On my birthday this year Staci called to wish me well. In addition to the birthday wishes, she also told us the news that we had been waiting to hear. Her and Shane were getting married!! Tradition has been thrown out the window when it comes to Staci and Shane. The days of getting married, buying a house and having kids is over. Staci and Shane did it all in reverse. Buy a house, have kids, and THEN get married! It was almost 20 years ago that Staci and her mom knocked on our door to introduce themselves and talk about Staci watching Kelly and Kate during summer vacation. Of course she was hired, and then spent the next years not only becoming a mentor, friend and big sister to Kelly and Kate, but also our daughter. Sometimes our favorite daughter : )
No need for a long engagement since they already had two kids and a house. The wedding would be March 22 at Chapel of the Bells in South Lake Tahoe. Not much time to plan things but then again, all we had to do was show up. After we got the news we called Kelly and Kate and told them. Since Kelly was relatively close in southern California, she was able to take a Friday off and make reservations to fly in on Thursday night and fly home on Sunday night. Kate thought that maybe they could come too. If we could find some reasonable air fair and it could work into Kate’s school schedule, they would all fly in for the weekend!! Barb worked her magic and found flights that worked for everyone. Kate also wanted to keep it a secret that her and Frank and Parker were coming. They would not only surprise Kelly, but also Staci. This would be something of a payback since Staci surprised Kate 2 years ago when we all went to North Carolina. Kate had also surprised Barb and I when she came home on leave from Okinawa to elope with Frank. So all the flights were booked and the surprises were in place, now we just had to keep the secret for a couple of weeks without blowing it.
Fast forward to last Thursday. Barb was picking up Kate, Frank and Parker at San Jose airport at 10:30pm. I was picking up Kelly at Oakland airport at 11pm. The plan was to have Kelly walk through the door at home and have The Lee family sitting there on the couch. We cut it real close. Kate’s flight was late and Kelly’s flight was early. At some point we all went “cell phone silent” so as not to spill the beans with Kelly in the car. I just hoped that when I round the corner onto our street that the car would be in the driveway. If it wasn’t I would have to scramble with an explanation as to where mom was at 11pm on the Thursday night. No worry though because the car was there. I distracted Kelly so she wouldn’t see Parker’s car seat in the back of the car. I wish that I could have seen Kelly’s face. All she was expecting was to be greeted by the dogs. Needless to say, Kelly was very VERY surprised. Turns out that they got in the house about 2 minutes before we pulled in. SURPRISE #1 was complete! Barb and I are happy and relieved. The Family is together for the weekend. Let the good times roll. But first, lets all get some sleep. Its been a long day for everyone.
Friday was a busy day and a great day. Up early to make breakfast for the family. Kate and Frank had made plans to go skydiving in Lodi on the way to the lake. We got to spend some quality time with Parker at the house while they jumped out of a plane at 13,000 feet! We hung out at the house until after lunch time. Just playing with Parker while we packed up and got ready to go. Sarah even took the day off so she could spend time with her great nephew who she had never met before. It was a nice morning with our grandson. I can’t tell you how nice it is to have the family together. Both Barb and I were on cloud nine!
So we hit the road for Tahoe. A road trip in our new car! I drove. Barb rode shotgun. Kelly and Parker in the back seat. Life is good!! We headed Lodi way to eventually meet up with Kate and Frank. They survived the skydive and were headed to Bass Pro Shop to take a look around. We had some time to kill before they caught up with us so we found a cool little playground where we hung out for awhile. Swing a little and a few times down the slides and we were ready to go again. We all met in El Dorado Hills for an early dinner, then did the final hump over the hill and into the Tahoe basin. Although there was snow in the hills and on the ground at the high elevations, there was almost zero snow at lake level.
Checked into the Lake Tahoe Vacation resort and settled in for the two night stay. Viva la Familia!! Up saturday morning. Wedding day!! The wedding was scheduled for 3pm. Staci still didn’t know that Kate and Frank and Parker were here. Surprise #2 was coming! After breakfast, Frank and I went on a little hike up the Hawley Grade trail. Last summer when the boys and I did the Flume trail ride, we hiked the next day to a pretty little waterfall up the Hawley Grade. I figured this would be a good hike for Frank and I. It was. We parked the truck and headed up the trail. Found the path that works its way over to the stream. When we got to the same spot where we had taken a break last summer, the difference was amazing!. Not only was there plenty of snow and ice on the ground and all of the huge granite rocks that line the stream, the water was flowing pretty good. Much more than the trickle from last summer. Absolutely beautiful! Frank and I took a nice break sitting on a rock in the morning sun looking at the snow covered boulders and running water. 
Frank mentioned that it was crazy that we were sitting in the warm sun while looking at all the snow around us. It was. It was nice to spend some quality time with Frank. He is such a great young man. A fantastic father and wonderful husband. We are blessed to have Frank as part of the family. Spent a good half hour or more just basking in the morning sun along the stream. On the way back to the timeshare we did stop along the side of the road to snag a couple of Tahoe rocks for my front yard landscaping project. When you have a big and strong Marine with you, why not use that opportunity to have him load some heavy rocks. Thanks Frank!! I’ll think of you when I place those stones (especially that HUGE one) in the yard next month.
Here is the set up for Kate surprising Staci. When Staci announced the wedding plans to everyone, Kate had sent her a message saying that she wished she could be there but with school schedule and clinicals it was impossible. Or so Staci thought! Staci and Shane were arriving in Tahoe around noon and staying at the same place as us. So the surprise plan was to find out what room she was in, then sneak up, knock, and have Parker standing there all alone when she opened the door. We all headed up to room 422. Parker stood there like a trooper, I knocked real loud then we all ditched around the corner. Staci opened the door and…….
EMOTION!! She saw Parker standing there, then she saw Kate! The reaction was the best!! Pure love. Pure Happiness. And pure SURPRISE. Tears and hugs all around! Surprise #2 was a success. We pulled off the double surprise without a hitch. Everyone is happy!! Now no more surprises. Just family time and a wedding to go to! On a side note, when Frank and I were coming back from our hike, we ran into Shane in the parking lot! He was going out as we were going in. I’m like oh dang, we are screwed. But we said a quick hello and hustled to the room to let all the girls know that we had to hurry and go surprise Staci NOW before Shane got back up to the room. Of course all was well. The look on Staci’s face when she saw Kate was one of the best memories of the weekend. I will hold it in my heart for a long time. What a great family I have. I love all my girls!!
So the wedding was a 3pm at Chapel of the Bells, just a couple of miles up the road. Back to our room to get ready. I must say that during all this time, Parker is the center of attention. The times we get to spend with our grandson are few and far between, so when we get some “Parker time”, we cherish each and every moment. Now that he is 20 months old, he is interacting so well. He is all boy. Love to run, play with his trucks, or just play in the dirt or rocks. He talks but only he knows what he is saying. Soon we will all know. Kate and Frank are doing a great job.
The weather really cooperated all the way. No snow worries coming over the hill and plenty of sunshine for an outdoor wedding. The Chapel is actually kind of cute. They have both indoor and outdoor venues, but the day was perfect for an outdoor wedding. (with outdoor heaters going)
Everyone was there and gathering around and waiting while Staci and Shane did the paperwork inside. In true non-traditional wedding fashion, the bride-to-be had to come out to the mini-van and feed Liam in the parking lot of the chapel to hold him over until it was over. During this time is when Staci’s dad Mike came up and said ” I was thinking it would be a good idea if we both walked Staci down the aisle, what do you think about that?” Well, needless to say, I was both surprised and honored. Staci has been calling me “dad” for years. Colin calls me grandpa. But I never even thought about walking her down the aisle. I said that if its ok with Staci I am all in. Mike checked with Barb to see if it was a good idea, then went and told Staci. Next thing I know, Staci has Mike on one arm and me on the other. I told her She looked beautiful and away we went.
The Ceremony was simple and sweet. I sat with Barb who was holding Liam. Less than 30 people in attendance but all of the people that were important in Staci’s life were there. Less then 30 minutes later they were Mr and Mrs Steffen. LET THE PARTY BEGIN !!!!
Staci had reserved the VIP area of the Timeshare place where we were staying at. The upper room had two long tables were we all could sit. It was a great time visiting with everyone. Almost all of Staci’s “old gang” from high school was there. We have come to know all of them over the years. They have of course all grown up, got married and had families of their own. This wasn’t a traditional wedding reception. More like a dinner party. No Cake, no toasts, no throwing the bouquet. Just dinner and drinks with friends and family. I LOVED IT!!!
Things started to wind down around 9pm. We had an early departure planned for the morning because we had to get the Lee family to the Sacramento airport by 10:30am for a noon departure to Atlanta, and home. Then drop off Kelly at Oakland later that night. Sadly, our whirlwind weekend of surprises and weddings and family was coming to an end.
Next morning we were up and out early. Packed the car and truck, said a quick goodbye to Staci and Liam (everyone else was still sleeping) and were on the road a little after 7am. Stopped for breakfast at Denny’s before we made our way back over the hill and to Sac. We made the best of our last car ride with Parker. Kelly kept him entertained (and awake) the whole way to the airport. We all got a kick out of Parker playing around with Kelly. Barb videoed the always funny “smell my feet auntie Kelly” routine. Before we knew it we were pulling into the airport departure terminal and said our good byes to Kate and Frank and Parker. *sigh*
Since we had two vehicles, I jumped in the truck and drove it home from Sacramento while Barb and Kelly followed in the Fusion. Home by 12:30pm, unload both vehicles and took a little nap. Early dinner at BJ’s with Kelly and Barb, then back home for a while until it was time to take Kelly to Oakland international and say goodbye to her. *sigh*
We knew it was going to be a whirlwind weekend. Plenty of action and travel crammed into 60 some odd hours. It was over too fast! I knew it would happen this way. That before we knew it, we would be looking back at the trip instead of forward to it. The little sadness that it was over was outweighed by the extreme happiness that we experienced over those 60 hours. Spending time with Parker was pure bliss. Seeing our daughters that live too far away is always special. Getting them together is rare and even more special. Frank is the son I never had. I’m proud of him in many ways and even more proud to call him my son. That hike we took will be in the memory banks forever.
And Staci. Who made the whole thing happen! We wish you a lifetime of love, laughter, peace and contentment. You brought light to our lives, and now you will bring that same light to your boy’s lives. They are lucky to have you for a mom. You are our daughter and we love you.
We didn’t take that many pictures over the weekend, but here they are in no particular order. Click here to see them all.
Check out the videos! Here.
Ended up going on a second bike ride yesterday. Late afternoon I was bragging to Downing about my lunch time ride. He said, “thats it, I’m going on a ride”. I offered to join him. he accepted. Off we ride!
Instead of the normal ride to Coyote Hills on the Creek Trail, John suggested going the other way towards Niles Canyon. I told him its your ride, I’ll follow you. Heading down the trail and over the Sequoia bridge to get on the dirt side of the trail and into Qaurry Lakes Park. Rode around quarry lakes checking the (low) water level when John gets a flat tire! I think this is his third flat in 30 days! UGH. We pull over so Johny boy can do a tire change. He is getting pretty good with all that practice! 
It really was a beautiful day. Now that we are on daylight savings time, we can squeeze in an afterwork ride without the sun going down on us. John picked a great place to get a flat. While he was cursing and fumbling around with the flat, I was able to bask in the beauty that surrounded us.
A few minutes later we were on our way. Out of Quarry Lakes and back on to the Creek Trail. Nice ride down to Niles Park. They had the rubber dams up so there was some water cascading over the top. The end of the trail is where Barb and I usually turn around, but this is John’s ride and I’m following him. We peel off the trail and hit the back roads to Morrison Canyon and start climbing, and climbing, and climbing. I think this was pay back for me suggesting he buy those tubes that keep getting flats. Either way, it was great. Took a short break half way up the hill then coasted and road back to the creek trail. One last picture as the sun was setting over Alameda Creek and then headed home before it got too dark. 
