A Whirlwind of Activity

This is the story of Dana's and Joe's wedding and the surrounding events. It will be devoid of any pictures for the time being while they are being developed but will hopefully include many photos in the coming weeks. The next five blog posts, including this one, were originally one post. But, I decided to break them up for easier reading. :) I have peppered them with some humor amongst the narrative. Have fun!

I will begin with my journey back to Lincoln from Kearney.

Last week Wednesday I attempted leaving at 8:30 in the morning. My tires had other plans. I have been taught to check all my vehicles fluids and tires before leaving on long trips. So, after checking the oil, brake fluid, antifreeze, power steering fluid, I got my pressure gauge out. All of my tires were about 6 pounds too low gauging in at 26 pounds. I decided to get some more "go juice" (grandpa's nickname) and fill them up at the nearest free air location. Driving by the gas station, the air hose was missing. A quick call to Michael and he mentioned the other free air site in town.

I pulled up to the gas station, and proceeded to fill my tires. Every time I connected the hose, I heard a loud rushing noise instead of the gentle hum of air entering the tire tube. Not good! By the time I had attempted filling two tires, I had lost four more pounds and now were 10 pounds too low. I sighed, drove back to the T's and grabbed a handful of quarters. Driving to the "corner station", I plugged the outdoor air compressor and again tried filling my tires. This time I struggled with one tire and finally got enough air to enter the tire. I finished just in time to have the air compressor turn off once again. With three more tires to go, three more quarters were reluctantly thrust into the machine. This was my last shot. The last quarter in my pocket was not enough for another round. I managed to fill two tires before the compressor again quit. The last tire was just going to have to wait until I got home.

Finally, at about 10:24, I was on I-80 destined for Lincoln. On the way I contacted Mom and Kayla and found out from them the day's events. I had two errands that I needed before the wedding - pick up my tux, and find a black belt. (Please see thanksgiving post for the reason.) My mom also had two errands to add to my list and requested we all go shopping together. This was agreed upon by all, and I drove straight home. Our Lansing, MI cousins and grandparents were expected that evening and we had a lot to prepare before they arrived. So, after a nice lunch of lasagna, salad, and meat and cheese sandwiches, we headed back to Lincoln to go shopping. YAY!! My mother is not a shopper. Growing up, everything is usually rush rush and we rarely stop and smell the roses. The rest of our family is largely the opposite.

I really enjoy shopping as long as I am with someone that also enjoys it and doesn't zip around too fast. It also helps to have $$$ to spend. hehe... :) Our first stop was Men's Warehouse to fit and pick up my tux. hehe... That was really neat. Joe and Dana chose excellent colors. The coat and pants were black with the pants having a single silver stripe down the legs. The vest was also silver with a white shirt underneath. The tie was black and silver and matched everything perfectly. So I must confess that "I liked the way I looked" and the creepy, old guy "guaranteed it". haha... (Some of you may not get that joke)

After Men's Warehouse, we stopped at the O St, thrift stores to find a belt for me. The first one didn't have any that were even close to being the right length. The second one, however, had a nice leather black belt that was slightly too long and needed a hole punched in it to be usable. YAY! I finally had found a belt. I was pretty excited. It was even the right price! The next stop was Gateway mall to search for some shoes for my mom. *GASP!* I would have you know that the last time I was in the mall was at least a year ago. It's a very good thing dad wasn't along. He had already suffered through several shoe shopping trips and sighed every time mom returned and bought yet another pair of shoes. haha... Poor dad. :(

Mom seemed to find some comfortable yet still appropriate shoes for the wedding while Kayla and I offered suggestions and competed to find the least comfortable shoes in the store and also the ugliest. Mom, for some very odd reason, didn't seem to like our suggestions. hehe... :)Those 6 inch high, velvet red, sandals somehow didn't fit the ticket. Wow, I am continually amazed by what women will wear and the pain they tolerate to appear fashionable and be accepted! And this is just referring to shoes, not other articles of clothing. I won't go there though.

After purchasing the perfect pair of shoes at JC Pennys, we headed to the men's department in several stores to find out how much their black belts would have cost. JC Pennys had some sales, but still didn't have any belts they were giving away. By this time, mom was getting fairly tired of shopping and was anxious to get home but consented to check two more stores - Dillards and Younkers. For those of you that know the mall layout, you would know that both of these stores are adjacent to each other.

To be the most time efficient, mom went to Younkers and Kayla and I went to Dillards. lol Kayla and I spent a long time trying to find the men's department. We looked on the mall level and all we found was ladies clothes, we went up the escalator and were greeted with more ladies stuff. hehe... I was beginning to wonder whether Dillard's had apportioned any room for guy's clothes. Finally, we went into the basement and found that one level was all men's while two floors above was mostly all women's. haha... Dillard's knows where the money is to be found. :D

After looking in both stores and unsuccessfully finding a belt comparable in price and value, we headed for our second to last stop - Koals. Mom had to return her other pair of uncomfortable shoes she bought and I had to get some wedding wrapping and a pretty bow for Joe and Dana's wedding present. By this time, Dad should be home from work and was probably expecting us to be slaving over the house preparing it for our relatives' arrival later that day. :P Little did he know that I had kidnapped them for a shopping excursion around Lincoln. hehe... The last stop was Super Saver. That was fairly quick and uneventful.

Upon arriving back home it was a mad dash getting the house all ready. The tables needed to be set, some food needed to be prepared, slumbering arrangements, and some miscellaneous cleaning. Dad also had made a list especially for me. I feel soo special!! :) On that list was, unplug bathroom sink drain, fix truck, and update antivirus software on the two computers. The truck was first.

Mom and Dad had unsuccessfully attempted putting a new belt on the truck the night before. I can't blame them though, it was bitterly cold outside then. The belt had to go around at least 4 pulleys and was a fairly complicated puzzle. I give all the credit to God here. Somehow, with His help, I managed to get it on correctly in just a few minutes. It was fun!! With one task crossed off, I headed to the drain. That is always a fun job. lol jk

Unplugging the drain involves disassembling the pipes underneath the sink and somehow flushing out all the disgusting gunk. I won't go into any more details, but let's just say it is not my favorite job in the world. Ever since I was a child, I hated getting dirty. I loved playing in the dirt but held a firm disdain for the mud. I would avoid it at all cost. I was, and still am, a rather strange, human, male, specimen. I remember Dana loved the mud and would taunt me with mud throwing if I wouldn't do her bidding. hehe... Ahh... The childhood memories. We were very naughty to each other and bitter enemies most of the time until we were both teenagers.

But back to my story. Dana and Joe also were expected that night for supper. At about 7:30 everyone was finally seated and we ate supper together. It was a great meal. The next two days were a whirlwind of activity and very difficult to remember all the details. Dana had finished school the week before and wedding preparations were in full swing! People were dashing everywhere.

Thursday, the day before the wedding, Grandma, Grandpa, my cousin Joel, and I all went shopping together. It is always fun shopping with Grandma. The goal was to find a new overhead microwave for my parents for Christmas. We went to Lowes, Home Depot, and Menards and found the best deal at Menards. At noon, I had a dentist appointment and was dropped off there while everyone else went to Gateway mall.

After being picked up, we ate lunch at Valentinos. I had a good report about my teeth. No cavities again but a warning to brush around my wisdom teeth better. I have only had two cavities in my life and that was when I was fairly young. It is such a blessing to be able to say every time that "No, I do not take any medications." YAY! Praise God!

I ate too much again at Valentinos. Something that takes a lot of self-control to avoid at such an establishment. We then had one more stop before returning home. That was Super Saver again. Grandma wasn't satisfied with the groceries in the house and insisted we buy much more. Before driving to Super Saver I had an interesting IM conversation with Rance on my blackberry that I would like to paste here. My Gtalk status at the time was something along the lines of "is going shopping with Grandpa and Grandma".

Rance: tell grandma I said "Hi"

12 minutes

1:48 PM me: Okay. I will tell her a really strange old guy is saying hi.

  :D

1:49 PM Rance: One day (if you live) you'll be strange and old. In fact, you're already half way there.

1:52 PM me: Haha... I told her that. She thought it was funny.

  Grandpa though has an additional question.

1:53 PM He wonders whether I am halfway old or halfway strange. :)

1:59 PM Rance: how about halfway as in 1 for 2 strange but not yet old

Hehe... So there you have it. :D

With only one more stop I made the claim that we would be going home within half an hour. Grandpa just laughed at me. He knows better and has much more experience shopping with grandma. As it turns out, we were finished in about 40 minutes. So, not too bad. We rushed home to install the new microwave before Mom and Dad returned. We had a lot of helping hands and just manged to accomplish that goal. My uncle Bryan and Grandpa were the brain behind the project. They did an exceptional job.

Next up... Dana and Joe's wedding rehearsal! :)