On Sunday the 16th Candi and Jordan and I went off-roading in Jordan's Samurai... of course, it doesn't have registration so the off-roading consisted of driving around in Jordan's front yard. :)
The next day Candi I and woke up BRIGHT and early and got ready to spearfish with Jordan. I was apprehensive. Candi expressed several times that Jordan loves this, and that she wanted to love it and do it with him. That was inspiring to me. We met up with Jordan and the Denkers (Ryan and his dad) and loaded up the boat, then drove down to Santa Barbara. Candi and I had never been on a boat in the ocean before, so we had no idea if we would get seasick, but we didn't, even the water was SUPER choppy.
The island was lovely and rocky. Candi and I got into our wetsuits and jumped in, and both swam around for a while and saw some cool things in the water. Candi evenutally got really, really cold. I was afraid she'd catch hypothermia, and Mr. Denker told us to get her into dry clothes so she could warm up. So we did, and finally she got a little warmer. But seriously, for a few minutes there I was thinking how awful it would be if Candi died a few days before her wedding... and I knew I would never forgive myself if something happened to her and I could have prevented it. So I was glad to help her get her wetsuit off and get dry and warm. When we were done we ate some nasty chicken from Vons that had not been refrigerated for the last seven hours. More on this later.
The ride back to the harbor was just as choppy and bumpy as ever. But when Candi and I looked back, the island was enshrouded with bright sunshine and mist. The heavy clouds opened just enough to let the sun make the island a golden glow. We got back to the mainland, got dry, got in the car, headed home... and that's when it all went down. I started feeling horribly ill, and after hours we fiiiiinally got home. I was feeling a bit better when I got to Ann and Darren's, so I went to sleep. Then, to make a gross story short, I woke up later in the night and eventually felt much better due to my stomach's natural and God-given method of dealing with food-poisoning from that nasty chicken. Then Candi woke up and was seriously bummed out because her stomach felt awful as well, and she was REALLY tired and wanted sleep because the wedding was coming. I felt bad for her, but we essentially had one last bit of sister bonding time with shared food-poisoning! It was horrible, and yet strangely endearing, hahaha.
While being sick together we:
Read the Bible together
Talked about our shared symptoms
Were extremely generous in sharing the toilet when the other needed it
Read quite a bit more in An Old Fashioned Girl
Enjoyed wholesome and sweet sister bonding time
Prayed with each other
Sucked on peppermint together
Ate Saltine crackers very slowly
Drank a lot of ginger tea
Generally just enjoyed each other's company and loved on each other
For Candi's bachellorette party on Thursday we had a girls' night in. Elizabeth made an incredible pesto, and Rochelle (fellow bridesmaid and former Ravencrester) and I made a lovely salad. It was pretty awesome.
Friday morning all of us girls went to get our nails done. I ended up not having mine done. Instead I went next door to the tables outside of Starbucks and Rochelle painted my fingernails. We were in the middle of a really good conversation when a guy who was definitely high on something pulled up to Starbucks. He was shirtless, and struggling to get one on (seriously struggling - like the whole five minutes he was there) and saw Rochelle and I. He started saying weird things, and we ignored him at first. But when he said, "Ooooooooh, nails! Can I see?" I just told him flat out, "No, you can't." and he walked away commenting on how he must have creeped us out. Rochelle and I exchanged half-amused smirks and kept on with the nail painting.
After a minute the high guy came out again and started asking us what in particular about him was creepy. Finally I turned to him and said, "Look dude.... we just have REALLY HIGH standards."
He started back-peddling, "I didn't even mean it that way, I'm actually married," (he had a ring anyway,) "You aren't even my type... in fact, you're both kind of ugly. Yeah, you're ugly!"
Rochelle and I just stared at each other with suppressed laughter and did our best to not snort too loudly. We immediately started whispering:
"Oh my goodness! We're ugly!"
"That's our problem! That's why we're still single!"
"Hahaha! Maybe we should have acted devastated."
"What would he have done if we'd burst out crying?"
I'm glad that Ro and I were there to support one another in our ugliness. :P I will always remember that day. You just don't forget that kind of thing. Hahahaha!
That night was the rehearsal dinner. We had chicken. I had a tiny bit. Candi didn't have any. :D Both of us shared a slight aversion to chicken after our food poisoning. When the dinner was all done, Ro and I went to Ann and Darren's and tucked Candi in (after many last minute wedding preparations). We massaged her back and feet and prayed for her, and made her promise to go right to sleep. :)
The next morning all of us bridesmaids met up at the location and were shown to our room. We were soooo spoiled. There were cold water bottles in ice, and tea and coffee, and everything else we could have wanted. We all did our make-up and hair and finally got into our dresses. At one point we heard a loud noise and looked out our window to discover that two of the groomsmen had just arrived in their tuxes.... on their motorcycles. That gave us a good laugh.
Candi arrived from her hair appointment and seriously could have gotten married right then. Her hair was perfect. She was wearing a tiara... and yoga pants, lol. She didn't have make-up on, but she didn't even need it. She looked amazing. We all tried to convince her to just marry Jordan as she was, but she decided that since she'd gotten a dress, she might as well wear it.
Finally we were all dressed and ready, and from there the day kind of just flew by. We went down to do pictures (Candi and I did a special one together with barfing faces... just to commemorate the food poisoning incident), and before I knew it I was watching Candi walk down the aisle. She and Jordan exchanged their beautiful vows, and Candi looked like a fairy tale princess. I couldn't stop smiling when I looked at her. Then the wedding was done, the reception was in full swing, and what with conversations with friends, cake cutting, and finally toasting the happy couple, I feel like those hours just slipped through my fingers. Before I knew it, they drove away.
I was fortunate in that I got to deliver Candi's jewelry that she left behind - so I did see them one last time before they left for their honeymoon. I didn't want the celebration to end, but by the time I hit the pillow that night, I was utterly exhausted - emotionally and physically - and that is probably the reason for the very long cry that ensued. But I thanked Jesus for giving me Candi as a sister, and now Jordan as a brother. And when I was done I fell into a deep and restful slumber.
That was my last week with Candi Smith... but many adventures with Jordan and Candi Van Horn will follow, I am sure. :) Hopefully there will be pictures to come!
