Jeff and I just got back from a long weekend trip to California for his best friends' wedding. We took off on Thursday morning and came back on Sunday. It was absolutely amazing. We were a little worried leaving all three kiddos and in fact it was kind of a last minute thing that I went, but I am so glad I did. The boys sure had a great time too. Both sets of grandparents plus both aunts all helped out with the kids and for that we were so thankful. The boys couldn't stop talking about the trips to the park as well as Chuck-E-Cheese with Mema and Papa Bates. They even got to go to a movie with Aunt Jessica and Mema Bates. Our parents were able to tackle the job of watching the three kiddos, which is not the easiest thing to do. Even Hayden Mae had to deal with taking bottles only since I wasn't here to nurse. Overall they did great (so our parents said) so that made both of us happy!
Our trip was amazing. It was short and we didn't have a lot of time to do much site seeing or really tour California, but the fact that we were reunited with some people we haven't seen in a very long time was great. We also made new friends that will be in our lives forever. When we arrived in San Francisco on Thursday, we had a little bit of time due to the time change so we took our rental car and headed to a town called Half Moon Bay. We had the best Mexican food ever. It was such a beautiful place too. The weather in California plus the views of the shore and the mountains is absolutely amazing. After a few cocktails and dinner we headed to Mountain View to where our hotel was and where the wedding took place. We were pretty tired so we decided to stay in that evening and get some rest for the wedding festivities that would be taking place the following days. Sure enough we should have known. At about 12:00 we get a phone call on our hotel line and it is Darin asking us to come down by the pool. There was no way we were going to get out of bed. We were so tired. Apparently he would not give up on us so he continued to call and call until about 2:30 in the morning! We definitely did not let him get away with this, so around 6:30 A.M. we called him. I think he had at least 15 missed calls from 6:15-10:00. This is pretty typical of these two.
Jeff and Darin have been friends since college. They were roommates every single year. Talk about memory after memory with these two. They are like the brother that they never had for each other. Darin was the best man in our wedding in 2006 and Jeff was the best man in his. They are truly an example of what friends are and what they do for each other. It is amazing how they can go so long without seeing each other (talking once to twice a month on the phone) and they pick up right where they left off. We met Darin's future wife on the Friday of the rehearsal dinner. Darin was much of a guys guy in college and dated some but never really found "the one." As soon as we met Neha, we knew she was absolutely perfect for him and they were meant to be together. You could see it in his face and when they were together, we just knew that Darin made the right choice. It was pretty amazing to see. The guy we thought would never really "settle down" met the love of his life and within a year they were engaged, planning a wedding six months later!!
The rehearsal was great. It was quite a cultural experience as well. There was a Henna artist that was hired to do Henna on your hands or feet or really wherever, so that was pretty amazing. We were also able to meet Neha's family from India, some amazing people we can now call friends.
The weddings were absolutely amazing. I say weddings because there were two. There was a Catholic ceremony on Saturday followed by a Hindu wedding at the hotel (Neha's family owns the hotel). The Catholic ceremony was small and consisted of the immediate family and close friends. The Hindu wedding was very different. There were probably 200 people there and we all sat around in a room while Darin's father and mother as well as Neha's father and mother sat at the front of the room and repeated after the "Hindu Priest." Darin and Neha were then told to take 7 steps and repeat after him once again to say their vows. It was so interesting and so amazing to see. I don't think we will get to experience this again in our lives. After the Hindu wedding it was time for the speeches. Jeff was so nervous because he wanted to say just the right things and he HATES public speaking. He did such a great job. Once the wedding was over it was a crazy celebration. Talk about people that can really party!!! It was a night full of
a lot of dancing, hugs and some tears.
The whole time we were there, it was on the go nonstop, so when it came time to go we were tired and ready to get back to our kiddos. We were sad to go too. We miss "Uncle" Darin and we wish we were able to see him more than once or twice a year. It really makes you sit back and realize how thankful you are to have such amazing people in your life. We are so happy for him and we have already been talking about our next trip to Cali!!
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