In keeping with tradition, I'm playing a mad game of catch-up. This happened ages ago, but it was a pretty important happening, so it deserves documentation.
We'd heard a lot about Austin's girlfriend Maren, but had never actually met her in person. I absolutely made him show me pictures on facebook, and asked him probably more questions about her and them than he was comfortable answering, but I like to get the scoop, so we felt like we kind of knew a little bit about her. And what we kind of knew, we really liked.
So, when he told us he was planning to propose to her, we were all very happy for him, and I volunteered to be a part of it, since she didn't know me. He probably thought I was joking, but I absolutely was not. And luckily, he decided to take me up on the offer!
Almost exactly 6 months ago, on conference weekend (the next General Conference starts in 3 days), the surprise went down like this: I pretended to be a photographer with the Ensign (borrowed a nice-looking camera that I definitely didn't know how to use from some friends and pretended to take lots of pictures with it...I think I did get a few, but they were all horribly blurry and nothing worth keeping, unfortunately). I approached them as they were standing by the reflection pool in front of the temple, after the session they'd attended let out, and asked if I could take their photo for the conference edition of the magazine. They laughed and said yes, and when I was pretending to take pics, he got down on his knee and did the deed. He'd asked if I could take a photo with his phone, so I was recording it with that. Richard and Marty, Heidi and Peter were hiding in the crowd nearby, and when she visibly said yes, they all ran out cheering. Luckily, a girl from across the pond saw what was happening and was taking really good photos. She also took this one with my phone.
After we had formally been introduced, we walked to the Blue Iguana for some delicious Mexican food to celebrate. Austin and Maren were too excited to eat - they were making lots of phone calls, and clearly floating on cloud nine, but the rest of us put it away. Especially Richard. He ordered the biggest burrito any of us had ever seen, and if he finished it he would get his picture on the wall. Didn't happen, but it was funny to joke about. He literally ate it for multiple days after that as lunch leftovers at work. All in all, it was a great day. And we had a wedding to look forward to!
Fast forward a couple of months, and the wedding festivities arrived. There was a dinner/reception the night before at her parents' house in Paradise. It was a luau theme, and totally adorable. The food was great, and even though it was pouring rain, it was a fun night getting to know her family and catching up with Richard's parents. It was still taking Marty a little while to warm up to Liz and Dale, but once he did, they were really having a ball together.
Megan was expecting to deliver her baby any minute at this point, so they had to miss the dinner, but we saw them the next day. We were running a little late, as usual, and were the last ones to enter the sealing room before the ceremony began. They tied the knot, and then we headed to Liberty Park for a delicious luncheon, where I was asked to give a little speech. They wanted one similar to the one I'd given at Heidi and Peter's wedding the previous summer (which was a huge hit and got lots of laughs), but I feel like expectations were too high, so it fell a little short. Anyway, I did it and we celebrated the new couple, and it was all very fun.
As people were starting to leave, we begged Megan and Scott to stay and hang out with us a little longer. We let the kids run around like banshees, which they loved, and we got to catch up, which we loved. I really miss living so close to them - there is no question we took that for granted while it lasted. We walked around the park, and the boys saw someone slack-lining unusually high, so of course they asked to try it. Scott was the only one to give it a go, and it never really turned out, but it was fun to watch.
Eventually it was time for us all to go. Just days later, Megan gave birth to a healthy baby boy who they named Simon Peter Morgan. He is such a cutie, and fits right in the Eli and Mary. We love those kiddos, and Marty sure loves to hang out with them. I'm so glad he'll have these cousins to grow up with. But I digress...
We love Austin and Maren together, and we are so glad they found one another. Cheers to eternity.
0 comments:
Post a Comment