Our Very Special Girls

A Lovely Wedding

Sierra and Will got married last Saturday. It was sunset at the beach, the bride was beautiful, the groom was grinning, and the wind was gentle. Irene and Mary were sweet, but clearly novice, flower girls. Mary was only coaxed into parting with any petals at all after great fanfare; after the ceremony the poor dear started collecting sandy, wilted rose petals and putting them back in her basket. Fortunately, she mostly behaved during the ceremony (although she did spy a big, interesting bird walking in the water, and clearly she had to point that out). Irene got her first ever case of stage fright and decided not to stand with the wedding party, but she did thoroughly enjoy being a flower girl.
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The Reluctant Flower Girl
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The Newlyweds
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The Dancers

A Dream Captured

Going to the beach has been a long treasured dream of Irene's. From the casual comments such as, "Mommy, did you remember that you never took me to the beach?" to the bold requests, such as asking Uncle Robert in a letter to take her on a beach outing, she has been trying to get herself taken there for almost a year now. How wonderful, as a parent, it is to satisfy your child's deepest longings! I was a little nervous that it wouldn't measure up to whatever muddled daydreams she was having, but that was just silly. After all, one of Irene's trademark characteristics is her joie de vivre.

Mary's big moment was riding the ferry across the bay to Port Aransas. She'd been talking about boats since we got in the bay area, and driving around Corpus Christi the day before had even suggested that we ride a boat. "Ride boat, ride boat, ride boat, ride boat..." were her exact words, I believe.

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Dawn was our secret weapon in our mission to have a pleasant first time at the beach. She's a local, so she knew to hustle us out early, she knew to get parking stickers, and she knew the beaches. I highly advise having your own local when you go to the beach.

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Irene put on her first layer of sunscreen in the car. It makes for a sticky seat, but the time flew by for her. I consider that an even trade.

The Bishops at the Beach


Dawn taught Irene how to jump with the waves, something I never exactly mastered.


Did I mention that Irene loved the beach?



Let us be clear: The beach was Irene's dream.

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Grandma helped Mary forget where she was, and for a little while, Mary put aside her anxiety and played happily. I think the 2:1 adult child ratio was perfect. When Mary had stoods enough and couldn't stands no more, Grandma and Dawn were kind enough to take her to the house, where she napped for some three hours or more.

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Rob and I stayed a bit longer with Irene. Here she is designing "sand pants".


And here she is modeling "sand pants".

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Irene has not wavered on her opinion that the water was the best part.