Crawfish Boil

Once the date, September 12, 2009, was set, the parties could begin. The first one was in April... a Crawfish Boil at the Manske Farm, near, but not at, Bonus, Texas. Geez, I've only written 3 sentences and already have more commas and dots than the law allows!
It has been a tradition among my closest friends to have a party when one of our children celebrate a momentous event. And, of course we welcome other friends of the family who want to join us in hosting the party. Initially, we gave each of them a party upon graduating from high school. Many of those parties were also located at Bonus.

And then, when they started marching down the aisle, we progressed to this type of party. We never could decide what to call this party...sometimes we called it a cocktail party, other times it was an engagement party. But, whatever it was called, and wherever it was given, it was always beautiful and very special.

The guests enjoyed visiting and partaking of the tasty appetizers prepared by the hosts and hostesses. It was a beautiful day (at least as far as I can remember,) and we had a wonderful time, as you will be able to see if you look at the pictures I've included here.

The hosts and hostesses gave Robin and Chad a card table and chairs. Robin and Chad gave the hosts and hostesses monogrammed canvas coolers.

Peggy and Richard conversing with Jerry and Beverly

Virgie waving, "Hi!"

Chad and some of his friends.


Scott & Hannah chatting it up with Carolyn.

Wayne, enjoying some of the appetizers.

Bibs on, we proceeded to eat the wonderfully prepared meal of crawfish, corn, and potatoes. Of course, there was plenty of beer to help wash it all down.

I think you can tell that Robin really likes crawfish; two plates! And I'm pretty sure she went back for more. She gets that from me!

Checking off one thing at a time

The decorator--

Having such a busy schedule at work, Robin decided (with my whole-hearted approval) that she didn't want to have to worry about us doing the decorating at the hall. So, Robin, Laura (Chad's younger sister, Daphne (Chad's mom) and I went to Victoria to confer with Christina Cook, owner of The Gathering Company. Robin had specific ideas about what she wanted and what colors she wanted to use. It was all based on a photo of a bridal bouquet she had cut out of a magazine several years ago and saved. The whole wedding, in fact, was planned around that bouquet.

Christina and Robin hit it off right away and were able to start making plans based on what they had discussed that day. Daphne and I had little to add to the discussion, but Laura was very helpful, as Robin knew she would be. Laura has this phenomenal memory about details and she was able to recount weddings where certain things were done and whether it worked or not. It was just what Robin needed.

About a month or so before the wedding, we went back to Victoria to see what Christina was going to do. She said it was going to be the largest wedding she had done so far. Everything was on track and looking good!

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The photographer--

It took Robin a long time to decide everything about the photography. Well, not about who was going to do it...we had already booked Glenn Frels, of Connie's by Glenn. She just couldn't make up her mind about the packages: how long she wanted him to be there; whether she wanted a bridal portrait, etc. Ultimately, she decided on unlimited coverage. Glenn never saw it coming...Chad and Robin's wedding shoot lasted from noon until past midnight!

She did decide to have someone else do the engagement photos. Unfortunately, I am blank on the name right now. Seems like it's Tristan, but I don't remember a last name or anything. They took bunches of photos though, and it was quite a chore picking the one to put in the announcement in the paper. Then she had to choose some to give as gifts...more decisions.

I haven't mentioned before, but Robin is soooooo reluctant to make a decision on some things. Not on everything, but sometimes she will agonize for eons before making a decision.

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Chad's duties--

Coordinate with the caterer - Vincek's in East Bernard. Chicken-fried steak was a no-brainer.

Talk to the beer guy - Ruben's...there will be Coors Light and only Coors Light for the multitudes. At least while we're supplying it. Once the hall started selling beer, people could get what they wanted (if it wasn't Coors Light.)

Arrange for the limo -

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I won't go into other items at this time. Mainly, I'm tired of this...I've been typing for several hours now and feel like I need a break.

More later.

Shopping for the gown

Robin, Wendy, Carolyn and I went shopping for the wedding gown on January 11, 2009. We wasted no time getting that item checked off the list. We went to two shops and found the gown at the second one.

Many other gowns were beautiful, but the one she finally chose had an emotional impact on her as soon as she put it on. The woman sitting beside me in the showroom remarked as Robin walked in wearing it, "That's the one! You can tell by the way she's walking." And she was right.

Thank goodness we found the dress as early as we did. It had to be ordered, of course, and finally arrived at the bridal shop late in May. Then the fittings began. I don't know how many trips Robin and I made...it seems like dozens, but it was actually only 2 or 3 for fittings. We had to make another visit to pick up the dress for the bridal portrait with Glenn. Then it had to be taken back for some finishing touches and pressing before our final trip to pick it up a few days before the wedding.

I must say, Robin was beautiful in all the dresses she tried on even though the styles varied quite a bit, from glamorous, to vintage, to kind of edgy, to traditional. But, ultimately the dress she chose was the perfect one for her.

The Hensleys - a new family in the making

This was a very special Christmas Day in our family.  Chad joined us, but then he and Robin left on some fictitious errand.  He took her to the pecan trees near the big barn under some pretext that escapes me now. I should have been taking notes.

Maybe he told her that Wayne wanted him to fetch something out of the barn. At any rate, he pretended to notice something under one of the trees and convinced her that they should go check on it. What she found was a large gift wrapped (I think) box which Chad encouraged her to look into. Inside was a kennel holding a black dachshund puppy. Naturally, Robin was thrilled to tears, having suffered the loss of 6 year old Spooner earlier in the year. The puppy, eventually named Rowdy, was wearing a collar upon which Chad had threaded an exquisite diamond engagement ring. He had to call her attention to the ring, which had gone unnoticed in the excitement of finding the puppy. I'm sure there were more tears and then they made their way to our house for our Christmas morning activities...gift opening and dinner...and this year much excitement over the engagement. And that, children, is the beginning of the story about this branch of the Hensley family.