Cousin Pajama Party

Good Monday morning!

The Showcase Pic is of Mikie holding his souvenir Roxie bought for him on her mountain trip. It is a "grill lighter" in the form of a miniature fishing pole. Pretty cute, huh? I received a more practical gift... the Kitchen Willow Tree Angel. (It is a little angel holding a teapot. Perfect!)

The Gallery Pics are from the Mystery Bag Party which was held Saturday. It was a very fun group of girls. I have more to report on the party below.

TOPIC OF THE WEEK - NEIGHBORS

When we moved into our neighborhood eight years ago, we were the ONLY people on the street with children. In fact, we were the only people on the street who were not retirement age. You can imagine the fear and trepidation of our neighbors as they peeked through the blinds and saw not one, not two, but THREE children piling out of the Little Blue Van. And help us all... TWO of them were boys!

We live toward the end of our dead-end street, and we quickly became acquainted with our next-door neighbors, Mr. Joe and Miss Mary, and our two across the street neighbors, the McAllisters and Mrs. Legg. All of these lovely people were in their late 70s and early 80s upon our arrival. And in the eight years we have lived on this street, all of these wonderful, Godly people have passed away and are now in Heaven.

While the kids were upset we were not living on a "kid" street, it soon became apparent we had hit the jackpot when it came to neighbors. This week I would like to dedicate A Simple Life to these wonderful people who made an impact on our lives in the eight short years we were honored to know them.

I'll begin today with a little story about Mr. Joe. When we pulled into our driveway on moving day, the first (and only) thing we noticed was an elderly gentleman whacking a small tree with his walking cane. The tree was located a foot away from where we parked our van.

"I'm not getting out," Austin declared.

"I'm with him," Josh seconded the motion, and five year-old Roxie nodded her head in agreement with the brothers.

Mike and I watched a few more minutes. "I think you should get out first and introduce yourself... you know. Being a man AND the spiritual head of the family and all," I prodded.

Since his manhood had been challenged, Mikie stepped out of the van, and walked over to the gentleman. The man stopped whacking the tree, and we saw Mikie bend down and start picking up something off the ground. He turned around and motioned for us to join him.

And that is when we met Mr. Joe.

"This is a pecan tree," he explained as soon as we walked up. "When they are ready, a good whack with a stick will knock the pecans out of the tree, and all you have to do is bend over and pick them up. Of course, I have gout, so bending down is not easy for me... but you kids should be able to to pick them up easily enough." And the kids bent down and started scrambling and picking up the pecans for Mr. Joe.

As we handed the pecans to him (only a couple of handfuls), we introduced ourselves, and he looked each of the kids up and down, nodding his head. He then looked at me and Mikie, I suppose sizing us up, too. We shook hands, and started the "moving-in" process.

"What's gout?" Roxie asked.

"I'm not sure exactly, but I do know it is very painful," I told her.

"Bless his heart," she replied as she watched him walk away.

A few hours later, I walked out to the driveway where the kids were playing basketball. Mr. Joe was talking to the boys and Roxie. "And you boys are big. I do not want to see you climbing over my fence to get your ball if it bounces over. Do you understand? You're big enough to bend the fence."

I was totally mortified. We hadn't been in the neighborhood an entire day and the boys had already broken a neighbor's fence. "Mr. Joe. I am SO sorry. They know better to climb over fences. We'll pay for any damages. I promise."

Mr. Joe looked surprised. "They didn't climb over my fence. I'm just teaching them, so they won't."

"Oh. Of course. Well, that makes sense," I stammered.

"You have good kids. They're going to be fine," he said, and he limped back into his house.

I turned around and glared at the boys. "Mom, it's fine. He was just letting us know the rules. He told us if our ball bounced over the fence, we could come around and let ourselves in through the gate to get the ball. Anytime," Austin explained, grinning.

And that began our "teaching" relationship with Mr. Joe. He taught the kids a great deal the few years we had with him. He was never short with them or impatient, and if I'm not mistaken, he was the first neighbor who truly accepted our little brood into the neighborhood.

And he was funny, too. I'll share an amusing anecdote tomorrow about Mr. Joe (at least I think it is amusing)... and we'll meet Miss Mary who was spunky and smart and just as funny in her own right.

Weekend Review

Our weekend went amazingly according to plan for the second weekend in a row. Unprecedented!

Roxie came home from her mountain trip safe and sound Friday night. We all ate supper together and then watched our first episode of Life. As with most nature shows, some of it was fascinating, some of it was beautiful and some of it was pretty gross. I did NOT like the part where the cheetahs took down the ostrich. Nope. Not one bit.

On Saturday, the Mystery Bag Party was a success, I think. The girls were talkative and ate well. It went well enough for me to commit to planning at least ONE MORE MYSTERY BAG PARTY. That's right. In only 83 more posts, I will have ANOTHER CONTEST which will entitle SIX MORE WOMEN to take a ride with me in the Big Gold Van for a good time. (I hope the Big Gold Van holds out that long!)

Our first stop was Another Broken Egg. It was new to everyone except Terri, but I think everyone enjoyed their meal. I had the Five Cheese Quiche (delicious), and we tried the Biscuit Beignet Appetizer with Orange Marmalade. It's just a really good place to eat. Please go there soon and partake of some of their menu items!

Our second stop was the Botanical Gardens. Although this was a repeat from the first Mystery Bag Party, it was just too close to pass up. I took as many pictures as I could in the length of time we had before humidity overtook us and we started to NOT look fresh as daisies.

SLIGHTLY FUNNY ANECDOTE - As we were leaving the Gardens, we passed a small group of people sitting on benches. All of them held HUGE, BEAUTIFUL, NEW digital cameras. I looked away to avoid "coveting," but Kelli suggested getting one of them to take a picture of all seven of us before we left. She walked up to a young man and asked, and he agreed.

I kiddingly handed him my little point and shoot digital camera and said, "It's very complicated. I'll need to show you what to do?"

It's amazing how many people there are in the world who DO NOT know when I am trying to be funny. Simply amazing. (He was not amused... but he did take the pic.)

We then headed to Yogurt Mountain (a repeat from the second Mystery Bag Party). Two of the girls had been there before, but it was still a big hit... especially since we were trying to get over the heat stroke suffered at the Botanical Gardens. No offense to the other girls, but Frankie won the Most Creative Yogurt Creation by adding pomegranate to the mix. I was pretty impressed, I tell you.

Of course, what happened in the van and the contents of the bags will remain just what the name implies... a mystery. It was a fun way to spend a few hours on a hot Saturday afternoon. (At least it was for me. I hope the Party Girls agree.)

On Sunday, it was a football kind of day for the guys after lunch as they played with friends and family at the lot.

Sunday night, Roxie and I settled in to watch Kate Plus Eight and thus, we ended the evening and weekend on a relaxing note. Austin, Josh and Brad stayed up until the wee hours (I am guessing), playing X-Box and watching movies. I'm expecting to see them around noon!

Cousin Pajama Party

I know many of us have cousins. Some people are fortunate enough to not only have grown up with their cousins, but have become adult friends with them, too. I am one of the fortunate ones. But there is a slight hitch.

I am ten years older than my cousin, Amy (mother of Monica). There are only 16 days separating Roxie and Monica's birthdays. In family terms, that is all you need to have a ready-made best friend. However, here is the hitch... we live almost 50 minutes away. I know what you are thinking. It is less than an hour. It is not in another state. It is workable. And Amy and I would agree. It is indeed workable.

As the girls get older and more involved in activities in their part of the world, the "workable" part gets a little tricky, but we have a plan and so far it has worked.

Two years ago, we had a cousin "get-together" at my house. We had punch and wedding food and watched Father of the Bride on the deck. ALL the cousins came. Amy, Monica, Stephanie (my cousin-in-law), Abbie (her daughter), Bev and Katie. The adults enjoyed time together and ALL the girls were able to spend time together at a time other than the annual family Christmas party.

Last year, we all gathered at Amy's for a swim and an evening of Pictionary using a GIANT dry erase board. This year, I'm hosting the Cousin Pajama Party.

We're going to have pizza at the pool, and then head back to the house to slip into our nice, dry, comfortable pajamas... all of us. We're planning on playing another spirited game of Pictionary on the GIANT dry erase board (I'm not sure how Amy is going to transport that thing) before the moms drive home and the girls settle down on air mattresses in front of the TV for a late night movie.

What are we going to do if it rains? Plan B still includes pizza and pajamas, but we'll be giving each other manicures and pedicures before my team annihilates the other team in the game portion of our evening.

Hopefully, we can continue this tradition for years to come so the girls can continue to be good friends as they enter adulthood.

NOTE - These are also the chicks who spent the night at the Wynfrey last Thanksgiving night... and we have reservations for this year, too.

You may have cousins who live out of town, but there may be a central location you could agree to meet and spend the night and reconnect.

Friendships grow when time is spent with the people you love and you share NEW experiences with them, as well as relive the OLD.

If you have cousins nearby, plan a Cousin Get-Together today... and include the cousin chicks, too!

Have a glorious Monday. We are VBS"ing" in this neck of the woods. Technically, Roxie is helping with a class, so she'll be a busy chick the next few days. Tuesday I'll be sharing a delicious homemade ice cream recipe (not vanilla), another Neighbor Story and perhaps a bit of Randomness... perhaps not. It depends on my mood. Unfortunately, a lot of things depend on my mood nowadays.

Take care, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Sincerely,

The Enchanting Belinda