Family on the Fourth

July 6, 2009

What a whirlwind of friends and family we have had over the past several days! On Thursday, our very good friends (our sisters and brothers of the heart) both came in to town to celebrate the Fourth of July. Cheryl and Gary came into town with little Morgan from Vegas, and Carrie and David came with little Miss Freya from Oakland. Since Cheryl hadn't been in town in months, she organized a little 'girls' night out' with lots of old friends, so I stopped by there for just a little bit. Then they all decided to head out to a night club, which I wasn't quite feeling up to, so I headed back home.

Luckily, the evening wasn't over for us. David and Carrie had put Freya down for bedtime at David's mom's house, and they were up for a little socializing. We all went to our buddy Jim's house for some drinks and karaoke. (Much more my speed than a nightclub.) My daughter was sweet enough to volunteer her babysitting services for her younger siblings so that all of us old friends could really spend some time getting reacquainted. We laughed, sang loudly (and sometimes badly), and had a fabulous time til the wee hours.

Friday was a more kid-friendly, family-fun day. Carrie invited us to go to her parents' house for the afternoon so that my kids and Freya could spend a little time together. They also have a pool, and since ours is still only a pool in theory rather than in practice, we all thought it was the perfect place to spend the afternoon. After lots of chatting, darts, swimming, and bubbles, we got invited to stay for a tri-tip bar-b-que and a little pre-Fourth of July fireworks.

Believe it or not, that same night, we picked up my niece Delaney to spend the night with us. Her parents are my ex's family, and they came into town for a family visit over there. However, since all of her cousins were with me and she was the only kid over at Uncle Bill's, she wanted to hang out with us. She's one of the coolest ten-year-olds I know (in addition to my own daughter and my other awesome niece), so we had a kids' sleepover at our place. The more the merrier, as far as I'm concerned!

Wait--there's even more! My sister got to town Saturday morning. We all hung out with the kids and had a pretty low-key morning, and then it was time to take the kids (and my niece) over to their dad's house--they had a big bar-b-que in store and had plans for a baseball game later that night. They also had a houseful of out-of-town family, so I had the opportunity to visit with some of my former in-laws, including the newest member of their family. I'm very fortunate in that I am still on great terms with my ex and his family, so they were excited to introduce me, Aunt Donna, to baby Aunika. What a precious and beautiful baby she is!

After the kids were settled in at their dad's, Doug and my sister and I all went over to Jim's house to have our own 4th of July bar-b-que. All four of us went to high school together, so this is a most comfortable and familiar foursome. We love each other and are never at a loss for conversation. Later, just before dusk and prime-time fireworks hour, we all jumped in the car and headed for the Krepp household. Mom and Dad Krepp are our extra adopted parents. There we met up again with David (their son) and his family, and Cheryl (their daughter) and her family, and all of their extended family. Both Freya and Morgan were there, so we all got to watch the little tiny ones gaze in amazement at the fireworks before they hit their IT'STIMETOGOTOBEDNOW time. The rest of us stayed up incredibly late swimming in the black-bottom pool and staring up at the stars, listening to music. What a night!

If you made it this far, I promise there won't be a quiz on names and relationships. Suffice it to say that our weekend was full and pretty amazing. We got to spend time with so many of the people we adore, and believe it or not, we never once felt torn between our varied visitors, nor overburdened with obligation, as can sometimes happen. And as Cheryl, Gary, and Morgan headed back to Vegas, and David, Carrie and Freya headed back to Oakland, and Lisa headed back to Corona on Sunday, Doug and I sat together in our quiet house and realized we had not had such a great weekend in a very long time.