cece beach

On November 15 (yes, I am blogging about something that happened two months ago) we threw an engagement party at Cece Beach, a private beach/restaurant about 45 minutes from our apartment. Peter's mother, Ellen, had come to visit, and it was a great opportunity to celebrate with her and with our friends here.

In the morning, Peter and I were both rushing around to get ready, and when we got home, we were absolutely surprised to see this beautiful flower arrangement sitting in our apartment...with a card from Peter's grandmother, Frances! Her handwritten card was truly sweet and completely unexpected. We were both very touched and had to pause to remember what this day was really about.
We got to the beach early, so we could set up before the guests arrived...


...and so we could take some fun photos.
Several weeks before the party, a flood (from a nearby river, apparently) destroyed some of the property on the site:
...but fortunately there was plenty of space on the beach side for the party. We had plenty of food, beer, and wine, and we had a great time.



Ellen gave a wonderful toast, as did our coworkers, Florence, Moses, and Mounah, and our roommate Jim.


All in all, a success!