FABJ's First Communion

One of the few downsides to living in Ireland (in my opinion) is the big deal that is made concerning first communion.  FABJ's was in May, and I think LBJ was a bit tense about it.  An understandable concern is that for most kids, it is a big gathering of family, and my family doesn't like to cross the Atlantic.  However, I thank my sister (PL) for being the family representative.

The weather on Friday, the day before, was miserable.  It poured ("bucketed", as they like to say here).  FABJ got out of school early, so we went to our favorite neighborhood restaurant for lunch.  Kindly, LBJ's parents, brother, and the girls' cousin APB joined us.

Fortunately, the weather on Saturday was great, as the photos show.  Everything went very smoothly, aside from an unfortunate child in the choir who became ill during the ceremony (none of the first communion-ers noticed).

The paparazzi descend on the girls

FABJ was thrilled with her outfit, and ORBJ got a new outfit for the special day.  Come to think of it, all the women involved got new outfits, and the guys did not.  That's ok - I try to avoid wearing my suit as often as possible.

The happy family after the event

The school hosted a nice reception.  All the food for the girls was white to minimize the likelihood of ruining any dresses with stains.  Then, we returned to our house for an enjoyable lunch (made by LBJ) with family and friends.  I was worn out afterwards, and LBJ did more work than I did, with the clothes purchasing and the cooking (even if I did most of the dishes - i.e. "washing up").

Ladies' day (looking into the sun, again)

Perhaps the best quote of the day was from FABJ's fairy godmother, who, upon meeting my sister, responded: "It's nice to finally meet her REAL mother."  Notice any similarities in the photo above?

After this event, we (at least LBJ and myself) were ready for a vacation.  Good thing we had one planned...

However, I'll leave you with a picture of the back of Dublin Castle, as my sister and I enjoyed a visit to the Chester Beatty Library during her visit:

View from the lawn outside the Chester Beatty Library

ADDENDUM: A couple of weeks later, I attended ORBJ's ballet "concert" (she did ballet as her after-school activity).  Alas, the pictures did not turn out very well at all, but it was a rather entertaining event.