Bubbles for Mother

It was close to 730am by the time I rolled out of bed, brushed my teeth, then headed downstairs. Unfortunately it was depressingly cloudy & wet. Though not raining at the time, it looked like it had rained fairly heavily in the last hour or so. I started coffee then logged onto the computer. Enjoyed coffee for about an hour before taking off on a run.

Around 815aM I was joined downstairs by Bella asking if I would help cook Mindy breakfast for Mother’s Day. Too cute. I suggested she let me run first. She agreed, and headed back to her room to watch TV. I wore shorts and a loose fitting long-sleeved wicking shirt. It was 57 degrees and spitting a little rain but nothing to be too concerned with. I didn’t have the benefit of my ball cap, having left it behind upstairs. I elected to head out the door without it.

I ran the usual three miles and felt good doing so. Happened upon Mike O. out with the Jack Russell’s as I neared home. We chatted briefly about the weather.

Took Mindy some coffee after my run with Bella in tow. She invited Bella to crawl into bed and snuggle for a while. Bella did so happily. I headed back downstairs where I played around online for another 30 minutes or so before starting some sausage on the stove. Among other things, I sent my mom a happy Mother’s Day email along with a photo of some lovely flowers. Saturday evening, Mindy told me not to bother making a new omelet, but instead to reheat the one she made Saturday, which there was plenty remaining in a large storage container in the fridge.

I’m thinking it was near 1030am when I alerted Mindy & Bella that breakfast was ready. They were watching a movie on WGN, Nim’s Island. They joined me downstairs but not before finding their movie on the family room TV. They were way into it. Can’t recall if Mindy opened her Mother’s Day gifts before or after eating. Bella & Jacob got her a plant – to start from seed with a loving message on the pot. I got her the pricey Pandora charm she wanted from Jared’s. The reheated omelet was very tasty. I cleaned up the kitchen afterwards.

To that point, it was a cloudy, rainy, drippy Sunday. A review of the radar showed rain tracking roughly parallel to interstate 70 and to its south. Just to the north of 70 looked fairly dry. We’re north, but not even by a mile. We were getting rain. Mindy reminded me that Lindsey and the boys were coming over to do laundry around 1pm. Two of the girls texted Mindy a happy Mother’s Day. I texted them both a similar message.

In between the bouts of rain, I headed out and pulled some baby weeds from one of the front flower beds – the one closest to the front door. For some reason, it’s far more weed prone than the others (thistle and clover). Given that the soil was nice and wet, the weeds came up & out easily. Lindsey and the boys arrived while I was busy in the flower beds. I tried to get Landon to come out with me but he didn’t want to. Rocky did, but insisted on playing baseball even though the rain came down harder. He tried to no avail to get Bella, Makayla, and Emily to play baseball with him. He resorted to asking me when they failed him. I said no too since it was raining. He practiced hitting by himself.

I took a nap around 1pm and slept for about an hour. Felt good. Could’ve slept even longer. At 230pm I took a shower in preparation for our trip up north to Craig’s place to celebrate Mother’s Day. We planned on getting there around 330pm.

Jacob wouldn’t be joining us. Instead, he had a soccer tournament in New Albany. We planned to pick him up from his dad’s place on our way home. Bella was real excited a bout going with us since it was raining. She figured to be trapped inside all afternoon. Her mood picked up a little bit when I shared that it wasn’t raining in Powell, at least not according to the radar. We left the house around 250pm. By the time I finished my shower Mindy had everything gathered and ready to go. Lindsey and the boys planned to stick around until the laundry was done. Lindsey agreed to walk Eiknarf before heading home, which she guessed to be near 5pm.

By the time we exited 270 at Sawmill the rain had all but stopped. The sky was still cloudy but high, thin clouds only. As we trekked further north it looked drier and drier. Arrived at Craig & Jeff’s near 330pm. We were some of the last to arrived. Jeff’s father, John was in town from Florida. Haven’t seen him since our trip early summer 2006. Looks good. Says he’s lost a bunch of weight, most from using an elliptical machine.

Met Craig’s new nurse practitioner. Mary Ann, I think was her name. Also met her husband and son, Gus, a fie year old little spit fire full of energy and an a rather expansive vocabulary. He entertained everyone for hours with his affection for super heroes. Often referred to himself as Super Gus. I don’t think he stopped moving around or talking all afternoon long. And that’s no exaggeration.

Dinner was served around 5pm. We had City Barbeque – beef, pork, green beans, baked beans, and coleslaw. Everybody brought something to complement the main meal. We brought a veggie and fruit tray. Everything was delicious. Many enjoyed the sangria C & J mixed up in their new glass decanter. I stuck with water. Walked around the yard checking out the home landscape. Lots to appreciate. And while it might’ve been cooler than anyone hoped, it was dry and subsequently afforded the kids, and everyone else for that matter, the opportunity to hang outdoors. The little ones stayed busy around the double ponds catching tiny frogs and or feeding the giant grass carp.

Jeff & Craig wisely picked up some bubble makers to keep the kids busy. I got a couple cool photos of bubbles skipping across the pond. Dessert time arrived around 6pm. There were three or four options. I opted for the strawberries dipped in chocolate concoction. Can’t recall its proper name. It was different than I expected. Mindy said the same.

Got a little nappy after dessert. But really, I’d been tired all day long. We prepped to leave around 7pm, still needing to make a stop at Jimaken’s to pick-up Jacob. We thanked C & J for their hospitality and wished everyone well then were on our way. Arrived to pick-up Jacob around 730pm. While Mindy & Bella headed inside to get Jacob I called my mom.

Mom was doing well and said she’d heard from all her boys I believe. Good. She was curious about my colonoscopy to which I happily shared. Mindy talked with her briefly too once she and the kids were out. I’m guessing it was near 8pm when we finally arrived home. Bella quickly ran off to play with Makayla. Sadly, we were greeted with a huge mess on the kitchen floor. Eiknarf had torn open a bag of trash left out by Mindy. There was food and garbage strewn everywhere. Took Mindy and I several minutes to clean it up. The bag was chalked full of old leftovers. I mopped after we cleaned it up.

Once the mess was addressed, I tuned the TV to History Channel 2 where we watched back-to-back episodes of The Universe, one of my favorite TV shows. Mindy had both kids shower over the next hour then the three of them headed for bed just after 9pm. I stayed up a while longer, or until 10pm.