Well, it's been a riotous week or so around here. But there was a wedding in Arizona, and Charlie and I did go (Em wimped out at the last minute), and we had a wonderful time. Here's the bride and her father:







They look like they're having a pretty good time, eh? I really like that picture . . . Everyone took a picture of Mike and Andrea walking down the aisle, but this one - which Charlie took - is the best I've seen so far.

The wedding was held in the groom's parents' back yard, which was more than up to the task:







Serious family picture-taking didn't start until after dark. Here's Charlie and Andrea:







And Charlie and Lindsay:







And Charlie and all three of his cousins:







And Charlie wth Katie, who's Cheryl's brother Bob's daughter (and hence no actual relation to Charlie, she was dismayed to learn . . . of course, I should have told her that this means she can marry him; she had quite a little crush going there.)







And a picture of Cheryl's brother Gary:








As I said, we had a wonderful time at the wedding - we flew out on Thursday, spent Thursday evening with Mike, first taking Cheryl over to Andrea's condo, where the bridesmaids were assembling for the bachelorette party (to which Cheryl was invited, a fact of which she was justifiably proud, I thought. How many mothers get invited to such a party?), and then going out for a quick bite to eat.

Friday we scoured Phoenix looking for a shirt for Charlie to wear to the wedding, then attended the rehearsal dinner. (We weren't actually in the wedding, but the groom's mother invited all out-of-towners to the dinner, which I thought was really nice.) The dinner was held at a sports bar, and everyone was supposed to wear their favorite team jersey, so I of course wore my Brendan Shanahan Red Wings jersey







. . . and as luck would have it, the first game of the playoffs was on, and I hadda keep telling the bartenders to put it on (at least ONE of the FOUR) big-screen TVs in the private rooms we had. (Still, even with vigilance, we missed the final score, and Bob and I had to call Emil to get the lowdown on how the game ended . . . )

It was great fun to see Bob again. I've never really had much of a chance to hang out with his family, but this time I had many opportunities to talk to Julie, his wife, and to play with his kids, who are really sweet children. (Charlie and I took them back to the motel from the wedding, where we went swimming and ordered pizza and just had a good time while Bob and Julie, at the end of a week-long family vacation, had some grownup time . . . )







But I'm getting ahead of myself. On Saturday, the boys went golfing (even Charlie, who got himself out of bed at 6:15, a feat I didn't think he would pull off), and the girls hung around at the pool for a bit in the morning - except Cheryl, of course, who got up at 6:00 when the golfers left and immediately launched into wedding preparations . . .

The wedding took place at 5:00, and aside from being beautiful, it was really, really fun. One of the best moments was when Mike cracked open a bottle of Seagram's 7 that he'd had since his own wedding in 1975. Cheryl got to dance with the groom:






. . . Dave, a really nice guy, who seems considerate and kind as well.

A good time was had by all. I especially got a kick out of Charlie, who smiled and laughed more than I've seen him do in years.

On Sunday Charlie and I drove up to Canyon Lake for a while (passing through Tortilla Flat, which is an unremitting tourist trap, I'm sorry to say), and when we got back I graded papers . . . Lindsay and Andrea dropped over for a while, and we helped unload the rental tables which had been removed from Andrea's in-laws' back yard and needed to be returned. Mostly, though, we just hung out in the room, where I wrote back to students, mostly.

On Monday, we flew home, arriving at midnight. Since then I've been lost in end-of-semester matters (long days on campus, much reading and commenting on papers). The schedule has eased up a bit, though . . . so Emil and I are off to Youngstown today (returning tomorrow) to see Uncle Carl, Uncle Joe, and Aunt Betty. I haven't been there since Emil's father died, so it's about time . . .

But I really wish I could stay put! While I was gone, Emil painted Emma's former room, which has become our study, and it's a wonderful space; I'm sitting in it now as I write this. And the yard is begging for attention; it's a flat-out gorgeous Michigan spring day and the last place I want to be is in the car . . . Oh, well. I have to go to campus on Monday for a while, but on Tuesday I can sit here until the cows come home . . . and in a few weeks I won't really have to go anywhere at all if I don't want to. (Well, except Texas. But I want to go there!)

Much more to say, but I better stop now so we can get the show on the road . . . stay tuned.