A Weekend of Celebration!

This weekend we hosted a lovely brunch for my parents 50th wedding anniversary. The night before we had a delicious time with just my siblings, their spouses (or significant other, in one case) and my parents at one of their favorite local establishments. It was a fun and festive night and a great prelude the event on Sunday afternoon. My niece, Hilary, and her boyfriend, Anthony, babysat my girls that evening and did a fabulous job! I was nervous about how E would handle being in a somewhat strange place with babysitters that were not that familiar to her but they handled it all so well and she did great! They helped the girls decorate mini pumpkins, ate cupcakes and popcorn, and watched a movie together. I think the girls had as much fun as we did!

Sunday was the day of the big brunch and we had a total of 58 guests in attendance. I have not seen a lot of the people there in quite a while so it was nice to see them all. It was wonderful to have them all there to celebrate and honor my parents on such a momentous occasion! Everyone was very festive and happy and the day was such a bright, crisp, beautiful fall day. My sister, Diane, (my partner in crime event coordination) had put together some beautiful scrapbooks to commemorate the day and everyone had a great time looking through the pictures and signing the book. My parents renewed their vows and reaffirmed their love for one another with my oldest brother, Jim, as "officiant" and my brother, Bob, provided us with a heart-felt and comical toast.

It was special and inspiring to celebrate with my parents and realize that they have been together for fifty years! They have had their joys and their sorrows during the course of their marriage. Their love has stood the test of time and they have been through all those years together, side by side. They are an inspiration and a testament to true love and devotion.

Happy 50th Anniversary, Mom and Dad! We love you very much and hope that we created a day full of love and memories that you will cherish! Here are a few choice photos from the day of the brunch!

Mom and Dad arriving at the restaurant

The scrapbooks and photos.



The toast!



The bride and groom surrounded by Jim the officiant
(far left), and their best man and matron
of honor for the day!



Cutting the cake!

Amidst the crazies...

HAPPY 12th ANNIVERSARY TO ME AND MY LOVE! You are my one and only and I love you more with each passing day. Thank you for being you and for being mine!

I have no idea how life can speed by so quickly. Rick and I have been together for over 16 years and yesterday was our 12th wedding anniversary! We have not yet properly celebrated because of the preparations for the 70th birthday party and all that hoo-ha. Rick's gift to me this weekend was his calm presence during my family weekend crazies and his love and support when I needed it...not to mention putting up with my family and all that entails. ;-) I love that man. I really and truly do. And I think we both know that we don't need to celebrate on a given day each year because we celebrate our love for each other each and every day. (However, I know we would both enjoy a date night one of these days where we can have an uninterrupted conversation and where we won't have to cut up someone else's meat...we'll make that happen one of these days...)

In honor of our special day (a day late!) I will post a few pics from our special day.