Pretty Porcupine

I'm sure every family has a story that they love to tell over and over again. Usually the star of the story gets a bit weary of hearing it, but hey, that's what families are for, right?

We have a story that involved our oldest when he was an adorable first grader. The incident happened during a surprise we got while attending the first grade school play and had to do with a "pretty porcupine". I won't go into details, as it will likely appear someday in an essay, but I can tell you our son wishes we'd forget the whole thing. So of course rather than forget it, at his rehearsal dinner a few weeks ago we unveiled a surprise groom's cake.

A pretty porcupine!

Our son disemboweled this cute little critter with the gusto of a starving hunter. While he cut and conquered, we took delight in sharing the story with the bride's out-of-town family. The porcupine had leaped right out of the bag, so to speak, and our son wasn't very happy about it.

Come on, doesn't anyone have a sense of humor anymore?

P.S. Mom and Sister were finally forgiven.

The Wedding

The bride and groom repeated their vows in front of this spectacular vista on a bluff at Mount Pleasant Winery. It seemed as though the fields behind them went on forever.

Although clouds covered both sun and sky in varying shades of gray, it wasn't a problem for us at all. The joyful emotions felt by each guest that witnessed the wedding on Sunday provided more than enough color for the occasion.

Sigh. Nothing beats a beautiful wedding. I have to admit a few tears slid down my cheeks during both the ceremony and the mother-son dance. Okay, so I'm hopelessly sentimental. Aren't all Moms? It's an emotional roller coaster when it comes to our kids. No matter how many years go by, we still agonize over their pain and feel feather-light over their happiness.

My little boy is now a married man. If I had wings, I'm pretty sure I could fly.

Special Gifts

Christmas 2011 is over and I feel a faint sense of relief.

Don't get me wrong, I love the holidays. But right now I'm shopped out, have become more roly-poly than the jolly old elf, and am weary of running from event to event like a mouse through a maze. It feels good to sit in front of my computer screen and feel at least a bit back to normal routine.

I do have some cool gifts to share with you.

The Son made our holiday with an awesome announcement. He's officially engaged to a wonderful girl and we couldn't be more pleased! It will be such fun to help plan their special event which is scheduled to take place in 2012. And don't worry. I hereby pledge to give advice only when asked, thereby avoiding the dreaded "monster-in-law" sydrome.

The Daughter gave me a unique gift. Check out these t-shirts.

Cute, huh?  But take a closer look...

Tee-hee! I love them! They say every writer needs to advertise. I plan to become a walking Critter Alley billboard!

Hope your hectic holidays brought equally delightful pleasures!