The big 5-0

This is Jeremy’s year.  I mean, it is really just another year, but it is a milestone.  Since my sister-in-law did a big shindig for my brother, I felt like I couldn’t be a slacker.  Nate’s was a surprise party, but I didn’t have it in me to pull that off.  So, Jeremy and I talked about whether he would like an open house or just a special family outing.  He said open house might be fun here at our house.  So, I tried to curate a guest list where I invited people closer to him, but didn’t invite the whole church – that is very hard!  I also wanted to invite some friends of his from college, but I figured many wouldn’t be able to come because they lived at a distance.  I started with coney dogs as the main dish, and at the last minute, switched it up to meatball subs – and I am so glad I did… no one wanted leftover hot dogs! 

The girls were so helpful in helping me get everything ready.  Friday night we knocked out slicing vegetables in less than 30 minutes.

And then had a dance party to finish out the night.  Angele was trying to teach the girls the steps to Beat it by Michael Jackson. 

The next day, we did cleaning, moved tables and chairs so they could go outside, and then rerouted them inside when it looked like rain, put up cross net for people.  Jeremy did an excellent job weeding, mowing, and putting up the volleyball net.  I prepped all the other food and showered at the very last minute.   They also went through pictures to put up as a walk down memory lane, and they put up all the decorations. 

Meatball subs, veggies and dip, potato chips and Smith’s French onion dip,

and pies… apple, cherry, and pumpkin made by Steph R, and chocolate pudding and peanut butter made by my mom.  Also, grab and go chocolate chip cookies and rice Krispie treats made by me. 

I have few pictures of the actual people who attended the party.  Greg and Maggie and their kids (Elena and Nora) came from Columbus and someone took their picture with Madison and Ellie.  That was so nice of them to make the trip. 

Mike and Anja and two of their kids also came from Columbus.  Mike was Jeremy’s roommate after college and they are good friends.  I am so glad he took the time to come; it is a long drive. 

Sometime during the party, it was discovered we had a bat in the compost trash can.  Jeremy put his skills to use and rescued it and was entertainment for the kids.

    

We had about 50 people total, so there was a lot of in and out and some just settled in and enjoyed the night.  The kids braved the outdoors between the rain showers. 

All in all it went really well and makes me want to do this kind of thing more often.  It is so nice to just get people together.  In this case, it was to celebrate a really cool guy!

On Sunday, we went to The Barn restaurant in Smithville to celebrate a little more.  While there, we drove past Jeremy’s parents’ old house and it was as if they knew it was his birthday!  It was kind of a neat coincidence. 

 

Here’s to another half century with this fun, history loving, trivia master who does so many things to keep our family going.  I am the stingy drill sergeant who keeps all the things in order while he challenges me to have fun, to be flexible, to spend a little of our hard earned money, to enjoy things a little more.  It helps our kids know balance, and I appreciate it.  Thanks for the gift you are to me as a husband, to our kids as a dad, and to those around you that you give and care for unselfishly.

Sandbridge Beach: Small Outings and Home

On Monday, we went to Virginia Beach boardwalk/shopping area.  This was a well-known statue, so we documented it. 

   

We roamed together and apart and back together through the shops.  Everyone had fun trying on things for fun and for souvenirs.

                        

As we gathered together, Sam, Pax, and Cale put on a show at these steps that went down to the beach.  They were working on flips over the steps landing in the sand.  Sometimes they would add on an additional skill like a back handspring or cartwheel.  They had an audience of more than just us and probably could have made some money if they put out a tip jar!  There are videos, but I don’t have any pictures.

On Thursday, a group of 13 went to Top Golf at 8pm.  It was late and the drive was a bit long, but the sun was headed down and we had some fun attempting to golf.  We had two bays side by side.  Some of whacked at the ball, others had a nice swing.  Some just stuck to whatever made the ball leave the tee, others tried to improve. 

         

On Friday morning, our family and Luke and Steph went to check out Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge that was just down the road in Sandbridge.  It was ridiculously hot out, but we enjoyed the talk by the person volunteering.  We had a little fun with their things on display while in the air conditioning. 

    

We also walked out to the dune area, but did not venture into the hot sand to get to the beach.  It was a neat place and probably better enjoyed when it wasn’t brutally hot to walk the trails.

While I never participated, there was a group on Monday night and a group on Thursday night that went crab hunting in the dark to see what they could find.  Apparently, it is a lot of fun.  (I say apparently because I don’t think this is something I enjoy.)

         

Finally, we chased a sunset.  Literally.  We tried to get to a place to look west and watch it set since the ocean is technically facing east.  The truth is you could see it from anywhere but from a car.  We spied it from our deck.  Others saw it from the ocean.  We all enjoyed its beauty.

         

Then, Saturday came and it was time.  Actually Friday night came and the flurry of packing began.  People gathering, stuffing, carrying out, dividing up, and making plans.  Nate’s family left at 4am (I think) and made it home by 1:30pm.  Luke and Steph and Ben and Steph pulled out around 7 or 7:15am.  We weren’t in a hurry since we were taking two days, but then thought, “Well, we are leaving earlier than we thought, so let’s do it in one.” Mom and dad and us locked up and headed out by about 8am.  And we hit traffic before ever making it out of Sandbridge.  There was a one car accident, with a possible fatality.  The road – the one road – out of town was shut down for 3-4 hours.  We turned around with everyone else and waited for news in the house that we had until 10am.  News came that they were opening up the road through the military base adjacent to town.  So, we loaded up and headed out again.  After the delay and coupled with a number of heavy rainstorms we drove through, we were firmly in the two days home camp.  We stayed at the same hotel as my parents, shared supper (pizza and salad) together, and enjoyed an ice cream treat. 

In the morning, we headed out on our own time schedule – them a little ahead of us the whole time. Home felt good as it always does after vacation, but what a trip.

Thank you, Mom and Dad, for investing so much monetarily to make this trip happen.  It offered respite from the daily grind, opportunity to invest in one another, and the inevitability of creating memories to bond us more tightly as a family.  The pre-planning was its own mission – planning menus, planning groceries to buy here vs groceries to buy there lists, going grocery shopping, packing and distributing, and then unpacking and organizing while there.  This year, meals went together well… the ones used to cooking did most of the meal prep alternating days in and out of the kitchen.  The men had fun figuring out how to cook the fish on Thursday.  The grandkids took over meal clean up without complaint working together as one unit.  It was a beautiful spot and a beautiful time.  Thank you for the memories of what it means to be family.

Sandbridge Beach: Big Outings

We had a few organized outings – kinda planned on the fly while there, but they had been discussed previously.  Everybody kinda split up and did the things they wanted.  Wednesday we had a whole line-up: sunrise kayaking with the dolphins, mid-morning parasailing, afternoon fishing, and evening dinner out.  I’ll see if I can remember who did what…

Kayaking: Steph R., Luke, Lilli, Sam, Paxon, Cale, Sophie, Jeremy, Jen.  They had a great time and saw some dolphins near them. 

Parasailing: Madison, Ellie, Erin, Nate, Chloe, Megan, Grandma.  All first-timers.  It was a peaceful take-off and ride with a quick, refreshing dip on the way in.  Excellent time – no fears.

              

Big Boat Fishing: They had a fun.  I think boat #2 caught more fish, but not the biggest fish.  The ones that stayed behind that day got to wave at boat #2 from the beach when they passed.  They had the fish cleaned and we ate it on Thursday night for supper; it was delicious! 

    

Boat #1: Luke, Sam, Ben, Cale, Nate, Paxon;

    

Boat #2: Jeremy, Ellie, Jen, Sophie, Lilli, Grandpa

           

Dinner at Waterman’s: Everyone.  This was kinda a crazy experience.  The fishermen headed here first because it was near where they caught their boat.  But it was going to be 1-1/2 hour wait.  So, they ended up coming home to change and put the fish inside to keep them cool. While they did that, the ones that stayed behind checked the wait at another restaurant (even longer!) and ultimately headed to Waterman’s to save our spot.  We got there and were told that our entire party had to be there or we lost our place in line.  We watched the 15 minutes til being seated tick by as we monitored the ones returning.  The restaurant ended up letting us sit down and the others arrived 5 minutes later! Whew!

It was a beautiful place to eat and enjoy well-prepared food after a busy day.

         

Afterwards, we took some pictures since we had (kinda) dressed for a night out.  Just us

the “OGs” (original 6)..

and everyone…