a lot of people that i like got married in 2011

last week, my former Kaimin co-workers took one step closer to a lifetime full of Kaimin lovin' as young Zachary dropped to one knee and pledged his love to young Allison. and i think that i speak for Team Kaimin when i say "Ka KAWWWWW ka ka ka KAWWWW KAW KAW KAWWWWW!!!"

(you non-Kaimin people probably have no idea what just happened)

but Allison and Zach's engagement rounded out a year full of love. i don't know if it's because i am getting older or because all of my friends got the wedding fever but i attended five weddings during the summer.

to recap:

on May 14, ms. Anna Cook got married to mr. Matt Bootenhoff. Anna is a former infielder/catcher for the Ball Bustas franchise. Matt is just awesome. the wedding was fun and i ran into an old high school classmate at the event so it's a memorable evening anytime that you can throw a Billings Senior reunion into the mix.

on May 28, mr. David Beck married the lovely ms. Heather Shade. David, who is the guy in the picture with a vest on, is the Ball Bustas' longtime left fielder while Heather, who is not pictured, has been a Ball Busta for two years. the night included lots of dancing and a post-wedding trip to the Dirty 6th to celebrate my 26th birthday. we then went on a boat the next day.

on June 18, ms. Emily Stark exchanged vows with mr. Seth Bamesberger. Emily joined the Ball Bustas during our second season and has been the Queen Bee of our group for just as long. Seth joined the Ball Busta outfield during our second year and soon fell in love with our right fielder. i wore a tie to the wedding because i was an usher (and a reader) and i was the best usher ever. seriously, i made Usher jealous of my usher-ing skillz. this wedding was a blast and it was a lot of fun seeing two of my best friends start a new life together. go Bustas.

on July 16, ms. Renee Mossberg married mr. Justin Mossberg. Renee was a longtime second baseman for the Ball Busta franchise and while i don't know Justin, i am sure that he is a good guy. the wedding reunited me with the Garcia sisters and allowed me to bid farewell to Renee, who moved to California right after the wedding.

On September 10, one of my closest friends got married as ms. MK Porter tied the knot with mr. John Rice at the same venue that ms. Renee Mossberg got married at about two months earlier. before she recently relocated to Houston, MK was the Ball Bustas' veteran pitcher while John was the team's biggest fan and the parent to the team's mascot. the battery to my camera died at the wedding so the above drawing is an artist's rendition of what my photo would have looked like with the happy couple.

so those were the weddings of 2011 that i attended. you'll notice that there was a theme and i guess that it's a safe bet that i may not have any more wedding to attend in the future as everyone on the softball team apparently got married this past year.

my sister got married in December (i didn't attend but more on that later) and the Squires-Franz and Holton-Potter couples announced their engagements too. i didn't get engaged or married but i couldn't be any happier with the girl that i love.

so here's to the happy couples.

Kelis, play us out. (non-Kaiminites probably won't get this reference either)