Random Thoughts and Musings

Saturday was a busy day: Lil B’s birthday is coming up, and we were celebrating with a chicken-and-hot dog-grill out and a slumber party. BFF & I went shopping for goody bag items, and since Lil B is entering the “tween” stage, we bought lotions and potions and pretty pretties to make them feel grown up and beautiful. GREAT FUN! BFF & I enjoyed it, and went through several ideas on how to handle it, but feel our final selection was perfect.

In the evening, BFF’s hubby grilled out the chicken (he marinated it in wine, then made a new BBQ sauce - he always makes his own - out of amaretto & miscellaneous other kitchen goodies.) FABULOUS food - it was perfect! After dinner, we had the cake (see below) and presents. WOOT! Lil B made out, for sure, and had a great time with her friends. Then, it was time to send the girls in to slumber (or, party … yanno, whichever ;)) and BFF & I got to watch a movie we’d been saving on her DVR for a couple of weeks. Beautiful day, for sure!

The weekend fun continued, as BFF’s older bro invited all of us (BFF, her kids, her sister & sister’s kids, their mom, Lil Lady, and I) over to his place for a BBQ. Friday, I went down to help clean up the yard, and then he and I went out to dinner (steak, veggie skewer, baked tater, sausage … yummmmmy!!!). Come Sunday, the pool we’d set up on Friday was filled and the water was nice and warm (but cooler than the hot summer day). The grill was put to good use by A (former roommate, BFF’s sister), who grilled our steaks, burgers, and dogs to perfection. I had made a quick potato salad the night before, and BFF had decorated another cake (see below) for Lil B, so we had a family celebration for her birthday.

The day was an absolute success - M’s backyard is huge, and there was plenty of room for a bundle of kids to run around and have fun. The pool was refreshing and fun, and enjoyed by EVERYONE (some of us *ahem* such as myself, do not typically like chlorine pools), and the kids wore themselves OUT splashing and diving and swimming and creating a whirlpool that caught most of us adults at least once!

After we left M’s townhome, BFF, her kids, Lil Lady, and I headed back to our side of the county. We had been told about a Church function by Lil C’s tball coach, so we headed up there to see what else we could do to tucker out the children. *WEG* Turns out, there was a fairly large event going on - Caring For Our Community - and there were bounce houses, live bands, a rock-climbing wall, face painting, balloon animals, and goodness knows whate else. We were surprised to see a booth set up for free haircuts, and we also saw booths where people could sign up to get a free box of food if they needed, which was pretty cool. (I made a mental note to donate to this particular Church’s food pantry whenever I donate to my own Church’s pantry.) Everything was free except snacks (ice creams, cotton candy, etc). They even had a water wagon going around, offering bottles of water to everyone. The kids participated in a couple of the games, had a snack (cotton candy OR ice pop), got balloon animals, and got their faces painted.

All together, the weekend was wonderful … thank you, M, again, for the fabulous day!!

Lil B’s Friend Celebration Birthday Cake:

Lil B’s Family Celebration Birthday Cake: