I returned to the Oak at 2 AM Friday after driving straight through from Estes. Dad woke up groggy and disheveled to greet me; Mom said she heard me come in but didn't want to get up.

The accommodations at Kevin and Mary Ann's Rustic Bed and Breakfast are low on luxury, but you get what you pay for. I'm sleeping on an air mattress and box spring since the bunk beds Brother and I shared have been auctioned off. The piano is gone too, and the dining room table has been replaced by a card table and folding chairs.

Schmids came over for dinner last night. Sarah and Schmid's daughter Emily just came back from counseling a week at Catholic Youth Camp, so I ate my steak and sweet corn patiently at the card table while they rehashed the entire experience. After Dad came in to make himself another gin and tonic in a thermos, I followed him out to the deck.

Caroline and Tony's wedding is T minus five hours and counting. Ninjas reunite.