Quite Contrary: San Diego

80 degrees, waves gently crashing into the soft sandy beach, dolphins playing not too far from shore, beautiful blue sky in every direction, gorgeous palm trees claiming the skyline. It was a perfect setting to celebrate the union of our dear friends Sam & SueEllen.

The pictures will say everything but words help me punctuate how truly special times like this weekend are to us. Over the last few years, more and more distance has separated us from our closest friends as our lives and passions take us to different cities, some near and some far. Many of us are scattered across the country, in different time zones, and driven by different busy seasons. We gather for special occasions but now that we are all married, we will need to find new celebrations to bring us together.

The Swansons, Conways & Wobschalls

There is something really special about our friends from Waseca. Mike and his two friends Colby & Sam have all been friends since Kindergarten. They've all stood by each other's sides for their weddings and over the years they've argued their way in adulthood together. Now that we all occupy three different states, you can imagine how difficult it is to find time to come together, especially for no reason in particular. But as we say at each celebration, let's make it happen. It's hard to find couples that all enjoy spending time together and we are so blessed to have found it in each other. Colby and Shannon, Sam and SueEllen, we love you guys and we hope to create our own special occasions for the six of us. We can only hope that one day our kids will argue just as much as you three did. :)

On Saturday morning we were able to head over to Coronado Island, where we roamed the area and soaked in the beauty. It was a perfect day. And a perfect way to fall in love with San Diego.

A school of dolphins playing not too far from the coast. Absolutely stunning.

To the beautiful bride and her prince charming...

SueEllen reading her letter from Sam. They still haven't seen each other at this point...

Sam's Grandma Winnie, who would have celebrated her 66th wedding anniversary the same day if her groom were still here to celebrate with her. She made it all the way from Minnesota and I know they'll never forget she was there.

John Patrick, Colby's youngest brother. He was a trooper at all this adult stuff. :)

Our crew. Shannon & Colby on the left, Sam & SueEllen in the middle and Mike & I on the right.

A few from my phone...

Trying to figure out where we were heading...which became the joke of the weekend. U-turns became our specialty - even going the wrong way down one-ways. You betcha. :)