My Parents

I get asked a ton of questions about my family since I feature them so much! A lot of you ask about my parents, so I thought I'd do a post on them! I've done posts on them both separately (which you can read about here and here), so here's one about the two of them!

Today marks my parents 33rd anniversary. First, I'll tell you how they met, and then, how they got engaged!

My had dad had just graduated from college and come home for the summer. My dad went out with his group of high school friends to a bar one night (they call it a 'disco'). My mom was out with her girlfriends. They met that night and started dating. 

I think this is the coolest part, though. When my mom told her parents (my grandparents) that she was going on a date and he was going to pick her up, they asked all the usual questions that parents ask. When they asked what his name was, my grandma said in reply, 'well how old is he?!'... Long story short, my grandma thought my mom was going out with a 40+ year old guy because my dad and grandpa have the same name (my dad is a Jr.)! My grandma went to high school with my grandpa! How crazy is that?! 

My mom's dad (my Pappy who died when I was younger) is a tough (but great) cookie. He is very strict and I can totally see how my dad would have been intimidated by him. One thing everyone knew about Pappy is that he had a MAJOR sweet tooth. My dad's side of the family has the best hot fudge recipe that has been passed down from generation to generation. Anyway, one night, my dad went over to my mom's parents and made the hot fudge for Pappy. My dad says that was the trick to win him over!

Here is their adorable engagement story, as told by my mom:

"Dad had to go to DC for his work Christmas party, so we were going to stay with your aunt {my dad's older sister} for the weekend and go to the party. 

He asked Pappy for my hand in marriage. Before we left for DC, he went over to my house to show Grandma and Pappy the ring. We went to your aunt's and Saturday December 17, 1983,  the day of the party, we went out shopping and to lunch. Your aunt had bought a beautiful new coat at Garfinckel's. 

When we were leaving for the party, she insisted I wear her beautiful new coat (looking back that is the only odd thing I can remember that was a sign). On our way to the party, Dad said, "let’s stop at the Capital Christmas tree". I said great idea. We got out to go up to the tree and it was a little muddy and I was in heels. I said, "let’s just stay here my heels are going to sink into the mud."  Dad picked me up and carried me to the base of the tree. It was so sweet. There he reached into his pocket and pulled out the ring and asked me to spend the rest of our lives together. I said YES."

They got married 33 years ago at my mom's Catholic church and had their reception at our country club! The bridesmaids wore blush pink and my mom's veil was a 'hat'- which she says was very in style at that time... let's just hope that trend doesn't come back around! I have a monogrammed matchbook from their wedding- it's funny because these have come back into popularity!

Their wedding invitation was classic and simple- exactly how I imagine mine would be. I love that they still have their's framed with a wedding photo hanging on the wall in one of the hallways. 

My parents honeymooned in Bermuda and still talk about that trip to this day! Some of their favorite memories of their life together thus far are centered around our family's mountain house. My grandparents sold it when I was younger, but even I have the fondest memories from spending weekends at the gorgeous A-frame house and learning to ski! 

One of the things that I love so much is that my dad is still very close with several of his high school best friends and my mom is best friends with their wives. We vacation with each other, I've become best friends with their children, and it's really like a big family we've all created together.

In the past 33 years, my parents have given my sister and I such a wonderful life and we are so lucky to have them as our parents. They've shown us that family is everything and being close to those you love is what true happiness is all about. So today, I am wishing my parents a very happy 33rd anniversary and here's to many more. I love you, Mom and Dad!

*You can also check out this post about my dad, here, and this post about my mom, here.