"Thanks, I just had it stuffed"
This past weekend was pretty interesting. Things started off mildly, with Beth's mom coming into town to stay with us for a week. The backstory is a bit convoluted - originally my brother was going to get married this past Saturday, then he wasn't, and then he was. It was no sure guarantee that things were going to go ahead up until they actually transpired, which made things pretty exciting.
We trekked up to Sedona on Friday afternoon for the wedding. Along the way, we passed the "Jack Ass Bar" and the "Bad Ass BBQ" restaurant. Immediately after crossing Dry Beaver Creek, we saw a sign for "Granny's Closet" (a restaurant, apparently). I think Granny might have better luck if she didn't advertise so close to the dry beavers - it didn't do much for my appetite.
The wedding was outdoors at Oak Creek Canyon on Saturday morning around 10am. I'd like to state for the record that I have never sweated so much in my life as I did that morning. In addition to the rainstorm the night before which jacked up the humidity, it was close to 90 degrees and I was wearing a dark suit. When we got back to the hotel room after the ceremony, my shirt was absolutely sopping wet, with close to 50% coverage of sweat. It was concentrated funk.
We drove back to Phoenix in the afternoon, and the reception was Saturday evening at the Embassy Suites near Paradise Valley Mall. They had some really fantastic appetizers - much better than I was expecting. I could have gorged myself on the shrimp skewers and crab cakes for hours. The best man toast was a bit nerve wracking, but I think it came out OK all things considered. Beth gave a nice, somewhat emotional toast for the bride, welcoming her to the family. I'm very happy with how it all turned out. It was poised to be a disaster for various reasons I don't need to detail here. We had joked that the theme should be "Staying One Step Ahead of Sheer Chaos" because time and time again it appeared as if something was going to go horribly wrong, only to have all the pieces fall into place at the last possible second.
Since Beth's mom's visit was originally planned to coincide with the "wedding is delayed" timeline, we had also made plans to visit Beth's aunt in Tucson on Sunday. Having the wedding back on meant that we didn't get a whole lot of rest time this weekend. We motored down to Tucson on Sunday for brunch at some resort that I sadly don't remember. It was an excellent cap to an otherwise hectic weekend.