Thursday, May 29, 2014

Whata Gwan?! The Wrap-Up.

Islanders,

Whata gwan!  Don't act like you don't know what it means, we've had a number of quick lessons (most recently here).

I'm really busy this week - celebrating Hubbs' birthday (May 27), Daddy's birthday (yesterday, May 28), preparing for the Minecraft birthday party this Saturday and recovering from the weekend's activities.
 
What activities, you ask?
 
Hubbs announced this past weekend would be full of cookouts; he wanted to welcome the warm weather with open arms and burnt hot dogs, lol.
 
Friday, we had a couples' night with friends Vick and Amber.  The guys played video games while the girls sipped wine in the kitchen.  DJ Amber had me wiggling to Beyoncé well into the wee hours of the morning; it was a LOT of fun!
 
 
Saturday, I headed for a morning at the spa/salon (facial, waxing, mani/pedi) while Munch went to the pool with her BFF, Jada.  We both got home and got pretty for a cookout in Maryland at one of my Dad's close friend's homes.
 


The cookout was awesome! They rented a huge moon bounce and margarita and [non-alcoholic] pina colada dispensers! There was lots of food and fun!
 
 
Sunday, after church service, we surprised Dad with a birthday cake.  He was in one of the church's side rooms casually talking with someone and I had Munch carry in his birthday cake followed by members of our congregation.  We sang Happy Birthday and cut the cake.  The best part, however, was how Misty made the cake (a Hawaiian shirt) to match Dad's fave shirt and he was wearing it!  Dad doesn't have much of a sweet tooth but when he tasted the peanut butter frosting (with Reese's peanut butter cup crumble in the filling), he insisted on eating a slice :)
 
 
Nope. I didn't get a 'before' pic. I'm the worst ever, I know!  Just trust me, it was fabulous... and tasty :)  We left church and headed to the beach to give Munch a quick dip in the water.
 
 
She looks like a big kid, right?! Weird. I know...
 
 
Did you see Little Miss Long Legs?  Double weird.  I know.
 
 
While Hubbs and I waited for the kid to finish playing in the playground by our neighborhood beach, his phone rang.  It was his aunt... on his father's side... the side we don't ever see or speak to.  She called to see what was "near to [us]."  She then proceeded to tell us a group of family decided to come visit us from Trenton, NJ and they were (get this craziness!) one hour away!
 
You didn't misread.  In-laws.  My in-laws.  The ones I haven't seen since Hubbs and I were dating... Yea, those people.  They were one hour away.  From my home.
 
I can't make this stuff up, folks.
 
I ran to the store for some food (the man wanted to grill).  Hubbs and the kid headed to wash sand out of her butt (we were at the beach and she was on my last nerve complaining about sand in her butt).  I ran home to light my candles and smooth out bed wrinkles (eh, the house looks great - lived in, but great).
 
The man gave me a budget of $50 for the meal because this wasn't a planned visit and he wanted to keep things simple (he knows better when dealing with me).  Here's what I came up with:
 
- Hot dogs
- Hamburgers
- Corn (10/$2)
- Watermelon
- Spinach Pasta Salad
- Roasted carrots (full-size pack for $2)
- Minute Maid Fruit Punch
- Chicken Salad with crackers (we already had supplies)
 
I spent $49.98 and fed 6 adults!  The family arrived.  We embraced.  They met Munchface and were smitten with her big smile and dimples.  His aunt, uncle and grandparents toured the house and couldn't get over seeing Hubbs as a grown man.
 
He grilled. I cooked.  Munch "hosted."  My helpers ensured the food didn't take too long.
 
 
 
We set up our BBQ spread on the dining room table (with Mason jars and paper straws for sipping)... I even poured the store-bought fruit punch into a pitcher (a party planner's secret) to make it look homemade.  I tellya, we showed those city folks how a last-minute, southern, low-key BBQ is done.  We ate, we laughed, we... talked about Wendy Williams and RHOA(??)... we laughed some more.  With their bellies full, they all took a nap.  After an hour, they woke to coffee and homemade sugar cookies.  The impromptu evening was a success! 
 
On their way out that night, his aunt apologized for poppin' by and gave me the best compliment:
 
"You guys have amazing hospitality.  Your home is beautiful and we truly FELT the love in this place today."
 
 I got all misty-eyed and thanked her...  She was in my home for a couple hours and felt what I've been trying to accomplish the whole time.  She promised to return soon and to not let any more time keep her from her nephew and his beautiful family.
 
Again, I say, SUCCESS!
 
Monday, we started the day hanging with DatMyHoney and Sheena:
 
 
 
The girls always have a good time.  Munch loves to care for DatMyHoney and DatMyHoney loves to follow Munch:
 
 
 
We couldn't play long because it was past Liv's nap time.  It took awhile to say bye (as it always does) but this face:
 
 
Made our day... just as it always does :)
 
 
After lunch, we hit up some friends' homes for another cookout. 
 
 
 
Their neighborhood was so cool... the kind of set-up you see on a sitcom where neighbors pop in and out of each other's homes without ringing bells and kids run wild without a worry because there's always someone to make sure they're all ok.  I was in awe of how friendly everyone was... I also had to get to work.
 
It was Tyrone's birthday and there was birthday behavior:
 
 
His sweet wife was also baking up some pretty treats for the neighbors to enjoy.  She tasked me with cutting pineapple slices and garnishing with cherries.  They looked like these:
 
 
... and they tasted like heaven, lol.  It was sad to see the weekend come to an end but we had work the next day and probably stayed much later than we should've.
 
Tuesday was Hubbs' birthday and we celebrated with a low-key evening (per his request).  He wanted spaghetti - done!  Munch wanted to decorate - done!
 
She tied his BIRTHDAY balloon to his dinner chair:
 
 
She then made a "curtain" of balloons by taping them to the window sill (I helped):
 
 
She packed his gift bag with the water-proof speaker he wanted and his favorite candy:
 
 
 
He came home and she turned off all the lights.  When she flicked the light switch and yelled surprise, he smiled at the set-up, he saw the cake and announced, "THAT'S HOT.  THAT'S THE BEST CAKE EVER!"
 
 
Misty did her thang, as usual.
 
 
 
Munch opened his gifts for him, lol.  Thank goodness she let him open his own cards... Mama may have written something a little inappropriate, lol:
 
 
We ate dinner and got excited about cutting the cake.  The man, however, had a different idea in mind.  He refused to cut the cake.  He wouldn't even let us put the candles in the cake:
 
 
No seriously, he held them during the song, blew them out:
 
 
... and adamantly refused to let us cut the cake!  We begged and pleaded and, after making Munch dance all silly-like, he agreed to cut the cake if, and ONLY if, he could save the Jordan from the top:
 
 
Needless to say, we cut it and MAN was it yummy!  I've got some things to share so see you tomorrow!

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