Home from Chicago

Koclanes extended family

Last week I headed up to Chicago for the funeral of my Great Aunt Catherine.  I flew up Tuesday and arrived in time to attend a couple of hours of the wake which was conveniently taking place near O'Hare airport.  The funeral service was Wednesday at the old family Greek Orthodox church on Austin Blvd and the internment in the Koclanes plot at the Elmwood Cemetery.  Catherine was laid to rest with her parents, sister Stella, and brothers Cookie, Nick, Chris and Solon.  I served as a pall bearer along with my cousin Nick and my Cousin Cathy's husband Dave (who was a personal favorite of Aunt Catherine).  Also serving were three friends of Catherine's son Chuck; Al, John and Bobby.  The weather threatened rain but we avoided the wet stuff which was fortunate as it was quite cold (later in the day there were snow flurries).  We had a great family lunch afterward and all shared our recollections of Aunt Catherine.

My Mom had flown in from Seattle and Wednesday evening I drove her over to Midway airport to get on a plane home.  My return flight would not be until Sunday because the cost of going home before then more than doubled the price of my ticket.  I took advantage of the extra time to stay with my sister Johanna and meet my God Son Zach and see my nephew Nicholas whom I hadn't seen in almost two years.  Nicholas and I went to the children's museum together and on Saturday night I baby sat both boys while Jo and her husband celebrated their fifth wedding anniversary.  In between I got to catch a Bulls game (see photo below) and have lunch on Saturday with Aunt Mary and visit with my Uncle Hank who is the last surviving member of that generation of the Spetters that included my Grandma Rita (Hank is her baby brother).

After the Bulls 99-96 win over Memphis

While the circumstances of going were unfortunate, it was good to catch up with a lot of family I hadn't seen in several years as well as meet for the first time my God Son.  Yesterday was a long day of travel home and looked like it might be even longer when my Miami to Grand Cayman flight was cancelled by American Airlines due to fuel issues in Miami after a fire at that airport last Wednesday.  Luckily, they re booked me on Cayman Airways and I made it home about two hours later than I would have if all had gone as scheduled.  Not having seen Arianna and Katie in six days I was very happy to open that door and see them again.

Aunt Catherine Rest in Peace

We got the sad news this morning that my Great Aunt Catherine passed away last night up in Naperville, Illinois.  Aunt Catherine was the last living member of the generation of Koclanes' that my Papu (Greek for Grandfather) Alex was a part of.  Nine brothers and sisters who all grew up in the great depression and then served their country in many different ways in World War II.  Several of them raised families and saw their grand children and in some instances their great grand children go on to success in life.  They set an example and made sure that those who followed them would be given the opportunities any parent and grand parent would want for their children and grandchildren.  In every way they were prime examples of the "Greatest Generation" and they left for my family a legacy that we all share in.

Aunt Catherine lived to ninety one years of age.  She leaves behind a son Chuck and his wife Twila and two grand children Cory and Christy.  She had a stroke and was in the hospital but had gone home at the end and died in her own bed with her family around her.  Please keep her immediate and extended family in your thoughts and prayers this week.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Today is St. Patty's day and Arianna is celebrating with her new jumperoo.  One of the things we always do when we visit Miami is to search for items that we know are way too expensive down here but are affordable if bought in the USA.  We took two extra suitcases with us both empty precisely for that purpose.  The only problem with that is how to get it all back here without having to pay extra baggage fees (hence the two empty bags going up) or customs duty when we arrive.  We flew Cayman Airways which unlike U.S. airlines doesn't have a checked bag fee so that meant 4 suitcases checked with no charge.  Coming through customs we have a 350 CI exemption for bringing back items and if all three of us are traveling that means 1050 CI or about 1300 in US dollars.  This time we were bringing back a large box with the jumperoo, a play rug and a video monitor along with other various items so not surprisingly we got pulled aside by customs when we arrived and they saw our form (on which we declared everything).  They went over our receipts and after confirming the purchases let us through without having to pay duty.  We looked like refugee's as we took everything to our car but we got it all home and Arianna is loving her new toys and celebrating like the Irish with and in them.

Miami Trip

This past weekend we headed up to Miami for the winter term seminar.  It was Arianna's first trip to the United States and if you check out the baby blog over the next couple of days you will see several posts on her portion of the trip.  On Sunday we hired a babysitter and headed over to Key Biscayne for some Scott and Katie time.  We went to Cape Florida to see the lighthouse (Scott checked another one off his list) and then had a romantic dinner on the water on Virginia Key just off of downtown Miami.  The afternoon was a great time to reconnect and also to wind down from what had been a very busy several days of working the seminar and then doing baby shopping. 

We had bought a pre-paid cell that we will now use on all our US trips and that made us a lot more comfortable about the sitter as she had a way of getting in touch with us immediately.  She was great even sending us hourly texts of what was happening.  Overall the trip to Miami went very well and we definitely feel better about the longer trips to see family later this spring and into the summer and fall. 

Chuck and Nick head home

Yesterday afternoon we put Chuck and Nick on their flights back to Chicago.  It was a very quick and event filled five day trip for them both.  Prior to the baptism on Sunday they went for what would turn out to be their final snorkel out to the wreck of the Cali in George Town Harbor.  It was early in the day so the water was very calm and we had the site to ourselves.  On Monday we had a final breakfast and then while Katie worked on her master degree course, the three men and a baby went in to George Town to do some shopping.  There were two cruise ships in so we got to experience what that was like as we went through the down town shops.  As noon approached though it was time to get them to the airport and wish them a find farewell.  We really had an amazing time with them and are so happy they could be here for the baptism. 

Arianna Baptism

With her Godfather Chuck and cousin Nick standing in for her Godmother Kristy in attendance, Arianna was baptised today at St. Ignatius Catholic Church in George Town.  It was a wonderful ceremony with four other families also baptising their babies.  We attended 11:30 mass and then the ceremony was at 1:00 p.m. Arianna was awake for the first half of mass but crashed in the second half hour.  She got fed between Mass and the Baptism and she was wide awake during the whole baptism and really enjoyed the water part.  Afterward we hosted a get together at the house.  Katie's baby group founding members of which she is a part all made appearances with their babies so Arianna got to share the day with her friends.  All in all it was an extraordinary day spent with family and friends celebrating this important moment for Arianna.



Baptism




Annointing




Parents, GodParents and Father Paul



Baptism Party at the house



Baptism Party



Saturday in East End and Rum Point



Nick at Rum Point enjoying the sun

Today we headed east to see the sights in East End, go to the Botanic Gardens and spend a lazy afternoon at Rum Point.  Here are some shots from the day.

Nick not getting too close to
a Blue Iguana at the Botanic



Chuck didnt mind getting
closer to the Blue Iguana



Chuck and Nick with their
youngest cousin



Chuck and Arianna are exhausted





Chuck and Nick make new friends

From our Sting Ray Sandbar Trip today.  There were high winds so the waves were high throughout.  This afternoon we hit Cemetery Beach for more snorkeling followed by dinner at Yoshi's and then watched a perfect sunset on Seven Mile at Governor's Beach.

A kiss hello



Nick is really friendly



On the Sandbar with the Rays







Well hello Sally my name is Chuck

 

Chuck and Nick Day One

Camana Bay on the Main walkway

Our cousins Chuck and Nick arrived yesterday for Arianna's baptism and today we played tourist with them all day.  We started with snorkel trips to Smith's Cove and Eden Rock.  In the afternoon after a lunch at Fosters Food Fair we went to Pedro Castle and Camana Bay. 

Tomorrow is the Stingrays and Seven Mile Beach.

Pedro Castle






Eden Rock Snorkeling

 


In the theatre at Pedro Castle

 

Weekly Birthday

The wonder of celebrating each new week of Arianna's life has not yet passed so every Tuesday is another marking of one more week in the books.  Today she turns 16 weeks old and at left is Arianna in her week sixteen onesie made by her Aunt Stephanie who ironically enough celebrates her 21st birthday today as well.  We are looking forward to Scott's cousins Chuck and Nick visiting this week from Chicago and they both arrive tomorrow.  Yesterday the low here was 70 degrees, the high in the high 80's.  Chicago today has a high of 41 degrees so they should be in for quite a temperature shock.