Pool Party Doll

I've had a very long day and am dead tired, so I'm going to keep this brief. Got up very early this morning, early enough to do the bank and the farm market with plenty of time before leaving for Dad's. The bank was empty; the farm market was wall-to-wall people. The arrival of gorgeous, non-humid, sunny, 85-degree weather must have brought people out of the woodwork. Carrots were gone, but I bought a cucumber, tomatoes, bananas, peaches, blueberries, lettuce, blackberries, and cherry tomatoes. There were two yard sales in Oaklyn; nothing interesting at either.

I got home around 10AM and spent most of the rest of the morning reading, listening to the American Graffiti soundtrack, and taking advantage of the somewhat cooler day to bake a quick Peach Spice Snack Cake (Betty Crocker Spice Cake Mix, peach that was getting soft, buttermilk, applesauce, canola oil, egg whites).

Headed for Dad's around 12:30, armed with my bathing suit and a pudding pie. We left for Karen and Jim's at about 2, Dad, Jodie, Jodie's law-school son TJ, and me. (Jessa had work.) The party was for my little cousin CJ, who is 3 years old today. It was a pool party. I had some vegetable and fruit crudites, then changed into my bathing suit and joined most of the kids and their parents in the pool. The water was sooooooo warm! It was almost 90 degrees, practically bath water. It felt so good, it was almost two hours before I dragged myself out.

I had a grilled cheeseburger for lunch, then briefly went back in the pool before Karen announced that we were going to have cake and open presents. CJ had a Go Diego Go! themed cake from their local Wegmans that was really cute....but actually rather small for a fairly big party. I'm glad I brought the Black Forest Pudding Pie I made the other night. Cake and pie were big hits; my other grown cousin Samantha's son Ethan must have had at least three slices and many snitches of the pie.

We opened presents with CJ next. He received a Buzz Lightyear-themed remote control car that operates via a laser from Uncle Ken and Dolores, clothes and kid's golf supplies from Dad and Jodie, a Hot Wheels car and a little whale bath/pool toy from me, board games from Karen and Jim's relatives, and a Stormtrooper-shaped Star Wars interactive computer game from his parents and older sister.

The kids went back in the pool after we ate; some of the moms went with them. I'd changed by then. Jodie, Dad, Jim, David (Sam's husband), and TJ discussed various political debates. I'm not into politics and I'm not much of a debater. I watched the kids and moms play a game they called "Sharks and Minnows" in the pool for a while. The person who was it (the "shark") would turn around and call out a chant while the "minnows" (everyone else) would try to sneak up from behind. The "shark" (or sharks) would try to tag the minnows. The kids were so funny playing that game.

As the sun set and the political debate continued, I kept one ear on the adults and one on the kids (who had mostly abandoned the pool for a Slip and Slide) while watching a beautiful sunset behind the hills surrounding Karen and Jim's house. The sun was almost gone when everyone finally declared it was getting late. Time for the little kids to get in bed and all other guests to head home.

We had trouble avoiding traffic heading for the Jersey Shore going to Karen and Jim's, though thankfully we were only on Route 55 for about ten minutes and it wasn't as bad as it could have been. There was no traffic at all going home. I even invited TJ, Jodie, and Dad to look at my apartment. TJ had never seen it before.

This was a fun end to a week that went surprisingly well; even Lauren going away this weekend worked out fine. (We didn't pull into Oaklyn until well after 9PM, and I needed a shower before getting online.) I just hope I can keep this "time management" stuff going - I have a lot to do next week, too.