Home from sunny SoCal!

Not all of the pictures below are mine, but none of them are professional. These were all taken by family members. Can't wait to get the professional pictures!

Whew! What a fabulous trip. I'm so glad to be home, but had such wonderful time with my family, my sister, and of course, at the most beautiful wedding I've ever seen. Seriously, it was beyond gorgeous and I'm not just saying that because it was my niece's wedding. And meeting my new nephew was such fun. He is not only easy on the eyes--LOL--but is just as beautiful on the inside. He couldn't be anymore right for Ali and we are all more than happy to have him as the newest member of our family.

Tommy & Ali

Friday we went to pick up Ali's dress which had been at the bridal shop all week to be steamed. We got there and first they couldn't find the dress and when they finally did almost 30 minutes later, it hadn't been touched!!!!! Ali was livid, of course, and had to turn into bridezilla to get the woman to take it in the back and steam it. In the meantime, we all went across the plaza to Chili's to have a drink and regroup. Then we get back to pick it up and they have the wrong petticoat there for her, so we have to wait again while they round up the right one--it was the only one in the entire store that fit Ali, so it wasn't like she could just pick a different one. UGH. They finally got everything together and we left, never to return. Obviously they don't count on repeat business or they'd have been shut down long ago.

Saturday evening was the wedding rehearsal at the Hilton San Diego Resort & Spa. It was a blast and the rehearsal dinner afterward was phenomenal. There were 44 in attendance, including the wedding party and out of town family who came in from all across the country. After rehearsal, we all headed to Buca di Beppo Italian Restaurant in San Diego where we had mixed green salad, garlic bread, lasagna, spaghetti and meatballs, and for dessert, homemade cheesecake with raspberry sauce and hazelnuts. The food was fabulous...and the cheesecake -- OMG to die for!!

Wedding rehearsal

Saturday was a zoo trying to get everyone and everything situated for the wedding. My sister had booked two ro0ms at the hotel; one for the bridesmaids to get ready in, and one for the rest of us to use for whatever, if we needed to crash or take a break during the reception, or whatever.

We all managed to get ready on time and everyone found a car to pile into and headed for the gazebo on the grounds at the resort. The ceremony itself was really nice--quite traditional, short and sweet--and it all went off without a hitch (except for getting quite a late start due to something beyond the control of the wedding party), then we all hung out on the grounds for cocktails and appetizers before the reception while pictures were taken.

Ceremony

Mr. & Mrs. Azzarella




Sweet kiss



Mother of the bride, my sister

Ring bearer

The dinner and reception was held in the Grand Ballroom. Dinner was delicious, the wine was good (I'm not a fan of wine--it was probably fabulous, I just don't know LOL), and the music and dancing were great fun.

First dance for the newlyweds

Bride and dad dance


Removal of the garter

On Sunday, the day after the wedding, the newlyweds relaxed at home as much as they could before leaving Monday for their honeymoon in Aruba, and the rest of us went to the ballpark to watch the Padres beat the Giants 4 to 1. We took the trolley from Santee to Petco Field--a pleasant ride and long enough for my sister to wake up some and get over her hangover a bit from the wedding the night before. LOL Sidenote: my sister is one of the owners of the Trolley Center since its conception. After the game we had lunch across the street from Jack Murphy (Qualcomm) Stadium. I can't, for the life of me, remember the name of the place, but the fish and chips were great.

Petco Field

The next morning dad, my other sis and her two boys, all headed home. Later, my brother and sister-in-law also hit the road. They had all driven down. Mom stayed a few more days so she, me and my sis were able visit in a little more relaxing setting for a bit before her flight back home.

After mom left, Kath and I just hung out, played yahtzee and Mexican Train dominoes, went out to eat every night and watched a few movies we hadn't yet seen. We also went to see Costner in Swing Vote. Cute movie, great ending.

We left my sister's at about 4 a.m. yesterday for the airport and I reached Spokane at about 1:30 p.m. Still in vacation mode today, but should be back in the swing again tomorrow. I hope to do some scrapping this weekend so we'll see how that goes.

I'm so glad to be home!!