Oh Dear!

We are back from vacation and have just enjoyed our first week home ALL TOGETHER!!

The Oh Dear is not for that. We've done quite well all being home, under one roof, sharing the same space for an entire day and for the entire week.
The Oh Dear is that I can not find my cord for my camera to download all of the fun pictures from my trip to Seattle and our family trip to Maine! Oh Dear is right. Tonight when we are all home we will do an all out search!

For now you will have to imagine the sights and sounds as I tell you about the last two weeks. Okay?

First, I got out of school the 24th so on the 25th I needed to jump into being a stay at home mom for the summer. I've never had this much time off with the kids without being in major pain and numbness from my back (2003), my maternity leave with Ben (2004) and then the ever memorable time when I broke my first ankle (2006). So I am looking forward to being home and staying healthy! Yes, please say a prayer for that one.

We went to this awesome playground in a nearby town that has a playground and a Splash Pad/Sprinkle Pad for the kids. You know what that means...WATER! The kids love it! We've been a few times now.

On July 3rd I headed out to Seattle for Yuki's wedding. Those of you who do not know Yuki she is one of my best friends from college. She is the last of the 5 of us to get married! Jason and the kids dropped me off at Sarah's in New Hampshire and then they headed up to Maine to start the vacation without me at my parents place on Sebago Lake.

Sarah, Cindy and I flew out of Boston. It was a L-O-N-G flight to San Fransisco. I did well, you know I have flying issues. Sarah kept me occupied by talking, looking at the gossip magazines and playing travel SCRABBLE. She beat me by 1 point. I might add (let's see if she really reads my blog) that the girl sitting next to her started to help her towards the end (she had been napping)! So I'm not sure she really won!

We had a wonderful time in Seattle. Holly and Todd were there too and stayed in our hotel. Holly is pregnant and looks SOOOO cute! She is beaming and feeling good. We had lots of fun talking baby stuff with her, sharing a few labor stories, and of course there was a lot of belly rubbing.
I had a Starbucks coffee everyday! Somedays I had 2! It is really true that there is a Starbucks on every corner and some streets had one in between the two on the corners!!! I was in heaven. I enjoyed Iced French Vanilla Lattes and 1 or 2 frozen frappachino thingies.
We went to Pikes Place, wait till you see the picture of me with one of the fish monger guys! We took a ferry ride to Branbridge Island, sooooo pretty going across.
Unfortunately we couldn't see MT Rainer (Famous MT) because the clouds were low, but it was beautiful weather everyday. We went by the Space Needle, but not up. That was FINE with me.
We hit some shops, ate yummy seafood and oh went on a tour of the secret underground.
Then the best part was the wedding. Yuki and Frank were married in a traditional Buddhist ceremony at a Shinto Shrine. Yuki wore a traditional Kimono with two layers. The outside was a lovely cream and the inside peach. Her hair and makeup were done too. Frank and her parents also wore traditional Japanese garments. It was a very interesting and once in a lifetime event for all of us to witness. The traditional ceremony was so different from what we are use to. The biggest difference, besides the religious part, was how quiet it was, besides the big gong. The priest does all of the talking and chanting mostly in Japanese. There is no singing. When he asks them to say their vows they do them quietly to each other. At first we thought something was wrong! No, they were soooo quiet. After the ceremony Yuki's brother explained they are suppose to only say the vows, how they feel, to each other. Interesting. Then they have to each drink 3 sips of Saki, 3 times. Yikes. At the end we too had to take a sip. I did not like it!
Once the ceremony was over we had a brief reception with Black Cake and tea. Black Cake? you say. Well, Frank's mother is from Trinidad and Black Cake is a tradition in the Islands. It is fermented liquor and fruits that the family saves in a large bottle. Then they take some of it to make the base for the cake. That's the short version.
That night we had another little reception in downtown Seattle to watch the fireworks. Very nice.
The next day it rained. Luckily the reception was held at a farm with a large barn. It was lovely. They had it all decorated with white lights...so pretty. It was great to meet a lot of Yuki and Frank's friends and family that came. The ceremony was very small at the shrine, so not everyone was invited to that. They had a video of it playing during the larger reception. Sarah took all the pictures that day so those will be up when I get them.
The worst part of the trip was that the little patch of poison ivy I had when I flew out exploded all over my body. Yes! Some of you know how allergic I am. After two days of being very uncomfortable, not complaining, Sarah and Cindy insisted I call my doctor. It looked really bad and was now painful. So my doc called in a prescription (I love technology) and I was put on Prednasone and an antibiotic. I started feeling better:) Good thing, the plane ride home (a RED EYE) was AWFUL. Enough said.

So it was great to be able to recover from my poison ivy, delusions from my prednasone and jet lag up in Maine at the lake. I think I finally woke up on Wednesday.

When I see you remind me to tell you the story of my trip through security in Seattle to leave.

Up in Maine the kids had a blast as usual. Katie and Brody did a lot of minnow fishing at the dock and out at Jane's raft. They thought they were very BIG when we let them row out to the raft alone. It's ok, only about 100 feet from shore and they wear their life vests. To watch them try to paddle in a large tube was quite a sight. Brody always ended up jumping in and pulling them back.
Ben is a maniac. Seriously, this child has no fear. He just runs and jumps and doesn't care. He wore his new Spider Man life vest and thought he was Spider Man I guess.

Walter got back from Colorado on Tuesday. He had a good trip out to visit his daughter and her family. No snow.

So this week was all about picking up the house, unpacking and staying cool. It has been HOT this week. We have the air conditioners going.

Well I hope to find my cord so I can put up some pictures, until then stay cool.