Claire's Recovery

It's been a few days since Claire had her surgery. I must admit- the recovery wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. It could be that the horror recovery stories I've heard are from people that exaggerated a bit or maybe Claire is just a Rock Star Patient! I'd like to think it had everything to do with Claire. Once we left the hospital, she was much happier. Still in pain, but happy to be rid of the IV, dim lights, and that overall sick feeling in her stomach. Jocelyn had come and picked up Michael and Matthew earlier in the day and brought them to her house and Ali and Heather had taken care of Emily all morning. It was nice to have a quiet house to take care of Claire and worry only about her needs as opposed to the needs of all four kids. She was awesome. Her brothers had each purchased her a new DVD so she had movies to watch and so many people sent her fun games, books, and projects to keep her occupied. She cozied up on the couch and just relaxed.

Claire followed the doctors orders regarding clear liquids on day #1 and soft items on day #2 but she was really getting hungry. I had made meatloaf and couldn't help but sneak her a few bites. She was so happy I shared! We managed her pain with both Tylenol and Tylenol with Codeine. She took the codeine the first two days but then refused it. I am not kidding when I say she was a perfect patient (and a tough one, too)! We will have a 2 week follow-up with her ENT to make sure everything is healing well but as of today, she is doing great. Thank you to all our friends and family for the phone calls, treats for Claire, and the prayers. We love you all and couldn't have done it without your help!

Claire Gets Her Tonsils Removed

There was an emotional lead up to this day. No one more than Claire wanted these nasty tonsils out! Yet, she knew the process would be hard and who in their right might would want to go through that? Of course, none of us wanted her to have to suffer but all of us wanted to her be rid of the complications these tonsils/adenoids posed. We had to be at the hospital at the early hour of seven. Thankfully, Aunt Ali stayed the night so we could slip out of the house unnoticed and get Claire to the hospital on time. She was teary when I woke her up. I suspect she had been awake for a while and the nerves had gotten the best of her. My poor Claire. I just wanted to be done with this already.

Claire, Scruffy, Daddy, and I got in the car and headed to Good Samaritan hospital where the out-patient procedure would be performed. We checked her in no problem and were immediately called back. This is when it became real for Claire. Heavy feet, stiff body, tears welling up in her eyes . . . she realized she was in a real hospital and was actually going to get surgery. I talked her through it. It's going to be okay. I won't leave you . . . became the mantra of the morning. Hesitantly, she changed into a gown that clearly was not made for a tall seven year old like Claire- but it worked. It had Ronald McDonald and his gang on the front. It seemed odd to have Ronald and his friends on there and Damien and I laughed when she only recognized Ronald. That dated us big time!

The nurse started taking Claire's vitals and surprisingly- Claire was running a fever of 100.2. Great. I didn't have a good feeling about this. The nurse called the anesthesiologist to ask what he thought of her fever. After a short phone call, she let us know that they would go ahead with the surgery because a true fever starts at 100.4. Okay, we dodged that bullet. Claire didn't seem warm to me at all and wasn't acting sick so I was a little confused but tried not to get too nervous. If they cancelled the surgery I was going to be so upset! The nurse started talking about the procedure to us in front of Claire. She tried to speak over Claire and use words Claire might not understand but I knew Claire was digesting everything. She spoke about the IV, the cutting, the scabbing, and all sorts of stuff and I knew Claire was going to freak! Claire then leaned over and told me she was going to get sick. 'I think I'm going to barf!' were the exact words and she was right. Within minutes, she did throw up. I was pretty darn confident that nervousness caused the barf but the nurse wasn't so sure. 100.2 fever and barfing? Another call to the anesthesiologist and doctor to see if we should proceed. Dude. My blood pressure was going through the roof!

The doctor came in and we chatted to see if we should go through with the surgery. They wanted to make sure surgery was the right thing to do before they gave her the happy juice which would help Claire relax, reduce anxiety and also have some amnesia inducing effects. THANK GOD, the doctor felt that Claire was just anxious (as did I) and that her fever and subsequent puking was all a part of it. Surgery would go on as scheduled! They gave her the magic potion and Claire swore she didn't feel anything. Then she started smiling and laughing at absolutely nothing. Love it! The nurse bent over and told her, "It's time to go into surgery and you can say goodbye to your Mom and Dad before we wheel you back." She leaned over and gave us a kiss. I braced for the painful separation. But there wasn't one. Instead, they unlocked her bed and wheeled her away. Claire turned around once and waved and then rolled away smiling and never looked back at us. How great is that medicine?

We waited in the waiting room and said a few prayers for our sweet girl. I knew that this was a routine surgery and also knew that I had been through far worse surgical procedures with Michael- but it never feels good to know that one of your babies is in surgery. After about forty minutes, they came and told us she was out of surgery and in recovery. They said they would come and get us when she tried to wake up. Not five minutes later did they come out and say she needed us. I couldn't wait to see her. She looked pretty good. The only hard thing was that darned anesthesia. It really did a number on her. Her lips were swollen from the procedure and her throat was really sore. It wasn't sore from the tonsillectomy but instead from the breathing tube that they inserted during surgery. She was crying off and on and it was really hard to comfort her because she really didn't know where she was. I hated seeing her so confused and in pain but I tried to stay grounded and know that this was only temporary. After about half an hour, she had a popsicle and started to come around. From this point on, she got better and better and after a little over and hour- she was ready to go home. Thank goodness she made it through the procedure. Now all she needs to do is heal. I am so happy that is behind us and I think Claire is, too.

**They took her temperature during surgery and it was 98.1 Isn't it crazy how nervousness made her temperature spike?

Santa Cruz

Knowing that we were days away from Claire's surgery- we decided to take a light hearted trip down to Santa Cruz. Damien's sister, Ali, goes to school at UC Santa Cruz so we were excited that she was going to be able to meet us at the Boardwalk! We woke up to sunny, beautiful skies here in San Jose, loaded the car up, and headed south. We were blasting Beach Boys tunes and having a lot of fun in the car until we hit a pretty substantial (and unusual) bit of traffic before we started over the hill towards the ocean. Despite the frustrating fact that we weren't moving and dealing with Emily's growing frustration that the car was not rocking her to sleep for her morning nap- we pressed on in good spirits.

After about twenty-five minutes, the traffic thinned out and we were cruising! We got there in no time, found some great parking, packed our stroller full with towels and other beachy things, and headed to the Boardwalk. It was a little chilly. Hmmm. Hadn't thought about that when I packed for the day at home. Didn't bring any sweatshirts for the kids but I did bring swimsuits! Brilliant. Perhaps I should check the forecast next time. OR, maybe I could rely on good weather in July!!!! Either way, we were not going to turn back now!

I kept hoping that the cloud cover would burn off, but I was out of luck. It was still warm out but it just was a touch too breezy to not have a little jacket. We didn't let any of this bother us and had such a great time with Ali! Emily absolutely loved all of the sounds and the sights. She thought it was hysterical when her siblings were on the rides and even managed to have a two hour nap in my tired aching arms. Matthew definitely had the 'cool guy' thing going on today. I think Matthew loves that he isn't the baby anymore. He got to go on rides by himself and do things that Emily couldn't. He loved riding the Pepsi truck ride, the boats, and the tiny whales. Michael and Claire were quite the pair today. They rode some of the thrill seeking rides (one rollercoaster with Auntie Ali) and both of them reminded me so much of my own childhood. I loved riding rides that scared the heck out of me! They seem to have that same need for speed! The best part of the day was when they rode the pirate ship. You know, the one that rocks back and forth making your stomach drop! Well, last summer in Seattle- Claire came off this ride crying. She hated it! Michael thought it was the greatest ride ever! Well, this summer Michael begged Claire to go and hesitantly- she did. I will say NO MORE than the fact that there was a complete role reversal on this ride. Damien and I were dying!

The last thing we did today was go down to the beach. We decided to leave the swimsuits in the swim bag (a little too cold) and instead opted to just get our feet wet. Everyone had a great time. Emily "I have NO fear" Swendsen tried to sprint out into the ocean and drown herself constantly. The other three kids jumped, frolicked, and just had so much fun. It was great . . . until the walk back to the car through the sand. Emily, who thought she could walk without holding our hands in the sand, couldn't. So I picked her up and carried her. Damien was carrying our over-packed stroller which obviously couldn't roll through the dense sand. Michael and Claire were kicking sand on each other and on other unamused beach goers despite requests NOT TO DO THAT from Mommy! And lastly, Matthew was trying to chase them down and was upset they wouldn't slow down for him. This, my friends, was juggling kids to the max! We couldn't afford one more problem at this moment. But God tested us as Matthew fell face first into the sand and although he was okay, he rubbed his eyes with his wet sandy hands and packed a huge amount of sand into his eyes. It looked horrible (I had quick visions that the ER was in our future) and he was screaming so bad I almost started crying myself. I kept thinking how incredibly painful that must be! What to do? Well, I yelled at Damien to drop the stroller and gave him Emily. I trapped Matthew between my legs and began to flush out as much sand as I could with water all the while trying to hold Matthew still and keep him from rubbing his eyes again! It was horrible. All I will say is that it took about ten minutes to get him to stop crying and get the visible sand out. Torturous. Seriously bad. I have never wanted to just get to the car so quickly. Deep breath . . . Once we all were strapped into the car and calm after the sand incident, we decided to go to a great Tiki restaurant in downtown Santa Cruz. It was the perfect end to a busy day and although it was nuts at times, I can't wait to go back again!

Prepping for Surgery

Some unsolved mysteries involving Claire were recently solved. Thank you God! Mystery #1. During Claire's Kindergarten year, she was the first one up in our house. Uniform on, shoes tied, smile on her face and ready to start the day with tons of positive energy. This past school year (1st grade), Claire has hard to wake in the morning. Groggy, tired, hard to get moving. It certainly wasn't the Claire I knew but I dismissed it and blamed it on her being less excited for school. Mystery #2. Claire is a very smart little girl. She has a very vast range of vocabulary and has a lot of profound things to say. The downside? She is hard to understand. When she was a toddler and began talking, she was what we lovingly called mush mouth. Every word kind of ran into the next making it hard to understand her. I keep waiting for her speech to be clearer- but up to now, no such luck. Mystery #3. Claire is a pretty quiet sleeper. No teeth grinding like her brothers, just a bathroom break in the middle of the night. So why all of the sudden did I start hearing her snore all night long? And it's not that cute little snoring you see in cartoons, it is the 'sawing logs' kind of snoring that made me feel so bad for her! She didn't have a cold, no sore throat, and when questioned- she never said she had any pain. Mystery #4. Swallowing. Claire is an eater (a girl after my own heart) but she has the hardest time swallowing her food quickly. The only way I can describe it was that when she swallowed she had a little hitch/movement she would do about four times to get the food down.

I know what you are thinking. You are thinking, 'Hello, Lisa. She needs her tonsils taken out!' It is more clear to me now more than ever. But when you are juggling the needs of four kids and trying to keep a household running, sometimes things aren't as obvious as them seem. I never sat down and thought about Mysteries 1-4 as a group, I instead worked with each issue separately and tried to figure out what was wrong. Well, once I looked in her throat after her snoring became outrageous- I saw the GIANT tonsils in her throat. To the pediatrician we went! No infection, just a referral to a great ENT (Ear, Nose, and Throat specialist) and a subtle hint that she would probably need surgery. Oh, my heart hurt. The puzzle fit together for me in that moment. The lack of sleep (due to the tonsils obstructing her airway and causing sleep apnea), the garbled speech (huge balloons in her throat preventing her from making clear sounds), the snoring, and the issue of swallowing. Poor, poor, Clairey!

It wasn't a surprise to us when Dr. Arnstein suggested we go ahead with surgery. He told us she would need her tonsils and adenoids removed. He said that on a range of 1-4, her tonsils were about a 3.8. NOT GOOD! We made an appointment to have surgery during summer vacation and felt good that we were going to get those nasty tonsils/adenoids taken out! One of the things we needed to do was get a blood draw within the a week of surgery. Not a hard thing for an adult, really. But for a child, the idea of putting a needle in your arm to extract blood is horrible! I talked Claire through it in the days leading up to the blood draw and Michael (who has had blood taken before) assured her that even though it sounded painful- it wasn't. So when the morning came, I drug all four kids to the clinic and braced for a tortuous experience. Claire brought her doggy named Scruffy with her and I think that totally helped. She was so nervous and to be honest- so was I. When we were called back and I saw the little room I had to bring all four kidsand a stroller into and then try my hardest to keep Claire calm and help her through the experience I thought we were doomed. Luckily, all the kids behaved and Claire- with the help of her awesome big brother and Mommy was a perfect patient. Whew. I was so glad that was over. Now we will just count down the days until surgery. I know it will be hard for her but to get rid of all four of her issues due to the tonsils will be wonderful! Don't you just love these before and after pictures? I love the after picture because she looks so incredibly relieved and happy!

Emily Is Walking!

Before Emily took her first step, I thought to myself, 'There is no way that tiny little human being is going to stand upright and walk.' I just didn't think it was possible! She's just too small to walk! I remember thinking this before my other kids walked. It is such a HUGE developmental milestone to walk. The difference between crawling and walking is so big! When a baby crawls, it reminds you constantly that they are a baby. But when your baby walks, he/she is doing something that you do, too! You don't see many adults crawling around but you do see them walking. Learning to walk puts you in the 'non-baby' club and I just can't believe Emily joined us.

She started to stand up independently a long time ago. She has been cruising the furniture for a few months so we knew walking was on it's way. Plus, she wants to be just like her big sister and brothers so I knew she wouldn't take long! She took her first step on May 24th . . . to her Daddy. Damien, Emily and I were in our bedroom and I stood her up and told her to walk to Daddy. Sure enough- she threw one of her chubby legs forward and walked! And it took off from there! Soon she was linking step after step and before we flew up to Washington- her step record was seven. Then she walked seventeen steps for her Grandpa as part of her birthday present for him. Since then, she has been off to the races and I am exhausted trying to keep her safe! I can't even get a step count because she links so many steps together now. Walking, walking, walking and trying to run, too. She doesn't fall much but when she does- she usually just shakes it off and acts like nothing happened! She is definitely a tough little girl! Emily is now a mover and a shaker and I am a lot busier. Let the chasing commence!

4th of July Pool Pictures

What a great day we had at the Gullotta's house today! Great food, tons of swim time, lots of family, and adorable pictures! What an amazing day! Once again, Happy 4th!

4th of July Weekend

It was a very busy but very fun Fourth of July weekend! We headed up north to Healdsburg to spend the weekend celebrating Damien's Dad's 60th birthday as well as celebrate our Nation's birthday!

With a lot on tap, we packed up and prepared to have a lot of fun! The kids were really excited to be with their Papa on his birthday. They loved the fact that the party was themed with cupcakes! Apparently, Mark's grandmother used to call him cupcake when he was little so it was a little nod to her. I don't know if my kids understood the true symbolism or not. I am pretty sure they were just really excited to eat a lot of the gourmet cupcakes Auntie Lani was going to bring!

Mark's birthday was an absolute blast. Marlene (party extraordinaire) had a bouncy house water slide in the front yard for the kids, a cotton candy maker, and a cupcake pinata all ready for us to enjoy. All of my kids loved it and ran around all day until they passed out later that night.

On the morning of the 4th, our little family enjoyed Mass in the morning and then prepped to head over to Sonoma to attend a great 4th of July bash held by Lani's in-laws. We've gone to this party many times before and the kids were begging to go this time, too. They have a great pool with a slide and we always have so much fun there! Getting my kids dressed this morning in their red, white, and blue gave me great satisfaction. Last year, we were so bogged down with trying to learn how to juggle four kids schedules let alone coordinating outfits! This summer, we are much lighter and more free now that we have all adjusted to our new life with four kids. Claire just adored the fact that she and Emily had matching outfits. Michael and Matthew wondered why theirs weren't matching, too! Whoops. After mass, we spent the morning relaxing with Damien's parents in their backyard while eating a delicious breakfast from downtown. It was a beautiful sunny morning and to think we had a great afternoon and early evening ahead made the day even better. Happy 4th of July everyone!

Emily's Second 1st Birthday Party

We love parties around here so it was no problem at all to ramp up and celebrate Emily's First Birthday . . . again! Her party was at the tail end of our visit so we got to enjoy the week without having to go into party mode. We decided to just invite family because even if we just had family- it was a full house! It was so wonderful to see everyone and the vibe was so laid back and gave us all a chance to catch up and just relax!

Emily loved all of the balloons and decorations. She was also completely mesmerized by the new 'birthday shoes' that Nonna and Grandpa bought her. They are officially her first pair of shoes and very necessary these days as she is starting to walk more and more. It might still look a little 'Frankenstein-ish' but it is still considered walking in my book!

Emily annihilated her birthday cake much like she did at her first First Birthday Party. The kid likes to eat and get messy! What can I say? All the kids kind of attacked their cakes on their first birthdays. Claire and Emily were the ones who completely dove in- while Matthew methodically picked away at his until it was everywhere! Michael, when he was a baby, HATED getting dirty. If I remember correctly, he did dip a few fingers into his cake and had fun, but didn't go for the cake explosion like his siblings. I love how very different they all are! It is what makes life so amazing! All my kids were created from the same two parents but journeying down their own distinct paths. So cool.

I was thrilled that my Dad's family could make to the party. They are really so special to me. We don't get to see them very often because of the distance but when we do get together, I really love it. My Grandma, who turned 90 this year, is so incredibly amazing. She has so much energy, is so intelligent, and is just such an important person in my life. I love her very much and am so glad that all four of my children have gotten to know their Great-Grandmother!

Most of my Mom's family was able to join us which was really nice. My aunts and cousins are so supportive and always make a special effort to see us when we are up in Washington. I was so happy that my Nana (my Grandma and the kids Great-Grandma) was able to be with us to celebrate. Just like my other Grandma, she amazes me with her strength and grace. She loves seeing the kids and my kids were loving that she wanted to play catch with them at the end of the party. I thought Michael was going to pass out from sheer amazement!

Well, I guess this officially marks the end of Emily's First Birthday Extravaganza. Part of me is sad that this is our last 'first birthday' but another part of me celebrates all we have been through during the last year. Having raised four children to at least the age of one, I am ready to say goodbye to the newborn/little baby stage and look forward to raising kids who are a little older and make our family more durable/portable. I have loved every minute of Emily's first year. Well, in all honesty- there were quite a few minutes where I was completely losing my mind! But on a serious note, this year was everything I could have dreamed it to be. Little Emily has only been our hearts for a year, but none of us can imagine life without her. Happy Birthday Emily. You're the best.

On the Lake

We are having a great time up here in Washington. It's great to have time up here to enjoy life to the fullest without having our time so budgeted with events. Today, my Aunt Monica asked us to come over for dinner and our entire family had the most lovely night. Not only was the food unbelievable, but her home is just so gorgeous and inviting. We love going over there and it is just so nice to be able to walk out on her dock and take in Lake Washington and all of it's beauty. Not to mention Mount Rainier peeking through behind us.

Photos taken by the water provide the most gorgeous backdrop. It doesn't hurt that the water here is surrounded by the deep green of trees most everywhere you turn. I am so happy with the pictures we took. I know that a few of these are pictures I will cherish forever! Also, please note that I was only able to pry Michael away from the video games long enough to snap the family portrait. I just wanted to state that in case someone thought I was being preferential with my snapping! Or if Michael ever looks back at these blog posts and says, "Where was I?" Enjoy.

Summer Vacation in Kirkland

What a great way to start the summer! After a crazy Father's Day weekend, we hopped on a plane bright and early to visit my family. Michael, Emily and I flew up to Seattle in March and most of my family had visited San Jose since then Even though we felt connected with my family and had seen them fairly recently- we hadn't flown up to Seattle as a family since February (Emily's baptism)! This trip was long overdue. We didn't have much planned except to celebrate the birthdays of my Dad and Emily. I couldn't wait to settle in and enjoy this week long break from my usual chaos!

We arrived on my Dad's birthday and were so happy to be able to celebrate with him. My Mom made an amazing dinner of pulled pork sandwiches, fresh homemade coleslaw, and my Aunt Monica brought her famous potato salad. It was all delicious and we all caught up with each other after the post food coma set in. Before we flew up to Washington, Emily's walking record was seven steps. We were all out in the backyard when my Dad came out and said to her, "Emily, walk for Grandpa's birthday!" I kid you not- Emily stood up and walked seventeen steps! It was pretty comical because were all amazed that she listened to her Grandpa! What a birthday gift!

This trip is all about relaxing into the beginnings of summer. Last summer was so chaotic due to bringing a newborn Emily into our family. This summer is more about enjoying our family of six and taking some time to have fun and make some fantastic memories! All I know is that it's great to be home.

Happy Father's Day

I couldn't do what I do without Damien. My kids wouldn't be as funny, strong, confident, educated in all things Star Wars, and loved if he weren't in their lives. It's great that today we can honor his dedication to us all and thank him for making us so happy! We woke up this morning in Burlingame after a great night at our friend's wedding. We quickly hopped in the car and came home to spend the morning with our kids and shower Damien with some fun gifts and love! The kids really put a lot of thought into this morning. Michael made Damien a saw at school that was decorated with his picture and the phrase, You're the Best Dad I Ever Saw! Pretty clever, I thought! Claire made Damien a framed picture of herself (always a crowd pleaser) and she was really proud of her efforts! Matthew had made Damien a card and for the first time- was able to write his name (or at least Matt) . Emily drooled on Damien and he loved it. As usual, the kids got Damien gift cards so they could go out on 1-on-1 dinner dates with him. Michael chose Cluck U., Claire chose Red Lobster, and Matthew chose Red Robin. The kids LOVE picking out these gift cards and we love seeing where they pick!

After our own Father's Day celebration, we went over to Mark and Jocelyn's house where Damien's whole family gathered for some good food and a Chubby Bunny competition (seeing how many marshmallows you can fit in your mouth while still saying Chubby Bunny). The kids thought this was hilarious! Afterwards, we headed to The Riley's house to celebrate their daughter Issy's 2nd birthday and also judge a BBQ Rib-Off. There were eight people who brought and made ribs for the group and then the people in attendance voted on which one was most delicious. Damien loved this as he is a rib lover. Perfect Father's Day activity for him! The kids swam with their Daddy and we all had a great time. We needed to head home though because bright and early the next morning we were flying to Washington to see my family. It was a great but crazy weekend and we are so happy to have Damien in our lives.

Here are the reasons my kids love their Dad the most!

From Michael: "I think my Dad is the best because he is always there for me and comforts me and helps to learn. He always tries to make me laugh. My Dad talks in funny voices and always is so funny! I love to play soccer with him and eat lots of turkey jerkey and chocolate together. Well, not eat both of those at the same time but you know what I mean!"

From Claire: "I think my Dad is the best because I always think he is talented, supportive, great at sports, and loving. My favorite thing to do with him is read books together and go to lunch different places with him sometimes. I think the funniest thing about him is his jokes. I love it when my Dad tucks me into bed at night and says prayers with me."

From Matthew: "My favorite thing about my Dad is we going to go to Chuck E. Cheese's. We going to go get something to eat and get jelly beans. Daddy is very sweet. Daddy is always going to take me places. I think I am going to draw a picture for him. My Dad is funny. He always throws me on he's bed and read books with me. He told he how to say, 'Sorry for partying!' I love Daddy.

From Emily: "I love my Dad because he never ignores me even when he is really busy. He will always pick me up and see what I need. Dad makes me laugh so hard. He chases me and already taught me how to use funny voices. So far, he has taught me how to sound like a pirate and a scary monster. Daddy also loves to tickle me until I laugh so hard that Mommy tells him to stop! I love my Dad.

Jack & Anne's Wedding Extravaganza

Sometimes it's hard to schedule time away from the kids as a couple. That's why it's great when someone schedules it for you! A few months ago we received a gorgeous invitation for our dear friend's wedding. Damien's friend, Jack, went to grammar school, high school, and college with him. I knew Jack in college, too so it was so great to be invited to his wonderful celebration! We met his fiance many years back at our ten year Santa Clara University reunion. I remember thinking how well suited she was for Jack and I couldn't ignore the fact that they just seemed really happy together! It's always great to see your friends find someone who makes their life so much more rich and blessed.

When we received the invitation we thought it would be cool to stay the night at the hotel with all of our friends. We had heard that a lot of people were going to make a weekend out of it and it peaked our interest! Hmmm. Could we swing this? Lucky for us, my sister-in law Heather offered to watch the kids overnight so we could just have fun at the wedding and have a night away from the kiddos! The wedding and reception were held at the Kohl Mansion in Burlingame and it was so beautiful. There were so many wonderful touches and the scenery, flowers, and beauty was everywhere you turned. Anne looked absolutely stunning in her dress and it was so great to be able to take part in their special day. To top it off, so so many of our friends were in attendance. A lot of us have kids and it is growing increasingly difficult to find time to get together anymore. This wedding gave us all the opportunity to just be adults and have fun!

All in all, it was a fantastic night. Damien and I had so much fun with our friends but truly enjoyed the time we had together, too. There is something that comes with being at a wedding that reminds you of your own wedding day. I can't believe we are nearing our eleventh anniversary ourselves! Has it really been that long since our wedding? Hearing Jack and Anne say their vows threw me right back to the very moment we said ours. It was wonderful. A great reminder that love conquers all. It's been a while since we have spent a night with this group and I must say that this Santa Clara bunch is a rowdy one but so much FUN! So I guess there is only one question to ask. Who is getting married next? I need another night out!