Wedding on a Wednesday:

On Tuesday (5/12) Carolyn and I caught a 9:30 flight out of LAX to Phoenix Arizona, our destination: a Wednesday wedding on the shores of Gold Water Lake. This date in May was exceptionally special because it marked the anniversary of Auntie and Unkies own anniversary which was the original reason for the non-traditional weekday affair.We were received by my mom and cousin Colette both of whom were running on no sleep for over 24 hours. Colette had to drive all night to rescue Mom and Mallory after Mom’s car broke down near Bakersfield proving once again anything that could go wrong with Lynette WILL go wrong (Happy Birthday Mom:( ). Alas at nearly 2 am on Wednesday morning we were all in Arizona. The next morning Carolyn and I woke up, had some coffee, breakfast, and did some stretching so as not to pull any muscles as we ran like crazy all over the Prescott-Chino Valley area. It was strategically decided that Carolyn and I were to divide and conquer by our commanding officer. I spend most of the day driving various members of the bridal party to various locations. Between shuttle trips I spent time with Mallory, Mom, and Carolyn hanging decorations and setting up the tables. Before we knew it, it was 4:30 and the wedding was set to begin.
Reanna looked beautiful in her dress, the girls (Haley and Isabel) were adorable in their flower girl gowns and the wind had died down setting the stage for a lovely ceremony. Once the ceremony was over the real craziness began. The park where both the ceremony and reception was to be held closed at sundown (about 730) so we had about two and a half hours to take the wedding photos, introduce the new couple, do the toasts, eat the wonderfully home-made Mexican themed feast, cut the cake, have the first dance, take down all the decorations, throw the bird seed, and completely pack up. It was a lot like a super bowl half-time show: set-up, rock out, get food, take-down. All in all everything went as smooth as such an event can go and it was a lot of fun.
Afterward most of the wedding party moved to the bowling alley where we all bowled in our formal attire. It was nice to finally sit and enjoy a beer and have a little post-wedding stress-free fun. It was nice to meet Jason, Reanna’s new husband, and to have a chance to hang out a bit. As per usual the three children under six all had higher totals than I did. The next day Carolyn and I had breakfast with everyone and took off to the airport. We were asleep before our heads hit the pillow that night when we finally got home around 11pm. We were both so happy we could make the trip and it was an honor to walk my cousin down the aisle on her big day. Though we aren’t as close as we were when we were kids it’s understood that we will always share a strong bond of love and friendship for life. Congratulations cuz!