Welcome home, Jake and Stephanie!
Happy 3rd Birthday, Kendra Byrd!
I’m sure that you can guess why those
opening salutations are in that order for me, but Kendra’s birthday is
noteworthy for future reference, and this year; I want to make special note
because Zack and Leah were both invited to her party – along with quite a few
of the other kids that will be future classmates with Kendra – and starting
school together the same year that I’ll be heading off to college with my
friends. While I didn’t have any
involvement in Kendra’s special day, the weather was great for an outdoor
party; so that party has likely been the place to be for all kids their age –
and everyone else in Kendra’s family.
Compared to that, spending a bit more than
half of my day doing yard chores with Dad – and with Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana
some of the time too – hasn’t been very exciting; but we did have fun together
even with all of the work. The yard
looks great too; and all I’ll have left to do ahead of the long weekend is
another round of lawn mowing that I’ll likely do next Thursday instead of
working at the Inn. We worked until
nearly two o’clock to make sure we got everything done; had a quick lunch
outside so that we didn’t mess up Mom’s clean house; and then it was time for
me to hit the shower and get ready for a fun rest of the day with Michael and
his family. He was finished at the Inn
for the day by then too, and came over here shortly before I was finished; so
Ethan and Ehlana kept him entertained until I was ready to go. We had time to spare because Jake and Stephanie
weren’t quite back to town yet, but it wasn’t much longer until they did get
here; and we were sitting on the front porch of Michael’s house when Stephanie’s
father pulled into the driveway – and the crazy welcome home adventure began!
The round of hugs and kisses didn’t
actually last very long because Jake and Stephanie had orders to get over to
the furniture store and the Inn to reunite with the rest of their parents; but
Michael and I did get to help out with their luggage – and show them to their new
room for the first time. Stephanie’s Dad
was officially in charge of springing that surprise on them; and I’m happy to
report that Jake and Stephanie both really loved the room – and finding out
that they’re going to have a bit more privacy than they expected over the next
three months. Michael and I stayed
behind when everyone else left for ValleyView Furniture. We didn’t want to be in the way for that
reunion, so we ended up wandering around town for a while after leaving Michael’s
house. Since dinner was at the Inn, we
went there in time to be part of the welcoming committee for everyone that had
been invited; and we were using one of the new dining rooms – the one at the
back of the Inn with the river view windows.
Having that as an option now is really great; and it also allowed us to
have a bit of a social hour before dinner while we waited for the store-owner
guests to close up shop for the weekend.
Jacob and Miranda couldn’t take the time
off from work, but they did take turns spending time in the dining room when
they could do that so they could spend a bit of time with Jake and Stephanie
too. Michael and I weren’t exactly on
kid control during dinner, but we did hang out with his younger cousins; and
Jessica, Ryan, and Sophia were all very happy to have us sitting with them for
dinner – along with Rebecca and Lucas.
Rebecca helped out with the dinner rush first before joining us –
including delivering the orders to everyone in our group; but then she was done
for the night. Okay, that didn’t keep us
– and Michael – from helping out when it came time to clearing the tables
between dinner and dessert and then after Jake and Stephanie headed on to her
house for the rest of the welcome home party, but that didn’t take too long;
and then we headed over to the Wingborough’s house too.
Grandpa Grant and Grandma Eleanor had been
in charge of getting that party ready while Stuart and Samantha had both been
busy either working or doing the airport run, but they had friends and family
support for that; and most of the treats were of the Olde Bakery variety. More friends were invited to the evening fun,
and while Violet and Dillon were multi-tasking while busy with more
wedding-related fun that was at Sheldon’s Pub this time; they stopped in for a
visit with their best friends too – as did most of their local friends. Add in neighbors and friends of the family;
and it was quite the little party!
Michael and I were definitely on kid
control while we were there; and that meant keeping the younger kids
entertained and mostly out of the way while Jake and Stephanie were busy
getting toasted and roasted. It’s funny
that I haven’t really thought about this being the first time they’ve been home
since their wedding; but that was mentioned a lot this evening; and the changes
in the happy couple are fairly dramatic.
They are still the same people we know and love, though; and I’m seriously
looking forward to finding out some of the things Jake’s learned under the tutelage
of some of the great chefs of Europe!
The party at the Wingborough’s house didn’t
start wrapping up until around midnight, but Michael and I were drafted to take
Jessica, Ryan, and Sophia home at eleven o’clock; and we stayed with them until
their parents got home at twelve-thirty.
That got us out of helping with the party clean-up; and we were back at
his house in time to welcome his family home and have a short visit with
everyone; but then I came home after that – even though I was tempted to stay
there and have a sofa sleepover with Michael.
We mostly decided not to do that so that Jake and Stephanie didn’t have
a house full of company for their first night at home; which is why Lucas went
home too – even though he’ll be back here for breakfast in the morning.
I’ll be at Michael’s house for that
breakfast too, and it isn’t that many hours before I’ll need to get up again
and ready for Tai Chi by the river, but I had a bit of work to get done that
came up in my email; and I decided to get that out of the way instead of saving
it for tomorrow night. Since I’m going
to work a full shift at the Inn tomorrow too, it’s going to be a long day, and
the extra sleep would have helped with that; but I’m glad that I won’t have the
extra hour or so of work to do after working in the kitchen all afternoon and
evening.
It’s really great to have Jake and
Stephanie home, and I’ve had a lot of fun today, but it’s time to get to sleep
now; so, until next time...
...May the Magi Force be with you!
