Kate's Wedding

We just got back from a week in Portland Maine visiting with family and seeing my sister get married by the side of a river in Gardiner. It was wonderful (if a bit humid).

Kate asked me (John) to read a poem and Yogi was the ring bearer. Yogi was the ring bearer for Rob Wenk's wedding a few months ago but during that ceremony the best man forgot to give Yogi the rings so he never got to bear the rings (he said that he "un-beared the rings"). Yogi was disappointed by that and was very excited to have another chance to be a ringbearer. He took the job very seriously and commented on a number of occasions about how important he was. In fact on the way home he said that the only reason we went to Maine was so that he could bear the rings!

So we went to the rehearsal and the plan was for Yogi to follow his cousin Susanna (the flower girl) down a hill to the spot where Clint (Kate's fiance) and Clint's brother Todd (the best man) were waiting with the officiant. Yogi had the rings on a ring pillow that Kate had made for our wedding 10 years before. Todd was to untie the rings from the pillow and the ceremony was to continue.

When the wedding happened, Todd and Clint shifted over to the right as the procession arrived. Yogi thought they were walking away from him and had forgotten their cues so he said "Excuse Me!" very loudly. Very, very funny.

Yogi gets along incredibly well with his cousins Suzanna and Johnny who are one year older and one year younger than he respectively. Shelley and I get along incredibly well with my brother Rob and his wife Sue so a good time was had by all.

I must say that the Portland Children's Museum is the best Children's Museum I have ever seen in my life. Every inch is filled with fun, engaging stuff for kids of all ages. Yogi, Suzanna and Johnny spent 6 hours there and didn't even come close to getting bored.

Fun at the Beach

For the past three (or four) weeks we have been spending Saturday afternoons at the beach and its been extraordinary. The water is warm and the waves are big. John has rediscovered body surfing and is wondering why he hasn't been swimming in the ocean every week since we moved here. Yogi loves to play in the waves and his water skills are strong enough for him to have a really great time in the waves.

This is the new thing to document, by the way. Before about two weeks ago, any time Yogi went in the water he would be holding on to John or Shelley (or vice versa). As of now Yogi is independent in the waves. He LOVES the water (just like his Dad did) and loves to fight and ride the waves.

The other thing we do down at the beach is build sand castles. We have an impressive array of sand toys and we always make at least one sandcastle. What we do depends on the state of the tide. If it is coming in we are working idealistically against an implacable enemy who is bound to destroy our castle eventually. If it is going out we can create dams and elaborate moat structures.

On Sunday afternoons we have been going to Stoner Pool which is also great. Yogi really loves swimming.

Yogi is almost six!