Countdown to Suzy's Big Day

The biggest event of Memorial Day weekend was the bridal shower for John's sister Suzy. It has been super cute to hear Callie talk about how Suzy and Brian are getting married in Colorado. So the event was a great way to show Callie all the bells and whistles that go along with a wedding. Callie enjoyed being in the middle of it all, and especially enjoyed any chance she had to share the limelight with the star of the show, bride-to-be Aunt Suzy.



The actual event was held at the Balestracci residence, a home normally infested with boys. But fortunately, John had arranged for all the guys to spend the afternoon at a pool party across town. So while they made themselves scarce, the ladies showered Suzy with food, gifts, and laughter.


Two of those in attendance were Alison Skonieczny Zanardi and Melanie Skonieczny Loeber. They are sisters, by the way, and not just two women who have eerily similar middle names. It was great to catch up with both of them. The focus of our conversations were pregnancy, since Melanie is now officially 12 weeks, and when we could eat, since Mel and Sarah were trying to battle first trimester nausea. It will be fun to expand the Skonieczny-Bowes clans by two this winter.


it was also wonderful to see John's cousin Emily and Aunt Debbie, pictured here with Katie. They drove down from Vermont for the event and we will also get a chance to see them in Colorado at the wedding. Emily is going to be in attendance with her boyfriend Eli, and we have already given her fair warning that he should be prepared for a proper grilling by, among others, Chris and Sarah. While they are gentle and kind about it, Chris and Sarah have a way of learning a lot about you in a short period of time.


Also making the drive to Guilford for the event were John's Aunt Pat and cousin Barbara. It was great to have them there since we don't get to see them often enough. Barb looked especially radiant on that day...wink-wink, hi Barb! (We have to give a shout out to someone we know reads the blog besides our parents!) On a serious note, it was great to get a chance to talk and hopefully the future will provide more opportunities to hang out. For instance, perhaps Ryan would like to take a look at the University of Kentucky. Rumor has it we have some good sports teams - basketball, football, baseball. We're just throwing some ideas out there.


Finally, we have a picture of the original Bowes girls. Don't they look fantastic. Unfortunately we don't have a photo from a few decades ago to compare. But trust us, they have only gotten cuter.



Katie, Taffy, and Suzy's friend Heather put on a fabulous shower and truly got us revved for the celebration to come. We are looking forward to Colorado in less than two weeks. The countdown is on for Suzy and Brian's big day!!! Don't worry, we may take a few pictures to share.