Birthdays and family celebrations--nothing better

Sawyer's older cousin Maddie helps him decorate his birthday cake.

She explained she'd done that in life skills, which she said is

just home ec renamed.

 

Priceless!

He liked the Rick Riordan books I gave him.

 

This weekend the Alters all gathered at Megan and Brandon's home in Austin to celebrate Sawyer's ninth birthday and a bit belatedly, Jacob's seventh and Melanie's (I'm not saying!). The pictures above are self-explanatory. Sawyer drew his birthday out into a three-day affair and loved every minute of it.

From the moment we arrived about lunchtime Saturday, it was chaos, pandemonium, and exuberant fun. Everyone swam and bounced in the bounce house and played X-Box--except it was in the room where I slept and I shooed them out for a nap. Then the boys' uncle, aunt, and two-year-old cousin arrived and it was back in the pool; then the Hudgeons grandparents arrived. Megan had planned one of her usual feasts--hummus, guac and salsa before dinner; sliders with all the trimmings, corn on the cob, and a huge salad of marinated vegetables; Penny Hudgeons brought marvelous horseradish pickles from Central Market. Everybody ate too much and waited until almost ten for cake--with of course a swim in between.

Much as I love my family, I admit the noise and confusion wears me out. And I take my hearing aids in and out--one minute it's too noisy (often loud music) and the next I can't hear what anyone says. I was exhausted Saturday night and slept soundly--having evicted the X-Box players from my room.

Today we "hung out." Jamie came out to run about nine, and one by one kids began to clamor to ride or run with him and then adults joined in until he had a whole pack--but on Jamie Alter time, they didn't leave until after eleven, when it was getting hot. Melanie, seven-year-old Morgan, and I went to a terrific plant store--the faery gardens caught our eye, and I bought a small one for Elizabeth who was watching Sophie, plus two succulents for my cactus garden in a container on the front porch. It was a funky place with wonderful plants and pots, all reasonably priced, Koi carp in a pool, parrots in a cage in the gift shop, and a great-looking café up a level overlooking the nursery. Morgan had a wonderful time, and we all want to go back.

We didn't expect all of the runners/bikers to be back but they were, so we ate leftovers for lunch and it was back in the pool.

Jordan, Jacob and I came home the back way--183 to 281, then at Hico cut over to Glen Rose, up to Granbury, and home on 377, with a devious route once we hit Benbrook. Three-and-a-half hours, half an hour longer than our trip down on I-35 but we were afraid of Sunday night traffic jams and enjoyed the scenery--though we got silly by the time we got near Fort Worth. One of Jacob's memories will be those two crazy ladies, his mom and grandmom, taking him on trips.

I'm home again, and as always glad to be here, but I did so enjoy the weekend. As we were saying goodbye, I hugged Jamie and said "You have a wonderful family," and he replied, "So do you." So true. I am rally blessed.

Chaos

My house is quiet right now, althugh a certain dog tension lingers in the air. I have as guests four extra adults, four extra children (plus Jacob), and two extra dogs. My house is honestly not that big. The dogs are the big problem: Megan's dog, mostly mini poo, is docile, loving and goes with the flow. Sophie is out of her mind with excitement over people and dogs, wants to play with everyone and jump all over them (Megan made the mistake of sitting on the floor and was floored by Sophie jumping on her--I explained that if you're on the floor, you're fair game). Colin's new dog, Gracie (Sofia Grace when she's in trouble) is the big problem. A large German shepherd mix that had a litter when she was put in the shelter, growled, snapped and acted like she wanted to eat Sophie alive; pretty soon she decided Eddie was just as bad. So now, oh peace, she is crated, Sophie is fed and outside, and Eddie is wandering around.
Everyone has gone to the rodeo, and I pray it's a long one, so I can do some of the stuff I had in mind to do tonight, like write my thousand words and make a meatloaf to stick in the freezer. When they are here, much as I love them, they all talk at once, and I have to either yell over them to announce I have something to say or corner the one I need to talk to. But we had a few pleasant, fairly quiet moments in front of the fireplace.
I had all kinds of sandwich makings so they could snack--they ate chips and salsa, and a little bit of cheese ball. Only Colin ate a sandwich, so I foresee a lot of lunch meat in my future. The two grown girls, after dressing their children warmly, left for the rodeo  in clothes that were more cowgirl glitzy than warm--and it's cold tonight.
In spite of all that, I am of course delighted to have them home, sorry my youngest son and his family will only be here for the day tomorrow, heartbroken for Jordan who is still in bed with the flu and now feeling well enough to be bored out of her gourd. They are all lovely adults, as glad to see me as I am to see them, and the chldren are a delight. My oldest grandson is the one who greets me with big kisses, but he's also the one who cannot keep his hands off things--the pens on my desk would make great projectiles (I didn't ask what he intended to project), the paper clips fascinate him, an empty decorative jar has to be opened and closed several times. When I explained that my desk is strictly off limits, he said, "But there are so many interesting things with so many possibilities." I'm used to Jacob who sees a pen as something that requires a blank piece of paper (usually a discarded piece with typing on the other side). Tomorrow my two oldest granddaughters will arrive but for now Morgan is the only girl--she does a credible job of holding her own. They all want to be in and out of doors, and no amount of warning them Sophie will bolt does any good so now I look the doors and hide the keys. Sort of like a fortress.
No doubt, Jacob will want to spend the night with his cousins, and no doubt, since we're short on sleeping space, he'll end up in my bed. But I'll do that just to have as much of my family as possible under my roof. It's a delightful feeling to know when I go to sleep my children and grandchildren are nearby.
I confess in a weak moment I called Jordan and offered to trade her sickbed for my place, but I didn't really mean it. And she knew it. She's really tired of watching old movies.

Reason #67 that I haven't written the Great American Mystery

I had lunch today with my beta reader, mentor, whatever you want to call him--the wonderful man who reads and critiques everything I write. I'd gotten his comments earlier by email--too many balls in the air was the basic one--but I wanted to talk to him and get the manuscript back. Besides we always have fun at lunch and the talk ranges widely about his projects, mine, and other unrelated subjects--even politics on which we agree. I came home from lunch determined to start revisions right way, but by the time I dealt with emails and some other business details, I just had time for a much-needed nap before I got Jacob.
Then I realized I had to get the neighborhood newsletter to the designer, so there went the one last calm hour of the day. Jacob watched TV and I worked on the newsletter and sent it. After that, chaos reigned--but a wonderful kind of chaos.
Jordan arrived and then my former neighbor, Meredith, with four-year-old Abby and Grayson, who is not quite two. Jordan had planned and prepared elaborate snacks for the kids, some of which they ate. She put out popcorn which they ate by the handfuls, and I put out some small oatmeal cookies that fascinated Grayson. He wanted to carry more and more in his hands. It's amazing how quickly you forget how much watching a two-year-old requires. Grayson is adorable but typically boy-busy. The girls and I tried to visit but spent a lot of time kid-monitoring, although Jacob is good about watching the younger children, and he did, at Meredith's request, do his Michael Jackson routine. This was a long overdue visit, and we all enjoyed it. As they left, Meredith met Sue, who had lived in the house next door before her and was now coming for a happy hour visit. When Christian heard that Sue ws here, he said, "Pour me a glass of wine. I'll be right there." So the four of us sat in the living room (mosquitos really bother Sue on the porch) and had a high old time, full of laughter (maybe the wine helped). Sue left, but Jordan and Jacob had to play with Sophie, and they were so cute we all had to take pictures It was seven before they all left and almost seven-thirty by the time the kitchen was tidied and I could re-heat that leftover lasagne from lunch. Finally I settled down to dinner at my desk, red pen in one hand, the manuscript in front of me, and Fred's notes beside it. I've actually rewritten one chapter--pretty good accomplishment, I'd say. But the first chapter didn't need much--it will get a lot harder as I get into it. May get one more done tonight.
Long story short: the reason I haven't written the Great American Mystery is that I have a life, one filled with family and friends, and I feel so blessed.