Seema & de Winter's Wedding

Just three days after the whole family got home from our trip to Utah, Jim, Janalynn, and I got on a plane and left to go to my friend Seema's wedding in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. (Saskatchewan is the province between Alberta and Manitoba if you don't know where it is--see map below.)


Seema and I met and became friends about nine years ago when we both started working at the same firm in Phoenix. It was my first job at a firm after graduating from law school and her first job in the states. We became good friends quickly and have remained friends despite both moving to other places. I was so excited to share in her special celebration.

While we were gone, our nanny, Katrina, stayed with the boys.

We had to leave pretty early in the morning on a Friday and we arrived in Saskatoon in the early afternoon. We got our car and checked into our hotel and changed to head off to the first of Seema and de Winter's three ceremonies. Because of closed streets, it took us a while to get to the park where the first ceremony was (the "legal" one), so we missed it and we didn't take any pictures, but we did get there in time to mix and mingle with the other friends and family. Then we went back to the hotel and crashed. (It is amazing how much more sleep one can get on a vacation with just one child as opposed to four!)

The next morning we headed out to the Sikh ceremony at the Gurdwara (temple). When we got there, we had some breakfast, then we got ready to enter the Gurdwara. We had to cover our heads. Here are Jim and Janalynn getting ready to go in.

The ceremony was really nice and it was great to learn about and participate in the customs. Here we are with Seema and de Winter after the ceremony (and some other friends and family). Seema was wearing a whole bunch of plastic bracelets on her arms and the tradition is that she was not supposed to work until they all fell off. (She had to take them off the next day for her civil ceremony, but I can imagine it would have taken a while for them to all break off). Janalynn is checking out her beautiful outfit in this picture.

After the ceremony, we had lunch at an Indian restaurant, then went back to the hotel to rest and relax. I was able to take a walk around downtown Saskatoon and check out Seema's sister's boutique in a nearby mall. We also had yummy ice cream from a double decker bus turned ice cream stand in the park. Luckily they took my U.S. money since we didn't change any money. Saturday evening we went out to dinner with all of Seema and de Winter's friends and family. We had a fun time, it was just a late night for Janalynn and she was ready to get back and get to sleep.

Sunday morning, we found a ward in Saskatoon and went to church. After church we had lunch at the hotel and let Janalynn take a nap. Then we went up to the top floor of the hotel to the ballroom for the civil ceremony. Here is Seema with her dad walking her in to give her away.

Here are Seema and de Winter after the ceremony at dinner, thanking the guests.

Here we are at dinner. Janalynn was interested in something else, not the picture.

I love this picture of Janalynn. It shows her cute personality.

Here are Seema and I after she changed into her dancing dress.

Janalynn had to leave the party early because she was tired, but she was pretty good for most of the time.

Monday morning, we had some time before our flight left, so we got up and went on a walk along the Saskatoon River. Being from the southwestern U.S., we enjoyed this sign to "Beware of Falling Ice." Not something we have to worry about in Texas.

There were also some really cool bridges across the river. Here is one that was lit up with colored lights at night, but was still neat looking in the day.

We had breakfast at our hotel. While we were at breakfast we got a call that our flight from Saskatoon to Minneapolis were delayed. That started the roller coaster of traveling that we had for the rest of the day. At the airport we were first told that our flight would be on-time, then that it would be delayed, then that it would be delayed, but not as long, etc. When we got on the plane we didn't know if we would make our connecting flight from Minneapolis to Austin--mostly because we needed time in Minneapolis to go through customs. When we got on the plane, we were scheduled to land in Minneapolis about one hour before our flight to Austin. However, we were delayed on the ground for about 20 minutes while the pilot rebooted one of the plane's computers. We ended up arriving at the gate about 40-45 minutes before our plane to Austin was supposed to depart. (We did have a hotel voucher and flight for the next day if we didn't make it, but we really wanted to get home.) We had that short amount of time to take a long walk from the gate to customs, talk to the customs agent and have our passports inspected, get our bags and recheck them, then go through security, and finally run the couple of miles through the huge airport to get to our gate. All this with a four month old baby and all of her gear. Luckily, we made it just in time. HUGE RELIEF!!!

Here is Janalynn, the seasoned traveler (her sixth flight in just four months of life):

Despite our crazy trip home, we had a great time and it was a fun vacation (with just one child--almost like none). Thanks, Seema and de Winter, for inviting us.