Celebrating Guatemala's Little Gift to Us

Slept in until 750am, and by the time I was downstairs prepping coffee is was just after 8am. The sky was partly clear with dappled sunshine all about the deck. It was pretty warm, too, 60 degrees. While the coffee brewed, I played around on the internet. Ten minutes later coffee was ready. While enjoying coffee I read news headlines, which included a recap of the Buckeyes victory over Wisconsin.

Mindy asked that I order Bella's new TV over the weekend, so I took care of that ahead of my run. I was a little disappointed that the price was $20 more than it was the weekend prior, though still $8 cheaper than it was last November when we bought the same model for our own bedroom. Her birthday will likely come and go before the TV arrives. If that's indeed the case, our plan 'b' is to wrap a photo of it. After the TV was ordered, I booked 5 nights at Holiday Valley for our annual family Xmas ski vacation. We got one of the last rooms available at the Inn. Wahoo!

Mindy was up and downstairs just as I was wrapping up the booking. Enjoyed a little coffee and chit-chat but then promptly dressed and left for a much needed run. Anytime I spend money in globs like that I need to run. It help's me process the parting ways with my cash. Like most Sunday's, I ran just three miles.

On my return home I poured a 2nd cup of coffee then spent more time playing around online. Mindy was busy decorating the kitchen/family room for Bella's family birthday celebration. She asked me to get the cornhole boards out again. Ugh - what a pain. I just put them away from last week's event. Mindy left to get Bella's cake around noon. She planned to pick-up a few other items as well, including ice. I thought I might stuff a few beers in the cooler this time.

Mindy asked that I vacuum the downstairs while she was away. Not only did I vacuum, but I Windexed the glass entry doors and TV too. Can't stand to see finger prints on glass. Mindy wasn't gone that long. And shortly after she returned, the kids arrived home from a weekend with their dad. I knew they were coming home early, but not that early. I was immediately perturbed by Jacob, who tossed his dirty soccer cleats down on the steps leaving cakes of dirt and mud behind after I had just finished vacuuming. I suggested he revacuum the steps while vacuuming his room just as his mother suggested. Bella was dispatched to her room to get it cleaned up too.

It couldn't have been but about 1230pm. Bella's party was supposed to start about 4pm. What to do? I was a little anxious, but why I am not 100% certain. However, anytime we're expecting a house full I get to feeling that way. The plan was to order Rotolo's pizza from Grandview, Bella's special request. That would be a welcome, having not ordered pizza from Rotolo's for several years.

The Vikings/Steelers game from London wasn't televised locally. Just as well, I didn't want to watch anyhow. In fact, I didn't feel like watching any pro football. It must've been around 230pm when I headed outside to play football with Jacob and Cody in the neighbors backyard. I was all-time quarterback. Jacob's got about a foot and a half on Cody. Not fair at all. To help even things I threw more than a few errant passes so Cody would have a chance to intercept. Jacob was a really good sport about it.

When we headed back inside Mawmaw was already at the house. I gave her a welcome to our home hug. By then Mindy had most of the birthday spread laid out. Just a few short minutes later Jimaken showed up with his new squeeze, Molly. We were anxious to meet her. Bella's had nothing but wonderful things to say about her. She's young, seemingly friendly, an attorney, and quite attractive. Mindy and I both extended a warm welcome into our lovely home. She brought Mindy a party gift, a autumn spice candle. Nice!

Not too much time passed before most others arrived, and soon we had a house full. Mindy reminded me to go after the pizzas just after 4pm. Brother-in-law Larry offered to ride along. During the ride, we talked about Lindey's ongoing battle with thyroid cancer and the prognosis after two surgeries. Can't seem to get test results and/or information back from the oncologist fast enough. Frustrating story but most likely with a happy ending. Like many doctor's, a patient is just that, a patient - a number. To the family, however, she is precious and no mountain will be left unclimbed.

The last of the five pizzas were coming out of the oven when we arrived. Had to wait a few minutes. Gave the girl at the counter a small tip, though many would argue unnecessary for a pick-up order. I gave her $5. Back at home the Rotolo's pizza was a big hit. Appears we ordered just about the perfect amount, too. Learned that the Vikings won their first game of the season beating the Steelers in London 34-27. Around 5pm Mindy pulled everyone together to sing happy birthday to Bella. We put her on display behind the birthday table (see pics).

A short while after enjoying cake, Bella opened her gifts. Received several gift cards to Justice, her favorite place to shop for fashion. She received a gag gift from her father, a box of German chocolates with a note stating from mawmaw. Somehow or another that piece got missed, tossed out with the wrapping paper. I wondered why when Bella opened it, Jimaken was sporting a sheepish grin. That took some cojones.

For whatever the reason, like a lot of our family parties, the weather turned cloudy. Still, it was pleasant enough that many congregated on the deck enjoying the warm outdoors. I bounced between inside and out, eventually accepting an invite from Jacob to toss the football. Funny thing has happened over the past couple of years. After not doing much of any catching and tossing of the football, my skills have all but diminished. Had a really hard time making routine catches where I always prided myself on catching anything near my hands. In fact, I taught Jacob the art of having "soft hands", a technique he cites repeatedly, and now back to me. :) After 30 minutes or so my soft hands came back, at least in part. And before we were done, he had me heaving throws the entire length of our make-shift football field. Truth be told, I was more than a little concerned that our fun might lead to shoulder pain during the coming week. We tossed the football until daylight was all but gone. By then all of our guests departed and Mindy was inside staring the clean-up process.

I headed upstairs and changed out of my sweaty clothes then plopped down on the sofa to watch some NFL highlights. Mindy asked for some help with clean-up. I washed all of the big party dishes by hand. Initially, I thought I might drink another beer or two (had two earlier) but ultimately decided against it. Instead, I drank ice water with lemon.

Tuned into the SNF game around 8pm - Patriots/Falcons. Mindy headed to bed fairly early. I joined her around 930pm after starting to dose from the family room. But like a lot of nights, I just couldn't fall asleep despite being physically tired. Mindy was having the same problem. I talked about getting up and heading back downstairs to watch more football but never did. She rubbed my head and then we cuddled for a while. Just before drifting off to sleep, I turned on the bedroom TV and watched the end of the SNF game. Exciting ending. Atlanta was 17 points down with 8 minutes left. With a chance for a tie, the game ended after Atlanta failed on 4th down from the Patriots 10 yard line. Final score 30-23.