Mark of Fridays: Mark (and Anne) in the Park

Temps have been stuck in the 40s and 50s, but that doesn't stop Mark.  He wants to be outside riding his bike and playing at the park regardless. 

So a few weeks ago, we sent out a note to all of the Seagos in a ten mile radius telling them we were headed to the park.  The result:  100% attendance.

And guess what else we learned?  Delusions about the "spring" weather (or perhaps broken internal thermostats) seem common amongst the men in our family.  To Pap and Mr. Martin, breaking 50 degrees is a cue to wear sandals.

Think this picture is cute?  You should see it from the duck's perspective.

Mark of Fridays - Anne edition

 

Didn't the Expos fold when Andre Dawson left?

Did you know there's something called a "Bridal Expo"?
Did you further know that at these "Bridal Expos" people are merely considered vessels that carry around the wallets?
Did you know about this?
Matt did not know.
But this past weekend Matt, Lynne and The Moms headed off to the Wyndham Hotel in Naperville, Ill., for the Bridal Expo. Let's start right there, with the name: Bridal Expo is sort of a misnomer. There was actually stuff there for the guys: tuxedos, cupcakes, Men's rooms.
There was also 450 booths for hair decorations, 95 flower booths, 120 booths for jewelry, 637 booths for photography, and a harp booth. Oh wait, and a cake shaped like a large-mouth bass. (No joke!)
Also, inexplicably, there was a chiropractic booth and a laser hair removal booth. What kind of wedding is that?
The first part of the Bridal Expo was a huge cattle herd, with vendors desperately trying to snag anyone they could, and brides just as desperately trying not to sign up for anything.
"Excuse-me-have-you-thought-aboutyourDJserviceyet..." the vendors shouted as the brides-to-be zoomed by, grabbing free pens but avoiding eye contact.
Meanwhile, Matt was registering for every raffle and trying to ask as many random questions as possible.
"Will your DJ play the translated Numa Numa song?"
"Are these mattress made with free-range goose feathers?"
"What's the maximum amount of tuxedos I can order?"

"Do you make dresses for seven-foot bridesmaids?"
Then after everyone got through the wedding booth maze, there was a fashion show of dresses that ranged from odd and scary to nice and classy.
Leading the show was this lady - pictured at left - who said "fabulous" or "of course" every 5 seconds. At first it was weird but, of course, it quickly got fabulous!
The Fabulous-O-Meter ended at 16 and the Of-Course-O-Meter ended at 50 billion.
It turns out - here's a free tip for those of you who are pre-engaged - that a Bridal Expo is something to go to soon after the engagement. (With no previous engagement experience, Matt and Lynne had no idea - they thought the Bridal Expo was where Andres Galarraga bought a dress.) So, Lynne and Matt had already taken care of some things available at the Expo.
But Matt did get a couple tuxedo referrals, one of those little tasks still hanging out there. And it was fun to spend the day with The Moms, getting ideas for things that we think we can make cheaper and better ourselves.
Overall, it was a suprisingly fun day, even if it has led to Matt recieving SIX flyers and EIGHT emails, just three days after the Expo. But the highlight of the day had to be when Lynne and Matt found their ride to the wedding:

Nice ride, huh? And here's the inside:
Suh-weet. There's room for eight to 10 more people, depending on how much you eat, so start kissing up and maybe we'll bring you along.