Mary, the birthday girl, and a handsome mariachi
(Yes, I know "a relative" is very vague, and I would be more specific...if I could. My brothers and cousins have all tried to figure out the family connection, but we can't. It's a big family, with lots of people, and anyone we can't instantly place--i.e., anyone not in our immediate family--automatically becomes a cousin. It's not an exclusive club--if you've been around the family a year or two, attended more than one family function, or just have brown hair and eyes, you automatically receive "cousin" status.)
Anyway, the party had everything a good party should have--a gracious birthday host, live music (mariachis!), good food, and microbrewery beer. Oh yeah, and the guests were all first-rate, too--your party is only as good as your guest list, and this one was top-notch.
The highlight for me was simply being surrounded by family. It was so great to see the different generations spread across three tables. There was a table of "adults" (my parents, aunts, uncle), one of "kids" (me, my brother, his wife, and my cousins) and a "grandkids/cousins" table, where we parked anyone under 10--my son, my brother's kids, and my cousin's kids. It was just such a blast to look at the parents' table, and think, Wow, that is my history. That is where I come from. And then to look at the little kid's table next to it and think, Wow, that's our next generation--one time we were that little, and sitting at a table just like that with our cousins.
There was even a slide show that highlighted Mary's life. Mark was fidgety when it started, so I pulled him in close to me, and pointed out the people I knew in the slides. I felt like I was passing on our family history to him, telling him, These were my people, and now, they're your people, too. I thought it would bore him, but he really liked hearing all the stories. He is one of us, one of our clan, and it made me proud that he was so curious about it all.
And then there was Sunday, which was the other end of the age spectrum. My nephew Grant turned four, and his party was equally entertaining, if in a completely different way. Saturday night was about dressing up and enjoying a night out, but Sunday was all about Jedis, and the Force, and a giant double-dolphin water slide.
Scott and Mari sure know how to throw a party, even for a 4-year-old. When Mark and I saw that huge water slide in the driveway, our eyes almost popped out! It was AWESOME! Mark could barely wait to get out there.
The kids climbed up the ladder at breakneck speed, and came shooting down the slide even faster. They landed with a splash into a small pool at the bottom, then jumped out and repeated the whole process. I swear, they must've gone up and down that thing 75 times an hour!
The adults sat alongside the giant slide, nibbling appetizers and yelling the occasional, "One at a time! Wait until he gets out of the pool!" Scott cooked up a healthy pile of ribs and chicken, all marinated in his homemade sauce. Mari prepared and plated all the side dishes, and she wasn't kidding when she said they had enough to feed an army (and what a happy, well-fed army that would have been!). Like they say on the cooking shows, it was all so good, it made you wanna slap yo' momma. :-)
So that was our weekend...lots of good fun with the family. I always tease my mom about spending quality time with me (she hates that phrase), but really, that's what it felt like--quality. I couldn't think of a better way to spend my weekend.
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