started out as such a nice one. The morning was cool (if you can call 90 cool) and a little breezy. It was a magnificent day for working in the yard. I went and mowed Mom's lawn and then came home and mowed mine. Then I was moving some of the terracing stones, trying to decide how this garden thing was going to work with the trees I need to dig holes for. And then there was this one stone. I had placed it next to another stone but the rough edges just sort of hung up on each other. As I went to nudge the hanging stone I just had this thought that if I did that kind of nudging I was going to smash my finger. And, boy was I right. And just then I felt like the guy in Jurassic Park played by Jeff Goldblum who says, "I hate being right all of the time." So I did the un-happy dance so that I didn't say the un-happy words. Unfortunately, you can't see in the picture how wonderfully purple the whole thing was from the joint to the tip. Just one big blood blister. Yowza!
Then it was down to Tucson. To Sahuarita, actually. It was time to celebrate Ben and Noah's birthdays. Jenn, in her ever-creative manner, made a birthday cake that was every boy's dream cake - a race track with a race car on it. And it had Oreo tires around the sides like the bumper tires around some tracks. What a spectacular and tasty treat. And to top that all off, she had prepared some dinner, too.
Part of the arrival tour included the new castle in the play room. Ben has been planning this for quite some time and when he finally had some time off over Labor Day weekend, the family headed to Phoenix to stay out of his hair while he worked on the big surprise. It is a two-story job with a couple of rooms beneath for reading, playing or having the queen's tea parties and a loft above for sleeping or fighting off dragons, which are quite plentiful this time of year.
Finally, the gathering begins. Getting so many friends and family all ready to open presents was quite a chore but somehow they managed it. And Noah was more than exuberant in his zeal to reveal the contents of each package in as little time as possible, flinging papers and ribbons in a myriad of directions. But, to his credit (and that of his mother) he did take a moment to thank each person for the gift they brought.
Gaye spent some time discussing the many attributes of her new phone with her Mom and Bob. Now she is really in geek heaven. She is envied by both her kids AND her parents. That is an enviable and short-lived position to be in so she is making the most of it while she can.
Finally, things quiet down enough that, before everyone heads home with bellies full of dinner and birthday cake, Ben gets a chance to open his gifts. His kids show as much enthusiasm for the gifts as he does and when he opens one that has two wooden gliders (one for Noah and one for Ben), Emma is elated. "One for the girls and one for the boys", she says confidently.And finally a short video of the participants during the decloaking of the gifts.
No comments:
Post a Comment