Little Ruminations: What I Did on My Summer Vacation, Chapter 5: Witnessed the Hitching of Joe and Malinda...Well, Kind Of

Malinda and Joe tied the knot on July 17th! And from start to end, the day was fun and touching for everyone.

As do all weddings, the day started with everyone getting all dolled up...is it just me, or does Lacey look thoroughly bored at the prospect of being in her first wedding? (Disclaimer: Ummmm...Missy took this pic, as I wasn't there before the wedding...well, in fact, I actually missed the wedding by 10 minutes, as I didn't make it back in time from my birthday celebration in San Francisco...had a bit of a hard time tearing myself away. But, of course, I DID make it to the reception! For goodness sake, there was BEER there.)

Wow...do those curlers make everyone look like this?...She's breathtaking! Clearly, she takes after her aunt (on her dad's side)... ;)

Lacey-Buggins was a bit pooped after the excitement (and heat!) of the wedding itself. She took a power nap in the truck on the way to the reception at Todd and Ally's ranch out Sweetwater, and got re-energized.

This is a very sorry attempt at showing how beautiful the ranch is...Perfect for a reception.

Marcus and Kim took care of the food, with the help of some friends. And, damn, if it wasn't one of the best bbq dinners, EVER! Gotta love them garlic-soaked carbs heated up on the grill!

Jim helped with the cooking, too.

Had to make sure I wasn't seeing things. Yup...hula girls on my Hawaiian cowboy brother's shirt. Aloha.

Todd and Larry were in charge of drinking...er, I mean, in charge of the bar. That Crown bottle sure emptied quickly...

Now THAT girl is stylin'! No wonder my niece is such good friends with Cammi...they share the same great fashion sense.

Erinn and Lance's boy took advantage of the grass right away.

Mom and Missy relaxing under one of the easy-ups. Mom was clearly going against Reid tradition by drinking (gasp!) WATER!

It took a suspiciously long time for Joe and Malinda to arrive at the reception... but, hey, they're married now, so it's not like tattlin' on 'em will do any good.

With everyone happily fed, Kim finally got to take a bit of a break from the bbq, and had a few cold ones with Tina. Gotta love the glasses on these girls, too!

Really, can you think of a better place for kids to play than a ranch?....Lots of fence to climb!

The grass felt great on bare feet, but apparently so did the dirt. (This is Lacey's foot, by the way...mine isn't so dainty.)

And what's a Bridgeport wedding without Donna Smyth's cake?!!! Three flavors...ALL delicious!

Lacey BEFORE the bouquet was thrown...

...and AFTER the bouquet was thrown. Awww...Lacey didn't get it, darnit. I think her dad had it rigged, as he'll likely never let her go.

The adults kept up the dancing (well, and drinking) into the wee hours of the night (many even camped out at the ranch!), but little ones started to get a little drowsy as the sun sank. Thankfully, they had good papas like Patrick to provide a comfy resting place.