Goodness, has it already been a week since I've posted anything? A lot has happened, but I will try to recap.
Randy's flight was late Thursday night, but it worked out because K arrived about the same time from his trip to Charlotte, so the two of them drove back together, just as K and I had done so many times. The next day e and I took Randy for a long walk, showing him the herons and coots along the water. Demonstrating how grandpas do things differently, Randy held e up over his head on a tree branch. She didn't know what to think. E took the day off and was out running errands, which took longer than expected, and she came home without the items she had hoped to buy. Continuing party preparations, we cut out cookies using E, bear and star cookie cutters. We got the two chocolate sheet cakes baked and the chicken shredded for the hot wings dip. After supper K's sister and Ayer family arrived, and we visited for a while before bed.
Saturday morning K's mom and husband arrived. It felt a little odd to see e with her other grandma, partly because we have different styles, but I'm glad e has family who love her. E cut the cakes along the template pieces and put together the bear cake, covering it generously with chocolate frosting. A friend and his young son came over around noon; turns out he had the party time wrong, but hung out with us. K went out for helium balloons; the silver, sparkly stars were more exciting to e than the pink ones. Other party snacks were assembled as e napped then we were ready for the big event.
About 25 adults and children joined the eleven of us family, and the new house easily held the group, with most clustered in the kitchen/family room. While we had hoped to have some outdoor activities, it was too cold and damp to stand around for long on the patio. I met some new friends and greeted others I'd met before. When it was time to cut the cake, E took off e's party clothes so the chocolate wouldn't stain the pretty white shirt. K then said some lovely things about my help this year. A friend brought in the Kleenex box for E, and I blinked back tears as Randy squeezed my shoulders. It was indeed a labor of love for me and gave me so much joy. While e had not had cake or cookies before, she seemed to enjoy the treats. Although E had said, "No gifts, please," some fancy wrapped things appeared, so e and her parents opened books and toys.
After the guests left, we nibbled on leftovers and e soon went to bed. K raised the temperature on the Jacuzzi, and three year old cousin V got her wish of playing in the water. Her dad and I joined her. She pointed out the "clouds" we made as the water evaporated from our arms in the cold night air.
A good time was had by all.
No comments:
Post a Comment