KAREN AND BUD VISIT!
My sister Karen and my brother-in-law Bud left their Wisconsin vacation Friday, drove back to Illinois and then departed for Ohio early Saturday morning for a whirlwind Fourth of July weekend visit to the Brady Bunch compound.
What do you get when you mix Tiki Punch and fireworks?
We had a great time!
In fact, by Sunday morning, people might have argued we had TOO much of a great time. But a walk through Fellows Riverside Garden, some greasy Jillians cheeseburgers and a quick nap recharged our batteries for more fun Sunday night on the deck and then down in The Orbit Room.
I am so lucky to have such a great relationship with my sister. And Bud is such a terrific guy. They are always busy and we don't get to see them as often as we would like so when we get them all to ourselves, it is especially fun!
I have refined my backyard fireworks display - as my "premiere" buying status will attest. The aerial show Saturday night concluded with a fitting finale and then we adjourned to the deck for the ground display.
There was only one real mishap: Earlier in the evening, I wanted to test the ground display and a "free" bonus kit was not clear as to what exactly it did. So, I lit and it started out as a fountain, as I suspected, but quickly morphed into an aerial and the tree limbs started bouncing the mortars every which way, too close to the deck. One spent cartridge actually hit the deck.
Karen screamed; we laughed.
The we adjourned to The Orbit Room until the wee hours.In fact, I distinctly remember Frank singing "In the wee, small hours of the morning..." during the wee, small hours of the morning.
One official tradition at our house is the "best guest" award which began during all of those Christmases Mary and I hosted back in Illinois. Traditionally, the award is won by Bud, though Karen always tries her best. One year, my niece Angela won. This year, we celebrated the award – after judges carefully contemplated the matter – with an actual trophy!
Bud won, per usual.
THE BEST GUEST AWARD
Karen and Bud also have the distinction of being the first official guests to enjoy The Orbit Room. They took a picture of us:
HAMMING IT UP IN THE ORBIT ROOM
It was a great weekend and we can't wait to see them again!
More later.
Mark
3 comments:
We had a wonderful time! Mark & Mary are gracious & fun hosts.
But, as fair judges in the contest, that is another story! Mark left out an important detail about the contest - ask him what that was!
Can't wait to see you guys again!
Love, Karen
ps I should have thrown all those firework remnants back onto the lawn! :)
Karen, Karen, Karen...
The judges were extremely fair! How would you feel if you were to learn that there were TWO trophies: One engraved with Bud's name and the other engraved with the name of another very special, very important person? And when the judges met, they decided, no, it would NOT be fair for me to award myself the best guest award in my own home! As for you, no, you really never had a chance... :)
Mark,
You are evil - but I love you so much anyway!!
Keep your little trophy - and remember that someone will be turning 50 next year - I'm sure there are trophies out there for such a big occasion!
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