The laundry is almost done and my headache is hanging on but getting better. So here I am. As I mentioned, this past week has been a whirlwind of activity. I'm going to try and start at the beginning and at least hit the highlights.
Last Wednesday was a pretty interesting day. First let me say that Aubree recovered beautifully. She had no lingering effects on Wednesday which was the day after the surgery. It was like nothing had happened so that way very nice. I can't remember what we did during the day but it was the evening that stood out. First, Calleigh and I were partaking in some "horse play" as she described it after the fact when she tumbled over me and landed face first into our rug...very hard. I thought for sure she had broken her nose. Thank goodness she didn't but she did scrape up her cheek pretty noticeably. And this just four days before the wedding. It would figure! Calleigh had barely recovered from this incident (the binky helped) when our doorbell rang. It was about 7:20 pm and Camden had just gone to sleep about 10 minutes prior. I look out the peephole and I see a firefighter standing there. My first thought was that he was collecting money for MS or something like that but he quickly informs me that there's been a report of high CO2 levels and they need to check our house. So he and another guy come traipsing in with their full protective gear and head for the upstairs where Camden is sleeping. A few seconds later they come back and say we have to evacuate. Talk about crazy. Unfortunately Duncan was working late so he wasn't there to assist. I ask if this is for a few hours, a few days, what. I mean, what do you grab in the few seconds you have? They say likely hours. I grab Aubree's binky, the car seats, my diaper bag, and that's about it. Aubree starts wailing because she's afraid of the men with their weird masks, Calleigh starts fussing because she's still hurt and doesn't know what's going on and I'm trying to chase the dogs to get their collars on. Definitely chaotic. Meanwhile, Camille gets Camden and out into the street we go. There are a bunch of other neighbors there who also had to evacuate. It turns out that some lady about five doors down, left her car in the garage all day with the engine going. She was NOT in the car fortunately. The only way anyone knew anything was because our friends Rossana and Reuben, who live right next door, have a CO2 machine and Reuben noticed something wasn't right. It was reading 118 and when he checked on-line it said if it was over 36 you should call 911 immediately. He was really ticked off because it never sounded an alarm for some reason. But thank goodness he noticed it. Anyway, we ended up hanging out in the street for about 20 - 30 minutes (during which time Duncan arrived) and then we were allowed back in. So alls well that ends well I guess. But I do believe we should get a CO2 machine after this incident. By the way, I'm still trying to figure out how in the world the woman left her car running like that all day. Very bizarre.
On Thursday Camille, Shelly and I took the kids to Downey Park to swim in the lake and go in the splash playground. I think Camille was a little apprehensive about alligators but she did go in. And of course, the kids had a great time. Thursday also marked the first day of people starting to come and go. Ricky arrived late Wednesday evening, Aunt Toni came up from Avon Park on Thursday afternoon, and then I picked my parents and Eric up very late Thursday night (right after the Celtics lost Game 7. Oh well).
On Friday, my parents, Camille, Camden, Aunt Toni, Ricky, Eric, and Ricky's friend Alejandra ventured out to Cocoa Beach. We had a really great time despite the heat. My mom loves the ocean so I was glad she could enjoy it with Calleigh especially. That afternoon Sherrie and Kevin arrived to start the rehearsal dinner cooking in my kitchen. Uncle Terry, Aunt Lori, Uncle Charlie, Jonathan, and Marcela arrived too. And best of all, Shawn arrived! He wasn't going to be able to come to the wedding because of a work conflict. When Dave & Yully picked the date, Shawn had already made a commitment to be one of the main speakers at New York campmeeting. Since the wedding would be taking place during Northern New England campmeeting, his boss didn't want him missing that after he would be gone that previous week in New York. So we were all sad that he would be the only family missing. On Thursday as he was contemplating is trip back to Boston on Friday morning, his boss called and said he had been praying and was impressed that he should let Shawn go go the wedding. Yay! Only my parents and I knew he was coming so it was so neat to see Camille's surprise and pleasure when we got back from the beach and there he was.
Friday evening was Yully's Bachelorette party at Brio so we turned the kids over to the Dads and Gigi who went with a big group to Sweet Tomatoes. Camille and I enjoyed the time to ourselves and I was happy that Aubree went to sleep no problem without nursing.
On Sabbath the festivities took place at Markham Woods Church. We hadn't been there in years so it was nice to go to a different church and see what it's like from a kid perspective. We liked the Sabbath School (it was separated by 0 - 2 and then 2 - 3 unlike ours which is 0 - 3 so I liked theirs much better in that regard). They also had a much nicer nursing mother's room, they have child care during church for 1 - 4 year olds where you can just drop them off (although we didn't take advantage of it) and they also pass out activity bags for kids to work on during the service. Very impressive! But, we would miss our friends if we left our church so we'll be staying put! One interesting thing was that when we walked into the 0 - 2 class, I noticed a couple and their twin boy and girl who looked very familiar. I finally figured out that they are the family we notice many Sunday mornings when we eat at First Watch. Small world! I introduced myself and turns out the mother, Shelly, works at AHS.
Everyone went to the Copsey mansion they had rented for lunch but we went home for naps. At 4:30 we were back to the church for rehearsal, which went well, and then we had the rehearsal dinner there. Aunt Sherrie worked VERY hard on it and it was a terrific meal. Afterwards, the guys went for Dave's bachelor party, which was glorified laser tag, while the girls and the older men came back to our place. We pulled off a surprise 30th birthday party for Camille (whose birthday was Sunday) and played the name game which was good fun.
The wedding was Sunday morning at 11 so it was a busy morning getting ready. We had to be at the church for 9:30 for pictures although they didn't end up happening until after. I had the worst time doing Calleigh's hair (which I undertook at the church). I could not get it to curl and then it looked terrible from my curling efforts. I was losing hope but then Camille saved the day by giving her two French braids. I went into the mother's room to nurse Aubree while she finished. She popped her head in when she was done and said "I'm done but don't thank me yet. I thought that bottle on the counter was hairspray but it turns out it was Lysol!" So Calleigh smelled like Lysol for the rest of the day but it wasn't that bad. And at least she looked good!
Time for Calleigh and Aubree to perform. I sat in the front (in case Calleigh needed to see me) and Duncan was in charge of them from the back. First Aubree came down in the little white wagon being pulled by Yully's 13-year old brother. She just sat there clutching the sides looking all around her. I don't know if she actually cracked a smile but she didn't cry or anything so I consider that a success. They pulled the runner down and then Calleigh was up. And she didn't disappoint! She did a wonderful job. She was smiling and happy and threw out the flower petals. When she got to the end, Aunt Sherrie and Uncle Kevin were egging her on from the front row to turn the basket over and shake out whatever was left and of course, she did it. The audience seemed to find that amusing so happy times.
Well, it's now 11:44 and I'm only this far. I think I'm going to have to do Part 2 tomorrow night.
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