Marion's Miscellaneous Musings

Connie and Dean's Reception

 The reception was at the aptly named Lagoon Park:  the park has a lagoon.

We arrived early to help set up, and met loads of extended family, ranging from 2 to 94.  Dean's parents, Steve and Julie, are experienced at putting on big parties.  They had everything planned, Jack and I just did as we were told:  set up tables decorated them, put out food, took pictures of everything.  It took about 5 hours to set up (not including food prep on Thursday).  Even the youngest helped move tables!

They also have their own bouncy house, which is smaller than commercial rentals.  But that means the motor needed to blow it up was quieter.  And the kids loved it.

I need to mention that is was 55 degrees (13 centigrade) and windy and cold.  Everyone wore jackets. Julie had brought a heater for her grandmother, 94 year old Elizabeth.   But the elementary aged kids had taken their shoes off and were running around barefoot for hours, even on the ground and on concrete.  This means one thing:  You know those temperature scales that describe the temperature by activity?  (At 40 F, Minnesotans go to outdoor concerts, at 0 F Minnesotans put on their hats, at absolute zero Minnesotans admit it is chilly.  etc.) 

It's true.

Just do a search on Minnesota temperature scales.  My favorite is at 0 F, (-16 C):  Floridians die, Minnesotans lick flagpoles.  (One of the attendees admitted knowing someone who had licked a flagpole at subfreezing temperatures.)  Check out the bare feet:

(I also learned never to compare winters with a Minnesotan.  Unless you are from Siberia, you will lose.  If you are from Siberia, you have a fighting chance of winning.)  You can see in this picture that Dean, a native Minnesotan, is wearing shorts and Connie, a native Washingtonian, is wearing a sweater.  An oversized, heavy sweater.

They got their wedding cakes from "Nothing Bundt Cakes."  And they were really good. Connie and Dean opened presents.  We gave the happy couple a wedding quilt, about which they were speechless. (It deserves its own blog post.)

I wandered around talking to people, then decided to sit next to Elizabeth (the 94 year old) because she had a heater.  And she was great to talk to!  We compared travel stories, kid stories, grandkid stories.

And after seeing Connie and Dean's quilt, she made me promise to make her one next time she gets married.  (There is Lisa, Dean's grandmother, photobombing Elizabeth and me.)

posted by Marion @ 10:31 AM 0 comments

Connie Gets Married

 In February, Connie announced the date of her wedding to Dean Pesek:  May 20th, 2022.

So I made airline reservations.  And hotel reservations, because we aren't college students anymore, and we don't sleep on peoples' couches and floors.  And we reserved a rental car, in spite of the fact that Jack said we need a native guide to go anywhere. He just doesn't think in terms of the GPS on my phone!

What Connie and Dean wanted was a small, private ceremony, and that is what they got:  2 moms, 2 dads, 2 witnesses, 2 photographers, and several unofficial photographers who should not be included in the count because they were also parents. 

They chose a park not far from the hotel called Purgatory Creek Park.  According to a website, it got its name because the swamps and mosquitos were particularly bad there.  Fortunately for us, the swamps have been drained and the mosquitos were not yet out.

But what you really want are pictures.  These are unofficial.

posted by Marion @ 10:47 AM 2 comments