An Impromptu Trip

We got word last Tuesday night that my grandfather wasn't doing well. Wednesday night we found out that he had been admitted to the ICU with a slew of problems. We decided to work it out to leave Thursday night to head up there and visit but not before a few things got done, including new brakes and an oil change for the car. Before any of that though, we woke up Thursday morning to this in our yard:

Our church's youth group is doing a fund raiser where you can "Flock" someone by sending this flock of flamingos to their yard. It is always fun and I have to give props to the youth that did our yard as it had been raining for days and the grass was REALLY long and thick. ;)

Next up I had a wedding cake to make and thankfully was able to deliver it early so we could head out of town late Thursday night. I have never made a wedding cake in 1 day before and I hope to never have to do it again! It did turn out lovely though...
We decided to stop half way and stayed in Wytheville, VA at a Marriott property (for the great bed) and got some quality sleep before getting up early Friday and heading off for the other 4 hours of the trip through WV.

Friday we had a nice visit with my grandfather and we were so glad to have been able to get up there and see him. He isn't doing well, Saturday we found out he has a staph infection, he did have a heart attack, and he has pneumonia. Not good for a 91 year old man. Thankfully they have things "under control" and since we got home he has been admitted to a nursing facility where he'll spend the next 3 weeks or so while he's recovering from everything. He is less than thrilled to be there, but he's gotta do what he's gotta do to get better.

While we were in town we got to see my cousin's sweet baby, Maggie (who is just a doll and changing so much each time we see her) and the rest of my family. My dad & step mom even came up Saturday to have lunch with us and my brother & his wife who came in to town late Friday night. It was unexpected to get to see all that family, but really fun since we don't get to see them very often. That afternoon we took Maggie out for a few pictures in a dress that was Jennifer's when she was a little girl. She was recovering from being sick and the weather was dreary, but I think we got some good shots anyway.

This last one was just too funny...mmm, sweet potatoes. ;0)

We appreciate your prayers for my grandfather's recovery, for the physicians and my family as they take care of him and for my grandmother who is lonely without him at home with her. Thanks!

Our first "Grasp" Wedding

On January 9th, we headed out to Myrtle Beach for my friend (and former boss) Randy's daughters wedding. I was responsible for the wedding cake, grooms cake & the photography. I got the grooms cake done before we left and the wedding cake base iced and stacked, but was going to have to finish it on site. It's always "fun" to travel with a wedding cake (or any cake for that matter!) in the back of the car, but this was the farthest we'd ever taken a cake. I have to say it survived the 7 hour trip (dang Atlanta Friday afternoon traffic!) quite well. Randy had put us up at the Crown Reef Resort in South MB so we checked in and hit the hay - we knew Saturday was going to be a long day but I don't think either of us was prepared for HOW LONG it would really be.

Saturday started bright and early with us heading to McDonald's for a quick breakfast. We got to the reception hall at 9:20 where we met up with Randy's sister-in-law who had transformed this RV showroom into a beautiful reception hall. I was VERY impressed! I spent the next 3 1/2 hours getting the cake done and I was pleased with how it turned out.

We headed to Fazoli's for a quick lunch (we hadn't been to a Fazoli's since we left Virginia Beach!) before heading back to the hotel to get all the photography equipment and heading to the church. We scouted the location, figured out how we'd pose folks, got the light levels set and took exterior shots (the wedding was at 5:30, so we figured we better get them while it was still good light outside) before heading back to the hotel at 4pm. We got ready in record time, thank the Lord we had showered that morning! Randy came to pick me up not 15 minutes later and we headed to Megan's house. David headed to the church to get the guys pictures, but since Megan was getting ready at the church there was no time for pictures with the girls before the wedding.
I did get some good shots of Megan getting her dress on, David got some good shots of the guys and the wedding ceremony shots came out better than I thought they would since it was so dark and the church didn't allow flash photography.

Afterwards we hustled through the shot list, and in less than an hour we were off to the reception. Everyone, including me, seemed to be impressed with how in control of the situation I was. I think I faked it with the best of them. =) Maybe I'll be a professional yet! Thankfully David got some great artsy shots of the venue which I love and is why we make a good team. =)

The reception was a blur. David & I didn't stop to eat, drink or even pee for the entire 5 hours. It was crazy, but worth it. We got alot of great shots and had fun too. there were so many pictures to choose from, but here are a few of our favorites.

The reception hall, my cakes in the forefront

The first dance

Father/Daughter Dance

Randy with his other 2 daughters, Mollie & Mallory

Randy's wife, Burke...the beautiful Mother of the Bride

Megan is a singer/dancer and Mike is a Clogger (Check him out with his group, All That, in this video from the finale of America's Got Talent...Mike's the one in the white shirt doing all the talking at the beginning) so they decided to do the Time of my Life dance from Dirty Dancing, it was awesome! Here is the lift:

Last dance, in the bubbles

Sunday on the way home we stopped at the outlets and I got a MB shot glass to top off the trip. It was a good weekend, long but good. We learned alot about what we do and don't want to do for future weddings and most importantly - I'll never do the cake and photography again. That was almost too much, but for my Randy it was worth it. =)