I Put Myself in Time Out

October 29, 2012

Actually, I was invited, went of my own free (excited) will and paid money for it.  Taking a time out was never so appreciated.

The trip down was full of getting-to-know-you conversations and plenty of laughter.  It did get a little crazy when Missy pulled out her Ylang Ylang essential oil for us to try.  Just hearing her say it, Sarah repeat it, the rest of us try to say it and the way it tickled our ears when it tumbled off our tongues had us in fits of laughter.  It became our all purpose phrase for the weekend and we even came up with hand gestures (thank you Friends) to go with it.  I'm not sure when the name started but when we refer back to that trip we lovingly call ourselves the Ylang Ylang gang.

Oh, and a useful tip that I wish I had never learned : Peanut M&M's are the most balanced sugar treat I could eat.  The protein of the peanut balances the carb/sugar of the chocolate.  I should celebrate over that since Peanut M&M's are my favorite and most craved treat but now I have to convince myself that my justification for it's nutritional value is still not very good for me.  Every time I give in I think of Missy and Terra while I munch away of my balanced, low glycemic colored heaven, silently cursing and blessing their names.

Time Out for Women, sponsored by Deseret Book, was good.  Good humor, good atmosphere, good thoughts.  But it was the late night hours of laughter, soul bearing, favorite things sharing, eating and crying that really made this time out so healing.  I admire each of these women for their love of family, testimonies, and cheerful enduring nature.

A good trip must include good food and this trip did not disappoint.  It was well worth the crowded, very long line we had to get through.

It was so hard to choose what to order.  The theme on the front menu states "pure clean food with a twist" which to me translated to healthy, beautifully presented party for the mouth.  The butternut squash soup was orange delight in a bowl and my oriental salad was unlike any oriental salad I have ever had.  Maybe it was just the square plate or the colorful presentation but seriously, it was a garden delight.

Our less healthy choice, but equally delicious in a not-so-balanced, very high glycemic way, was at the Melting Pot.  All things fondue.  We skipped out on the meaty meal portion and went straight for the good stuff.  My imagination would have never come up with rice crispy treat or cheese cake for dipping but oooh was it good!

I didn't realize that I needed a time out but after spending a couple of days with these women I was ready to take on my seasonal winter blues (not at all the same shade of blue as that blue lemon) with hope and a good attitude.

Lori Prince, Sarah d'Evegnee, Missy Babcock, Terra Sargeant, Marybeth Lemon, Heather Young, Me

Our shirts, bags, notebooks (and a full package of time out goodness...water bottle, chapstick, hand sanitizer, kleenex) were made and labeled by Sarah.

Summer

(the non-wedding stuff)

With our summer schedule pretty full with wedding planning, trips and parties it was easy to overlook the ordinary stuff that took place during the same time.  I'm grateful for the pictures that capture these memories when my mind is so full.

Though Kate and her boys were technically here for wedding reasons, the little boys just thought they were all together for some quality cousin time.  LeRoy felt a little outnumbered with all of the Fullmer girls together for Erika's bridal shower so he made sure that the boys had an activity too.

Nathan and Hyrum went to a baptism with me in the morning and when we got back their jealousy bubbled over as they watched their dad give rides to Logan and Korben.  After a quick wardrobe change they all crowded on the four wheeler for rides around the block and through the field.  Kate and I stood on the porch ready to take pictures and holding our breath as they sped around each corner and Logan bounced up and down on the back as they kicked up the dirt in the field.

Korben calls our house "Erika's house" and always wants to know the next time he will see Erika.  And Erika loves Korben.  She adores his smile, his questions, his humor and especially his love for her.  Korben always has a little anxiety when it is time to leave or others are leaving his house and it was no different when it was time to leave our house, or rather when it was time to leave Erika.  He sobbed.

With drool running down his face and huge alligator tears in his eyes he attempted to smile as we encouraged him to have a picture taken with Erika.  Erika tried to explain that she would see him in just a couple of weeks for the wedding.  She had to give him an exact date to mark on the calendar but even that did not calm his tears.  After attempting to go out to the car a couple of times he walked back in the door and with the most heartbroken six year old voice I have ever heard he shrugged his shoulders and cried out, "my life....it's ruined".

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Nathan and Hyrum are so good at coming up with simple ways to entertain themselves.  After a lengthy pillow fight they pulled off their pillow cases for a few sack races.

They laughed and giggled, crashed into each other, and raced until they were exhausted.  It wasn't about who was faster or who won but who laughed the hardest.  When they were physically worn out they climbed in their pillow cases like they were sleeping bags and read stories for a while.  When they had read long enough to regain their strength they started the races all over again.

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We left Erika's room cleaned out and empty for a couple of weeks after she left but I had plans for it.  When LeRoy started selling Legal Shield and Identity Theft Insurance it created even more paper work than we were already dealing with in our electrical business.  Since he was doing all of the training and applications he needed his own desk.  For a while he had a smaller desk that we had been given and I kept the larger desk. After just a few short weeks I realized that the small desk was not going to cover it for LeRoy but I could manage with the smaller one so I switched things around.  It didn't take me long after that to realize that it wasn't just the size of the desk that was going to make a difference but it was how we manage our own office space.  Every time I went into the office to work I felt like I needed to spend time organizing before I could even start working.  

So, the "Skittle Room" is now my office.  I can keep my desk clean and organized and LeRoy can leave his just the way he likes it.  

Speaking of the Skittle Room...Erika did this room all by herself.  For her 16th birthday she asked for paint and permission to paint her room however she wanted.  After hearing her plans (Skittles?), we agreed and took her to pick up primer and paint.

She started by priming the walls, which she really didn't like because there was no creativity involved but then she got to the really good stuff where she could draw on the walls.  She has been wanting to do that (and actually doing just that on many occasions) since she was two years old. 

It took her nearly a year to get her room the way she wanted it but it was well worth all the late night giggles with Brianna, the long hours on a ladder and even the yellow paint stain on the carpet.  Her bright, colorful, happy Skittle room is now my bright, colorful, happy office. 

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On a Saturday morning LeRoy told me that he had just received a facebook message from one of my cousins inviting us to his and his brother's combined mission farewell.  We were so excited for both of them especially since we didn't know that either one of them had been planning on serving a mission.  We only knew that they had been baptized about a year prior.  We got substitutes that day and early Sunday morning we left for Utah.

It was our first family trip in the new van and Derek was thrilled with the leg room!  

Listening to Steven and Nathan share their testimonies was such a testimony builder for me.  These boys have strong testimonies of the atonement and eternal families and have such an enthusiasm for sharing those truths with others.  I am so proud of both of them and grateful to LeRoy for loving and encouraging them to be their best and to always be worthy of the priesthood.  I have no doubt that they will bless the lives of many people.

December

During the few sunny days we were blessed with in December, Nathan was reunited with an old playmate.

He has always had a fascination with his shadow. Even when he was only two and still in diapers.

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Hibbard Elementary did a Grinch Christmas program and asked that the kids all dress up like the Who people.  Nathan wanted to dress up as JoJo from Horton Hears a Who. He even encouraged his hair to grow for the whole month leading up to the program and spent time in front of the mirror practicing his bored JoJo look.  After searching all over Rexburg hoping to find some left-over Halloween clearance hair color, we finally found some black hairspray to darken his blond hair.

The best looking Who kids ever!

It was a good thing that a haircut was already in the plans after the program.  I don't think we would have been able to get all the black out without it.  After his haircut and shower he wanted to take a bath and still, the water turned to a murky grey and it took another shampoo and lots of scrubbing to wash away all the black off of his scalp.

Nathan cringes every time he hears the last note in the song.  "We sound terrible!" he groans as he covers his ears.  My favorite part of this video is the last 2 seconds.  I love the little shrug that Nathan does right in cue with the music.  I adore this little man!


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I was not expecting the emotions that encompassed me during this program.  I thought it would be the usual elementary school entertainment but watching the students walk in caught my attention in a humble way and when Nathan's first grade class came in I was completely overwhelmed with emotion.  Then they started singing "Where Are You Christmas" and the words coming from those innocent children had me completely choked up.

Where are you Christmas 
Why can't I find you 
Why have you gone away 
Where is the laughter 
You used to bring me 
Why can't I hear music play 

My world is changing
I'm rearranging
Does that mean Christmas changes too


I realized that what I was feeling was a rush of gratitude for our teachers, sympathy for those who had lost children in the Connecticut school shooting that took twenty first graders from their families, and a prayer in my heart for all of the families, teachers, friends, officers, medics and anyone else who had immediately been affected by the tragic events from last week.

Once the kids sat down I counted the front row of wiggly, giggly, smiling first graders I was shocked to think that had the shooting taken place at our rural elementary school it would have been that entire first row and three kids from the second row that would be gone as well as six of our teachers/administrators that were standing along the walls encouraging their students.  I cannot even imagine the depth of sorrow, sadness, pain and loss that must have been felt in that community and certainly, there must have been questions of "where are you, Christmas" as their lives were changing.

I admit that this sad, tearful feeling stuck with me throughout the next few days and I had a hard time not tearing up at everything Nathan did or said, living through the eyes of parents who would wish for one more silly joke, whiny plea or happy hug from their first grader.  Then a song came to me and I had to look it up for the exact words.

Jesus, my Savior true,
Help me they will to do.
E'en in the darkest night,
Be thou my beacon light.

Through this dark world of strife,
Teach me a better life.
Let thy redeeming pow'r
Be thou my safety tow'r.

When strife and sin arise,
When tears bedim my eyes,
When hopes are crushed and dead,
Thy glory round me shed.

When silent death draws near,
Calm thou my trembling fear.
Let me thy mercy prove.
Guide me to heav'n above.

"Guide Me to Thee" Hymn #101

At the end of each phrase are the words "guide me to thee".  The verses themselves offer a beautiful prayer but the phrase guide me to thee seems to be the reaching beyond ourselves, our problems, worries, loss and whatever else is taking over our souls to really feel of His mercy and love through the atonement.  For those who are suffering in Connecticut, this is my prayer for you.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving came a week early for the Fullmer family.  It fit all of our schedules and meant that we could  see John and Audi before they moved to Virginia.  As it worked out, it wasn't a good weekend to take my whole family to Utah but it was a great time for me to hang out with nine of my ten siblings.

As usual, there was an abundance of food, games, laughter, stories, and plenty of reminiscing until the wee hours of the morning.  Watching all of the cousins play together made me wish that my little boys were in on all the silliness.  Then Max came walking into the room wearing a coconut purse as a bra while chanting "coconuts, coconuts".

I was glad it wasn't my little boys who had corrupted sweet Max.  They'd have him playing with guns or swords, even if the "weapons" were actually Barbie batons or a plunger.

A week later we had our own family Thanksgiving.  It was the first time that we had just our family, no extended family, missionaries, no friends or neighbors over.  Though I have loved having big group Thanksgiving dinners it was wonderful to have our own family all together.  Having Levi with us and having Bret and Erika come a day early to help make food and spending a couple of nights with us like they lived out of town made it seem like we were really transitioning to a new stage of life with older and married kids.  

The only picture that I took was of Hyrum working so hard to make the drink.  He wanted to do something all by himself and was so proud that he was strong enough to lift the heavy bottles of juice and soda and pour it all by himself without spilling.  Each time someone took a drink they praised Hyrum and he soaked up the love.

While the rest of us played games or took naps LeRoy caught his own little snooze on the couch.  Erika had been making all of us feel the inside of her new hat so for some extra comfort LeRoy stuck it over his head and didn't give it back until his nap was over because it was so soft.  

She quit sharing her hat after that.

On Friday morning after Thanksgiving we all slept in having spent the night staying up late playing games and watching movies.  Everyone wandered out of bed and had breakfast some time around noon.   

LeRoy and I watched a new TV series that we got on DVD for our Anniversary.  Nathan was on an adventure with a book, Derek played guitar until he fell asleep and Justin spent a little quality time with Oliver watching Hyrum. After wearing himself out as a super hero, Hyrum took a nap on the floor with Oliver. Levi decided they needed a little more excitement than that and offered to take Daymia, Justin, Bret and Erika to I-Jump in Idaho Falls. (Derek was invited but didn't want to go)

If I wasn't so worried about injuring myself I might also find it fun to jump into a pit of foam.  At this stage in my life, I'm content to watch my kids do it.  They were picking foam pieces out of their hair and clothes for the rest of the day.  

Vivien's 18th Birthday

What I really wanted to do for Vivien's birthday was put myself on a plane to go see her but that was a little out of the budget, even for an 18th birthday.  Instead, the kids and I put together a party in a box.  We included the gifts, the cake, and the activity.

In July, Vivien sent me a picture of a cake that looked like the American flag and told me that was what she wanted her birthday cake to look like.  Though I couldn't send an actual cake I did send a sugary, flat replica of one.  Though it was all edible when I made it (corn syrup makes great glue), I'm sure it was pretty solid and would break teeth if she had tried to eat any of it.  I had complete confidence that she would not attempt to eat it because she lives a much healthier lifestyle than the high fructose corn syrup Americans.

For the activity the boys put in glow stick masks and jewelry as well as glow in the dark fingernail polish.  We figured since she was already hanging out with her friends at night in the closed playground that they could all do it while glowing and spark some UFO rumors. If a security camera happened to spot them their glowing masks would protect their identity.  It might not be quite as much fun as playing Bang in the Rexburg Walmart but it was the best we could do for an activity shipped overseas.

For the gifts we put in some slippers that looked like shoes.  Her shoe addiction is so strong that we knew it would be a hit.  We also included a "wreck this journal" book which had ideas of things to put on the pages (like taping gum wrappers or tearing a page out to make an airplane or writing a list of what is under the bed).  And finally, we gave her a yearbook of her ten months spent in America.  The only frustration I had with that was that there were no new pictures to include.  All of the pictures of Vivien with our family have stopped.  We have new ones of her in Slovakia and new ones of us in Idaho but none of us together.  Hopefully, we can have a couple of months in the summer to make new memories, take new pictures and do another yearbook.

Shortly after her birthday Vivien was admitted to a hospital in the mountains for a couple of weeks.  Unlike our American hospitals, there was not a private room waiting for her with hours of quiet and TV.  She was in a room full of kids (nearly all of them younger that her) where she endured many sleepless, interrupted nights, volumes of noise and a major lack of privacy in the public bathrooms.  They had school time, music time, walks outside and all of the blood tests, breathing tests, annoying tests that any one person should ever endure.  I was so glad that I could keep in touch with her via texting.  Most of the time she just wanted to go home but near the end of her stay she had made a couple of friends.

She and one of those friends broke into an office to find a chair, snuck into the kitchen to get a knife to mix the hair color with and colored their hair in the bathroom.  Not what I had imagined her doing in a hospital but I'm glad she found/made some fun.

Finally, she was released, more tests were done and she has actually had a few weeks of feeling better.  Healthy (non-American) food, swimming, yoga and her own room have been good for her.  Unfortunately, she missed most of the first semester of school and has spent the last month trying to catch up and just as the new semester has started she has been sick again.

I miss her!  I miss her laugh, her smile, hearing her down in her room, seeing her shoes in the mudroom.  I miss that look across the table that we would share when the boys were being ....boys.  I miss seeing her hanging out with her brothers and all the craziness and laughter that it caused.  I miss our light chatter and silliness sitting in the family room with both of us working on our computers or reading while the guys watched a guy movie.  

Halloween 2012

October 31st was pretty low key for Halloween this year. We didn't even squeeze in time to gut any pumpkins. However, the month was full of dress up and imagination.  I had purchased a couple of costumes on clearance last year and pulled them out around the first of October.  Hyrum was in hero heaven!  

He was pretty convinced that if he was Whyatt and had a book he could solve any problem. 

He asked for a puppy because Whyatt recently got a new puppy.
I suggested that he teach Harrison or Oliver how to bark.

We didn't do any Halloween decorating around our house because I was too lazy Bret and Erika were having a competition 

at their apartment complex and we sent a bunch of stuff over there.

  

They won a gift certificate to a restaurant and many compliments from neigh"boo"s.

Originally Nathan was going to be Spiderman just like Hyrum

But then he changed his mind because "I'm Spiderman everyday" and decided last minute to go as "karate boy".  Because he was having a hard time making up his mind, I resisted the urge to inform him that he is karate boy twice a week and many other days as well.

My favorite part of Halloween was watching Hyrum.  He would put on those puffy muscles and hide behind that mask and suddenly he was invincible.  He would not respond to his own name and would bounce off of furniture spinning his webs.  He even insisted that he wear his costume any time we went anywhere.  During one of Nathan's Tae Kwan Do practices he was oblivious to all of the people watching him as he dramatically acted out his imagination.

Showers

Erika's Bridal Shower

August 2nd

Erika has watched her brothers attend d'Evegnee parties, seen pictures of d'Evegnee parties and heard her mom admire d'Evegnee parties so for her bridal shower she really wanted a Sarah d'Evegnee party.  It was even more than she expected and was a perfect reflection of Erika.

When we got the invitation in the mail Erika was so excited because it completely fit her personality.  

The food was fabulous!  

The way Sarah had the party set up was perfect for Erika.  She doesn't like to be the center of attention and have all the focus on her and she was worried about giving the right reactions to the gifts she would open so when Sarah told us how it would work it took the pressure off of Erika.  We played a game that let us learn about each other, from each other and give our gift to Erika.  It broke it up with laughter, a few tears and included all of us as the spotlight and Erika was able to really enjoy it.

We all left with a party bag.  Our favorite was the bookmark that Sarah had made. 

Thank you, Sarah!!!

Kate's Baby Shower

September 1st

During my planning time for the wedding I would have these overwhelming moments that would temporarily suck the fun out of it.  My refreshing relief was in planning a baby shower for Kate and Brooklyn.  It gave me a different set of colors and ideas to pour over and the excitement over a baby girl for Kate was just the mental and emotional high I needed to get back into party mode.

I had so much fun doing a full set of monthly onesies for Brooklyn, cutting out and gluing small pieces for the invitation, making a diaper motorcycle and planning the game, prizes and food.  It felt great to have fabric and paper crafts scattered all over.

The food was delicious!  We could not go wrong with Zuppa salad, a personal made Panini and fruit.  The game was fun!  Baby Bunko got everyone talking, playing and laughing.  The gifts showered clothes, diapers and baby essentials over Kate.

I love this picture!  It looks like Kate is wearing the outfit and she is so tiny.  Completely opposite of how she felt only a couple of weeks before Brooklyn's birth date.

Baby Brooklyn

B & E . . . the Receptions

Thornton, Colorado
August 18th

Our night at Kate and Mike's house went by way to fast. We always love staying there!  The next morning we loaded up our luggage as well as the wedding stuff and headed to Colorado.  The trip seemed to go fast since we were marking the hours in terms of movies. The older boys were lost in time with their ipod games.  When I put on Tangled I noticed that Levi, Derek and Justin had all set their ipods down and were just as mesmerized by the movie as the little boys were.

There is no shortage of crazy when traveling with the Edwards Boys!

The reception in Colorado was beautiful!  Jill had everything under control when we got there and all we needed to do was smile and meet people and, according to Nathan and Hyrum, eat cake and ice cream.  Again, Cory, Meg and Katie took in the little boys and it was a fun party for all of us.

Unfortunately, my camera died and I only got a couple of pictures at the reception.

And then I got one with my phone.

Nathan was a very entertaining door greeter.

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Rexburg, Idaho
August 25th

In preparation for the casual backyard reception that Erika wanted I used my new skills gained during a couple of late night training sessions with Sarah d'.  I figured that if we could get through the 50 or so t-shirts that we did for her family reunion that the fifteen t-shirts that we needed would be a breeze.  Sarah cut all of the contact paper for us and then I passed my crafting knowledge on to each of the boys.  I had initially planned to get it all done with Sarah but the boys were excited to do their own (and some of the Hellbusch) t-shirts.  Everyone wanted to do Ron's t-shirt (Bret's dad) because it said "Give 'em Hellbusch" and they thought it was pretty cool.

The idea of the t-shirts is that ours had our nicknames from Erika on them.  Bret's family each chose what they wanted their shirts to say.  Even though Aaron, Cory, Megan and Katie weren't going to be here we wanted to do shirts for them.

I was very excited to do the treats for the reception.  Erika and I spent hours pouring over Pinterest to find exactly what she wanted.  My stubborn nature took over and I turned down all the help offered to me by friends.  It's not a secret that Erika has pretty much pushed me away for the last 4 years and I was thrilled that she wanted me to do this for her and was spending time with me to plan it.  I wanted it to be all from me.  However, I misjudged how long it would take for me to pull off the whole thing and I didn't count on having a  major headache on the days leading up to the party.  Still, I determined not to let anyone know how I felt physically because emotionally I was so ready and willing to do it all.

Kara saved me.  With the party set for Saturday I had all the arrangements for backdrop, dress, tables, chairs, dishes and foods all planned but when I started making it all, still wanting it to be fresh for Saturday, I realized I was in over my head.  Still, my stubborn self wanted to do it all.  I don't know if Kara read more into our phone conversation than I thought I let on but she decided to come a couple of days early.  I could not have pulled it off the way I had wanted to without her help.

She helped me finish the 200 cake pops and 200 truffles, which could be done a little early, and then she saved me from my own insanity as we did all of the other treats.  She even took random pictures like me doing my hair shortly before it started.  Most of Saturday morning was a blur because my headache was so bad and I had pretty much overdosed on anything to numb it and was still hiding it from as many people as I could.

Little did I know that Heavenly Father had things all arranged to save me from my own stubbornness.  I had a general idea of how I wanted the tables set up and the backdrop done but by Saturday I had to let go.  I needed to let those who had offered to help to completely take over and they were so great to run with it. I wanted to hug Kara, Sarah, and Michelle and bawl my eyes out when they came to my rescue.  But, I had shut off emotions at that point and determined that I would do everything I could to make it a perfect day for Erika. That probably translated to a lack of appreciation for Kara, Sarah and Michelle but I sincerely love those girls and am so thankful for them!  They saved the day, the party and my stubborn hiney.

Sarah showed up earlier in the day with a smoothie, which I think was the only thing I ate besides meds and a few vegetables that Kara handed to me throughout the day. Sarah and Kara put together the tables for the desserts, smores, drinks and gifts.  They made it look better than I had imagined in my head.  It all looked so pretty together!

When Michelle randomly called to see if she could come over early to take pictures and begged to help with set up I realized that I was not in charge at all and offered a prayer of gratitude accompanied by a few tears.

Derek used his carpenter skills to get the backdrop to stay up standing on uneven grass and fighting the Rexburg winds.  Michelle worked her boutique magic to make it all come together.

The "formal" side of the backdrop
Derek cut and sanded the cake top puzzle couple
I made the cake, including free handing all those chocolate puzzle pieces
Grandma Fullmer made the beautiful bouquet

The "fun" side of the backdrop
Crochet Bouquet made by Michelle Ray
Skittles and containers provided by Sarah d'
Kitchen cake put together by Kara and Kimber

The idea behind the back drop came from a poem that Erika wrote her freshman year called "Picture Perfect".  It was written out of desperation to be who she is while others expected her to fit into the perfect picture frame that society had created for her.  When Michelle told me about doing a trash-the-dress photo session I had to have her explain in detail what that was.  I knew immediately that it would be perfect and from there the backdrop idea blossomed.

The formal side is what everyone expects.  The beautiful white dress, the temple, a formal ceremony.  She did want that part and it turned out as princess as she wanted it to be but it did not reflect all of who Erika really is so she wanted her wedding party to show off her relationship with Bret and the fun people that they are.  The fun side covered that.  The thrift shop dress and suit after the paint party, the crochet bouquet, the puzzle picture, the kitchen cake and the colorful Skittles all seemed to showcase the unique, spontaneous, colorful kids that they are.

Some of my favorites . . .

We had disposable cameras for the kids to take their own pictures with and Korben took that job seriously! We loved watching him push his glasses down so that he could see through the camera to take his pictures and since we had an extra shirt for him he fit in as our backup photographer.

It was so nice to do the whole party in jeans, t-shirts and barefoot!
The boys each loved their shirts and still (5 months later) wear them frequently.

"Sup Shorty" and "Mornin' Lil' Bug" can be heard whenever Derek and Levi wear their shirts and "J-Man" is used on a daily basis.  That's just who Justin is right now.
When Erika shows up in her wedding party t-shirt she is greeted with a loving "hey there, Mrs. Hellbusch".

 I have no idea where Erika learned to frisk her man's booty


Instead of cutting into the cake (they didn't want to eat it then because they had been snacking on the party goodies) they decided they needed something a little less sweet.  There were some leftover chicken nuggets from when we fed the kids before the party started (thank you Kellie and Kate for thinking of that and making sure my little boys were fed).

So, to top off the party and complete the backdrop theme

they have pictures of feeding each other chicken nuggets instead of the traditional cake.

Hyrum was the after party.

While Bret and Erika opened gifts, Hyrum danced around with his ribbon "bra bras" (we have yet to figure out where he came up with that).  He did a slinky dance and kept singing "miracles happen" from Princess Diaries.  The fact that he had been eating sugary treats throughout the part, had not had a nap in days, was wound up playing with cousins and it was close to 10pm probably had something to do with this random show of entertainment.

After several hours of coma like sleep, a hangover day to let the drugs run their course through my body and some quiet time in my brain, my headache started to clear.  Erika came in and gave me a huge hug and thanked me over and over again for the party.  It was exactly the backyard neighborhood party that she had hoped for while still showing off a little of the wedding side of things.  The headache, chaos, stress, strain on the budget and all other inconveniences of pulling it all together were immediately washed away as I spent time listening to Erika relive the entire past week and telling me all of her favorite parts.
I think my heart "grew three sizes that day".