1998
Spring started this year with a leisurely trip to San Francisco . My sister, Caryl, and her husband, Bill, flew out from West Virginia to meet us there for Easter. Then our spring marathon began.
After helping our sister-in-law up north in Indian River re-roof her home, we attended our first spring wedding. The oldest daughter, Katrina, of my friend Chat from college days, was married in the middle of May. She just graduated from Michigan State University.We then went back to Indian River to attend our nephew, Beau DePauw's, graduation and party on the last weekend of May.
The next week on June 6th, we went to my son, Patrick's, high school graduation at the Palace of Auburn Hills in the AM and then on to London, Ontario, Canada to attend another wedding in the afternoon. Sally & Kelsey were married. Marcia remarked that Sally, the daughter of Marcia's cousins Ben & Julie Van Paemel, was one of the most beautiful brides she has seen. We had to leave the reception at 11:00 PM since there was an 8:00 AM church service for Emily's graduating class the next day.
On Tuesday, June 9, we went to Emily's high school graduation in the outside pavilion of Meadowbrook Music Theater in the rain.
The following weekend we had 14 guests spend the night as we got ready for our own graduation party for both Patrick and Emily. That Saturday I first went to Lee Ann O'Keefe's graduation party across town at my friend Randy's. That afternoon, Marcia and I attended the graduation party for Beth Jennings, the daughter of her cousin, Nancy. On Sunday we had a great time at our own party. We had a chance to visit with many friends and relatives who we hadn't seen in years. We were unable to attend Chat's youngest daughter, Sara's, graduation brunch which was the same Sunday and I thank Chat and Phyllis for making it to ours.
Then Tresa and Jason were married on June 21 in Mt. Clemens. Tresa is the daughter of Marcia's cousin, Jackie Soenen. We had a wonderful visit with our Canadian relatives and went for a cruise on Marcia's brother's boat that Sunday.
The last wedding of this marathon was that of Melissa and John. Melissa is one of my employees. This was a fun wedding up in Lapeer, MI. (Marcia still has to work with me for another week at the office, filling in for Melissa. I hope she's still talking to me on the 4th of July.)
This Fall started with a Labor Day weekend visit to our DePauw relatives in Canada. Daryl and his boys joined Marcia and I as we enjoyed the warm weather, the pool, and good company.
As September came to a close I was surprised at my 50th birthday. Wade shared the surprise as he turned 30. Neither Wade nor I had any idea of the surprise party. Marcia even used my staff at the office to address envelopes.
The following weekend, my staff joined Marcia and I for a dental seminar on Mackinaw Island. We had a couple of babies along with their fathers to keep an eye on them while the rest of us went to the all-day seminar. We did have time to see some of the sights on the island and even gave Kareoke a try.
In October, Marcia and I celebrated our 10th anniversary in Hawaii. We spent 4 days on the Big Island in Kona and 5 days on Maui at Kaanapali. We went on a helicopter ride over Kilauea, the active volcano on the Big Island, and took the infamous drive on the road to Hana on Maui. We had a wonderful time...What more can I say?
When we returned, not only did we have to get ready for Thanksgiving, which we usually spend in West Virginia at my sister's, we had to get ready for my cousin's wedding on the same weekend. My sister's family came to spend Thanksgiving up here while I attended various activities associated with the wedding and was happy to be asked to be one of the groomsmen. We were all waiting for this day for some time. It took 9 years of courtship to lead up to the wedding. Good Luck to Jeff and Tracy!