The Wedding

I had always hoped that Thomas would marry someone kind, and smart, and strong, and sensitive, with a loving and supportive family, a faithful, gentle type of woman.

I always worried that he might get it wrong - that was time utterly wasted - he got it absolutely right.

It was a happy and relaxed day for all of us - it helps when you are the interstate family and hence have no wedding day responsibilities beyond getting the groom to the temple - and, let's face it, wild horses couldn't have kept him away.

The wedding was gift enough for all of us - but there were some bonus moments for me - meeting the Fornaro family again after the engagement party, seeing Donald and Lisha and their lovely boys for a couple of hours (that doesn't happen often enough), having a day in Melbourne with Anne and Joan and Louisa, having Samantha Gilkes (complete with her wicked sense of humour) there, and being in the temple on Good Friday for a sacred and lasting moment.

More than a few photos follow.

Max in a rare cheerful moment.

A more representative Max moment - he spent most of the day in tears - and this in spite of the fact that Tom and Kathleen will be living about 100 m away.

One of my favourites - just after the wedding.

Kathleen with one of her twin nieces - just quietly I am very excited to see what cute kids the Fornaro girls produce!

The official wedding party.

The Fulcher side at the temple - David and Daniel, Anne, Lee & Joan and all of us (except for Alec of course) - you can see how pleased I am to have had each of these with us since I am including a bad photo of me! 

Roger took this photo - I think it's my favourite.

Max - still crying - with the girls who were working to cheer him up - it was starting to create a scene. 

Tom with his in-laws - fabulous family - no wonder Kathleen is delightful - a brother is missing from this photo too - Michael is also on his mission - and in the same mission as Alec.

Just us - totally wishing we had Alec.  (Max looks a bit like he is being sent to the gallows - the pashmina doesn't help but he was cold and weepy so what could I do.)

Peet is actually taller than Tom now.

Tom with his groomsmen - Peet & Daniel - they did make a gorgeous trio.

The reception was lovely - beautifully decorated tables, a bridal waltz that was as sweet as the couple themselves, a little bit of dancing (but they missed the Macarena and the Hokey Pokey so we worried that the marriage might not be legal), and another chance to admire such a pretty couple.   It was an elegant and relaxed affair  and couldn't have been more lovely.

We did miss Alec all day long - and I guess the Fornaros missed Michael all day too.  Can't wait till December to have all of my family together for the first time!

Mexico

So once we recovered from the excitement of Jesse presenting at the War and Peace: A Mormon Perspective conference we started to plan the trip and a big black cloud settled over Jesse and I as we contemplated a few days to a week in LA doing really not much else but shopping.  (We are not good shoppers - we keep trying - but we're just not that good.)

Then - I discovered that Mexico was right next to California - who knew!  And so began my search for cheap flights to somewhere cool in Mexico.  Mission accomplished - cheap flights were available to Merida which is right near ancient Mayan ruins.

So that meant the choice was shopping in LA or climbing ancient ruins in Mexico - now that's a no-brainer.

So much fun - Merida is a delightful town - it's a big tourist centre for Mexicans but very few western tourists - which means it's totally set up for tourists but still exotic and fascinating.

We found a great hotel right on the main square which cost us all of $25 a night and included a great breakfast of crepes, fruit, yogurt and wholemeal bread rolls.

The main square was the centre of everything - and every night from Thursday to Monday there is Salsa dancing in the street - families turn out with their littlies and grandparents alike - all salsa-ing away the night.  Traditional Mayan dancing - which turns out to involve trays of tequila balanced on heads - and a boy band to finish the night.

Jesse salsa-ed with one of the locals boys about town - that means she has danced on tables in Nepal, in a cafe in Greece and in the street in Mexico. (How do I keep her down on the farm!)

We spent a day admiring the architecture - well.. admiring and pondering what it all meant to the Mayans - and sampling the chocolate - and loving the markets.

Then a day at Chichin Itza - it's one of the wonders of the ancient world for a reason.  It's also gruesome - all about human sacrifice - but incredible and beautiful.  We took a tour which was a mistake - a long lunch at a big tourist place and not enough time to wander.  

So the next day we took the bus to Uxmal by ourselves.  We bought 2nd class tickets - which turned out to mean no seat belts.  Chichin Itza was great and we both thought it was worth the trip but Uxmal was one of the great days in life.  It is just as beautiful as Chichin Itza though not as big - the big difference is that at Uxmal you can climb anywhere - even inside a little bit.

The buildings are massive and quieting - and there was no human sacrifice at Uxmal.  We spent the whole day wandering, listening in to the English speaking guides, sitting and wondering, and climbing.  Jesse is not a fan of heights but did the climb to the top of this tower anyway - and gingerly made it down to the applause and congratulations of a group of German tourists.

We made it back to Merida after dark and walked home along little narrow streets where people smiled and where we both felt completely safe.  The whole day felt like a dream really.

Then it was on to California for the conference.

At the Mexico City airport we amused ourselves by people watching - our favourites were the flock of long haired suave Latino boys heading to Miami who swanned around the departure lounge striking a new pose every few minutes.

Mexico City is high on both our lists of places to visit -' sprawling' doesn't even come close to describing the view from the air.