Wedding Prep

We made the drive to Bend and got in shortly after the bride and groom.It was super hot out, and the bus got close to overheating on the way into town, so we pulled over to walk the dog and left E under the cool shade of a tree for a few minutes before finishing out the trip.  We also had to complete a secret mission of dropping our gift (a painting of the lovely couple and the tree from their invitation) off at the house in hopes that their arrival would be even more special before meeting Brock and Kelly for brunch in downtown Bend.  Mission complete, we had shared big hugs all around, a few bloodies and a tasty crabcake bennie and we were on our way.

 BnK  had just driven through the night to get here, so they headed to check in while Jen and i went to Silverado in search of a replacement ring for Jen.  I designed a ring for Jen when we were married, but the craftsmanship of the jeweler we used was questionable (to say the least) and the stone has now started to wriggle loose.  We will look into getting it reseated, but have often wished jen had a ring that could be worn on the beach, in foreign countries, etc...so a backup will be welcome.  Besides...sometimes she gets distracted and needs the ring as a reminder that im here.  Safety first people!  We met BnK at their wedding cottage over looking the quad at McMenamin's Old St Francis, and made a plan for the days preparations.

First major task was to drop their car at the dealership (in hopes it would make the drive home) and a Costco run.  We really put E through his paces on this trip.  Only an hour of so of rest and we are loading E up with countless pounds of beer, soda, water and BBQ fixings.  A week ago we wouldn't have made it up the ramps out of this parking lot with zero weight- today the load and all four of us cruised back to town without incident!

The rest of the day was spent unloading, arranging and prepping and jen and i enjoyed a bit of quiet time in the bus while BnK welcomed Kelly's parents.  We all met for dinner at the Blacksmith for some amazing cuisine and a quite tasty Manhattan tasting flight.  Genius- and hard work, but someone had to do it.Thursday BnK had their hands full as family and friends started arriving.  Kelly drew out an impressive family tree for both sides of the family so that we could act like we knew what was going on, Jen and I made a pasta salad for the big BBQ and spent some time with Wendy and Sarrena before finally being beckoned out to the partying underway with the bride and groom.  Apparently the entire week is meant to be a marathon, not the day of wedding only!