And the best part was that we had Sparky with us! I could not believe how many little kids knew who Sparky was. I didn't know who Sparky was until I was in high school. The little kids screamed with joy, just like they would when meeting Mickey Mouse for the first time. And Sparky was great, high fiving little kids, hugging them, just having a great time with the kids. Even adults were thrilled to get so close to Sparky and get their picture with him.
We ended December and the year by celebrating at Mike and Rebecca Fleischmann's house. I think we've been celebrating New Years with them for the several years. We used to go down to the Fiesta Bowl Block Party, but it was getting too crazy down there. It's much nicer hanging out with friends in a warm and safe environment. By 10 pm we were starting to get tired, but we were able to hang on for midnight. We went home around 1 am.
It's been a challenge because the previous Scholarship Coordinator left without warning, so there was (and still is) some cleaning up of files and accounts. There were moments when I thought, "What the heck have I done?" but that just means that I was outside my comfort zone. And that's the only way I'll grow and learn. It is extrememly rewarding to know that my work directly impacts the students of Arizona State.
We went to Michigan to spend Thanksgiving with the Youngdales. Jason flew out a few days before me, and he ran into nothing but problems. His flight arrived in Chicago okay, but flights were not taking off from Chicago due to weather. He was told that he could wait until the following day, and they might be able to get him on a flight. (Last year whe drove from Chicago to Portage, which is about 2-1/2 hours). So after waiting a couple of hours, he and five other people on their way to Kalamazoo/Portage rented a minivan and drove. He totally had a "Home Alone" experience.
Luckily, I had no problems on my flight. Everything was on time. It was a bit drizzly and cold, which sucked when I had to actually walk outdoors to the plane and climb those slippery stairs. I did notice that a lot of the trees still had their orange and red leaves on them, and it made for a pretty sight. I'm sure it would have been even prettier if it was October.
The weather was actually pretty decent. Not quite as nice as when we were there last December, but there was no snow on the ground. The first day I was there, we went to spend the evening with Jason's best friend, George, and his wife Tammi, and their three kids, Megan, Georgie and Ernie. Jason has known George since the beginning of time (or at least it seems like it). We have so much time when we visit them. It always involves good food, good drinks (Tammi's adult Kool-Aid is fantastic!) and good games. The kids warmed up to us on this trip.
The month we were all waiting for - September! I couldn't believe how quickly the month came. It seemed like it was just recently that Mattie was calling from Paris informing us that she was engaged. Although there was the huge issue with the church, everything went smoothly. Well, except the makeup, but we were able to fix that. More on that later. First was the rehearsal. Thank goodness it wasn't the wedding day because it was pouring rain
like crazy! When I got to the church it was starting to sprinkle, but lots of members of the bridal party came in soaking wet. No problems during the rehearsal, just had to remember when to walk into the church, who to stand next to, when to walk up to the alter during the vows, remembering to hang on to the ring. All that fun stuff. Once that was done it was off to Buca de Bepo for some dinner.
Mattie spent the night at our house. Poor thing was so nervous. But at least the house was calm and quiet, and there was no else but me and Jason. Unlike the night before my wedding. I'll always remember going out into the street with her, wearing our wedding day shoes and scuffing them up. Even though it rained earlier, the sky was absolutely clear that night, and the stars were twinkling. The next morning we were up and ready to go to the salon to get our hair done. Mattie, our mom and four of the five other bridesmaids were at the salon for some pastries,
mimosas, hair and makeup. It's amazing how much they have to curl, tease and smooth out to make such a simple and elegant hair style. Once we had our hair done, some girls went to the mall to get their makeup done, while Mattie, our mom and I went to go pick up the flowers to take to the church. One of Mattie's good friends is a florist, and while she was busy working on the flowers at the reception hall, we took the flowers and all six bridesmaids worked on setting them up.
Once we were done with the flowers, we had to finish getting ready because it was almost show time. I was waiting in the lobby when I heard that Mattie's makeup smeared due to some crying. And the makeup lady was gone already. Yikes! We grabed whatever makeup we did have and touched it up as best we could. When you look at the wedding photos, you can't tell, thank goodness! And then it was show time. As I stood there, waiting for my turn to walk down the aisle, I couldn't believe it. My baby sister was about to get married. It was too weird. She cried walking down the aisle, Paul looked a bit pale during the vows, and before you knew it, they were Mr. and Mrs. After some pics, we hopped into the hummerzine and were off to the castle for the reception (with a quick stop at the Circle K for some booze).
When I got up to read it at the reception, I to started crying after the first line! The party was a good time. Good food, good drinks, good music. They did all the traditional stuff, first dance, father/daughter dance, mother/son dance, cake cutting, bouquet toss, garter toss, dollar dance. And then it was over. It was a beautiful day and night, lots of love in the air, lots of family and friends. The newlyweds spent the night at The Pointe and then left for Aruba the next day.
The bachelorette party was in Las Vegas. There were about 8 of us that drove up for the weekend. The first day we walked around a lot and then went to Bobby Flay's restaurant at Caesar's Palace for dinner. I think this was the first time that I ate dinner at 9 pm. We thought about going to Tao at the Venitian, but it was crazy trying to get in. If you are ever in Vegas, don't ever fall for the club passes. They don't get you in at all, they are just a big ad to get you to the club. When we got there, everyone had a card in their hand. As we were walking back towards our hotel, we found a dueling piano bar (Mattie's favorite) at Harrahs. We met up with a Bachelor party and hung out with them until they left for the nudie bar. It's always a good time singing to your favorite tunes while having a drink or two. 
early in the morning. We went to Madame Tussauds at the Venetian and did some more walking around. I was the oldest of the group, and I could not keep up with those youngins. I stayed in on Saturday night and went to bed early. I remember the girls came back pretty late, but they seemed to have had a great time.
