Party Weekend

We went to Melissa Sullivan's wedding this weekend. I had never met her new husband Lou Bridda before, so I was tempted to introduce myself about 3 minutes before the wedding started when I walked in. I figured it could wait until the reception, but I just missed being able to say "yes" when people asked me if I had met him before they were married. It was right here in Greensboro at one of the Catholic church's in town. I had been warned about how long these Catholic weddings were, but this one and KK's were both pretty reasonable. I think it's when you start adding in communion that the time increases exponentially. So after the ceremony we piled into the van. We brought Sally, and found Steve Politi in front of the church (friends of Politi check out the article on the Nutley Pizza Wars). Then we picked up Pete, Grant, and GT's lady friend Lindsay and tried to find a parking spot. I think we could have walked there faster, but when I finally did pull into the Greene St parking deck we were rewarded w/ a walkway directly into the reception at Kress Terrace. The weather was nice and cool, so we could enjoy the rooftop dance floor (and bar) yet still have the indoor amenities like bathrooms and dining (and indoor bar). It was a great spot for a reception. I actually got to meet the groom, and Melissa and Lou made the rounds during dinner to see everyone so we got to actually talk for a while. Other than Melissa's family the only other people who I knew that didn't ride in the van were Dr. Ashley Stancil and Wendy Mitchell (PhD in rawk). I hadn't seen Ashley in so long that I didn't even know that she started at U of Wisconsin Vet School much less that she had finished her degree recently (um, I think that takes a few years of studying). She also brought her husband Scott who was another recent UW doctoral graduate (I think it was entomology) and very cool guy to boot. Of course, I also flubbed the whereabouts of Ms. Mitchell too. No longer New York's resident dive bar authority, that bird has flown to London. She didn't bring a husband w/ her, but that southern charm and those English accents are a recipe for that sort of thing.

Since there were people staying in Greensboro from out of town, we made plans to have a cookout on Sunday at our house. It actually worked out pretty good. I bought all the supplies on Saturday, and when I got up w/ the kids on Sunday morning I wondered why I bought all that beer but was very thankful that I bought a case of water. Steve and Pete came over around noon w/ bagels. The entire Reich crew came over shortly after that, and b/c Dave hadn't gone to the wedding he was ready for a beer. That eliminated any doubts I had about having a refrigerator full of beer. Things were pretty crazy w/ Desmond not wanting to share his jeep w/ Olivia and David, but after a while they started playing well together. Too bad their game of choice was jump on Pete. At about 3 the Reich kids needed naps, so they left and Pete and Steve left a short while later. I finished grilling round 2 of the hamburgers and was wondering what to do w/ them when Wendy called and said she and Ashley needed directions. They got to see my half-ass Sunday parenting in action including simultaneous beer drinking and NASCAR watching. We sat outside after the kids went to bed and finished all of the beer that a few hours ago I couldn't believe I had bought. It was two cookouts in one and it felt like we packed a 3 day weekend into a regular old 2 day weekend. Now if only this work week can feel like a shortened 4 day week.