{"id":120,"date":"2007-11-18T02:44:50","date_gmt":"2007-11-18T06:44:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/derekandevonne.com\/?p=120"},"modified":"2007-11-18T02:44:50","modified_gmt":"2007-11-18T06:44:50","slug":"my-sisters-wedding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/derekandevonne.com\/?p=120","title":{"rendered":"My Sister's wedding"},"content":{"rendered":"

We got back from my sister’s wedding in Mexico\u00a0early Friday morning.\u00a0 I think it was one of those events where there’s so much going on that\u00a0you can’t fully absorb\u00a0everything… but\u00a0when everything is finished and you have a few free, quiet moments to reflect, then you start to realize some things.\u00a0 My one and only sister is now married (I guess it took 2 ceremonies to cement it <grin>) and she’s\u00a0officially starting the next phase in her life.\u00a0 Paul is my brother-in-law, and we’ve officially welcomed\u00a0him to our family, as the Vegas’ have welcomed Vennie into their family.<\/p>\n

We made a lot of new friends,\u00a0renewed\u00a0old\u00a0friendships, and learned a lot about Paul’s family.<\/p>\n

Getting there is half the fun<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Not\u00a0really.\u00a0 To get to Merida, we took the 10:35pm flt from Vancouver to Toronto.\u00a0 Arrived in Toronto at about 6:30 EST.\u00a0 Then we had 5 hours to kill before boarding the flight to Cancun.\u00a0 We reached Cancun at 2:30 local time where I was very surprised to see the new airport!!\u00a0 The last airport left a lot to be desired, and this one was pretty nice.\u00a0 My parents and Bill and Wendy were waiting outside, and so we hopped into the van for a thrilling\u00a03 hour roadtrip from Cancun to Merida.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I would say that my flight to India was worse… but only just.\u00a0 If I am ever booked on a red-eye again, I will toss my passport into the shredder so I can’t go.\u00a0 Throughout the journey, we could only think of how much worse it would be if we had brought e with us.\u00a0 \ud83d\ude41<\/p>\n

Back to the wedding…<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n

Anyways,\u00a0I have a lot more to write about the wedding, travel, Mexico, etc.\u00a0so I’ll leave that for\u00a0future entries.\u00a0\u00a0I think the highlight for me, and most everyone was the reception.\u00a0\u00a0Great venue, food, and speeches.\u00a0 I’ve been bugged a few times to include the speech I wrote for Vennie, so here it is.<\/p>\n

\n

I’m here to talk and say some nice things about my sister.\u00a0 Yes, I enjoy a good challenging topic…<\/em><\/p>\n

My sister was born in the year of the tiger, and so I looked up the personality traits of the Tigress.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

It states:<\/em><\/p>\n

“The tigress is Passionate, powerful, dynamic, and is a stick of dynamite waiting to go off… <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

They live life with Vigor, and are very goal oriented.\u00a0 They are never halfhearted about their endeavours.\u00a0 The Tigress must express herself, find her identity, and shape her personality.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Fashion conscious, articulated, and liberated.\u00a0 They love being the center of attention.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

They have a sensitive, artistic side.\u00a0 They are also nurturers and humanitarians, great with children.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The Tigress is the ultimate optimist who will always bounce back for fresh challenges.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

But the downside is that they are often hot-headed.\u00a0 Don’t taunt the tigress, as she keeps her claws sharpened just in case.”<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

My first memory of Vennie’s emerging personality when she was just 2.\u00a0 Our family took a vacation to Ottawa to visit our Aunt Nora\/Uncle Larry and our cousins Robin and Denny.\u00a0 We took a walk by the Parliament buildings, and I recall pushing cousin Denny in a stroller.\u00a0 Out of nowhere came these tiny little claws, and before I knew what had happened, my sister had cut in front of me, taken the stroller, and was already running off in the distance pushing the stroller.<\/em><\/p>\n

What was it like growing up with Vennie?\u00a0 Here are some words that come to mind… Fleece sweatpants, piano lessons, braces, endless hours of off-tune Olivia Newton John and Sheena Easton songs, fashion forward\/thick round glasses- think of Vennie as an owl, bowl cuts (thanks mom), and of course, more claws.\u00a0 It wasn’t until she was much older that things became more interesting, and we could finally be civil to each other… however the claws were still ever present.<\/em><\/p>\n

When I think of my sister and what is important to her, Family and friends are the first to come to mind.\u00a0 In many ways, she is the glue that helps hold our family together.\u00a0 Ever thoughtful, she makes a point to keep in touch and celebrate anything and everything.\u00a0 As Kara can attest, at some point, most of our younger cousins were looked after by Vennie.\u00a0 She sets a good example, provides her unique form of “direction”,and helps anyone who is in need. <\/em><\/p>\n

I want to go back to the quote “The Tigress must express herself, and find her identity.”<\/em><\/p>\n

Coming from our family, there’s an expectation to enter the medical field.\u00a0 My sister went to U of C, completed her BSc, and took the MCATs.\u00a0 Somewhere during that process, she changed her direction, and went into interior design.\u00a0 After graduation, her next decision was to pursue her career in NY.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

These two decisions in career choice and relocation to NYC, were made because of who she is.\u00a0 They are decisions that took courage, conviction, and belief in herself.\u00a0 I can say that not many people born in Drumheller have made the jump to a successful career in NY. They are also pivotal decisions in that they eventually led her to Paul, and are the reason why we are here today.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

I have one final quote about the Tigress- “Life with the Tiger will be volatile.\u00a0 It will be filled with laughter, tears, drama, joy, and every conceivable emotion in the dictionary.”\u00a0 Paul- get ready.\u00a0 \ud83d\ude42<\/em><\/p>\n

For Vennie- I have a short story for you.\u00a0 When mom was really pregnant with you, she asked me if I wanted a brother or sister.\u00a0 I remember seriously thinking about it for a few moments, and I decided I wanted a brother.\u00a0 Mom asked why wouldn’t I want a sister, and pointed out all the good things about having a sister.\u00a0 Mom said enough to change my mind.<\/em><\/p>\n

Later in school, I learned that you should always go with your first answer.\u00a0 It took some time, but I came to realize I’m very glad I didn’t go with my first answer.\u00a0 (Now I also have a brother in Paul!)<\/em><\/p>\n

My life in the past few years has been better than I could imagine- first as a husband, and then as a parent.\u00a0 I wish the same happiness and contentment for you and Paul.<\/em><\/p>\n

Please raise your glasses to Vennie- Mountain climber, world traveller, artist, marathon runner, one-time model, and forever my kid sister- health, happiness, and more cousins for Erica!\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0
\n\u00a0
\nSalut!<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Photo of Paul and Vennie\u2019s wedding favor<\/a><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We got back from my sister’s wedding in Mexico\u00a0early Friday morning.\u00a0 I think it was one of those events where there’s so much going on that\u00a0you can’t fully absorb\u00a0everything… but\u00a0when everything is finished and you have a few free, quiet moments to reflect, then you start to realize some things.\u00a0 My one and only sister […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-120","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-family"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/derekandevonne.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/derekandevonne.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/derekandevonne.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/derekandevonne.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/derekandevonne.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=120"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/derekandevonne.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/derekandevonne.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=120"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/derekandevonne.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=120"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/derekandevonne.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=120"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}