Weekend highlights

Sat it rained off and on all day so the family wasn't able to go to the beach. We had breakfast together, then hung out until lunch time. Some watched TV, others on laptops and game systems. Spouse's sister picked up subs for lunch, then she and Spouse went to the grocery store while I loaded/ran the dishwasher and cleaned the kitchen. We invited folks over for dinner so there was lots to do to get ready. Spouse did most of the cooking and I helped with some of the prep as well as arranged the furniture and set the tables on the screened porch. That evening, Steven & Thad, their friend Allen, Thad's sister Robin, and Alisha & Jack came for dinner. Spouse's mother had made pasta and peas (a south Philly dish) for Thad a few months ago, so he was glad to get the opportunity to meet her. We had a tasty dinner of grilled boneless chicken and boneless pork chops, rice, roasted asparagus, salad, hummus, pita, olives, and marinated mushrooms. We had cake with fruit for dessert. It was a very nice evening.

Sun Spouse made scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, English muffins, and mixed fruit for breakfast and invited Rick & Nick. They were eager to meet Spouse's mother too. Again we ate on the newly expanded screened porch. It was about noon by the time we'd gotten the everything cleaned up and folks decided what they wanted to do. The family decided to go to the beach at 12:30 but Spouse & I stayed home because we had a 3:00 birthday party/cook-out at Bryan & Jason's. So we relaxed in the peace and quiet, caught up on email, and watched a little TV before going to the birthday/cook-out. Many of our friends were there and the food was really good so we really enjoyed the party. We returned home at about 6:30 and hung out with the family for a while. Then all of us went to boardwalk. The boys played some games at the arcade and several folks got ice cream cones from Kohr Brothers. We walked for a while and sat and people-watched for a while. Once back at home we watched TV together until midnight, which was fine since I took Mon off. So far having 6 extra people in the house hasn't been too bad, although the dishwasher seems to be running constantly.

This morning everyone slept in late. Since I'd taken the day off and the family had no real plans, I decided to go to the beach with my friend Tim. (The family could come later if they wanted.) Tim told me all about his recent trip to London, Paris, and Madrid with 22 students from the school where he teaches, and I got caught up on all his other adventures. I returned home at 3:30 to an empty house, took a shower and checked my email. Spouse and the family returned from the state park beach at 5:00 and we caught up on each other's days. Spouse left for his personal trainer appointment and I left for my volunteer activity at 5:30 so the family went to Five Guys for burgers and fries and then went shopping at the outlets. Some bargains were procured and modeled for us, then everyone agreed to go to bed early tonight since tomorrow they will take the ferry to Cape May and Wildwood NJ.

Crush du Jour: Albert Victor