Tying the Knot

The whole wedding party. Erin's colors were persimmon, navy and cream. 

Turned out nicely, didn't it?

They're married happily ever after!

 

It was such a beautiful setting. It was at Estate Clairemont, in the middle of a sugar mill ruins over-looking the Carribean.

Gordon's father, Dugald and his lovely wife Bernadine

Gordon and Erin's Wedding

SO....this is the reason we went down to St. Croix. Gordon asked J-P to marry him and Erin and of course how could he not accept?  Look at these men.....especially the one in the navy blue shirt, good-looking!

  Two manly-men! Doesn't get anymore manly than that, right there!

  Happy, shining people!

  It was so good to see Ric and Jamie. Didn't get enough time to hang though. One of these days.

  Todd Green and his lovely family are possibly moving to Nor Cal! Wouldn't that be something!

Skippers and mates

The boys just want to be doing everything their Skipper Daddy is doing. J-P and Oliver in the dingy, it's named the "Sit down and Shut up" . They have to row the dingy to the boat and tow it then behind the boat to the mooring. Once the boat is secure on it's mooring, then they row back in the dingy to the dock.



First mate Calvin, he's on call for duty. Will help with anything you might need aboard.

Second mate Oliver, not as sea worthy, but he's earning his "sea legs".

John's Carribean Home

This area I call the lounge. J-P and I spent almost every night there before we retired, reading and talking. It's quite pleasant.
I decorated for Christmas before we left. Down there, they have Norfolk trees to trim. Very different from the Douglas Fir we host at our home. You can't really hang anything heavy on them.

Calvin and Oliver's pets hiding in the wine rack. Those two are "good years."

This is the lovely room we bunked in. My favorite part of the room is having my own vanity. It's real fancy.

If any of you are wondering why I'm taking pictures of the house, well when you are a mom, you spend alot of time indoors, even on vaction. Especially when J-P worked a couple of days. It's hard to go to the beach with two wild boys and a baby. Can't care for a baby and safely watch the boys in the water. So I thought I would capture where we always stay when we go down to Grandpa's.

Sleeping Arrangments

Calvin can snap the best photos sometimes. He took this photo of baby girl in bed with me.
We all slept in the same room at John's, it is very spacious. I think that guest room, including the bathroom, is about the size of our whole house. Crazy. No wonder our house felt so small upon our return.

Oliver on the single bed agianst the wall in the corner.

Calvin on the floor on some cushions.

The baby's daddy, baby and mommy all sleep happily together.

Beach Day

We spent this day out on the East end called Rainbow Beach. Oliver was a good sport and allowed the big boys to cover him up.
If you look closely his skin is covered in sand.

Baby's first dip in the Carribean. It's great that the water is like a bath, nice and warm.

I caught it just in time.....she's waving!

Oliver is particular about one thing, he hates dirty hands. Even if it's sand.

St. Croix

Well, we made it safe and sound and the very next day we had the pleasure of riding on Big Beard's newest boat called Adventure. It's a 42 ft catamaran and it's beautiful! I don't have a picture of it in all it's glory, just of us, on it. The boys helped grandpa captain the boat. They loved being out on the water. Their a "son of a son of a sailor," as Jimmy Buffet says anyway.












This is Grandpa's other grand boat, known as the Renegade. J-P has many fond memories of this catamaran, as he captained this boat when we lived there and when ever we come to visit.















Baby Cosette's first boat ride, I think she almost slept the whole time. Love that sun and sea!































On the way out to Buck Island, the island off St. Croix. One of the best beaches resides there called "Turtle Beach" and it also has an undewater snorkel trail, that the Kennedy's made into a national monument. Great fun! Calvin can snorkel, but not for long periods. I am so impressed with his eagerness to learn though. Oliver on the other hand, understands the concept, but has troubles doing it underwater. In time, they will be pros.

Travel Day

We made our flight the very next day with great success and just look at my little world travelers! They were excellent passengers and Cosette was quiet for the most part..... as long as she had something in her mouth.

They carried their personal loot on their backs for entertainment and rolled their suitcases right on board, if not the airline would charge $20 bucks each for their suit cases, that's murder in my opinion. They look like pros, don't they?

Cosette is in the blanket for safe keeping. This was our last flight that day. We were in San Juan, Puerto Rico flying to St. Croix. The kids were good troopers through it all. Calvin talked the whole flight and was so loud I think everyone on the propeller plane got an ear full. Man, the kid can talk. He needs his own show!

Thanksgiving OOPS!

On Thanksgiving day we wake up at 4am to catch our flight at 6am.

We make it on time to the airport and J-P drops me, the luggage, and the boys off at the curb and he and Cosette head for the short term parking lot to drop off the car. The boys and I wait and wait for Daddy to show up. Well that long line you see behind Calvin was all gone by the time J-P made it back to us. You're thinking well great, good timing, not it's bad, bad timing. By the time we checked in and after the flight attendant asked us five times how many bags we were checking, she asks, "Wait what flight are you on?" We had stood there for ten minutes trying to check in and then she tells us we can't make our flight, because they gave our seats away. It might have been our fault, it could have been the attendants, regardless, how do you tell children that we have to go back home and do the whole thing over the very next day. Well we managed, and Thanksgiving day was spent sleeping around from the couch to the bed and rummaging through the cupboards and fridge to find any last morsels of food from the feast from days earlier.

Fall Festivities!

So......so much to say, so little time. J-P and the boys went out and raked the fall foilage and decided to have some fun. Oliver looks as if he has found a good thinking spot. Since this time, the trees dumped all of their existing leaves and our lawn is covered. You can't even tell if we have a lawn. The boys have some work to do.

Since we were flying on Thanksgiving day to St. Croix we arranged with Ilene and Morgan to feast our Thanksgiving dinner on the Monday before. It was a fantastic dinner.

As we ate, Cosette lounged in her baby chair. She loves her pacifer!

Ilene made a scrump green bean dish. It was simply made with olive oil, bread crumbs and bacon bits. I think what makes it so great besides the yummy ingredients, is the beans are a french cut. It's a keeper for every year!

Zita, my ever busy mother-in-law, donated a ham for our cause and it was delectable. I made bread (the only thing Calvin ate besides a slice of ham), a pomegranate, ginger green salad, and stuffing from scratch. J-P made his best sweet potato casserole with marshmellows on top.....it's unexpectingly delightful! Oh and Morgan made the mashed potato's, he bent Ilene's Kitchen Aid attachment.....well worth it! They were so good too! It was a humble setting and barely enough room for our plates, but the love was abundant as well as terrific food!

Bodyscape

Six weeks postpartum and the skies are not cloudy anymore, well it's almost blue skies. This condition....postpartum is just another word for depression and I dislike it greatly. The only bliss is the baby and my body is royal wreckage. Aesthetics have a terrific way for affecting my mood. This baby making business is not for the faint of heart. Where there were curves are now rolls and where there were valleys, are now mountains (that part I don't mind so much.....actually that's the only thing I've got working for me now). Dark circles have set in from lack of sleep and my tears don't hold back for anything. Just ask J-P, he's lovin' my yin and yang moods. I wish the upside would be an exquisite bottom, but even that has taken a turn south. I'm still mending and beating the pity by working out with Traci Anderson. Apparently she is the personal trainer for Gweneth Paltrow and Madonna. She has developed a postpartum work-out that is cruel and feels more like punishment. However, is satisfies my need for torturing my body back into its' normal shape. I don't how we do it, we women folk, but somehow we do. For now, I have to revel in the glory of what my body did make, a wonderous beautiful creature.

Celebrating a Decade!

Well folks, we've made it to 10! Though not perfect, but worth the wear. Hears to fifty halo and hearty more! We've matured! Gotten fatter, wiser in some of our ways, wrinkled, yielded our dreams (and still yeilding some), bred and most of all.... our love has found permanent roots to draw strength from. I don't want to imagine what my life would be without my Love. He makes me whole.

Almost fifteen years ago, (wow my life has years) when he first laid eyes on me I was but a wee las. A teenager so lost and confused, but he saw in me what I didn't. A woman, and eventually a mother. Patiently he watched (and helped) me come into my own.

What we shared then is still what we share now: genuine love for one another. However, he taught me that true love is worth waiting for even if it almosts kills you. Because he waited with ultimate faith for me to grow up, I knew there would be no other person on this Earth that would love me the way he loves me. Even the way he looks at me with those seriously mad eyes, he is the only one.

On our day, we went out without the kids (Ilene babysat) and went for dessert and tea on the Delta King. It's a big stern wheeler also known as a paddle boat that is docked on the Sacramento River. There was a live band playing for some added ambiance. Ironically, we actually ended up fighting that night, but for the record books we will remember it happy. I wrote J-P a poem that I had started a year ago and finally got to finish it this year. Here it is for posterity sake.

For my Beloved

In your arms I am home

In your eyes I see eternity

Love and guidance you've always given me

I owe my transcendence to thee

Hand in hand, cheek to cheek

We dance through earthly time

Same song, though everyday is a different beat

Marriage is never an easy feat

Days pass, years leave

Our life is living history

I am your sun and you are my light

Our children have gifted us new sight

All I've ever wanted is for someone to love me

You provided that shelter sound

No matter high tide or low seas

With you I always and forever want to be

Baby Love!

Baby Cosette is three weeks old and is terrific!






Just look at those cheeks, don't you just want to squeeze 'em and kiss 'em? I do! She's our little doll.







Calvin enjoys playing the big brother role. He wants to make sure he is doing it right and looks for reassurance.





























He loves to sing to her just like I sing to him and Oliver!