Sunday's Child

August weddings seem to be a trend in the 21st century. At least from my perspective. Let's see ~ in August 2004 Grant and Brenna, Joel and Courtney, and Nick and Lindsay were married. In August 2005 Danielle and Rob were married. And just this past weekend my niece Katie and her husband Allan were married.

Sue, Aly, Mom and I left Vancouver on Thursday afternoon and traveled midway to Sicamous, BC en route to Calgary, Alberta ~ also known as the wedding city. After a less-than-luxurious sleep at the Super 8 motel, we woke to an overcast day and the remaining 500 km drive to Calgary.

My sister Pat and her husband Luke have four grown children. Their youngest child, Katie, was married on Saturday and the entire Grant family was invited. Pat's kids are the only grandchildren of Doris and Gordon to have tied the knot ~ it's nice that she has four children because their weddings make for wonderful family reunions. (Neil, Dennis and Jordan were toasted at our table during the wedding reception.) Pat is the quintessential hostess. She's an amazing cook, baker, and organizer ~ even when a summer cold threatens to stop her in her tracks, she perseveres just like the Energizer bunny.

Luke is an ordained minister and said he felt privileged to perform the 11 a.m. wedding ceremony for Katie and Allan. The reception followed at 1:30 p.m. at Calgary's Olympic Village. Sue and I were co-Masters-of-Ceremonies and spent much of the time interrupting people's conversation with our introductions and instructions. (It's a very powerful role!) Before you knew it, the afternoon had wrapped up and we were on our way for a swim at my brother and sister-in-law's hotel pool. (Ask Alyson about her bruised shin and her magnificent water slide exit.) Later, we headed over to Pat and Luke's for more visiting ... and more food!

The following morning (Sunday) we got an early start on our 11-hour-drive home. We racked up 2,000 kms on Sue's Camry. The weather was perfect for driving ~ and for viewing the majestic Rocky Mountains. We dropped Mom off after having picked up her faithful hound dog, Daisy from Sharon-the-amazing-neighbour. The power at Mom's building was out, as was most of Burnaby/Coquitlam (transformer problems). Alas, the power came back shortly after she arrived home. Aly, Sue and I dined on Chilliwack corn for dinner, did a few loads of laundry, downloaded some wedding photos, and then went to bed. It was back to work for all of us today.