They got hitched

Oh brother! It’s been a long time since I’ve posted a blog. Lots going on in my life, but I’ll try my best to recap for you.

Mark and Terri’s wedding in Las Vegas went really well. There were a few hiccups (like the wait at the tuxedo rental place and the food not being completely ready when my friend showed up to get it), but overall it was awesome.

Zach took a swim in the tub to get himself all cleaned up so he could go get married, too.

The wedding ceremony itself was short and sweet. The preacher said some really nice words and before too long it was all over. The bride looked stunning. Here she is in the hotel room, ready to go get married.

The groom looked handsome even though he forgot to bring black socks to wear with his tuxedo. That's Mark on the right and his friend, Bo, who served as best man on the left. Bo didn't have black socks either. Yes, Mark was carrying a towel to mop the sweat off his brow. It was pretty hot.

My two-year-old nephew Zach as the tuxedoed ring bearer was pretty cute, especially with the shades. Here Bo is getting his cuff links in place. That's the preacher you see in the background.

Here's a photo of all my nieces and nephews who attended the wedding. Everyone was present except for Tyler and Christopher. Zach's not in the picture either because he was still having professional pictures taken with Mark and Terri.

The photographer took some really nice pictures and I’d post some here but I don’t have my copies of them yet. So stay tuned.

One of the most memorable things about Vegas was, of course, the wedding. But also Zach and I went up in the Eiffel Tower replica at the Paris and watched the water show at the Bellagio from up there. He was a real trooper and walked most of the way over there all by himself. We strolled through Le Boulevard between Bally’s and Paris and he looked so cute walking with his hands in his pockets checking out the ceiling painted sky blue on the “street”. We threw coins in every fountain we passed and lots of people stopped and remarked on just how stinkin’ cute he looked. I couldn’t argue. Here's a self-portrait from the top of the Eiffel Tower. Zach had to help push the button, that's why it's so close.

Once I got home from Vegas it was immediately all work, work, work again. August was really busy for us and we broke records by doing 42 intakes during the month. We’re nearing the end of the research phase of our project and we’ve got just 100 intakes to complete before the end of the year. It’s going by very quickly.

Late in the month of August I came home one evening to find that someone had broken into my house. The front door was open when I got home and I proceeded back out through the garage while dialing 9-1-1. Two of Wichita’s finest went through the house with guns drawn but no one was still lurking inside. It doesn’t appear that anything was taken and the door was not damaged, but the door jamb where the deadbolt was engaged was broken off when they forced their way into the house. This incident has prompted me to get an alarm system and I’m sleeping better at night. The hammer I sleep with helps, too.

After several weeks of traveling on the weekend or having to work on Saturday I'm happy to report that I've spent this weekend free of commitments. In the past three weeks I've worked two shifts at the Newman University booth at the Kansas State Fair and then I worked another shift at Newman's Party on the Ponderosa last weekend. It was great fun seeing some former professors and staff who were there when I got my degree.

More to come soon. I promise.