Weekend Report

I won't be as funny as Chevy Chase or Jane Curtin or Tina Fey or any of those folks, but here is how the weekend went. After all my emotional venting lately, I feel like a good old travelogue is best right now.

Friday morning Eric reluctantly left for Florida to suffer away the weekend at a work retreat at nothing less than the Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne. Poor baby. I'm not bitter that I didn't get to go. No, in his defense, he would rather be home with his family than on a forced trip that is not even real work, so his complaints were genuine and his heart, as always, is in the right place. Besides, in spite of his desperate need for R&R, I'm sure he didn't enjoy his plush room or the beach or the tennis afternoon at all, bless his heart.

Friday afternoon, we got the official travel plans for our son's return from Panama. He gets in on July 1st, which is what we've been saying for a while, but now it is for real-the plane tickets have been issued. That is a mere 9 weeks from this Tuesday. I am very excited to see my boy (who is not really a boy any more.) It's been just about 2 years since we last saw him. It will be so much fun to make signs and give him a big welcome at the airport! I'm so proud of his service in Panama. He has really put his heart and soul into his efforts there.

Friday afternoon I also got Sam off on his camping/fishing trip with the scouts. He has really gotten into scouting lately, and is excited about finishing up his Eagle requirements. Immediately after that was another photo shoot-a very handsome young man's senior photos. Again, it was fun to spend that time with friends with whom I feel comfortable and can be creative. Now to finish all the proofing...

Saturday morning found me at a planning meeting for our church's camp for teenaged girls. It was a good meeting. Eric and I get to lead one group of the girls on an overnight backpacking trip, so I talked a little about that and got the names of the girls we'll be leading so we'll be able to contact them. On the way home, I stopped to visit A., my friend in the Assisted Living facility. She was happy to see me and we worked on word search puzzles together for a half-hour or so.

I stopped home for about 10 minutes to pick up Ev for a shopping trip to Dicks for new lacrosse pads. We also stopped at Target so Evan could pick out the snack for his team for the game later on. He is doing great this season-good coach, continued increased confidence and as a bonus, my pal Julie's boy is on the same team so we get to chat at the games. Yay!

I had a short break in the afternoon which was not long enough to take Evan and Sara up to the Cow Caper Day at our creamery but I was able to live vicariously through Corinne who did go up. Instead I got in my last few licks of practicing and got ready for the recital and game.

The recital went fine. Sara did brilliantly-much better than I did, and yet, I was satisfied with how I did. Sadly, I did not get Sara's filmed because my camera's card was full and I couldn't get it cleared off fast enough. One good thing about my performance was that I didn't feel so embarrassed and anxious about not being perfect. I didn't cry when it was over. That is a big step in the right direction for me. Another good thing is that we got to stay for refreshments! And I got to run over and give Mendy a hug on the occasion of her son's baptism. We got to the game in plenty of time in spite of the 3o minute drive to the park.

The game went well-Evan's team came from behind in the second half to not only win but dominate 7-4! Wahoo. The only problem was that the temperature dropped and the wind blew and I was freezing in my recital Sunday Best. But we all survived. Sara actually went and sat in the car with her cousin. Eventually my mom did too, which I completely understood.

The game ended about 7:30, and I needed to get dinner on the way home, so after leaving the house at 3 pm, we finally rolled back into the driveway at 8:45 with our bucket of KFC. But the night wasn't over yet.

I accepted Christina's sweet invitation and went to her 30th birthday party 2 hours late and really had fun. I got there just in time to play a fun Karaoke game and sang two songs, one of which was by myself in front of virtual American Idol judges. That was seriously nerve-wracking but luckily it was set on "Easy" so even Simon said I was "Fantastic!" It was great to play and eat and share endorphins with everyone, so I'm really glad I went.

Sunday morning found me oversleeping yet again. I am really struggling with the 9 am church thing combined with needing to arrive 30 minutes early for Sam to fulfill his priesthood responsibilities of preparing for the worship service. We got out the door as quickly as we could and got there on time for the service but late for Sam. Oh well.

The afternoon found me looking for ways to cook Sam's beautiful Rockfish filet that he brought home, fresh from the bay. I ended up gently steaming it in foil on a bed of onion slices with a little lime (I was out of lemon), Old Bay and dill. It is a very delicious, mild fish and everyone liked it. Even Ev said it wasn't horrible.

Later that day we went with Johnathan to be with him as he received his Patriarchal Blessing, a rite of passage for members of my church. It was a sweet moment as he learned what we believe is personal revelation, counsel and comfort about the course of his life.

The day and the weekend were rounded out by two happy events: Eric got home safe from Florida and my brother Phil (the one we were just visiting in California) got here safely for a one-month rotation at Andrews AFB. His wife and family will be here later this week. We went over to Mom's to see how much Phil had changed in the month since we saw him last and enjoyed a little ice cream and scrabble to mark the occasion. It will be nice to spend more time with him before they head to their new post at Cannon AFB in scenic Clovis, NM.

I've started two new books, both listening instead of reading and I'm really enjoying both of them. One is the first in a fantasy series by Garth Nix called Sabriel and the other is a non-fiction account called The Orchid Thief. I'll be listening this week as I finish up the prom dress season. I have two more to do, then I'll be done till homecoming, I suppose.

What a busy weekend. Go. Go. Go. Not always fun for a wanna-be hermit like me, but it definitely had many good moments. Today I'll be home until tonight's lacrosse game, which will be played rain or shine thanks to the magic of astroturf fields. Bliss. Think of me under my umbrella in the 50 degree weather.