The last weekend of June/first weekend of July was a family-filled one! Friday night was pretty quiet, with a trip to Trader Joe's for the grown folks and walking around Crocker Park for the boys. Saturday morning, J & Boot went shopping so Boot could find his usual shirt to purchase while here for the weekend. I spent the morning reading & whipping up some bagel chip dip to take to John & Nola's annual Canada Day/4th of July bash. It takes us a good 3 hours to get to their place, so we set out a little after noon, playing the radio game much of the way down. Boot was a delight and Pie was fine, too, until he found out it was a 3-hour drive and thought we were only going to stay 45 minutes. Not sure why he thought that, but he howled, "We're going six hours for a 45-minute party???" He felt better when assured we would stay much longer than that & that there would be cheeseburgers and fireworks.
Both boys seemed to have a really good time at the party, although they were mightily cranky with one another! At one point, J made Boot go to the car with her to calm down because he was so furious with Pie & was threatening to hit him. Pie kept on playing with the other kids, in the creek, with the dogs and so forth. Boot and J both dozed off in the car and Boot couldn't be woken until after the fireworks! He slept right through 'em! I woke J up for the pony trick show.
J & I spent our time (when she wasn't napping) visiting with relatives and with Nola's best friend, who was heavily pregnant, much to our surprise! Last time we'd seen her, she was in the throes of wedding prep and apparently, she got pregnant on their wedding night. They are very excited & I can't wait to see the bambino next time we go down. John was the grillmaster, decked out in a straw cowboy hat & Canadian flag muscle shirt showing off his latest tattoos. We found Nola in the kitchen mixing up sangria. She asked if we were going to have sangria & said she couldn't have any. She is pregnant again, expecting #2 in the next generation sometime in February! Yippee!!! I love NG #1 and hope maybe we'll get a girl to complement him this time.
Cousin #2 & his wife were there, just back from an R&R trip to Jamaica with 8 of their buddies. Our favorite barista wasn't there because his wife had to have surgery, so we bid them hello through cousin #2. My uncle Vic was there, with guitar & harmonica, although we had to miss the music in order to get home at a reasonable hour to allow for church in the morning. Drat! I always like to hear Vic sing the blues. We need to get over to Ann Arbor to visit them & check out their new restaurant. Nyoko was back home, working her usual 22-hour day getting the restaurant on its feet. I hear from my mom that the food & presentation are stellar. My auntie Jeanie was down from Vermont. She'd been visiting my grandies. Boot was waiting on her, taking her cake and Cokes throughout the early part of the party. He is so considerate, when he's being considerate, which is most of the time these days. For example, I was headed toward the trash can with full hands the other weekend. Boot noticed and opened the trash can for me without a word. That is so nice. It shows he is paying attention to the needs of other people.
Jazzbo & Ann were there with both Goldens in tow. Of course, Starr immediately headed for the creek and was soaking wet & filthy within 20 minutes of their arrival. Jazzbo & Ann were both pretty aggravated, but she cleaned up nicely even without benefit of a hose. I wish we'd been able to pitch our tent overnight with them. Maybe next year. Last year, the skies opened up and thunder rolled and we all slept inside! Good thing John & Nova have plenty of space. Their place is perfect for family get-togethers. I hope we'll be able to go there for Thanksgiving this year. They have taken over the mantle since our "second grandma" moved. J & I had planned to, but with this little apartment, that sure won't work.
Poor Xavier, my sweet wolfie, was not allowed out because he'd been bullying the other dogs at the start of the party. His handsome head was to be seen in the windows, looking out with a left-out look on his face. He looked great with his summer haircut.
We had a delightful visit, if not long enough, and the fireworks were very cool. We hit the road about 10, J's allergies in full swing. She and Pie were covered in chigger bites, too, poor things.
Sunday morning, J & I went to church. Finally, we got to join. They'd been waiting until they had more than just a couple new members. A couple about our age joined, with their son and daughter. I think their daughter's in high school & their son in 8th grade. Also, an older woman and the church organist and her son. We were invited out to lunch by 2 different people, but declined because we had plans already.
What fun we had, too! We went home, packed up some burgers & dogs and headed for the pool with the boys. We spent the afternoon swimming, munching lunch and enjoying the sun. Too soon, it was time for Boot to be picked up and us to get presentable for Jeanie's arrival. Once she arrived, we took her out to dinner at Aladdin's. Pie wanted nothing to do with it, so he got a cheeseburger instead. Jeanie loved Crocker Park and our complex, saying it's like we live at Disney.
In the morning, J had to go to work, but Jeanie and I were free to go for beignets & coffee at Petite de Vie. We sat outside with our breakfast & made plans to take my mommy to Disney one of these days. We went shopping & Jeanie bought me & J some monkey head key covers, very cute & very Jeanie. We each got a pair of Crocs, too. They are so comfortable! We made some paper cranes once we got back to the apartment. I don't think I could do it again, but at least I got to make Boot the one I'd promised him. Jeanie helped me get the slipcover on the loveseat and then we had lunch. We spent the afternoon lounging with our books at the pool while Pie & his friend played in the water. Since J had to go out to Blake's with one of the VPs who was in town, I took Jeanie to The Winking Lizard for dinner. She requested American food & that's a great place to get it. We sat on the patio & enjoyed each other's company. I sure am lucky to have the relatives I have. Leah & Jeanie are coming back at the end of August, which will be really cool. It's been 2 years since I've seen my youngest (and only girl) cousin! Too long! She's 18 now & I can hardly believe it! Although Jeanie had to leave for home Tuesday morning, I can look forward to seeing her often since she's moving back to Ohio. I expect I'll get to see more of the kids, too. One of these days, I want to get down to Savannah to visit them at school.
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