The Catch Up, Part 2: A Family Wedding in Maine

Thank you all for the kind words of sympathy - they've meant a lot to me over the last few days. It has been a bittersweet experience. We've all been throwing out wonderful, happy memories of Papa to each other that make me smile - they've brought back some memories I had almost forgotten! But it's still tough to accept that I'll never see him again. My grandmother held a service down in Florida today to let his friends there say goodbye, and this July we'll gather as a family to hold another memorial service and intern his ashes in Massachusetts. Maybe by then it will feel more real.

And in the meantime, things keep moving. Gardens get planted, zoos get visited, teeth are lost (Finn lost his second one today!), book fairs are attended, teachers get appreciated... it's been a busy few days, and that's OK - good, really.

And I carry on with my "catching up" here in this space. We left off with a whirlwind trip to Wisconsin that brought us back home VERY late on Easter Sunday. It was quickly followed by a birthday, where yours truly tipped the scale toward "late thirties" by becoming 36. We celebrated with cake and a Frederick Keys game - where I wisely chose not to bring my camera, since Lucy hung all over me for the entire 7 innings that we lasted. Girlfriend was a HANDFUL, let me tell you. But Finn had a blast, so I have a feeling we'll be heading back again this summer.

No photos from that part of the month, but it's for the best, because now I'm going to overwhelm you with them. OK, wait, scratch that - M. e-mailed me some photos from his iPod from the Keys game, so here you go!:

 

Finn posing with "Keyote," the team mascot.

 

This souvenir hat used to be full of popcorn. Then it was on Finn's head. Now I have to find a place to store it FOREVER because Finn and M. and Lucy are sentimental schmucks that won't let me throw out anything. It's currently stacked with my mixing bowls along with two other souvenir baseball helmet/ice cream bowls. Blarg.

 

But he does look cute in it.

 

She was so ANNOYING.

 

But also cute

 

Less than two weeks after my birthday, we flew up to Maine to watch my cousin Katy get married. Since the wedding was in Portland, we were able to stay at my parents' house on Sebago Lake. It was still too cold for any kind of water activity, but just being able to look at it was so peaceful and relaxing. I'll narrate a few of the photos here, but most of them speak for themselves:

 

Mom and Dad bought a "Pirate Castle" playground for all the grandkids, and it was a HUGE hit!

 

The grown ups were declared "The Enemies." Here, Ned plots his next move.

 

Josephine surveys her kingdom.

 

But also lets her mom in, grown ups be damned, because she can't bear to be without her.

 

A view of the whole castle from the house.

 

M. indulged in Maine flannel and a mid-afternoon beer - how decadent!

 

That's me on the right, Stacey in the middle, and Kristin on the left.

 

Looks fab, no?

 

We had a small birthday celebration for Lucy that Friday night, since we were only 6 days away from her actual birthday - this is how happy it made her. Look at that smile!

 

She received a jewelry box replete with jewelry, including clip on earrings. She was in total heaven.

 

 

Here are the girls primping in front of a mirror the next morning, while the house was bustling with frantic grooming and showering.

 

Followed by several attempts for photos before we left for the wedding. Some were less successful than others.

 

The best shot I had of all the cousins (from left, Cameron, Josephine, Penny, Ned, Finn, and Lucy)

 

God, they kill me.

 

I have LOTS of photos from the wedding ceremony, but they all suck. I had my ISO up pretty high because the lighting was dim, and it just didn't work out well. Alas. Perhaps this is the kick in the butt I need to learn how to take flash photos properly?

 

Here is Lucy after the ceremony, bellied up to the bar and enjoying some goldfish crackers we brought with us.

 

My brother Andrew and my dad

 

This was Finn's very first Shirley Temple. They have a special place in my heart, because my grandfather would always make them for us kids during cocktail hour so we'd have something special to drink, too.

 

Goofing around during the dinner and dancing portion of the night.

 

I made them pose for this, but it's still cute. God those eyes are blue!

 

My sister Stacey with her husband Jeremy and their daughter Cameron

 

This is the group shot of the bride's paternal side of the family - 4 siblings (my mom, her sister, and her brothers) and their spouses, 11 of the 13 children they spawned, several husbands and boyfriends/girlfriends, and 7 little "next generationers." We were only missing a few people - two of my cousins who couldn't make it, and my grandparents (Mimi was back in Florida with a sick Papa). All these people came from the little tree branch started by my Mimi and Papa - crazy!

 

Busting a move on the dance floor

 

 

Dancing, Gangnam-style

 

Lucy was absolutely OBSESSED with Katy (who was a beautiful bride, and I wish I had some proper pictures to do her justice!), and would NOT dance with anyone else. Nor could she be convinced to leave the dance floor. Here she is with her cousin Cameron, monopolizing the bride's time. Katy was so sweet and gracious about it, though, and it made Lucy's night:

 

 

We all became pumpkins at around 8:30 (wedding started in the early afternoon), and headed back to Sebago for bedtime (for the kiddos) and a cocktail out by the outdoor fireplace (for the grown ups). It was COLD, though, so bedtime was relatively early - which was good, because ALL the kids were up by around 6:15 a.m.!

 

 

Enjoying a sunny Sunday morning before heading back to Maryland. Much coffee was had.

 

I have one more "catch up" post to do until we're even - a rundown of Lucy's birthday party. Coming soon to a blog post near you!