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!

Missing You Already

I wouldn't have made it in time. A lovely man is gone. This is how I'll remember him - full of love for all of us.

The Catch Up, Part 1: Easter and Stuff

My planned-for post(s) detailing our adventures from the last several weeks didn't seem so important when I found out my grandfather was entering hospice care earlier this week. I don't know how much time he has left, and I don't know if I'll be able to see him again. I feel horribly sad, and guilty, to be honest. Why am I not on the first plane down there? I've been asking myself that a lot over the last 36 hours, as information about his health has become clearer. Work, really, is the answer. There are just some things that I can't leave in other people's hands right now, things that require me to be in the office. I can go down in a week, but will it be too late? I hope not.

The visit would be more for me, though, and for my grandmother. My grandfather is comfortable, and he knows he is loved. My aunt even read him my last blog post. And my siblings and cousins and I have all been furiously sharing fond memories and pictures of Papa on Facebook with each other. My brother is there, giving us all nuggets of information whenever he can. It helps.

And in the meantime, I'm up here, hundreds of miles away, making new memories with some of Papa's precious great-grandchildren. He and my grandmother are so thrilled with all 7 (soon to be 8!) of their great-grandchildren - every year they even send out a Christmas card that just has pictures of the great-grandkids. And Finn and Lucy's pictures are always grabbed from my blog posts, which they love reading. So I'm going to do my part by trucking along with this space.

Starting with March, which already seems like a year ago, as I sit here looking at green leafy trees and bright spring sunshine.

First up, a couple of photos of St. Patrick's Day weekend.

 

Finn is reluctantly improving with his reading - he's of the mindset that he CAN'T read, so he doesn't even like to try. Though put a sight word in front of him and he's likely to know it. It's more than a little frustrating. But on this day, he was able to read Green Eggs and Ham from cover to cover all by himself - we were all thrilled!

 

On St. Patrick's Day, as I hinted before, I made chocolate doughnuts with green frosting. Some of them were also sprinkled with these little broken up pieces of Andes mints. My kitchen was a damn mess (glaze everywhere! candy bits everywhere!), but they were SO good. And dare I suggest that they aided M. in his vasectomy recovery? Likely it was due more to highly supportive underwear, but perhaps the doughnuts played a small role.

 

Seriously, really good. I can't find the recipe I used, though, so they may not happen again. Alas.

 

Moving on from St. Patty's Day, here is Lucy all dolled up for her daycare's Easter egg hunt. Adorbs. She wore this same outfit (minus the barrettes) on Easter Day, too.

 

Here are the Spring themed cupcakes I brought in for the party that day - marshmallow flowers, and M&M/pretzel butterflies.

 

Just before we left on our trip to Wisconsin, around March 25th or so, this happened. The most snow we'd seen all winter, and only days away from April. Needless to say, it melted quickly.

 

But not before putting our daffodils through some turmoil.

 

And not before a snowman could be crafted.

 

The end of March was Spring Break, so we jetted off to Wisconsin for a few days to visit M.'s family. Most people head to warmer lands for Spring Break, but not us - we go EVEN COLDER. Snow boots and winter coats were a necessity, so thank God we brought them.

First we spent a night in Minnesota with some dear friends of ours, Margo, Leif, and their house full of animals (many, many animals). We had fun catching up, and the kids came away from it wanting to get a dog, so in love with Duckie the dog were they.

We also saw this beautiful frozen waterfall:

 

Leif and Duckie

 

We ate ice cream, because Wisconsin rocks at producing all dairy-based foods. Do all kids pick their flavors based on which ones are the brightest colors, or just mine?

 

This was a tiny little place in Chippewa Falls, with ice cream they make fresh on site.

 

We were completely delayed in getting back on the road because Lucy insisted on finishing her whole cone. With gusto and mess, as evidenced above.

We finally reached M.'s home town, and then all the family time began, starting with a visit to see his grandmother, Grandma Cookie:

 

She is a marvelously sweet, spunky, and smart lady, and because of her Lucy came thisclose to being named Charlotte. Lucy just seemed a little more fitting once she popped out, leaving Charlotte to become the middle name of my newest niece, Alexa (who'll you'll see in a second here).

 

Notice that, in a fit of disgust, I chopped all my hair off.

 

M.'s mom and dad (Granny and Grandpa) have a bunch of maple trees on their property, so while we were there, the kids got to see how maple sap is collected (we weren't there for any boiling, though).

 

Tasting straight from the source.

 

Here is Alexa. She was 14 months old here, and completely adorable. It was our first time meeting her, and she was cute enough to ALMOST make me want another one. Good thing M.'s big V had already happened...

 

Always willing to pose for pictures (sarcasm)

 

Stealing a cuddle.

 

Bunny cake!! And our nephews, Ty (left) and Bo. Finn was over the moon to hang out with them (Lucy, too!).

 

Cute.

 

Also cute.

 

The best picture I could snag of the 5 of them together.

 

 

Giving me a smile in her Easter finery.

 

Baby playing piano. It's as melodic as you would think (not very), but cute.

 

The Minneapolis airport has a big Snoopy in his pilot outfit. Finn's favorite stuff animal, that he brings on every trip with us, is a small Snoopy - I have no idea where we got it, and it was likely free because Snoopy is wearing a MetLife shirt. But that little thing is LOVED. So the kids were excited to pose with Snoopy.

We got back from our trip at around 1 in the morning, which is as pleasant as it sounds. But it was totally worth it - we all had a great time, and can't wait to go back again.

Next up will be a rundown of our trip to Maine that happened just two and a half weeks later, so stay tuned!

Dear Papa,

I wish I was saying this to you instead of writing it here. Maybe you'll see it - or maybe someone will read it to you. Maybe I'll get a chance to fly down to Florida and tell you in person. I hope so.

I love you so, so much. You are the best grandfather a girl could ever ask for, and I'm so lucky you are MY Papa. And let's be honest - yes, your heart is definitely big enough for the 13 grandchildren you've been blessed with, and you've brought joy to all of our lives. But I'm your favorite, and someday, when you're gone, I'm going to miss you the most.

I mean, there may be some disagreement among the cousins, but I'm about 1000% sure I'm your favorite. I'm your Ali, your Ali B., the firstborn who snoozed on your shoulder like a sack of potatoes. From the moment I was born, we've had a special bond, and I will treasure it forever. Along with all the wonderful memories of times we've shared. Things like feeding the sea gulls French fries at Thompsons Clam Bar; swimming with you and Toffee at the lake in Plymouth; raiding your candy drawer; all those times you brought over doughnuts on Sundays when you still lived in Andover; learning to play cards at your knee; learning to beat you at cards (or at least figure out when you were cheating, you dirty old man); your beautiful swoopy handwriting at the top of the Up-and-Down-the-River score sheets; the way you always dive right into the water no matter how cold it is; the way I will forever associate Honey Nut Cheerios with you (they're still "Papa's Cheerios" to me); the time at the Cape when you took me for evening swims at the beach when no one was around because I had chicken pox; celebrating my graduation from college with you.

The way you say "Hey, Ali" whenever you see me.

Smithshire Estates, Plymouth, Venice - all my favorite places to visit, because I was always visiting you.

I wish I was visiting you now. I love you, Papa.

Trip to D.C. after my graduation

At the hippy drum circle in Venice

My wedding day