The Parties and the Morning After

Our sweet Laney and Timmy are visiting from Kentucky and are about to go home soon. My mother wanted to get together on Friday night for a weenie roast. She was going to have it at her house, when I started to think our house might be more kid-friendly. After all, we have a pool, a trampoline, snakes, owls (we were up to six owls), chickens, and a big backyard.

I don't remember how many came. But I think we counted 20 kids. Just some of the nieces and nephews on my side. Taylor and one of his beloved cousins got into the kiddie pool to "pool wrestle."

It was dark and late when the party ended. We cleaned up what we could see and thought we had it all. Until the next morning. When we spied:

little forgotten sandals on the deck,

flip flops, towels, goggles, bracelets, shorts, water guns, a football ...


leftover watermelon,

more sandals, and the small sliding board that was dragged all over the yard. Really, it was all good. It was like re-living the party all over again.

And because it felt so good, we decided to do it one more time on Sunday after church. We had an impromptu Fathers Day gathering at our house. It started with Alana asking to come to my house and ended with Joe's family and my family all together. We feasted on rotisserie pork, more weenies, homemade ice cream, and anything and everything we could scrounge up at the last minute. It was all so good. The camaraderie, the food, even the 90+ degree heat (and Maryland humidity) didn't bother us.

It might sound excessive, but we're planning another daytime party on Tuesday.

I think it's safe to say that summer is here. It's very here. And we are loving every minute of it so far. After today, the days will start getting shorter and I don't want to waste one minute of it.

How are you celebrating your new season?