The Wedding

an Uncle Michael post

First, there was the week before. I was talking to Susan and said that probably that all the adults would be thrilled to play with the kids and they wouldn't even notice I was there.


Well, it wasn't long before that was obvious. As my brother John and I were driving to Massachusetts, I received these texts:


I must have asked about their room.




Well, we got there later that night and sure enough, Gree wanted to sleep in my room. And, it turned out, so did Atlee. I call this photo: Room Invaders.


Gree didn't make it. At about 11 o'clock she said in a small voice: "I changed my mind; I want to go sleep with mommy and daddy." So I took her back downstairs. Atlee said she was fine and stayed and slept over.

The next day there was a party at our cousin Anne's house. When I showed up, somebody was happy to see me.


We went out into the yard and sat on the bench swing hanging from some trees and Greeley looked as cute as could be.


She might have been shoving a cracker in her mouth there. I'm not sure.

There was a little creek that ran through Anne's yard. Greeley really wanted to play in the creek.
"Can we go in the creek, Uncle Michael?"
"What did your mom and dad say?"
"They said no. But I'm asking you. So can we?"

Uncle Michael is a soft touch.

And of course, once one sister gets to play at the creek, the other sister wants to, too.

Everybody wanted to get in.

"Can I step over there?"

"If I just slide down here..."

"We could get in over there-e-e..."

Sure. Lean over the "rapids" (such as they are). Give Uncle Michael a heart attack.

Oh, ok, sure. You do it, too.
By the way? Sliding down that rock got mold all over your butt.

I don't know what I said to occasion this look but obviously it was incredibly silly.
(The green mustache is from food-coloring-enhanced lemonade.)
Right. Again: Standing on a wet rock right next to the foot drop is not making Uncle Michael feel good.

"Look, Uncle Michael! I'm standing in the water! Who knows what kinds of things I could step on!!"

Emmy of course wanted to get in, too, but he was wearing jeans and his nice new sneakers! There was no way Daddy was letting that happen! So he found a different way to get Emmy close to the water.

"Hey, Uncle Michael! Another part of the creek! Do these rocks look precarious enough?"

Those girls love water. (To be honest, I do, too, which is why I was so lenient.)

The family gathered together to take a picture of everyone. I sat down next to a handsome fellow with a modern hairstyle who was enjoying a delectable summer treat.

"You want some?" he gestured.

No thanks, I said.

The gang's all here.

"Man, that was some good ice cream. Even if I did drop the majority of it on the ground."

Shea was happy to find his natural habitat, the Wii, in the house. He advanced steadily through the boxing ranks but unfortunately his character couldn't save.

Meanwhile, cousin Sarah Rose had gotten a pumpkin and cut it open and Atlee had happily scooped out the guts. Here she's separating the seeds from the goop to save for later.

Greeley was happy to watch. "Don't let that stuff touch my leg."

"This stuff is really great for your nails," she said.

"Oh, I love goop!" she said.

Other people who were at the wedding:

Aunt Mary

Uncle John

[Gruff law enforcement voice]: "The preceding individuals don't trust the internet and therefore do not want their faces shown on this public, shameful and embarrassing website."