Erin's Wedding

So my sister, who many of you know, got married this weekend! You already saw the lovely green Holland contingent who came along to celebrate, much to my pleasure. This was a very big event for my family. It feels like we've waited a while for something really great to happen. Cody is really a godsend and so perfect for my sister.

Here are some pictures. It's a good thing the father of the bride is allowed to see her before the wedding, because my dad ("Papa-razzi" we call him) would have died if he had missed this first photo-op. As you can see, the style of the wedding was very Jackie-O and classic 50's style, with sheath dresses, pearls, and simple tulip bouquets. I thought it turned out beautifully.

Cody's family is southern, and in the south, apparently, people take friendship as seriously as family. So many of Cody's friends and his parents' friends came up from South Carolina that I honestly could not keep of track of them (including his black nanny who awesomely & spontaneously belted out "Stand By Me" with the band at the reception). The amount of southerners combined with the amount of people in my own large, boisterous family (Karen has met them) made for quite a combination of people, who all, as Lara noted, really, really like to party. My parents hosted three parties at their houses over the course of the weekend, in addition to the wedding itself.

The wedding was a great combination of Catholic spirituality and good, earthy, old-fashioned celebration. These two strains were brought together by the favor: everyone walked away with a personalized bottle of wine, called "The Wedding Feast" after the wedding at Cana. Just as Jesus was present for that marriage, E & C asked that he would be present in their marriage. Not something you see everyday.

Randall served well as "head greeter", and although unfortunately, Cruiser could not be incorporated into the wedding (Cody put his foot down), the whole thing was quite awesome, a fitting celebration, and everything we wanted it to be. Marriage is such a blessing.

I wish I were going...

This is for Jared and all who have been to Indonesia. I so wish I was going! If you haven't been, you should think about when your time will come.

Places I've been

So, now I am really into this. This is my shameless attempt to get you to join myspace with me. That way you can waste more time at the computer. Seriously, I have been hooking up with all of my old high school buddies on myspace. They have been very neglected since I decided I wanted to be friends with people who seek God. Here is a piece of my myspace. They are all places I have been.

Trying something new

I now have a myspace: http://www.myspace.com/benjamintennant. I thought I would try a myspace trick on blogger. These are just old family pictures

Off to Erin's Reception

Here's a shot of a few of us earlier tonight before heading off to Erin Galloway's wedding reception. Make special note of Randall's stellar outfit. The wedding and reception were fantastic. An awesome, joyful, Christ-centered marraige that makes you feel good. The reception featured a live band, plently of free-flowing alcohol, Denise dancing with a literal robe-clad friar, and Randall flirting with and making friends with every pretty girl there. When we left at 11pm, the party was still going strong, and they had just opened up a pizza bar to help the revelers get a second wind.

Remembering

I was just looking at some old pictures in iphoto and I came across amazing pictures of Karen from her wedding that I can't get to upload. Karen, your wedding was so good for me in so many ways. I was lonely here and needed you guys so badly. It was a gift for me to be there and be your friend. I guess I'm getting all emotional as I'm looking at another move. This one is harder. When we left Holland we had something scary but exciting to look forward to and now we just have the blank unknown. Hopefully I'll find someone to watch girly movies with very soon....

and a picture of Sienna just because she rocks, these were taken on our vacation which you can read about and see more pictures of on our blog

A day's haul

Yesterday I had a fairly productive day at school.

I witnessed a drug deal - had a kid removed by the campus cop and then discovered marijuana in his folder.

Later I took up a cell-phone and a laser pointer.

Today I gave exams to seniors and the average score was below 50%. One more day of instruction (like it will do any good) and then exams and I am out of here!

What the.....?

Growing up in Holland means...

Happy Tulip Time. It truly had been a devine Tulip Time '06. The food stands were buzzing, the tourists were clositering, the tulips were blooming, the fireworkds were booming, the dancers were clop clop clopping and (most importantly) the sun was shining.
Then Wednesday night, a huge weather pattern rolled in: cold and rainy--- and it hasn't stopped since. So, I thought I'd bring you all back to some sunnier Tulip Times. Growing up in Holland means wearing dutch costumes, having half days during Tulip Time, and marching in the parades. And, by the way, my grandpa built that windmill. Happy Tulip Time!

Jared, did you give the blog a spring face lift?

Today in History

Most people don't know that back in 1912, Hellman's mayonnaise was manufactured in England. In fact, the Titanic was carrying 12,000 jars of the condiment scheduled for delivery in Vera Cruz, Mexico, which was to be the next port of call for the great ship after its stop in New York. This would have been the largest single shipment of mayonnaise ever delivered to Mexico.

But as we know, the great ship did not make it to New York. The ship hit an iceberg and sank, and the cargo was forever lost. The people of Mexico, who were crazy about mayonnaise and were eagerly awaiting its delivery, were disconsolate at the loss. Their anguish was so great that they declared a National Day of Mourning, which they still observe to this day.

The National Day of Mourning occurs each year on May 5th and is known of course, as Sinko de Mayo.

I'm a Kleenex!

I never thought it would happen but it's true. I'm a Kleenex. It wasn't long ago when Abby learned that Mommy's shirt it is the ultimate nose wiping surface, with so many optimal spaces for comfortable nose wiping. Just when I think she wants to snuggle in for a hug, the wiping begins. She'll smash her nose against my shirt arm or chest and then fervently wipe her face back and forth until she has contently wiped all the boogies out of her nose. At first I thought it was kind of cute, not realizing what was really going on, but now that she has a little cold, it is only gross. The problem is catching the wiping frenzy before it begins so that I can grab an actual kleenex to wipe her nose- which of course makes her cry... but getting to a kleenex box after the wiping has begun is almost a lost cause since by the time I finally get to a box, the wiping (and the damage) is already done. Ahhh, mommy-hood.

Borgess Run for the Health of it

This weekend, I ran a 1/2 marathon with my aunt and cousins. As you can see from the pictures, we wore matching orange (to celebrate our Dutch heritage). Also, you can understand why, standing next to my cousin Tara, I have always felt like a frickn' giant. The weather was beautiful and we had a great time- despite the fact that I forced my aunt to run the last mile with her 3 nieces, and she swore at me!! It was great. I never would have envisioned a year ago, that I would run as a fun thing to do. Thanks Rachel!

More of Ben's manhood adventures

So I took two sick days last Thursday and Friday and went fishing with Michael Hawthorne and a friend of ours named Steve, whose boat we are always borrowing. We went to Caddo Lake, which is right on the border of Texas and Lousiana. We actually fished in Lousiana. We caught mostly crappie, over forty of them, fishing old-fashioned style - with bamboo poles. We stayed at a Marina called Johnson's ranch and hired one of their guides named Henry. It was definately a cross-cultural experience. I swear I hardly understood a thing he said. It was a cross between east Texas country and Lousiana Cajun spoken from a 71 year old guy who is chewing, smoking, fishing and operating an outboard engine. When I caught my first fish, a catfish, I figured it was too small and just threw it back. This is what he said, "I'm fishing my ass off back here and you're throwing 'em back!" He was hilarious.

Here is a picture of the lake. It is a swamp full of cypress tress and alley lake boating pathways. Very beautiful.









This is the dock. Usually filled with old guys hanging around trying to understand each other through their thick dialects and chaw filled lips.














Here is a picture of Henry, our guide.