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Archive of ‘Life’ category

Multi-Generational Pegeen Models

November 23, 2020 / Life / 0 comment

I am Irish or mostly of Irish heritage and so naturally, when I first started to create dresses for toddlers and infants (my line grew as this little toddler came into our family). In fact, my sister Nancy was responsible for me to even start my business back in 1982. Since then we have grown and so has this first little model.

Then one of my god daughters, had a baby just about 1 month ago and lo and behold, my sister in law found the dress same style, that I made for Kate when she was a preemie, and surprised me when her daughter, then 30 something years later, wore the same dress.

Irish Linen Handkerchief Linen Toddler Dress

So here is the proof that classic is always in and so is my favorite fabric to work with, or at least until I had to iron them, Irish Handkerchief linen imported from Ireland.

Harry Potter and Halloween

October 30, 2020 / Home, Kids, Life / 0 comment

Well here I am again, being a shut in (sortof) due to COVID, during Halloween, I am thinking, Harry Potter. It’s been SO long since I have written anything but I took a stab at it tonight.

I wrote about it a few years ago, admiring a Harry Potter themed wedding.

When the books came out, I would organize book releases at Barnes and Noble at midnight, inviting other moms who were nuts like me to allow our primary school kids out late at night to the launch. We would decorate our vans, aka Halloween-style, and allow our hyped up kids munch on delights that other moms created like “potion” punch or purple chocolate “dragons” and so forth. It was a mad house in the store but they were so excited to grab their first “copies.”

I credit JK Rowling for making my kids voracious readers, particularly the younger one. Teddy was so enamored by Harry Potter and we knew it was the motivator to make reading an everyday occurrence. In fact, when small, just about three and six, Teddy loved to have us read to him and brother Bill and couldn’t wait for the nightly sit down. A few years later and lots of practice (Teddy was reading at 22 months), in Kindergarten and 3rd grade, they both were reading the latest books on their own. By then, Billy needed little help but we would curl up and read the newest Harry Potter book came out. The bad mother that I was, (tee hee hee) at aged five, we took both our kids to Barnes and Nobel at Midnight to get the latest book, Volume 2. It was a huge deal and ……….

Later, a few volumes later, the kids would fight over who had first “dibs” at the book those launch nights. One particular volume, Teddy won and got the book first that launch night. He was pretty excited and soon our weekly trips to anywhere would land us at a LEGO store to get the newest additions until our table grew with longer boards. Our tudor house was the PERFECT setting for their room.

By the time we moved to Florida, even the mere TALK that Universal would open “Harry Potter” land, well they were besides themselves. Although Bill was a bit older and ready to have his own room decorated his own way, Teddy still chose to go the Harry Potter route. I found this pretty cool pain that was STONE PAIN and we got him a good start on decorating his room. Once again, we went to the Orlando B&N Launch for Harry Potter “Order of the Phoenix “. It was now the little guy’s first crack at the book. That night, he scurried up to his loft, now filled with dragons and Harry Potter paraphernalia and decor. Early the next morning, out from the covers, Teddy pronounced “I’m finished Mom, you can read it now”.m tossing the book my way. Yep, that’s right – Teddy finished all 870 pages of Harry Potter V in one night as a 3rd grader; he was zonked for the entire weekend.

Kind of hard to believe now, I actually have a 2, almost 3 year old grand child and truly hope that before they ever let her see the movies, they read the volumes to her as we know these books really made my kids crazy about reading. Part of Pegeen.com Collection of Princess Everyday, here is our Wizard Dress

Happy Birthday Bop

August 1, 2020 / Life / 0 comment

Today was my “Bop’s” birthday. My grandfather was affectionately named that by my oldest brother and the oldest of the cousins. I guess that’s a right that the oldest cousin gets.

I was lucky to spend time with my grandfather more than some of the others because as my father became busy and mom doing her tending to 5 other kids, he used to drive me to my dance lesson’s at my Aunt Marcia’s studios twice a week. I was probably 5 or 6 but I remember being so fortunate to not only have his love and affection but also to have so much of his time. I remember how his blinker sounded on his car which had plastic seat covers which was all the rage then.

My grandfather gave his love of music and it’s importance to his boys, and my favorite photo of him was the one below, my dad on the right. Even their youngest son, (not pictured here) was soon playing sax and music played a part of their lives as it does with my siblings. We both loved to watch marching band competitions on his old RCA TV which likely weighed 500 pounds, I know I moved it later for some reason.

When I was driving in high school, I invited my grandfather to a concert and drove him to see a holiday celebration of John Philips Sousa’s music in Philadelphia. It was such a special “date” for me because I loved him to the moon and back and being alone was so much fun. My grandfather couldn’t stop the tears flowing when the orchestra started The Star Spangled Banner. I still love that song and I think of him and my grandmother, who appropriately died on July 4th, every time I hear that song during a fireworks display. One of my favorite things living at Disney WAS the nightly fireworks display across the street (will Disney EVER resume them?) and of course I cry every time I see fireworks as I remember my great “date” with my grandfather.The funny things, the ones you remember, are so clear in my mind today. Like when we were youngsters, he would take us to to Horn and Hardart in Philadelphia and then later to the Philadelphia Zoo, which introduced me to tapioca pudding, still my favorite today. Horn and Hardart was this super cool place where you would drop a nickle in a slot, open the door and pick out your food. You can almost get the same feel of decor at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in the Commissary for atmosphere but not the slots. Loved the slots.

Bop had patience too and I remember fondly knowing that when we went to his house he would make chocolate pudding and we kids would fight over the color of the Fiesta Ware bowl color. Cool Whip had just come out then and so he loaded it on top and we played games until the pudding cooled JUST enough to be without the skin. He hated the skin so we ate them when they were just cool enough. I still eat it that way.

My grandfather, if I remember correctly, was one of the first to have an artificial hip replacement done in the early 1960’s in Philadelphia and I scarcely remember him without his metal brace and his crutches. He rarely complained but remarkable now how many of his grandchildren inherited what he called “the curse” – arthritis. He was patient but he had gotten mad enough at our dog to throw the metal crutch at him so he got off the furniture and him because the dog was a puppy that was full of boundless energy. I am sure after that visit that we never brought our dog to visit Bop.

Another time, my father sheepishly brought me to see my grandfather after he and my “Uncle Walt”, one of his Park Side buddies, had the brilliant idea to take all the kids out of our mom’s hair to go sledding. Only this was the place at Fairmount Park in Philly with great hills, you know the SAME place where his sister and his brother broke their front teeth. Well, I broke both of my arms that day and I although I never heard a harsh word, there was quite a bit of noise in the kitchen and I am sure Bop took my father to task

And, I was one of the lucky cousins, in between college transfers at the time, to be the “night shift” family member that covered the night, just after my Aunt Jean left, so he wouldn’t be alone to die without a family member at the hospital. I was honored to help take care of him at the end though my sister, a wonderful nurse, came in often as she was always so good to take care of ill family members. He was on a respirator at the time and it wasn’t pleasant to see him like that, this strong man weakened by age and strokes, but as I combed his hair, I swear he smiled or at least knew I was there perhaps. He passed away that evening. I still remember his room and where it was on the hall.

Like most of us, our parents gave us the gift of their folks who had more time for us cause that’s what grandparents do. I wished my mother’s parents were closer so I knew them better but Bop was the best, married to Margaret, whom he called “Mother” and for whom I was named. In the family tradition, I named my youngest to honor my grandfather and though he is known mostly as Teddy, I call him “Theo” quite often in memory of Nana’s pet name for Bop. I called my uncle today, his last surviving child, and we spoke for quite some time about my memories and how I loved him. Naturally, my uncle share more stories about his dad. It was a good birthday celebration talk so tonight I will sip some Drambuie, one of his favorite whiskies, to his memory. Most of all, my grandfather taught me great lessons how to be a grandparent. I hope I live up to his remarkable example. I miss you Bop.

How to make working from home, work from home Part 2

May 1, 2020 / Kids, Life, Work / 0 comment

So continuing from my post on Wednesday, this is part 2 of a 2 part series.

My mom used to keep my brother and I happy by what she called Mon-Fries. We had a theme for the week and if we were good all week we got to go to a special place. Monday was always the library (local and small, you could pull out all your books on the subject you decide on) so for instance in the embarrassing picture below, this was me and Teddy during American History of the West week. Well, cowboys and Indians. On Monday we pulled a lot of books out of the library (we had just gone to the Smithsonian Museum earlier that week and we were really into all the tools and of course, making war paint and costumes were the Tuesday through Thursday projects. We got into a mess that day but I still remember it. On Friday we went on a field trip – don’t remember the trip but apparently we visited an historic village in North West Jersey at Waterloo Village, my folks favorite place.

Lastly some quick tips about phone calls. So, if you have to make a lot of phone calls and you are still getting interrupted. Consider these next times you’re on that conference call. Leading up to the call, communicate, communicate, communicate. Let your family know when you need 30-1 hour to talk on the phone. See if they need anything! If it’s a long important call, consider setting up a movie or activity for the kids to be occupied in while your meeting is going. Ask them what they need so that they can be settled in and you more importantly undisturbed. If you get frequent calls, consider having your kids make you a doorknob sign that says “dada or mama is on the phone!” It’s a great way to get your kids involved and to start thinking about what “work from home” now means. It gets your kids engaged and most importantly they get to be creative and make something for you. My neighbor puts a box that his son, “who’s learning to write and read” can write down questions he has for dad while dad is busy doing spreadsheets and that way at dinner they have plenty of things to talk about. It also a great way to bridge kids into journals and diaries as my neighbor did this when he was a kid and continues to journal to this day.

My main point in this entire blog is to say ‘communicate’. A lot of fights and frustrations happen when you don’t talk to your wife (in my case) about what is going on with you. If you are stressed, you aren’t getting anything done. Let your significant other know you are having trouble figuring out work-time because they may have a great suggestion for you as they probably know you inside and out. Welcome the fresh perspective as it could help make chaos into order. Finally, make a designated time for your family to be able to spend time with you.

Long time in posting

March 24, 2019 / Kids, Life / 0 comment

I realize I haven’t been posting in a long, long time. But I don’t feel super guilty because one of my favorite blogs in the world, House of Turquoise has been just as bad. By the way, you should go over to Erin’s blog – it is one of the best especially when you LOVE turquoise as much as I do. Like Erin whose hands got full with 3 little babies, I got full with my big babies.

Originally this blog was to be about my experience in the bridal business (love), life in general (meaning busy family life), home (what renovations and projects are going on in our lives) and finally, work – because my husband and I have been in the children’s wear business creating flower girl dresses (pegeen.com) together for over 30 years at a time when most marriages don’t last 30 months. Top top off all that, I am a pretty private person and don’t like to really put out there my life.

However, I decided that for my own sanity I need to unload from time to time. Therapeutic, yes but in hopes of finding more information it’s not a bad thing to share these things. I am a mother of two boys, one just got married 2 years ago and blessed me with my first grandchild a mere 12 months ago. It was lovely that at first, being a new graduate, he was feeling out several careers and one day, out of the blue, after living in California, he and he very pregnant wife decided to move east and live with us while we hoped Bill would join our company and be the start of the next generation. He, like his brother, suffers from Metabolic Syndrome and was found to have levels of insulin in his body 49 times higher than normal. It caused a lot of concentration and personality issues during maturing but lucky for me, he picked the perfect wife who is on top of it.

Having that little girl here for 6 months was so rewarding, and helpful too because my husband was suffering with some severe complications after an injury from Hurricane Irma and ravaged by Type 1 Diabetes. This resulted in many operations within the span of a year…. brain surgery (shunt), laser surgery to repair the bleeding in his eyes (more diabetes), a back operation for herniated disks, then the injury from moving sandbags (even though he sat on the dock, moving the bags of sand just a few inches) which resulted in a million dollar back operation. Poor thing, two major back surgeries in one year, the second completely dibilitating, taking 7 hours to unwind the nerve which had grown around his spine, cleaning completely blown disks and spinal fusion. So, having my son and daughter-in-law here to help move his body or help do errands and give us the pure joy of just having this brand new life to cuddle was wonderful.

Sadly though, a job moved one of them cross country and I haven’t gotten over the sadness since. Yes, I am always busy with our business but the support I got from my son was something else beyond description. It was a quiet respite and I never felt so happy everyday just to know that I had someone to take my mind off the constant worry.

But isn’t that what all moms do anyhow? Worry all the time? My youngest at school is an entirely different set of worry, as he has severe ADHD and being at an Ivy League school is, I am very aware, very difficult for him due to the amount of work load and the fact that it takes him 4 times longer than a normal student. EVERYTHING has to be perfect for him to start. We didn’t do drugs – or as he said at age 4 – “why drug me – I may be needing a high level of security clearance and I am far too young to be able to make those decisions.” Imagine that was my 4-year-old telling the doctor who tested him! This is an entirely different subject and I will someday go into everything I have learned and read. I will BRIEFLY say there is a brilliant series of Ted Talks by a Dr. Russell Barkley (books too) that help the three of us (me, his dad and my now-adult student).

My husband has a really hard time understanding it all – little things like – “why doesn’t he just write it down?” but now at 24, we still go to move him in and out of the dorm because that takes too much organization for him and found it impossible and I help with appointments etc from afar. And no, I am not a helicopter parent – more of an Administrative Assistant (AA). Next year, because we can’t afford a full time aid, we are going to get an apartment at school, his senior year, just to help make it easier on him and from time to time, one of us will stay there with him to assist with what normal kids can do on their own. He just needs a full time aid at certain times and I found from the learning center at school, we will be one of three parents doing the same. That’s my forever focus for him.

My dad used to tell me, your job (during college) is to be a student. So many tasks are difficult for him because he is just like the Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland – never enough time. So, if Jim or I can just be up there to make sure he gets his shopping done, or trips to the drug store, or just helping with the organization, it’s what we plan to do. Ah the miracle of remote offices and laptops.

Our job has always been to help him be ready for life on the outside of school but the Ivy League is very demanding and if he were in the real world, he would hire an AA. So we are helping to make systems for him that I suppose we will just help in training his AA once he gets a job. He is brilliant, utterly brilliant and anything we can do to help him become “one” with his disability, the better. When my son finally decided in college to start taking these drugs and began to better understand their workings, it became a bit better but it still took us 5 years for him to find a doctor who works scientifically with Adult ADHD. I forget the scale but if it were 1-100 on severity, he is about 105! Best thing we did was to hire an executive coach we found at school for him, (that’s what she calls herself but really it’s an ADHD coach – and it has helped quite a bit on most days.)

It reminds me of the time when beginning in 6th grade he and his guidance counselor would sit on the floor with his back pack and just help him get organized. By the time he was in 7th, we hired someone who worked a few hours on Mondays just helping with “systems” – learning aids that helped him to organize, setting up assignments and so forth. By 8th grade, they met Mondays (to set up the week) and Fridays as a de-brief. We started a year ago with his executive coach and even though he didn’t feel he had the time he commented after a session a few days ago about how he felt upbeat meeting with her as they just resumed post-midterms. Of course, by today it’s a struggle again however, it is a constant effort and that is what I believe is so hard for ADHD folks – the willingness to start again after failure, even if the failure is to forget to bring your calculator to an exam. I have learned that patience and always remind him, (as I am his AA right now) – I am not here to judge, just to assist (as I remind him of something that you and I would not have trouble remembering. The Metabolic Syndrome doesn’t help either because it causes memory problems.

He has many other issues as well and I am just burst with pride of his willingness to get back on his horse, so to speak, most time – as I am of both my two kids. His insulin level was 80 times higher than the norm and has some other issues that just complicate his life. We are plowing ahead though.

SO, with all of this piling on, I still manage to mostly keep humor about it all. The stress level for me is really relieved however by getting over to Disney about as much as one can. One thing we do there is go to the lazy river and walk, not float, and I especially like Typhoon Lagoon because it is deeper than Blizzard Beach. Research found that the resistance we get in our water walks is 4 times more resistance so I get through the exercising faster I suppose. Disney has that wonderful effect – it keeps me from going off the deep end, as if there was ever a deep end for me – and I find it brings my blood pressure down at least 20 points.

Anyhow – lot easier than sweating like a pig in Orlando temperatures!

That’s all for now.

Just get your paycheck from Disney and be quiet, Political Correctness Gone Wild

October 18, 2018 / Life, Love / 0 comment

Every time one of these “actresses” open their mouths about fairy tales damaging their children I just puke in my mouth. Kristen Bell, Keira Knightly come to mind this week. I loved most of these movies they are in. (Frozen, soon to be released Disney’s ‘The Nutcracker and the Four Realms” come to mind). Outside of the big screen? Hey, shut it down. No wonder Hollywood ticket sales just keep plunging, Just look at recent stories, for instance theverge.com. Look at ticket numbers SOLD not the ridiculous prices you pay at box office, so they can spew their mindless opinions. Don’t get me wrong, Kristen Bell’s comedic timing is second to none, Keira Knightley’s Atonement, perfection.

Quit killing the soliloquy on why you won’t let your kids watch certain Disney movies. These are make believe stories that are GREAT! Quit killing the romance. MAYBE if you concentrated on taking literature classes in various disciplines you would have learned about story development, the basic of which is good vs. evil, reading some of the great Shakespeare classics “The Taming of the Shrew” later on Broadway, “Kiss Me Kate”. A simple accounting class would help too, the kind that teaches you that your paycheck is green…

I’m a strong business woman whose mom, dad (or older siblings) read wonderful tales from favorite books like Hans Christian Anderson … (my favorite was Thumbelina and movie, Snow White). I didn’t think about the knight riding in (though I found mine charged in) as much as the woodland friends who helped her clean the house. I wasn’t “harmed” because the prince comes in to rescue my day or kissed me first without asking. (I said yes on our 2^nd date and am gracious for his love and support all these years. Hell, he likely was the better “mother” anyhow because his chief job was to make sure that at least he was always there while I ran, for the better part, the business.)

I don’t know what ticks me off more, actors who think we want to know about their politics or opinions on the latest #hashtag movement, their stupid publicists that think ANY mention in the social universe keeps their client relevant (it doesn’t, it just makes their adoring public less adoring and turned off), or the press who ask these stupid opinions in the first place

SHUT UP AND MAKE YOUR MONEY FROM DISNEY.

Becoming a grandparent

March 23, 2018 / About Our Plans, Kids, Life / 0 comment

I have had the most incredible ride this past year. My youngest went back to UPenn after a medical leave (no biggie but we became “empty nesters”) whereupon his return to school meant that we found ourselves alone again. Although we were sad to no longer have him bounce around the house, however, selfish as it may seem, my house was always clean, nothing shoved in drawers and counters uncluttered. For my anal-retentive self, it was wonderful. Laundry time was cut in half and food prep was simple, because there was none of that “making two meals”, one for us and one for Mr. Picky Eater.

Years ago, my father gave me the one-eye curse when I was 25 or so and came home unexpectedly with one of those “didn’t mom tell you?”. Dad said, and I quote ” may this happen one day to you “. It wasn’t that my father was upset I moved back home, but it really was more that, since I was the last to leave, they had everything they wanted in their house in order and for a father with a strong desire to have order, having me move back was the unexpected. Naturally, the chaos that comes with a 20-something with an apartment full of stuff moving into their garage and spilling out everywhere else was hard for him to adjust to. Lucky for both my parents though, I was organized beyond a fault and that made the temporary return to the nest fairly enjoyable for all three of us.

For a long time, my father’s curse never materialized. Then it happened. My son called me in early January, only 6 weeks from delivering their first born, said he felt really bad about my husband’s illness (Type 1) and severe back problems. He had said that if we wanted him to help with my husband then his family was prepared to move the 1200 miles back home. He would love to learn the business, take much of his dad’s responsibilities away from him and also help out with taking his dad to any one of his 11 doctors. I was thrilled. My oldest son coming back with his wife and a new baby to live with us???!!! Heaven for me. Since Bill had pursued a business school degree and wasn’t interested in getting his, (entrepreneurship runs in his veins), I was happy to work some of his ideas for the business, especially now that the US Economy was on a roll, meaning, expanding. (We still REALLY want to open a store at Disney Springs so this will be the start of moving those plans forward.)

Oh and did I say I am now officially a grandparent? And now I have my father’s curse because there is chaos here at home. There is baby stuff everywhere. Drinking wine helps.

And a girl? FINALLY??? After wishing for one we finally get our dream of dressing a little one in frills and bows.

And naturally, where does one go for her first excursion out – to Disney of course! Our design studio is only a mile from the park so, we bundled her up, Jim in his wheel chair (he just had major surgery on his back two weeks earlier and was feeling better). However, it was freezing and we had nothing to coordinate this munchkin in! SO I am starting with designing a line of little dresses, perfect for those cute photo shoot for newborn. Haven’t posted the pix yet for our latest collection of “Pegeen Babies“, but we are popping out new dresses all week long.

And, I am pleased to say that even though the hospital billed the insurance company for $187,000+, Jim is doing pretty good out of the hospital just two weeks. Thank you Dr. Villalobus, an awesome Neurosurgeon.

Well I just can not win

February 2, 2018 / Kids, Life / 0 comment

That’s the bad news. My oldest siblings get everything first. Including nicknames. The good news is better however. About a year ago, my oldest son got married. Then a few months later, went on his honeymoon to Hawaii. True to some family honeymoon tradition (hahaha) they got pregnant with their first child. Unexpectedly, Jim and I found ourselves not only becoming new in-laws but grandparents-to-be.

Now lots of my friends have children much older than mine. I didn’t start my family until my late 30’s so while my youngest used to beg me to dye my gray hair “Mom, people think you are my grandmom” he cried in first grade, it left the two of us young in spirit. Then my oldest got married so young (for today that is) and well, soon in just a few weeks, I will be able to join that special club where you get to have all the lovin’ in the world and send them home. (Who would want to?)

But, not feeling like a grandma yet, especially since I do color my locks every four weeks, I had to choose a name that didn’t say “old lady with now dyed hair”. My sister chose “GiGi” and my other, “MiMi” which leaves me with only one name as far as I am concerned.

lollipop

How many of you all growing up in the 60’s remember this box? It’s official, I’m Lolli and Jim is Pop – and this comes from a Mom who named her kids Bill and Ted for fun. They took the good names, they won!

Its Beginning to look alot like Christmas

November 2, 2017 / Christmas, Home, Life / 0 comment

So, Halloween decorations away, and yep, the trees are up. This is the first year we are once again totally artificial with three trees! I thought I would NEVER do that however, in Florida the trees dry out very quickly. We are a sucker for Christmas, (not to out-do Jessica Milliken) but we love the season as do most (just see my Facebook cover pix). Of course, at Christmas this year, we are crazy for it, even here in Florida because, after all, we can get our “snow” bubbles at Disney just a mile away. This time of the year too we get to meet many, many of our customers who come down to get their daughter’s Christmas Portraits for their trips.

Our customer chose this Tiffany Blue and Peony Pink silk flower girl dress for her photo shoot at Disney World

So, back to my trees!! My husband and I stole a tradition from my sister-in-law in that we try to pick up and ornament wherever we go for the kids, hoping they pick out their own. This way, the kids have their own collection and when they get married, like Bill did this year, they get their treasure trove of ornaments.

I was really lucky too in purchasing my artificial trees during the Day After Christmas Sale. We eyed them for weeks over at Hobby Lobby, drooled over them in Frontgate. (Seriously? A $2300 artificial tree? Seriously?), and ran around at local “Christmas Set Up Shops” – you know the ones that move into those Halloween stores. The funny thing is, I am not a Black Friday shopper (who needs the crowds?) nor had I ever gone to a store the day after Christmas for bargains, but this time, my husband and I were on the curb at their opening!!

We got 70% off the already-discounted tree AND to make it better, the clerk told me that we could haul off the floor sample for 15% more. WOW – I think the tree (which was tall) was around $750 and let me tell you, after spending a ridiculous $150 on a fresh tree that was dead before Christmas, we were thrilled to get 85% off. In fact, we picked up another tree we both coveted last season that reminded us of our home, and had lovely snow and berries on it. I think we did great! Finally, we were so happy with them we got a third “outside” tree in white so we can “think” snow.

Still working on the Thomas the Tank Engine Trains but this will all be up this year before my son comes home for Christmas break. Yes, and our tradition of playing Amy Grant the day after Halloween has once again been fulfilled.

Let the baking begin!!

I haven’t taken pictures yet but here, sadly, is our dog that passed away, under her favorite spot…. under the warmth of the Christmas Tree lights. Maybe we can find a new one into our hearts this year.

Family Wedding Update

October 17, 2017 / Billy's Wedding, Life, Weddings / 0 comment

We were fortunate enough to finally celebrate with our son and his new wife in Lake Tahoe for a delayed reception. It was really nice because it took off the pressure for them to have a huge wedding especially since they were only 24 when the married in March of this year. Even nicer for us was that it was held in a small town called Kings Beach, right at the north end of Lake Tahoe.. and it had been on our bucket list for years. Since it had been the first vacation we were able to take in many years (except for family reunions) we were really looking forward to some well-deserved time off. I will brag a bit too – Bill’s wedding was months earlier and their niece wore really one of my favorite dresses from my Pegeen Fairytale Collection of flower girl dresses, The Opal Fairy, our version of Elsa’s dress from Frozen. I was so proud to see the dress in “action”.

We loved how Bill and Juanita were going to be able to get formal portraits done the night before the Celebration Reception by a photographer friend, happy that they were able to get professional shots done that I could put my newly acquired scrapbook skills to use. I think they came out beautiful so for anyone who is waiting for a trip, I recommend going to Kings Beach, Lake Tahoe. Before I forget however, a few funny stories, but I will be brief. First, when you capture the last flight into Reno and are lucky to get to the car rentals in time before they (yawn) close at 1230 pm, get a hotel in Reno. DON’T think that you can just wing it, finding a place between Reno and Kings Beach. You can’t. Boy these people go to sleep early.

dancing bears

So – we drove to Tahoe, and it was about 4am our time and when we arrived we drove around briefly looking for a place to grab a bite. Wasn’t happening (the town was fast asleep) but we found a sort-of 7-Eleven (maybe it was, I was exhausted) where I remarked to my youngest and to my husband, “look at that beautiful carving of that HUGE bear.” Only it wasn’t a carving, it MOVED and this big bear was hungry but the attendant there simply and calmly closed the door until the bear moved on. Later that morning, now 5am our time, we found the grocery store (it was filled with a wonderful selection of California wines) and the clerk said – “Oh, that’s Bob the Bear. He’s just looking for some watermelon and treats”. Anyhow, after several drive-bys to see what Bob the Bear was up to in this quaint little town, we decided that napping on the beach (we couldn’t open the lock box for some reason) was out due to the presence of Bob the Bear. Instead, we decided to go to sleep in the driveway of the rental in, as my son called it, “the van by the river”. Spreading our our luggage and sweaters on the van’s floor (because we couldn’t believe it would ACTUALLY get down to 40 degrees, we didn’t bring coats) we nearly froze our Floridian skins in our overnight stay. Honestly, I can’t remember what fresh pine air was anymore so it was lovely. End of stories. Anyhow – we had a great weekend and thank you, Billy and Juanita, and to their mom for your hospitality and to the lovely town of King’s Beach, Lake Tahoe.

Juanita and Bill Reception 2017-18-26 215

Juanita and Bill Reception 2017-18-26 057

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