Til Death…

So I took a week off, and it was a really busy week, professionally speaking. My return from bachelor party down time in Portland, turned into some very long to-do lists in the office and very little free personal time. I think by weeks end last Friday, I managed to log about 65 working hours both weeks. So, sorry for no bliggety- blog action. Let’s start this off where this past weekend began.

My little man and I headed out from daycare Friday night to the Tacoma Dome for a night of FMX at it’s finest. It was the first night of the ‘Nuclear Cowboyz’ tour, a mix of the Metal Mulisha and the Soldiers of Havoc, riding for just under 2 hours on a pretty impressive indoor ramp setup. In between sets of insane freestyle tricks, there were the “Nuclear Cowgirlz” or what I like to call, “out of work strippers”, dancing on poles, with stilts, and fire and giant flashlights. All in all, it was a killer show, tons of pyro and fireworks, and the kicker was a train of 13 straight bikes doing back flips over a 100 foot gap. It was pretty impressive and Jackson had a blast. Anytime I’d scream or clap, he was right there with me, hands in the air, clapping and turning to me to ask, “Daddy! Did you see that!!!” There was something so contagious about that smile and interest, it seemed like every hardcore Metal Mulisha  fan around us was stoked to see how stoked he was!

Took us about an hour to get home thanks to some brilliant parking lot attendants at the dome. You’d think after all of the years of events at that place, they’d have this figured out. Normally, I’d park off site, but when you take a two year old to an event with 10 thousand people, you just want to get them safely back to the car as quickly as possible. Somehow, he managed to stay awake and talk to me the entire way home, only to fall asleep in my jacket as we made our way into the house. It was a perfect ending to an awesome night with my bubba.

Saturday morning was a shock, as my arm was being yanked from the socket by an overly awake toddler at 8 am. Despite being awake long past his bedtime the night before, he was wide eyed and bushy tailed to tell me “it’s pretty outside” and he was so right. The sun was in full motion that morning and as the day went on, the temperature rose along with it. It was a very pretty day and we made the most of it. By mid-afternoon, it was nap time for both of us, as I had a long evening ahead of me.

By 3:30, I decided it was time to get moving and get dressed for a wedding. Not just any wedding, but one of my closest friends Bethany and her awesome (now) husband and my friend, Steven. Of course, I never really need an excuse to wear a brand new suit, but this was a pretty good one. I even wore a tie, which rarely happens. In fact, thanks to the internet, I got to dust off my tie tying skills, and had to take a shot at some rather interesting knots. I stuck with the oldie but a goodie, the four-in-hand knot. I also took a shot at some interesting pocket-square folds and in the end decided against wearing one at all. I did however rock an amazing tie, black with purple skulls and cross-bones… Would you expect anything less? Needless to say, it took me a bit to get all that square and get out of the door. A 40 minute drive up to Redmond, a few adult beverages at J.J. Mahoney’s with Jake, and a short trip across the street, and I was in the wedding location by 5:58 pm for a 6:00 pm wedding start. The good news here is that I know no wedding ever starts on time. Probably because of people knowing it won’t start on time and moseying on in a few minutes late. At least I’m not the only one!

Inside and a good majority of my nearest and dearest friends were already there, including some people I had no idea were going to be there (@Juggins79) for instance. That’s my first twitter reference FYI A few minutes of hello’s and hugs found me sitting with Steve and Tricia and ready to get the show on the road. The bridal party made it’s way in ushered by Chalmers grooms men, everyone looking good and stoked. The traditional “here comes the bride” music begins and in comes Bethany, looking amazing and calm. I have to say that in all of the weddings I’ve attended, this had to be the most relaxed group of people ever, which only further solidifies my long standing belief that these two were absolutely made for each other. Anyone in attendance at this wedding can only say the same, perfect. It was a quick ceremony, Bethany’s dad resided over the vows. I’m sure it had to be tough, marrying your daughter off, but he did an amazing job holding it together. It wasn’t until he read a blessing to Steven that he was audibly chocked up. It was a very nice moment to be sure. Like I said, the wedding went perfectly, not too long, not too short, all of the right people hanging out and sharing in their moment. Food was spot on, they never ran out of booze, and when it was time to hit the street, the cabs were lined up to sweep folks off to the next venue.

Waking up Sunday morning, roughly about the same time 24 hours earlier, this time without a 2 year old pulling at my arm, but a stiff headache and a fog of where I actually was, was interesting. Still dressed in my new suite, sans a jacket and tie, pockets still possessing my phone, keys and wallet, I crawled out of the guest bedroom of the girls new house and made my way out to the truck. No idea at the time, when I had actually decided to go to bed, but my general feeling was that it hadn’t been too early. I was definitely feeling the effects of an awesome wedding reception. I’d later find out it was probably around 2am, JV for me, even at 32. Drive home was less than entertaining, mix of sun and rain the whole way back, blah, much like how I was feeling, despite the enormous cup of coffee I grabbed before hitting the 405 home. Shower, tooth brush, and off to pick up the monkey from his mom, along with the dogs. I knew it was about to be a longer day than I was ready to live through. It actually turned out quite well, Jackson and I played a lot of trains, cleaned out his crab cage (yes, we have 3 hermit crabs now), watched some basketball, colored, took a nap on the couch, and played some more. It was a pretty chill Sunday, thank God for that. The day ended with a win for Dem’s in the Healthcare vote, the return of Breaking Bad and a live-and-free UFC fight on the Versus network. All in all, an amazingly fantastic weekend.

I should have some witty or thoughtful insight on weddings and such, but my brain just isn’t there today. Stay tuned however, as I owe it to my newly married friends to have something wise to say.

Cheers and stay blessed-