Earth Angels

We had an exciting, full weekend. And in case we didn't have enough going on to make the weekend feel chaotic, Mother Nature decided to make it the hottest weekend on record. Ever.

First up was a beautiful wedding - Ryan's second, Lindsey's first. Nate's cousin, Mylea, was getting married and Nate thought it would "be cute" to take the kids along, to dress them up, take pictures and let them start practicing their mother/son, father/daughter dances for when it's their turn to say, "I Do."

But nothing is cute when it's 110 degrees outside. You may think I'm exaggerating (something I'm known to do), but I'm not. It was literally 110 degrees outside. And humid. And it was a full Catholic Mass ceremony in a large, ornate church that was so grand, the act of blinking was enough to cause an echo.

Not exactly the best place for two rambunctious toddlers.

I watched most of the ceremony from behind the vestibule doors, taking a moment here and there to shush them (only to have Lindsey shush me back...).

Eventually, we retreated to the car and cranked the AC up to full blast. We all needed to cool down - figuratively and literally.

At the reception bikini martinis (for us) and cranberry coolers (for the kids) helped bring our internal temperatures down even further. We had great seats next to the bride and groom - and more importantly for Ryan, the cake. We had been talking up Mylea's wedding for a couple weeks and, depending on his mood, he was either really excited or completely annoyed at the idea of going to a wedding. Until I told him about the reception - and how wedding receptions have something even yummier than birthday cake - wedding cake. Mylea's didn't disappoint. It was amazing. 

After wedding introductions and the first dance, Mylea and her dad danced a beautiful father/daughter dance, while Nate and Lindsey practiced on the sidelines. The song they danced to, Earth Angel, got me all teary. I'm a sucker for oldies music - and for touching moments between a parent and their child. It was one of those moments that gives you perspective. For all the silly, stupid moments where you lose patience, overreact and yell, like an idiot, at your kids, there are these tender moments, where you can stop, twirl them around the dance floor and make them feel like the most important, most beautiful thing ever born. Even on the hottest day of the year - at that moment - I got goosebumps.

Shortly thereafter, the goosebumps disappeared. Not just because the moment had passed, but because the power went out. And slowly, the reception hall turned into a really big, dark sauna. Fortunately, candlelight is romantic. Unfortunately, it doesn't provide enough light to prevent Ryan from running face-first into a wall. Nothing like a bloody nose and screams of pain to bring a parent back to reality!

Despite the heat, the loss of power and Ryan's blood donation, we had a blast. More importantly - Ryan and Lindsey got to experience how magical love can be.

The other highlight of the weekend? A trip up to Beltzville and a ride on the boat. Lindsey's lifejacket fit her much better this time than it did last time. And though she had a minor meltdown by the time we started heading back to shore (did I mention how hot it was that weekend?!?), while we were in the still waters of the far back coves of the lake, her and Ryan were in heaven. Earth angels, indeed.

Happy Birthday America!

Much to the dismay of grandparents, we decided to stay close to home for the Fourth of July this year. We wanted to relax, take the kids to a local parade, see local fireworks and just have a long weekend that didn't require suitcases and long treks north.

Though there was a minor glitch that forced us to miss local fireworks, sort of, (more on that in a moment), the weekend was everything we were hoping for - lots of relaxing, lots of family time, great weather, a fun parade filled with candy-throwing pirates and hand-shaking politicians, no suitcases and minimal driving.

My favorite part? The adorable, patriotic outfits we scored for the occasion.

The kids were fantastic at the parade. We got great seats in the shade (it was SO hot that day) and made sure to bring snacks and drinks to occupy them while we waited for the parade to start. Lindsey, as always, was more than pleased to pose for the camera.

Ryan was excited to see and hear all the fire engines and eventually made his way to the curb to wave, yell Happy Birthday America and hobknob it with Senator Carper.

Their "ah ha moment" - figuring out that some of the parade people threw candy at them. As soon as Lindsey picked up on that fact, she joined her brother by the curb and turned on the charm.

So after sitting in the hot sun and and treking back and forth to the car with chairs, food, cups and kids, we decided to run home and regroup before heading out for the nighttime fireworks display. We were in and out in about 15 minutes - enough time to change Lindsey's diaper, let Bailey out, re-fill water cups and grab some more treats and toys to occupy our time before the fireworks started. With kids piled into the car, I looked in my purse for keys. They weren't there. Nor were they in the car. I asked Nate if he had them - nope.

As the words "Rye, do you know where my keys are?" came out of my mouth, I realized I already knew the answer. He confirmed it: they're inside - behind the TV. I saw him take them out of the door when we walked in and I saw him place them next to the TV by the front door. But I was so busy trying to make it a quick pit stop that it didn't even occur to me to grab them again before we left. The closest spare key? On Rt. 100, with Uncle Mike, about 40 minutes out. Great.

Luckily, we have a cell phone, the fabulous invention of delivery pizza and our awesome neighbor Kim. We let the kids play on her swingset while we vented to her about our dilemma and waited for our pizza to arrive.

And who was just as annoyed as we were? Bailey, who didn't understand why we locked him in the house while we were all outside.

So we never made it to the local fireworks show. But there were plenty to see in our neighborhood. And considering how wiped out we were from the days adventures - being able to watch fireworks on our front steps, in our PJs, was probably the better plan anyway.