August 9, 2015

It may only be 2 in the morning on August 9, but finally, at long last, it is AUGUST 9, 2015. I may not get a chance to post again on this day, so I better do it now while it is quiet, before all the craziness of tomorrow descends.

We have had such a whirlwind marathon of a week. My house is full to the brim tonight, and already I am feeling sad that soon it will not be. There are 12 very fine French gentlemen asleep on the floor of my downstairs bedroom. Sweet and polite and I think I love them all. I may need to find a couple more younger Frenchies for my two coming up daughters. In the other bedrooms are Erwann's family- his mom and step dad, an uncle and two cousins. They have been wonderful houseguests. I feel like we are already family, even though we can barely communicate. I made Erwann's quiet cousin Ornella burst out laughing at my awful French pronunciation. Erwann's mom, Valerie was trying to say that she needed to iron something but instead it came out that she wanted to defrost it. We got a good laugh out of that one too. The French houseguest experiment has been a big success.

And then there are the friends, Janaea, her tried and true sister since third grade, and the three comrades from the year in France, Aaron, Arin and Margaret. I feel like they are all my newly adopted children. Well, Janaea is not so new. She is more like a long lost daughter who finally found her way home. Alisa and Janaea used to practically live together. Janaea's mom adopted Alisa when we moved to Syracuse and left her at school in Logan. I'm pretty sure these five will be life long friends.

Today was the France-USA basketball game, a bouquet creating party, hiking for the boys, and pedicures and manicures for the girls. Then, as if that were not enough, I think we may have had the best, most fun, least stressful rehearsal dinner for thirty or so people in the history of rehearsal dinners. We grabbed pizzas and salad and a few plates and table cloths and headed over to the picnic area at our stake center. We had the place to ourselves, actually ran through the wedding ceremony and got all 17 wedding party members at least in the same book if not on the same page. It was really fun and low key. Even Erwann, who was vehemently opposed to a rehearsal dinner at all, said at the end of the evening that it was a good idea, and that it was fun. Anyone care to say mother-in-law victory, mwah hah hah???

And now it is the big day. Here is to one more day of wedding world! Trucks to pack, sleeping bags to load, cakes to pick up, a good time to be had by all.