Amy & Neal Got Married!!!!!

Congratulations to Amy Waggener and Neal Tate, who tied the knot last Saturday in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, and welcome to Jack Tate, our new nephew/cousin/grandson! Robyn and I had a fun, but exhausting, road trip to attend the big event, and we enjoyed getting to see the family for a couple of days. We left Houston Thursday morning, waiting until after the rush hour traffic had thinned out. It was a long drive, about 11 hours. We stopped in Dallas for lunch and had a short visit with one of Robyn's Belmont friends, Abby. The highlight of the drive was when we spotted the Oscar Mayer Weinermobile in Bentonville, Arkansas (presumably it was there because of the Wal-Mart shareholders' meeting being held the next day). We just had to stop and get a picture with the big hot dog!




Robyn & I stayed at a Bed & Breakfast called the Ridgeway House, which is a beautifully restored Victorian home. We highly recommend this place. The breakfasts that were served were incredible, and the innkeeper even provided a slice of pie or cake each afternoon for "tea." Carolyn & Waldie were in the room next to ours, and we had access to the upstairs balcony for hanging out.




As much as we enjoyed the "main event" of the wedding, we got lots of pleasure from just watching our two little 2-year-olds embrace life as only a 2-year-old can do! Brooke (from Alpharetta) and Elizabeth (from Lexington) are precious little girls. They are very different personalities but are finally getting old enough to enjoy interacting with one another. The two little cousins are quite a handful! We discovered what their parents have already learned: it's virtually impossible to get the two of them in one snapshot, since they're always on the move! But we tried--they were having a blast playing in the romantic, heart-shaped double jacuzzi in Brad & Erin's hotel room, and all of the adults were pulling out cameras and snapping away.



The wedding was held in a little chapel by a pond at a resort camp out in the woods. It was a beautiful setting, and the rain held off until after the ceremony. I was honored to be able to provide the music for the day; my hammered dulcimer was just the right instrument for the occasion.

Here are a few more pictures from the weekend:







We left before the sun was up Sunday morning, since Robyn had to be back in Houston for a 7 p.m. rehearsal. The trip was well worth the effort!