Happy Anniversary, Gary and Sheri!

Today is Gary and Sheri's 26th wedding anniversary. I remember their wedding like it was yesterday. My mom made her wedding dress -which was the same style that Lady Diana had worn for the royal wedding. But Sheri's train wasn't as long as Diana's -which I believe was the length of 3 football fields. The first time she tried the dress on I commented on how beautiful she looked. I suppose a little brother doesn't usually do that but she just looked like royalty herself.

For the ceremony they asked my dad to sing "Sunrise, Sunset". Now that I think about it, that was probably kind of cruel. He couldn't do much more than cry into the microphone that day. But he did it on pitch.

All four of my grandparents served communion to everyone in attendance. Gary's pastor, and the president of our organization at that time, Orvel Taylor, performed the ceremony. When he had Gary and Sheri kneel, you could see that Gary's sister, Elaine, had written "Oh no" on the bottom of his shoes in red nail polish.

My mom played the piano and Gary's mom played the organ and I was one of the ushers. At the end of the ceremony the bridal party was so excited that they ran off to the other room with the bride and groom -forgetting that there were people waiting to be dismissed from the church. I was practically running down the aisle to escort parents, grandparents, and other family members out individually.

It was really an amazing day because it was like a family reunion. And it was the last time that we'd all be together. However, it was also the start of something new. They were off to California. We lived in Seattle at that time but eventually followed them down. They are so fun that we just couldn't live that far away. And, of course, eventually there were two more fun ones thrown into the mix. Two little bundles of joy that still give me hugs every time I see them -even though they've grown up. But it all started with this day. Happy Anniversary Gary and Sheri!