Pearls in the New Year

So, last bit about our England trip, it goes without saying that the event was my parents 30th wedding anniversary. To make it an extra special occasion, they had a wedding reception and renewed their vows at the very same place that they did 30 years ago as hippies, only this time there were no joints being passed around. This was an extra special time for me, not just to be with my family, as much as I miss them, but also to honor my parents, and to see them honored for their relationship. In today's world, I have nothing but respect for them to have persisted through all the hardships they experienced, and to have raised us three kids to be the people we are. Mum and Dad, I salute you!

Some photos:

Dave and I are mucking about while getting ready to go:



Mum with her sons:



Dad with the inevitable hat:



Amber and I are getting ready to rumble:



Mum and Dad at the ceremony, exchanging the rings:



Amber and I giving our li'l speeches:



The signing of the registrar:



The children and spouses:



Dave giving the best man speech at the dinner:



Can you tell they're brothers?:



Finally, I shall admit that when giving my talk about Dad, I choked up at the end, and never got to finish. I was trying to give an impression of how much my father has forged my identity as an Englishman through being the man he is, and my closing and unspoken lines were:

When I miss my Dad, I miss England.
When I miss England, I miss my Dad.