Wedding Weekend -- Part Two

Friday was more of a hang-around-the-house kind of day, at least for some of us. In the morning, Dad and Tim did take the three young 'uns for the usual and customary walk to the animal shelter to see Rosie the Pig and her friends. Here's the object of Caroline's affection. Isn't it truly a face only a two year old could love?


And here are some faces I really do love:


I spent the morning burrowing through boxes and albums to cull some photos of Peter for a collage we were making for the reception. But when Dad got back, we left our various activities (the kids discovered Monopoly!) to cajole him into singing "The Watermelon Song," his old campfire favorite, on GarageBand. There's really no delicate way to put this, but the reality is, singing is not easy for him at all anymore due to the amount of oxygen it requires -- and with ALS, the muscles that control breathing begin to degenerate. Knowing this made it seem more important to me not to put this off anymore, especially because none of us know the song quite like he does!

In the afternoon we did make our way over to Wilson Mountain, a place in my parents' town (Dedham) that can only generously be construed as a mountain. I'd call it more of a natural woodsy area of somewhat raised elevation. Of course, Ian resisted going, and of course, within five minutes of arriving he was having a blast climbing on the rock piles with his sisters. Also, Dad was able to accompany us, since the trail is wide and not too steep or rocky! In a field of wildflowers, we ran into a woman walking her adorable miniature dachschund (sp.?). Not only did she graciously allow the girls to walk the dog all the way back to the parking lot, but she also hit it off with Dad and discovered that her grandchildren had been his patients (this kind of encounter happens a lot when you're a pediatrician for 25 years in a pretty small town).





After dinner, even though it was getting late and we knew we'd pay for it with a later, crankier bedtime, we deemed it necessary to pile into two vans and head to Bubbling Brook, our favorite family ice cream spot for the last twentysomething years, in search of a certain something. We did indeed pay later, but that lemon sorbet was good!


Later that evening, after the youngest and eldest folk had retired for the night, we threw a spontaneous bachelor party for Peter, who again had missed the day's fun and games due to obligations with (gasp!) his wife-to-be's family. It was time for Part Two of Mission: Unwind the Groom.

Paul and Betty ran out to the store and bought a bottle of champagne and some plastic glasses. As soon as Peter was released from his serious, calm-down-the-bride phone call, we broke out the bubbly, cranked up "If You Wanna Be Happy for the Rest of Your Life," and set up Cranium. Unfortunately, we never got around to playing Cranium, though, because by the time we were done giving Peter heartfelt marriage advice on such topics as "What To Do When You Stink Up The Bathroom on Your Honeymoon," it was after midnight. Um, maybe closer to 1:00 a.m. I have to say, though, that time may have been my favorite moment of the weekend, among a healthy collection of serious contenders for that honor.