All Party-ed Out

I'm very tired, which does not bode well for this busy week. I awoke early. I had to get my laundry done before Rose and Craig picked me up around 11:30. I got into the laundromat around quarter of 10 and was out by 11 sharp. Once again, I timed it well. It wasn't busy at all when I came in; when I left, almost every washer was taken.

Much to my surprise, Rose and Craig actually picked me up at 11:30. With them was their year-old son Khai and Kelsey the Miniature Pincher. Khai was a bit fussy going up, but he wouldn't sleep all day. His mother had to join us in the back.

It was nearly 1 when we arrived in Cape May County. We were all hungry, including Khai. Craig pulled into the Sonic in Rio Grande on Route 9. (It's in the parking lot of the mall with the Michael's where Mom used to work.) Craig and Rose had spicy hot dogs. I had my favorite Chicken Wrap and Cherry Limeade. Khai had French Toast Sticks.

We got into Mom and Dad's around 1:30. Mom was working on dinner. Dad was outside, playing with my nephews Skylar and Collyn. Keefe and his girlfriend Vicki were on the deck, talking to my youngest sister and the boys' mother Anny. We were there for a little while, but Rose and Craig wanted to show Khai the beach and let Kelsey stretch her legs. I decided I needed to stretch my legs, too, and went with them.

We decided our closest option (and the only local beach that would allow dogs) was the beach along the bay in North Cape May. Mom used to take the girls, Keefe, and me to this beach in the mid-late 90s. It's a long stretch of pebbly, soft gold sand that runs along the Delaware Bay from the Ferry Terminal to the Villas. It lacks the amenities of the fancier beaches in Cape May and Wildwood, and the Bay can be too rough for swimming. Though Mom says it's become more popular as people flee the restrictions and fees in other area beaches, it's still quieter than most. Sometimes, you can even see the Ferries leaving for Lewes, Delaware.

We were only at the beach for about 20 minutes. Kelsey played in the water. Khai tried to figure out if he liked these "wave" things that kept splashing cold stuff on him. His mother and I snapped as many pictures as we could see in the bright glare.

I'm glad we went to the beach. It was a gorgeous day for it. It was sunny and hot, probably into the 80s, with a soft, sweet breeze. The sky was robin's egg blue and completely cloudless, which I appreciated after last week's storms.

When we got home, we went in the backyard. I tossed a frisbee around with Dad, Keefe, and Craig. Skylar continued to work on a Toy Story Buzz Lightyear Lego ship, which he'd apparently been working on for five hours. Vicki played video games on her mobile phone. Mom worked in the kitchen. After a while, Keefe put chicken and ribs on for barbecue. Dad and I helped him keep a hungry Kelsey away.

Dinner was delicious. "Oh, we're not having much," Mom told me yesterday. Please. Mom's idea of "not much" is barbecue chicken breasts and ribs, salad, sauteed green beans, rolls (both mine and from the Acme), celery and carrot sticks, and cut-up fruit. Everything was yummy, as always. Keefe makes some really good barbecue.

I went upstairs to rest in Mom's office for a while. I read our old kids' books and watched Skylar and Collyn play with their Radio Flyer wagon in the backyard. When I came down, I tossed around the frisbees with Dad, Keefe, and Craig again. I love frisbee. I'm actually quite good at throwing it - it's my aim that's not so good. The breeze from earlier picking up didn't help. (Dad actually threw one frisbee into a neighbor's yard!)

After a while, we went inside for sugar cookies, Mom's famous chocolate chip bar cookies, birthday cake and ice cream...or cakeS and ice cream. Mom had a marble cake with white and orange icing for Rose, a German Chocolate cake with boiled coconut frosting for me, and a tiny yellow cake with whipped topping for Khai. It took a good five minutes just to light the candles on all those cakes! In that time, Khai decided he was tired of waiting and stuck his fingers into his cake. (Collyn and Skylar did the same to Rose's.)

We opened birthday presents after we ate. I got a beautiful red bamboo mixing bowl filled with glossy wooden spoons, nice dish towels, colorful silicone whisks, and other gourmet cooking goodies from Anny and her boys. Keefe gave me a $25 gift card to Barnes and Noble. Mom and Dad gave me fifty dollars. (Rose said she had something for me, but forgot it.)

Khai got some neat gifts, too. His grandparents gave him a ride-on toy and Weebles. His aunt and cousins gave him clothes. I gave him a soft Philadelphia Phillies ball - the only Phillies merchandise I could find for a one-year-old baseball fan.

Rose may have gotten the best gift of all. Anny made her a gorgeous collage of photos of Khai and photos of the sun setting over the bay and framed it. She's such an amazing artist. Even the ribbon and paper she used for it was artistic. My bowl looks so nice, I don't know how I'm going to be able to take it apart.

We finally left around 6:30-7. Khai was getting very tired, and I wasn't far behind. Well, that's what his parents said. The kid slept for all of five minutes before we hit road repairs in the Villas and he was jolted awake again. We finally gave up trying to get him to sleep. I played peekaboo with him. His parents switched off and played with the new stuffed bunny his nana knitted for him. (Craig drove half-way. He had been complaining about his contacts bothering him since the trip to the beach. Rose drove the rest of the way.)

When I got in around 8, it was hot as heck in my apartment. The temperature said 86! I hated to do it in late April, but I had to turn the air conditioner on. My apartment was just too darn boiling, especially after Craig had the air in his van cranked.