We're Back!

Maine was great! The weather was superb. The cottage was more than we expected. The girls were "cellar dwellers" all week - literally! They had their own space with 4 beds, a TV and their own bathroom! Oh, and some bugs. And the PS2 (brought from home) so they could play Kingdom Hearts II. All week long we kept hearing fits of laughter, the occasional scream and "Guitar Hero."

We saw some new sights this year. We went to York's Wild Kingdom on Tuesday. It was just the right size, not too big and lots of animals to feed. The girls fed the ducks, the goats and the deer. Thank goodness there were lots of Purell stations around - gotta wash off the goat slobber. Ick.


Wednesday & Thursday were beach days. Vic & I basically parked ourselves there and did not move. The girls snorkled, walked out to the island, swam, and got attacked by horseflies.


Friday, we drove north to Freeport. We visited the Desert of Maine. Interesting place. I think if we ever get up to Freeport again, I'd like to do the walking tour.


Somewhere in between all of the above action-packed stuff we managed to go to Kennebunkport a couple of times, had dinner at Nunan's Lobster Hut, and make brief shopping excursions to both Kittery & Freeport.

Lunch Bunch

Uncle Gene, Peggy & Owen came to town today to visit Mom. We went out for lunch at Quito's in Bristol. Ricky, Terry & the girls came too.

It was great to see them. Owen has gotten tall and even more handsome than the last time I saw him! Also, Peggy had a BIG birthday last week too...Not quite as big as Vic's but close. :::cough:::: 40 :::cough:::The food was great. I think the kids had more fun trying to feed the seagulls, though. There are a few more pictures from today on my Flickr page (link on the right side of page).

Takes Tetris to a whole new level

Well, not technically Tetris, but ya gotta love this crazy Japanese game show. That "Harry Potter" dude was the only one tht got the job done!

It's somebody's birthday today!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DEAR VIC!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!

XOXOXOXO

Guess Where I Went Today?

I'll give you a hint:

Any guesses yet?

Mary called me at 11:15 AM and said "There's an extra ticket, wanna go?" - Of course. "We have to be in Providence by noon." - Alrighty then. Mary got the tickets from her friend Angela at work. Angela got the tickets from Kim Zandy at Pro FM. We met up with the rest of the group in Providence at 11:59 AM. Phew..... We had a great lunch at Kurrents (next to the Hot Club), then hopped on the bus for the trip to Fenway. The bus ride was kinda hot & Kim made us work. She had a 4-pack of tix for behind home plate. In order to win them, we all had to make a cheer. The best cheer won the tix. We broke up into groups of two to make the cheer. Mary & I came up with a darned fine cheer but needless to say, we did not win the tix. Two pregnant ladies won them. I believe they won the sympathy vote. That's my story and I'm sticking with it.

Our seats were in a right field box, near the Pesky Pole. In the sun. Did I mention it was 90-ish? Did I mention it was hot? Dayum hot. We had a great time despite our dampness. The Sox ended up losing the game :( but any day at Fenway is great fun.

I'm sure Mary's favorite part of the day was when she said "Hey look, here comes a beachball" and when I turned to look the darned thing hit me right in the face!! The guy behind us slammed it onto the field. Time was called during the game to retrieve the ball - the one with my sweaty face-print on it. It was kind of like the Shroud of Turin, but a beachball. With sweat. And my face, not Jesus'. You get the picture.

As we were leaving the park we saw TC & Jim Rice doing the postgame show.

Anywho...After the game was over and we were in our designated spot waiting for the rest of the group, guess who we saw? I'll give you a hint:

KATIE GREENE!!! Can you believe it?!?!?! She didn't know we were at the game. She was just riding her bike home from work. We were standing there and both saw her and were like, "Is that....Holy crap!!" Katie chased the players' cars (on her bike) to see who was in them. We saw a shiny black Hummer. Katie went to investigate. Wily Mo! Eating an ice cream! Wily Mo! Then a little while after that we saw Shonda Shilling go by in her little white Mercedes - no need for Katie to give chase. Then Alex Cora came by with a ton of people (wife & kids) in his little white Mercedes SUV thing. There was one other car that went by but all of the windows were so tinted we couldn't see in. That was it. I think most of the other players were staying for the Picnic in the Park. But where did Shonda go? Wasn't this picnic her gig? Pfft.

All in all it was a fun day.

Thank you Mary for taking me! Thank you Andrea giving Mary TWO tickets! Thank you Kim for picking Andrea and giving her the extra tickets!

17 Years Ago Today

Huge emotional swing

We came back from the wedding Saturday night and didn't check our messages. Sunday morning, when listening to the voice mail, Vic's brother, Paul, asked us to call him back. He didn't sound good. The news was awful. His wife, Bea, had died while white-water rafting in Colorado. She was on vacation with their daughter, Jane, and some friends. At some point during their run, they tried to help someone who had fallen out of another raft and in doing so their raft got flipped. Jane, Bea and the woman they were helping were apparently pulled down the river. Jane described going over rapids and coming to a calm section only to have the process repeated a few times. They got separated and she was helped out of the water by some hikers who happened to be in the right place at the right time. Bea was found further down the river. Jane is physically okay. She has a stiff/sore neck - physical wounds that will heal in short time.

We got to the city on Monday. The service was Tuesday. There was an incredible amount of people there. Both Paul & Jane spoke at the service, along with friends and her two nieces (her brother's daughters). It was quite moving as Jane read the letter she had written to her mother. Such composure and poise in the face of such a tragedy.

To go from such a range of emotions in such a short period of time....Eric & Caitlin were in my thoughts on Tuesday as Paul said goodbye to his wife. As one marriage starts surrounded by family & friends, the other needs that same support and love.

The 777 weekend

Phew...we had a busy weekend.

Friday, we had Eric & Caitlin's rehearsal dinner. It was a nice family night. Mary did a great job on the dinner. Even Nan's coleslaw was fabulous! ;o) I made some desserts. The strawberry pie did not gel. MJ said it would make a great jam for toast. It was tasty, just wish it held together. I also made brownies & magic cookie bars. I was planning on making two other pies, but in the end I only had time for one. It was a chocolate velvet pie and I must say it was delicious.

Saturday...the wedding. The weather was beautiful. The setting was gorgeous. The bride was breath-taking. She looked so pretty! Oh yeah, Eric looked good too.

We all had a great time. Any occasion that gets both Katie & Haley to wear a dress...well it just has to be off the charts!

For more pictures, check the flickr page (link to the right) or the album I made at Image Station.

Me as a Simpsons Character

Lovely, no? Here's a link to make your own: http://www.simpsonsmovie.com/main.html
You have to Register in order to save your picture.

Have fun!