Quincenera

After a mass in the morning, and a tour of the Coor's brewery in the afternoon, the reception was held at the Arrowhead Golf Club, of the famous tourist photos shown of Colorado. A giant white tent covered more than 200 people.

The scenery around the golf course was amazing, the girls were beautiful, and their father was so proud.

The girls received their ritual gifts (the last doll, the first pair of high heels, etc.) and then the party began.

In the middle of the shoe dance, two deer appeared. Interpretations of the deer's arrival varied, from "what a nuissance," to "like the innocence, beauty, and purity of the girls," to "Grandma and Grandpa coming to watch over their beautiful grandchildren." Although I came up with the second one, I much prefer the last interpretation. At one point, both deer approached the tent and stood there, eyes large and soft, watching the girls and their father as they danced.

I had a wonderful time with the few Trainor cousins who were there, and loved getting to know the Esquival cousins. It was also great to be able to interact with my aunts and uncles as an adult. I guess there are SOME advantages to turning the over-ripe old age of 30. For instance, I drink like a man now. No more pink wine from mini-bottles for me!
My Saunt (is she an aunt? is she a saint? I don't know--let's combine the terms) Ida did an amazing job of organizing not only the girls' Quincenera, but the whole family reunion as well. I wish that I was young enough to be one of Aunt Ida's daycare kids. I hope they know how lucky they are....

Here's the aunts and uncles who were there. The two who are missing are my Aunt Nancy, who died more than 10 years ago, and my Uncle Jim. Sitting in front of the couch is my Aunt Kerrie and Uncle Tom, and laying on the couch is Uncle Mike, the one who scared the hell out of me as a child by telling me that my legs had turned red when I had on red tights. My mom is on the arm of the couch, Uncle Bill is reclining across the top of it, Uncle John is sitting on the top of the couch, and Aunt Eileen and Uncle Dan are in the back.

I wasn't there for the picture as most of the cousins and I had gone to see the new batman movie. Perhaps there will be another post on that later. All in all, it was a fantastic few days. I just wish it could have gone on longer.