Monday, June 09, 2008

Weekend in Review...

This past weekend wasn't just busy...it was CRAZY busy (and saying that in my household--because you all know how busy our weekends always are--is really saying something!).

Gary directed the Mustang Roundup softball tournament all weekend (this was sponsored by our team, as a fundraiser to help with our World Series trip later this summer to Maryland), so he was absolutely swamped every minute of the weekend with responsibilities tied to that. McKenna, Sydney, and I went to watch Delaney play Friday night (they won their first game--to the eventual tournament champions--and then lost their second); then Saturday, we had to be at the park at 8 am for an early game. We watched them lose a really tight game, and then had to run back to Hueytown for the 50th anniversary celebration for Gary's aunt and uncle. We held it at our church (most of the relatives were from Oklahoma and Georgia), so I stuck around as much as I could to help out.

After it was over, McKenna went and worked with a fundraiser for her mission trip to Illinois next week and Sydney and I ran BACK over to the tournament where Delaney's team was finally eliminated. It was a very tough tournament (the best competition so far this year) and it was SO sweltering hot, so I think the girls did great even if they didn't win it all!

I am a BAD Mom and don't have any pictures of Delaney playing this weekend (I will regret this when I get around to doing a mini album of the season later on!), but I did get some pictures from the anniversary celebration and they are some good ones.

This is my very FAVORITE picture from the reception. Yes, there was punch and champagne, but this is the South...so there was a big, giant bowl of iced, sweet tea. Yummmm....

This is my second favorite picture from the reception. You all know how much I love me some cake?? (I have been known to go to a wedding solely because I knew there would be cake there!)...

And, yes, the event was not just about food and drinks and all that yummy goodness (LOL!). It was mostly about this couple celebrating their 50th anniversary. Gary's Aunt Jewell and Uncle Charlie got married when she was 14 and they never had an actual wedding ceremony. So they had a renewal of their vows, and it was so sweet...

If you will recall (lol), we had just rushed back from the ballpark where it was very HOT and sweaty and yucky...so, of course, Sydney and I looked pretty darned awful...so, I had to change Sydney's clothes, wash the sweat from every nook and cranny on her body, brush her hair, and try and make her look presentable. We did an okay job and then had to get a picture with some of her cousins, who all looked fresh as daisies compared to her! (And look at what dress she's wearing? She wears this dress ALL the time and I can count how many times it's appeared on this blog! LOL By the way, the girl on the end next to Sydney is Marjorie and the two of them are like two peas-in-a-pod. They are both so outgoing and chatty and silly; they could seriously wreak some havoc if they were together very often!)...

Then came the ceremony, which was done by one of my favorite people in the whole wide world (our parish minister, Brother Jack). He did such a good job and at the end, had Uncle Charlie kiss his "bride." I love this picture, because look at everyone smiling and laughing behind them...

Another highlight of the ceremony was my niece, Lori, singing "Unchained Melody" acapella. She has such a beautiful voice, you would just not believe it! (And, lookie, there behind Lori you can kinda see a glimpse of Gary...who managed to run into town for the event for about thirty minutes, before he had to run back to the tournament again)...

And a few more favorite pictures...lol...here is a picture of me holding my sweet little great-niece, Kelsey (of course, as soon as Sydney saw me holding her in my lap, who had to jump up in my lap too?)...

and then Sydney had to mess with Kelsey and make her cry, and then Sydney said, "She's loud! Make her stop crying!!"....

And then ANOTHER favorite picture is this one of Sydney holding the biggest number of balloons I have ever seen!! At the end of the reception, she was dragging these balloons all over the place and it just cracked me up. I thought she was going to try and talk me into taking them all home, but surprisingly she didn't! (And look at this pic. It looks like they're about to float away with her! lol)

And then one last picture from the day...this beautiful bouquet that Aunt Jewell carried with her down the aisle. If you look carefully, you can see four pearls down the side. They represent her four children...

I thought that it was just the sweetest touch and it really made me think about how one couple, one marriage can really change the world. They have children, those children have children, and the family gets bigger and bigger...and that decision to marry someone so many years ago ends up having this huge, lasting impact on so many people!

(It also made me think about how LONG Gary and I have to go if we will ever see 50 years! We only just celebrated 13 years, so we both better stay really healthy if we're gonna make it even close to fifty!!!)

Well...there's another weekend review for all of you!! I'm gonna try and pop around to say "Hey!" to some of you. Talk to you again soon!!!

18 comments:

Adrienne said...

LOVE the picture of Sydney with her hands over her ears and with the balloons! You just made me want ice tea! I have to run to highlander to get some tylenol for kayla (she has a fever! UGH!) so Im going to grab some lemons and tea!! LOL

hippo chick said...

what a wonderful memory. gary's aunt is just one year older than me. i was still playing dress-ups at 14. wow! the cake was beautiful. actually, everything was beautiful, especially those dear cousins.

i did, in fact, recognize sydney's dress.

thanks for sharing your wonderful weekend with us.

~hippo hugs~
p.

Anonymous said...

Sydney covering her ears is so funny. And 50 years is a LONG time Wow.

Cheryl Wray said...

Adrienne--Sorry I made you go get stuff for sweet tea. LOL I cannot live without tea in the house!!!!!

Pam--It was a very nice time, and it's hard for me to imagine being married at 14. Hope you had a great weekend!

Gin--Sydney did not like all that noise. LOL

Jenster said...

I love the pictures! Every single one of them.

It sounds like a truly lovely 50th anniversary celebration! Makes my 20 years sound like a drop in the bucket, doesn't it? lol But I'm looking forward to 50 years. And 60. And so forth. :o)

Anonymous said...

Capra (my 5-year-old) would think she'd died and gone to heaven if she had that big a bunch of balloons! She LOVES balloons (when she was learning to talk she called them "boons"). At her 3rd birthday party, she went around the room making sure every one of the attendees each had a balloon!

Gretchen said...

Love the balloons, the cake, the sweet tea, the anniversary/wedding. It's all good. What a fantastic and busy weekend you had, Cheryl. Thanks for giving us a peek. xxxooogretchen

Corey said...

yes that was a busy weekend. I don't know how you all keep up! LOL! I was going to say Gary's aunt and uncle look very young to be married 50 years...but 14 explains that. WOW!
P.S. Glad you got the book...I don't know when you'll ever find time to read it! LOL!! You are one busy lady :)

Mz.Elle said...

Hee I love the photo with your great niece and daughter,lol

I really like the idea of renewing ones vows AND the thought of those pearls makes me teary eyed:)

Cheryl Wray said...

Jenster--Thanks! I know...you hear about 50 and 13 or 20 doesn't seem like a lot. But I bet it flies by!

Deb-That is too cute about Capra!! She would have been in heaven with Sydney!

Gretchen--Thanks! It WAS all good.

Corey--Don't worry. I'll find the time to read the book. :-)

Ms. L--Renewing their vows was SO sweet and I think it's a great idea too!

Nancywithajones said...

omg that photo of sydney with her hands over her ears CRACKED ME UPPP! so so funny. That ice tea was sooo delish looking I want me some of that now. I could just dive in and swim around.

Anonymous said...

What a wonderful weekend you had!!!

Just jumping on from Scrapping the Music to let you know that We post a new song every Sunday evening and you have until the next Sunday noon time to post your layout for that weeks song!
Looking forward to see your craft!
Join us on the message board also if you have time, the ladies are very friendly.

Auburn Kat said...

My grandmother makes the BEST iced tea!

Leah said...

I love that sweet tea pic!! And those are beautiful pictures of the reception!

~Telah said...

Busy weekends like that make for tired Mondays! At least they do for me! Love all the pictures you took.

Stylin said...

They look so happy together!Cheryl,this may seem odd to you but you and Gary have a marriage that I hope to have.I still think of my husband and me as "growing"
You guys are an inspiration.
I love the pic with Sydney holding her little hands to her ears!!!

Stylin said...

They look so happy together!Cheryl,this may seem odd to you but you and Gary have a marriage that I hope to have.I still think of my husband and me as "growing"
You guys are an inspiration.
I love the pic with Sydney holding her little hands to her ears!!!

Unknown said...

WOW! What a GREAT day! (Even though you guys were probably exhausted! LOL) Everything looks beautiful! And, I LOVE the idea of the four pearls! What a great sentiment!