25.5

I'm too excited to resist posting some pictures from Mom and Dad's party. Uncle Dan (Spokane, WA) and Chris took the pictures I have here...One's from Tom will probably show up on Rae Ann's blog. I still need to get copies from them.

First things first, the cake. DUM DUM DUUUMMMMM. Look at this horrid little cake. Mom and I were in Papa Haydn's together when it was ordered: she picked the flavor, I picked the design. Okay, so it was supposed to look appealing, but when I picked it up, this is what I got. The design had holes in it, the piping was totally uneven, there were blotches of chocolate smeared on the side, the seams in the chocolate sheet coating the cake were uneven and coming undone, etc.


Nate and Chris had gone with me to Sellwood to pick it up, and on the way home we all came to the conclusion that I needed to call the store back and let them know how disappointed I was, and how important the cake was.

Now, Papa Haydn was the bakery Nate and I ordered all of our wedding cakes from, and they did a FANTASTIC job with those cakes. So this one was a complete surprise. Honestly, though, I think they forgot about the cake. I called to check on it in the morning and both ladies I talked to sounded really unsure about what cake I was even talking about. (Oh, by the way, Nate and I went into Gresham to pick up the flowers for the party. We went to the farmer's market off of Main St. and bought beautiful Dahlias!)

All that to say, I think they forgot about the cake and whipped it together just before I got there. When we got back home after picking it up, I called them and they kindly agreed to give us another cake, same flavor, larger size, but no special design. I was very happy with the upgrade, and Chris kindly ran back to Sellwood to pick it up.


The party was beautiful! And, SURPRISE! Mom and Dad had sneakily planned on renewing their vows, so everyone (minus the wedding party) was in the dark when Pastor Lauren Fischer got up on the deck and called up the wedding party. It was a great surprise! Mom was practically hovering on tiptoe from excitement.


And so many people showed up! Many, many more than I imagined. Yet another surprise, those liars, Suzi and Karina showed up, along with Jenny Powell (married to Suzi's son, Darin). They had told us again and again that they wouldn't be able to make it to the party...Apparently, that was the truth, until, like, a week before the party. They drove the 12 hours up from Visalia on Friday and returned home on Sunday. Craziness! But we were so excited to have them around!



We had tons of food. Quite a few people brought desserts along with them. We had a chocolate fountain with fruit and pretzles, a couple different kinds of cheesecakes, fudge, pies, etc. It was in the 90's, so we had piles of bottled water. Even though it was hot, it was wonderful being outside. The lights and candles added a nice ambiance as the sun went down. And the party lasted for awhile! Some folks left, but many family members sat around enjoying the night.



Now I'm just attaching some photos from people we had over...All in all, I think the party was a success!

Oh yeah, I cut my hair the day before the party. Went ahead and chopped it right off. It's a pain to style...Generally, there's a fly-away section, like this picture demonstrates. But I think I'm getting used to it!