The Wedding! It was: Perfect, Amazing, Beautiful and Handsome, Radiant, Fun and Inspiring, Surprising and Awesome!

The weather was perfect!

The preparations were amazing!

You were beautiful!

Your groom was handsome!

Your mother was radiant!

The walk was wonderful!

The talks and toasts were fun and inspiring! I have included a thumb drive of my talk, and the text of Allison's!

The dance was surprising! I can't believe we pulled it off! I must have been possessed!

The experience was awesome! Everyone loved It!

My greatest joy was being there to see your lifelong expectations and dreams come true!

Congratulations Mrs. Nolen, I love you!

Guests Arrive, the Rehearsal Dinner and the Bonfire!

Today has been busy! First the weather continues to be spectacular! All the guests are arriving! I have spent much of the day driving back and forth from the dock to the hotel, ferrying guests to their hotels. Allison and Brian arrived with Alex and Emma and we moved into "The Barn", which has two suites - we had the 3rd floor, and Allison, Brian, Emma and Alex had the 2nd floor. We went to the beach with Emma in the afternoon while Alex napped!

We all got ready for the rehearsal dinner at the National Hotel.

Everyone looked great!

It was a lovely affair, hosted by Bill and Claudia Nolen.

We enjoyed cocktails outside,

and then a wonderful dinner inside!

Afterwards we went to the Welcome Bonfire at Ballard's Beach and started to connect with family and friends who had arrived. You surprised everyone at the rehearsal dinner with sweatshirts to wear to the bonfire! Mom and I walked to the ocean and tossed three special coins into the ocean, each accompanied by a special wish we have for you and Jared.

It was a fantastic day! Again, each beautiful day here increases the anticipation of the actual wedding! Not much longer to wait! Tomorrow is the day!

A Beautiful Day on the Island!

Today we drove from NYC to the ferry at Port Judith, Rhode Island. We left early and avoided traffic for an on time arrival at the ferry. Today the weather is beautiful! And even better, the forecast is good for the weekend! The Island is much busier than when we first visited in April, but still spectacular in its natural beauty. We settled in, then helped you, Jared and Claudia and Bill Nolen deliver some welcome bags to the various hotels for the guests.

We then met my sister, Tiz, and her husband Dave and had a nice dinner at Eli's. One note of caution, our arrival on the island has heightened my anxiety about my speech and the father-daughter dance!

The Officiant

Today was a special day. Mom and I drove in from our overnight stop in Allentown, Pa. We arrived early afternoon and met you at your apartment. We then battled midday traffic to go uptown to meet Jared and go Pronovias to pick up your two wedding gowns! Afterward we went back to your apartment to prepare for our evening out. You made plans for us to go to Washington Square Park for "A Taste of the Village." Here we picked samplings from many great restaurants. We had appetizers, beer, wines, main courses and even dessert. There were many choices!

While we were enjoying our food you received a call from the Officiant for your wedding. It seems she broke her ankle this past weekend but didn't call until today. She informed you that she had a fill in. You were not sure about this. It also forces you to redo your marriage license. Nothing like a little drama!

Top Drawer Treasures

Recently I cleaned out the top drawer of my bedroom chest of drawers. It was a fun experience! In this top drawer I had stored all of my special possessions. So cleaning it out was like trip down memory lane. It held things from my marathons, Boy Scouts, from my father and mother, and of course special things from you, Allison and Mom. So I thought I would write a blog entry about the "top drawer treasures" I have from you. I think even you would be surprised.

There is a sand painting in the jar, a tidal pool in the dish, a bracelet you made while making jewelry. There is a small Valentine you sent me, a button of you in your soccer uniform, and of course a Syracuse Dad button. It includes a Peters Photography business card with your senior portrait and a picture of you and me in Indian Princesses. What is not shown is the pile of cards I have gotten from you for birthdays and Father's Days. Like I said, I really enjoyed reviewing these priceless possessions. I hope you enjoyed it too!

Getting Ready to Start East!

Today we closed the pool in preparation for our trip east to your wedding!

Mom packed, and her checklist is now complete! I got a haircut, just a trim, and then packed. Mom practiced tying my bow tie.

I worked on the final draft for my father of the bride speech!

Tomorrow we head out for Allentown on our way to meet you on Wednesday in NYC, and then we will drive to Port Judith on Thursday where we will take the ferry to Block Island!! Weather looks good! No hurricane! This is the last blog entry until after we return to Ohio after your wedding. I will then fill in the missing days for our 100 day countdown!

Buckeyes,The End of Mom's Checklist!

Today Mom and two of her friends, Terry and Chris, spent 3 hours packaging the buckeyes she picked up yesterday!

They created 85 packages of two buckeyes each for the "welcome bags"! Fingers crossed that they will be ok in the car until we arrive on Block Island.

Also, with this task, Mom completed all the items on her wedding checklist! Your checklist must be short also, by now! Weather looks really good! I can't wait!

Family Tradition- Selecting The Christmas Tree!

The annual selection of our family Christmas tree was a great tradition. We would all get into the minivan, including our dog, and head out to get our tree.

Most times this meant going to a Christmas tree farm and cutting our own tree. We usually went to Country Pines off of West Third St., east of Dayton, or to Spring Valley where there was another tree farm. It was always a bit of an adventure. I thought we could let the dogs run free (where could he or she go?) We did this for both Hershey and Gucci, and they each ran away! I still remember watching them run at full speed through the acres and acres of trees as we all chased after them! I would also hook them up to the sleds that you pulled the cut tree on. They didn't like it and ultimately we ended up pulling the sled with the tree.

Do you remember Mom would search the entire farm looking for just the right tree? She always felt sorry for the tress that no one would ever pick. Sometimes it was so cold that we just took an already cut tree close to the parking lot and car. In any case it was always a great tradition!

The picture below tells me that you, Jared and Hubba share this tradition - even though you don't have a tree farm in the West Village!

One week from today - your wedding day! Mom picked up the buckeyes today! Your list of things to do must be getting short. We will see you on Wednesday! I can't wait to begin this great adventure!

Flopsy, Gill and Hubba?

Yesterday when I was watching your speech on tape, I also saw on the tape a clip of Gucci and Gomez. Gucci was just a pup and Gomez was about 3 times his size. You were filming it. Anyway it made me sad and I started to think of our pets. You wanted a pet of your own and you actually had two. The first was Flopsy, a very cute, brown and white baby bunny. We gave it to you on your fifth birthday and we kept it in a cage outside the back door.

Unfortunately, there wasn't enough protection from the sun and the bunny died the first day. We had to replace the bunny with a new bunny before you knew what happened. We did. We put Floppsy in a rabbit hutch we bought from the Keck's. He did fine until someone left his hutch door unlocked and he ran away. You also had a goldfish, Gil, which also survived a long time in just the basic fish bowl. But no doubt, you were a "dog" person and loved Hershey and Gucci - so much so that you and Jared have your own bassett-beagle mix, Hubba! Hubba has now won your heart!

The NFL!

It's probably every dad's dream to have his child in the NFL. I actually have two! Both you and Allison were members of the National Forensic League i.e. speech and debate. You participated for 3 years, very competitively, placing at the local and district levels. Unfortunately Mom and I were unable to share in that experience as you competed in front of judges only. However, each year you had a banquet to which parents were invited. Selected students did perform at these dinners. When you were a sophomore, you and your partner, John Grimm, were chosen to give your competitive pairs speech. You did an adaptation of Ray Bradbury's, "He's a Good Kid!" You blew me away with your performance, it was unbelievable! We have a tape of it and watched it today. Guess what? I was blown away again! Below are some still pics we took from that video tape. It was amazing! I'm sure the skills you worked on in DECA, in theater and in the NFL are serving you well today at Ross.

Well done!

The Senior Year Celebratory Trip- The Bahamas

During Spring Break of Allison's senior year in high school we celebrated with a Carnival Cruise to the Bahamas! Here you all are lounging on the deck!

We took a snorkeling excursion, but you did not like it at all!

I can't believe Mom let you do this!

For your senior year Spring Break, we went back to the Bahamas! This time we flew and stayed at a very nice resort, Our Lucaya. Here you and I are out exploring the few shops.

Here we all are enjoying some island drinks! (rum swizzles?)

This was my favorite place for lunch, Billy Joe's. I must have had 1 too many conch burgers because if you will remember, the week after we got back I had a triple bypass!

What are your favorite memories from our Bahama vacations?

Go West!

One of our great family vacations was the trip west where we (mom) drove to Utah and saw tons of sites in between! It started with Mom driving all night because we did not have a reservation for that first night. When we all woke up we were in Mitchell, South Dakota (home of the Corn Palace!)

Next we drove on to Wall Drugs!

Then on to the Badlands (below), Mt. Rushmore and Little Big Horn!

Next was Yellowstone(The Yellowstone River)

Then Jackson Hole, the Tetons (Inspiration Point)

and the Snake River (family river rafting)

Then on to Utah, Salt Lake City (very stinky) and Dinosaur National Park (you wanted to be a paleontologist at that time). We started the trip back home through Colorado - Denver, Colorado Springs and the Garden of The Gods, and then across the endless prairies of Kansas, with a final stop in St. Louis. We spent a lot of time in the car! (Remember the white Dodge Caravan?)

What was your highlight of that vacation? For me it was Yellowstone: the animals (bear, elk, buffalo and prairie dogs!), the natural wonders (hot springs, waterfalls and geysers) and the spectacular scenery (forests,lakes and mountains.)