Some people might suggest that we've been lazy in our blogging; and they'd be right. But the laziness was by design, not neglect: we were on a luxurious, much-needed vacation in the Adirondacks of Upstate New York. The first week was spent with SO'B's maternal extended family -- cousins, aunts and all -- at Fourth Lake. The giant, pest-friendly maze-of-a-house was interesting, but the company was fantastic. One of the little ones and I became puzzle-buddies -- and she had a great time imagining being a flower girl in "princess" Zee's wedding. And I taught another of the little ones to exclaim "woohoo!" at all of the fun we had.
The weather -- oh, the weather -- was fantastic. 80 and sunny every day, no joke. Here's an example of one particularly spectacular evening:
Of course, there is a rather funny (and, in my opinion, a little scary) story coming out of this fantastic time. I saw one of these. That's right: a big, fully grown black bear crossed the road right in front of me as I was heading home from a (very fun) trail run on the first day there. Here's the pickle: it crossed into the woods adjacent to the camp where we were staying, so I had to pass it at least two more times to get home. I saw Grizzly Man, but realized I had forgotten any useful information on how to become unattractive to a bear. I hid behind a stone post on the neighbor's driveway, trying to think of what the heck to do. So I turned off my shuffle, on which I was contentedly listening to Jim Dale's rendition of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and sneaked past the woods where the bear had just entered. I turned into the camp, and kept my eyes on the woods. About 100 yards from the house, I saw it -- staring at me -- and I ran. I ran like the wind, hoping it didn't care about me and, if it did, I could outrun it. Of course, this was probably the stupidest thing I could have done, but it turns out that it didn't care about me. Whew. The next times I went running, I wore keys attached to my shoes in an effort to scare off wayward bears before any potential run-ins.
There were a few special occasions to celebrate, and celebrate we did. We threw Mariluwho a birthday party -- for the 21st anniversary of her 39th birthday -- at a local restaurant. Notice her tiara?
It was a magical place, where 14 ounce steaks turned into 24 ounces between the kitchen and the table and bears jumped out of dumpsters.
Happy birthday, future mother-in-law!
They also threw SO'B and myself a surprise wedding shower (pics to follow). Fun, fun.
After a week of good times we headed with K & M to the O'B family homestead at Lake Ozonia.
Hans the Dog showed us around the lake -- a gorgeous, spring-fed lake, the water of which was said to have miraculous healing properties.
K & M enjoyed the views -- and the incredibly beautiful day -- on Uncle T's boat.
And, when the day was done, we all enjoyed looking at old family photos and playing plenty of cards. Here we are (SO'B and me) on the only rainy day, just after a rousing game of Pitch.
What a fantastic vacation!
And what a way to return home - to "Double-J" -- who were staying at our house in our absence. Having just returned from a year with the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, they stopped by the 'Bend en route to their new jobs with World Vision in Cyprus, to work with 14 countries in the Middle East and Eastern Europe, 9 of which are currently in conflict or having just emerged from conflict. Obviously, they're up for the challenge. Can you say "honeymoon?"
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