But I'm finally here. Yes, we got back from vacation just fine. No, we have not really been gone this long. No, I don't have any pictures to post yet as I haven't uploaded them yet.

So how was our trip to South Carolina in July? In a word, hot. In another word, wet. But overall, enjoyable. Our tent leaked, so we only spent the first two nights in the tent. The rest of it was spent in various hotels or cabins. Gabe, we realized, is amazingly easy-going for a 2-year-old. Any change that we had to make about our location, he accepted seamlessly. Any place was as good as any other, so long as we were there with him. He also became a fairly good traveller, thanks at least in part to the portable DVD player we brought with us. We also learned that shopping malls are a great alternative to a park for some out-of-the-car run-around time. Endless hallways, echoing walls, fun stuff to look at, quarter rides...what more could a toddler hope for? Well, in the midst of not-so-suburban Washington D.C., you can't hope for much more.

The reason we went down there in the first place was for a wedding. Our friend Joseph was getting married (again). So how was the wedding? In a word, horrible. Everything that had to be done in preparation for the wedding, except the making of the bride's dress, had to be done in the last two days prior to the event. Wes and I had to write the ceremony from scratch while entertaining a small child. All the food had to be cooked. The dresses for the two girls in the wedding had to be altered, one almost to the point of needing to make a whole new dress. All the favors had to be made. The decorations, the set-up, everything. It was hell. I know my wedding did not go off flawlessly, and I know that getting the flowers done the night before was a little hairy, but the rest of it was planned at least weeks in advance. It was the most cluster-f*cked wedding I've ever been a part of. FUBAR was the word of the day.

This weekend we had Gabe's birthday party. That was lots of fun, despite the sprinkles that persisted through the whole thing. Yesterday we went to our first appointment with Pediatrician #4, also known as Dr. Anderson. We found out that Gabe is above the 97th percentile for both height and weight this time around.

Gabe is going to be getting big boy furniture soon. He's almost outgrown his toddler bed (read: crib with one wall taken off), and we haven't used his changing table for months. So, since I get paid three times next month (yay!), we're going to catch up on bills and buy furniture. Then we just have to find a place to store the crib and the changing table. Hmmm...can anyone say Papa's house?

Okay, long post about nothing. Let me know how you're all doing.

That's her. That's what took me almost five hours to get on my body. I'm very happy with the way she turned out. In the original, the fairy was orange rather than the purples and teals that she is now. She also originally had a pointy masculine type tribal design behind her, but I didn't like it. She's a girl. Why should she have this pointy, masculine thing with her? So I found a more feminine tribal design and had him put that one on.

I had several people ask me if I would ever do it again. I definitely think I will, but for now, it's Wes' turn.

Aunt Gail died yesterday. Almost the whole family was there, crammed into that tiny little bedroom. It happened faster than we thought it would. Gabe woke up from his nap just in time. We had only been there about five minutes before we were all called into the room for her last moments.

I'm sad, but it's bittersweet. I hated to see her sick. I hated to see her in pain. She was never sick. She was always spunky and sassy, and to see her lose that was almost worse than watching her die.

Memorial service on Saturday. Now we just need to find a babysitter.