The Wedding

My sister's wedding was probably the most casual, free-flowing union I've ever attended. The photo in yesterday's post below includes the two bridesmaids (I'm the one on the far right), my sister (the bride), my daughter (standing next to me), and my sister's 3-year-old son. We're inside a cottage on the grounds of a set of Spanish gardens, where the wedding was held. It was a beautiful setting, but I'm not sure what we'd have done had it rained. There was no tent, no large indoor facility available and no back-up plan.

Following the wedding, people changed into casual clothes and headed to the home of the bride and groom for a backyard reception. The yard had been decorate with piñatas and the food was Mexican - make your own fajitas - with pitchers of margaritas and kegs of beer. The toast to the bride and groom was made with shots of tequila. No champagne. No throwing of the bouquet. They did cut the wedding cake! Entertainment was provided in the form of rides on the grooms ATVs or motorcycles in the field adjacent to the house.

The night before we flew home, we went to the beach for sunset. It was beautiful. There are protected sea turtle nests along that beach and it was time for some of the eggs to hatch. We were treated to the sight of a few tiny, newly hatched sea turtles, making their way from their nest to the ocean, a good 100 feet. Here's a photo of one of them.

My daughter loves turtles, a fact which was not lost on the guy in the local mall selling slider turtles as pets. A lot of quick talking kept me from adding up the costs of the turtles plus the plastic tank plus the food plus the water additives plus...well, you get the point. It was a massive impulse purchase which the seller GUARANTEED they'd let us bring on the plane going home. Yeah...right. The lady at the ticket counter told us they could NOT travel on the plane. My daughter was about to cry; she'd already gotten very attached to Herman and Paul (I paid a lot of money...I figured I earned the right to make her name one of them after my boyfriend!). The woman at the counter took pity on her. She told us that they wouldn't question them at the security check, as they were only looking for weapons. She said to take them through security and then stick them in a carry-on bag. If the folks at the boarding gate couldn't see them, we'd be home free. We did and we successfully smuggled Herman and Paul across state lines!! Whew!

It's good to be home!!! (I think Paul and Herman are pretty happy too!)