, the ring bearer.

 May God's blessings rest on this sweet couple! They are honeymooning in a little cabin in the woods somewhere in the Ozark mountains of Arkansas. They decided to keep it simple and just drive to their honeymoon destination about six hours from their home. They also have a nice little apartment which will make a very pleasant home. I'm so happy for them and look forward to seeing what God will do through them. I know they're excited about the journey. :)

I'm sure I'll be posting more photos as I snag them from Facebook!

Shalom, everyone!