Yes, there were happy ones, a lot actually. Now that I have gotten the negative, griping out of the way, I can focus on the positive. Becky’s wedding was beautiful!!! She was a gorgeous bride (not that there was any doubt) and Greg is a very lucky man. Her dress was absolutely amazing. Even among all the chaos, we made it the hotel with time enough to take a shower and refresh a little bit. After the ceremony, we headed back to the hotel for the cocktail hour and enjoyed cheese-cheese-and more-cheese. The ballroom was magnificent and above their table, they have their initials in lights. The food was amazingly delicious – we both had the filet mignon. We sat with some of Becky’s other out-of-state friends, a few of them from the east coast. They were all very nice and we enjoyed ourselves. I even got to spend a little time talking to Becky. She was so glad we were there, as was I. As miserable a trip out it was, I’m glad we made it for her big night. I only wish we had more time. We never got to have any cake because I just couldn’t stand up anymore after a while. I had gone 43 hours with only 1 hour of sleep. Thankfully the hotel bed was very comfortable. I slept like a rock!

On the way to LA on Friday, I talked to Kayla on the phone. She asked me if I was on the plane and when I her I was in California, she just giggled. The girls think it’s pretty funny that I’m all the way in California. It was so good to hear their laughter – it was much needed after the trip out we had.

With our detour along the scenic route, Jerome was happy to see the Pacific Ocean.

With all the chaos we encountered in the first 2 days of our trip, it was great to get back to San Jose not only to our luggage, but also to some relaxing and very warm weather. Ronnie & Paul took us to a football game at the university they both attended (it is also where they met). It was fun and we were able to meet some other friends of theirs.

Sunday was spent relaxing, chatting and playing with their son Miguel. He’s such a great kid with an adorable personality and sense of humor. We even got to out for ice cream. How nice was that??? Let’s just say Lactaid was my friend on this trip. I had to eat enough cheese and drink enough milk to last me a while and I definitely took advantage of it.

Jerome hit the jackpot when we went for ice cream. We were walking around a section of San Jose and he spotted a classic car show/meet-up. Of course we had to go take a look. He enjoyed showing Miguel the cars, especially the Barracuda that was there.

It was so wonderful to not only be able to be at Becky’s wedding, but to spend some time with Ronnie. She and I have been friends for about 6 years. Having met during our battles with infertility, it bonded us. She’s an amazing person and I’m so glad we have remained friends all this time. Miguel is 5 months to the day older than Kayla. I was sad that the girls couldn’t go with us to play with Miguel, but hopefully there will be another visit – either us to them or vice versa. She and Paul were amazing to us. They are such good friends and I don’t know what we would have done without them. They really helped us stay sane during the excruciating trip out. They waited up for me the night I arrived, packed us lunch and snacks for the tip to LA, loaned me a dress for the wedding and drove us to the airport at 5am on Monday. And…since Becky’s wedding gift was in my suitcase they offered to ship it for us which will save me the time and a few dollars from shipping it from New Jersey. We really enjoyed ourselves. I was thrilled to have some quality time to talk to Ronnie. Much nicer than e-mail.

The visit with Ronnie and Becky were too short, but it’s also good to be home. When I got in the car, both girls were ecstatic and Alysa said, “I am SO happy!!!” Aside from the girls, it was also nice to get home to one of the few things NJ is actually cheaper on – gas. We paid $2.59 for gas for the rental car and came home to $1.83. I also have some wonderfully cheap kids. I picked them each up a postcard of San Jose. That’s it and by their reaction, you’d think I got them each diamonds.

I’m putting some pictures below from our trip. Please remember that for the wedding, I had NO luggage, therefore NO make-up. So please be kind. ;)

The beautiful California mountains


This cracked me up. At the church someone used a Victoria’s Secret bag to carry items to the wedding.


Becky and me


Me & J


The fire that shut down Rte 5 in LA


Ronnie & me


Ronnie & Miguel


J & me enjoying our ice cream


J sharing his love of cars with Paul & Miguel