We had a wonderful RagsClan event.

My beautiful niece married her long time fiance on Saturday the 17th.  Not a huge wedding but in a beautiful venue with a good gathering of friends and family.

She and her DH are truly good people, intelligent, successful, attractive, and with every indication that they will have a wonderful marriage and future much like her parents (27+ years), grandparents (five weeks short of 59 years), and her Uncle and Aunt (26+ years).

A bonus to the week was that my SS-28 was able to get leave, have his first vaccine, and fly in for his cousin's wedding celebration.  My mom and dad picked him up from the airport early Thursday night.  According to SS my mom flew our of the truck to get her hands on her grandson.  SS offered to get her step stool from the back bloor board so she could step out as she usually does but mom told him "nope, take my arm and give me a hug!"

They drove from the airport to the venue where his Aunt, my brother's wife, about tackled him.

His mom and I and his cousin, my niece and her now DH saw him in Dec 2019 when he was in the States for training.  The rest of the family has not seen him in nearly 3 years.

My DW got off work on Thursday at 5:30PM and we left a few minutes before 7 for the event. We got in just before 10PM.  

He and all three of his cousin's pretty much were attached at the hip for the entire wedding event which went from Thursday evening until Sunday AM.  The rehersal dinner my niece sat with her two brothers and her cousins (my SS and SIL's niece).  Of course on the wedding day she was fully engaged with her groom and the wedding party, etc....

The whole Rags clan stayed at the venue.  My SIL's sister, her DH and their daughter were in one of two tiny houses on site, both of my nephews and my eldest nephew's GF were in the second tiny house on site.  Mom, Dad, DW, SS, and I were in the bunk house (a very nice large room with 4 queen beds, a living room area, a nice bathroom, kitchenette and a walk in closet.  My brother and SIL were in an apartment in the dance barn until Sat night when they turned the apartment over to my niece and her new DH.  My brother and SIL joined the rest of us in the bunk house Sat night.  We all layed in bed bantering and laughing until very late after the reception wound down.  It was a wonderful event.  

The rest of the guests and family were in hotels around town or at their own homes.

Friday AM was the bridal shower, the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner were Friday evening, the wedding was Saturday at 5:30PM.  They asked my Dad to officiate.  He was surprised and honored. He ordained through an online wedding officient service recognized by the State and wrote the whole ceremony.  The Bride and Groom had dad write their vows for them.  It was great.  Lots of laughs, happy tears, and crowd interaction.  Dad did a take on the "if anyone objects speak now or forever hold your peace" thing. When he said that a raucus cheer from several hundred people about half a mile away at a baseball complex errupted in the distance which set everyone at the wedding burst into laughs.

Several hours of photos the couple of hours before and after the ceremony, a nice dinner, and the party began.  

Now for the "mostly" part.  No one masked.  And... no one brought or caught Covid. However, one of the 13 bride's maids did come with an active case of NoroVirus.  Which she shared during the reception.  I was mortified that she would attend a wedding knowing that she was on the tail end of a NoroVirus infection.  So over the past week or so a number of guests have ended up with the puke and craps.

My mom's turn started on Tuesday of last week.  It threw her into atrial fib and her pace maker monitor freaked out.  She was okay but was pretty sick for a couple of days.

My turn started last night and I am now reaching the head in a bucket stage.

Ughhhhhh.

The kid was with us for a week including the wedding.  DW took a week off, not an easy thing to do for counting mutants during a never ending tax season, and we spent Sun-Sat at mom and dad's after the wedding. We put the kid on a plane back to Germany on Friday AM.

Today DW and I are taking it easy at home.

So, NoroVirus aside, it was a great 7.5 days.