Here Comes The Big One Pt. 8

Everyone in the wedding party knew that something had changed; the atmosphere had shifted. 

No longer was preparation needed. Everything was ready, the guests were getting impatient. 

Those that had slumbered, had finished their slumbering. 

Those that had slept, had finished their sleep. 

It was midnight and the last call had gone out. It was time for the young maidens to rise up and trim their lamps, the Bridegroom was due any minute. 

Like an over-ripe grape, I burst into the Learning Center and announced to everyone,

"It is time! The Beginning of the End is near!"

The whole bridal party (except for Sam) galloped like a herd of rushed gazelles down through the side hallway and into the foyer, where we began to line up with the person we would either be walking with, or escorting in.

We were all ready.

Sis. Davies had been playing the introductory songs on the piano, and moved into the last one as we lined up in the foyer.

Here was my favorite:

Everything Sis. Davies does, she does well. 

Waiting....

Waiting....

Which would have been a good thing except I was supposed to sing the opening song so that the parents and grandparents could be escorted in.

And there I was waiting. 

It evades me as to what exactly alerted me to my oversight, but I was spurred by some fleeting memory and made my way into the sanctuary, up the side aisle, and took my place. 

Finally. Really ready. 

I find it hard enough to sing, much less sing and take pictures, so I apologize for my lack of them at this point. The ones I did manage to get were mostly provided by others.

Sam snuck in the side door with Pastor and Bishop.

There's Sis. Davies and Late Boy, after realizing his mistake. 

The musical notes of "Bind Us Together" floated out as the collection of family floated in to find their seats near the front. 

Mom and Sam

(You can see Caleb to the right of Sam's shoulder, making a last minute wedding pun or something.)

Caleb escorting Grandma Craig.

After the family had been seated, I quickly joined everyone back outside and the wedding party 

began its piece by piece procession up to the platform. 

The Groomsmen with the Maids of Honor, the flower girls...

All the while my cousin Katie and Sis. Davies played a beautiful duet.

So you know, I'm just standing there on the platform. 

Chillin', sandwiched between Sam and Caleb. 

Peering out into the crowd, seeing what single ladies came or didn't come....

When all of a sudden, the music stops and we're blindsided by.....

Those musical notes. 

Although the theme that was being played and is played to announce the bride at most weddings was actually first used in an opera to prelude a doomed couple's marriage, THOSE NOTES HAD POWER.

Much like when the wedding started, the atmosphere shifted again. 

Everybody's attention was directed to the back doors and as they swung open, the crowd stood to their feet in one fluid motion.

Guess who walked through the door.

Nooo, not the Muffin Man.

Sam's Princess.






Next week: The Kiss.

The Smooch.

The moment we were all waiting for.

Admit it. That's why you're still reading this blog.

Here Comes The Big One Pt. 7

Just imagine it's your wedding day.

Imagine that your name is Samuel D. Avendano.

You're nervous. It's your wedding day. You've never done this sort of thing before.

You've spent a good chunk of your life preparing for this day with your bride-to-be, and you know how much it means to her that everything be perfect. 

The candles, the draping, the music... it all needs to be just so.

The only thing that really bothers you, the Samuel Avendano you, is that the success or failure of this whole shebang is not entirely placed upon your shoulders. In fact, the deciding factor of success is mainly based upon all the other people in the wedding. 

It's not about them, but it does depend on them. 

What if the pianist flubs up? What if one of the candles falls over and catches the carpet on fire? What if a soloists starts singing the wrong song? What if someone trips on the way up the stairs to the platform? What if Pastor forgets his notes for the wedding vows? 

WHAT IF THE GROOMSMEN GO ON STRIKE??

These are the kinds of questions that run through your mind, Samuel Avendano. 

And as you come into the classroom that has been designated to be your holding pen until the wedding starts, you breathe a sigh of relief. 

Everyone else is just as concerned about the well being of the wedding as you are.

In fact, your groomsmen are all gathered in front of a giant mirror that has been placed in the middle of the room, probably working on some last minute preparations, something that is vital and pivotal to the day's success. 

Maybe strategizing how to maintain a tripping female in a vertical armlock position. Or maybe how to put out a swatch of carpet that has caught on fire.

You smile inwardly and stride towards them, just in time to hear your best men conversing, 

Jacob: "You think anyone will notice if the tiny back part of my tie is longer than the front part?"

Caleb: "Nah, just don't unbutton your suit coat, no one will see it."

You're in safe hands, Sam. 

_________________________________________________________________________________

C'mon, we had his back. Just making sure we were looking good for the pictures.

Like I already said, we were positioned in the LCA main classroom. 

We alternated between sitting,

...having last minute music practices,

...eating,

(shoutout to Mom who brought us sandwiches from Jimmy John's to supplement our diet)

...and taking pictures outside.

Doing the TRUMP THUMB! God bless America!

(Mr. Trump, if you should happen to stumble upon this blog while searching your name in Google, please know that I am more than willing to sit down with you and discuss some ideas I have for your foreign policy and/or how far to smithereens we should blow ISIS.)

Claire. She's hilarious and she knows it.

Caleb, and the ladies Lindsey and Maria (who just got engaged herself).

The maidens Lindsey, Maria, and I.

Caleb, el Momito, and myself.

Chloe, Tre, and Claire

Chloe soon figured out how to walk in a really fluffy dress. Not how you see while you walk, but how you walk.

******I PROMISE THAT THERE WILL BE PHOTOS FROM THE WEDDING CEREMONY INCLUDED IN THE VERY NEXT BLOG POST****

Because there is no more time! The guests will start arriving in mere minutes! Let's check back in on everything and make sure its all ready. 

The Seat of Honor. Check.

The cake. Check.

The stand out front for the guests to sign in. Check.

The information booth photograph. Check.

The cleared middle aisle with lit candles. Check.

Last but not least, the guest book attendant, and the gift attendant. Check. 

Cousins Katie and Beth

 T-mins 20 seconds and counting. 

Third stage S&A armed.

Prop 1 pressurized first stage LOX tanks to relief. 

Hydraulic external power to on.

Report range for launch.....

W-Day, you're a go for launch.

Roger. 

Here Comes The Big One Pt. 6 (Wedding Day)

On Tuesday June 6th, 1944, the Allies launched an offensive attack on the shores of Normandy.

Destined to be the largest seaborne invasion in history, the operation began the liberation of
 German-occupied northwestern Europe from Nazi control.

This day's attack, so often referred back to by historians, journalists and soldiers alike, became known as D-day.

The amphibious landings were preceded by extensive aerial and naval bombardment, and an airborne assault--the landing of 24,000 American, British, and Canadian airborne troops shortly after midnight.

Allied infantry and armored divisions began landing on the coast of France at 6:30 am. The men landed under heavy fire from emplacements overlooking the beaches, and the shore was mined and covered with obstacles such as wooden stakes, metal tripods, and barbed wire, making the work of the beach clearing teams of men, both difficult and dangerous.

The Allies would suffer over 209,000 casualties, with nearly 37,000 dead amongst the ground forces and a further 16,000 dead among the Allied air forces.

Victory was achieved, but not without a price.

George Taylor, was an officer in the United States Army.

 While overlooking the carnage of the D-Day operation,  Taylor commented to a fellow officer,
"There are two types of people that are staying on this beach today.
Those that are dead, and those that are going to die."



When the Avendano household began to stir and rumble to a semi-state of consciousness on the morning of April the 2nd, 2016, we had unknowingly stumbled into a meeting with our very own day of destiny.

It was W-Day.

And Sammy wasn't going to make it out unscathed.

_________________________________________________________________________________


I ended my last post by saying that we had some friends coming in for the wedding.

And when I found myself in the kitchen, the morning of the wedding, all the pieces became to come together as to what had exactly happened the night before. It was story time at the breakfast table.

Let me start at the beginning.

Back in 2012 (which truly does seem like 2 lifetimes ago), my family attended Pacific Coast Camp for the first time. We met many new people, and caught up with the ones we already knew.
PCC was incredible.

We also met Heidi, Emily, and Jenny, from Bro. Fraizer's church in Fontana, CA.

This picture is one of the few that has made it into my hall of fame. I've been quite proud of it for many years. So many girls.......and just me.

Heidi is in the grey, two girls to the left, and Jenny is in black just to the right.
(the picture also features another Jenny, Laura, Denay, Tony, Mrs. Montoya, and Cassia)

Emily is just on my left.

You know those people you meet, that you know you'll spend the rest of your life getting to know better? That's exactly who these girls were. 

We've been to Fontana multiple times, spent many a WCC together hanging out, and invite them up to Oregon constantly. 

When I ordered them to accept their invitation to Sam and Vanessa's wedding, I was so convincing that they acquiesced. 

I don't mean to make it sound like it was easy to get them up here..... for awhile they weren't sure that they were going to be able to come.

But after texting Emily and Heidi's dad and demanding--I mean, asking for his blessing on the trip, plane tickets were soon purchased and soon they were on their way. #orygunbound

Their flight landed in Portland close to midnight, so they were unable to come to the rehearsal dinner, but for the first couple hours I stayed up, sacked out on the couch in my dress clothes to welcome them in.

But they weren't coming. 

They said they were! But something was wrong. It was taking them way too long to get their luggage and start driving to McMinnville.

I later learned that they had actually gone to the wrong luggage carousel, and waited for their luggage. Never seeing it, all the terminals eventually closed down, and they had to find someone to help them hunt down their missing luggage. 

These ladies need a man to travel with.

FINALLY. I received texts that they were driving, on their way.

About 15 minutes or so, into the west bound drive, Emily texted me.

Emily: "How are the cops around here?"

Jacob: "They mean business, you guys better slow down."

Emily: "Wait...I think we're getting pulled over."

Jacob: "WAT. Noooo, you're pulling my leg."

Emily: *sends selfie with flashing blue and red lights in the background."

Jacob: -__________________-

Officer: "I noticed you were driving over the posted speed limit. Where are you guys from, California??"

Heidi: "Yep."

I don't know how they did it, tears, bribery, logic, but they didn't get a ticket, and drove the rest of the way to our neighborhood uneventfully. 

They pulled up to the wrong house and were just about to wreck my family's frail relationship with the new neighbors by pounding on their door at 1 am in the morning, when contact was made with my mom and redirected them to my Grandma's house (Grandma's Hotel, as we call it), where they would be staying. 

I always enjoy a good story while I eat my Honey Bunches of Oats.


The girls came over to say hi before me and my brothers left for the church, the days festivities just about to begin.

A recent picture. Didn't we turn out so good??


Early on, I reserved the right to drive Sam to the wedding. He couldn't take a car to the wedding, cause his Buick was already up in Portland, ready to take them to the airport.

So someone would have to drive him.

It wasn't just any drive...it was the drive of all drives, the last time he would ride in a car as a single man.

I got the car started early, turned the temperature to a comfortable 70 degrees, and started playing the perfect wedding day music.

W-Day was about to commence.

I knew that I would relay this story for years to my friends, children, grandchildren, and perhaps in my autobiography.
The time I drove Sam to his wedding.

So I had to made it worth remembering.

We rolled up the the stop sign on the corner of Michelbook and Wallace,  a mere 500 yards from the church.

I clicked it into Sport mode, and stepped on the gas from a dead stop.

We wheeled around the corner, tires squealing, and drifted into the opposite lane, narrowly missing the curb before settling back into the right lane and quickly approaching the church driveway, still accelerating.

Sam looked at me with concern in his eyes and said, very calmly, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING??"

I don't remember what I said, but I remember what I was thinking.

I was having a flash back to some summers in the days gone by.

The good ole day summers that everyone has. The summers where the break from school seems to present with itself endless opportunities.

It was in a few of these summers that I gained my conditioned nerves of steel, at least when it comes to driving or being driven.

You see, Sam had my Grandma's old 1985 Corolla.

It was in this car I learned that stick-shifts are fun, burning break pads smell, drifting is harder than it looks, and cornering on gravel can be unpredictable, all from the passenger seat.

The apprentice learned well.



We turned into the church parking lot and parked by the entrance into the school lunchroom.

Busting through the doors, we joined the rest of our regiment.

It was W-Day.

We were ready for anything.