A couple of weekends ago we gathered at my mom and stepdad’s house in Nashville for their annual end of summer bash. My sister and her family flew in for the week (and then Meghan hopped on a plane to New York with me!) and my nephew Brody was able to be there as well. We missed my stepbrother Craig who recently moved to Colorado.
Mom and Tom always have several activities planned for our trips there, and even the most low key are fun. Just being in their house is so calming for me. Well, until the kiddos start the dance parties.
I dare you to replicate that move at your next social gathering. I have no idea where she learned it. While I’ll admit that my sole dance move is one I made up myself, it looks nothing like that.
There were also more subdued activities, like puzzle building.
My mom knows that we all love doing puzzles but we’re too lazy to do the dirty work – the sorting and edge building. So before we arrive she always does it for us. (What a good mom!) We were so well prepared though that we had the entire 1000 piece Coca Cola puzzle done on the first day. So then we turned the kiddos loose on Pinnochio.
Grandad is always in charge of the outdoor activities, and that’s a treat of its own. While there’s always a fireworks display on our last evening together, this year there was also a pinata.
He made sure they got a good feel for it before they started swinging.
As it turns out this particular treasure chest was really, really tough.
So it took lots and lots of hits (and a little bit of coaching)…
By this time a crowd had gathered,
and they were getting restless.
So Grama took matters into her own hands.
She finally cracked that bad boy open to the delight of the onlookers, who were thrilled with the carefully chosen contents that went flying across the yard…
TAPE!!!
(Side note: no one ever believes me when I say all Sarah wants for gift giving occasions is tape. Go figure.)
Less thrilled with the contents was Grandad, who was in the direct line of fire and ended up with a battle wound.
Which may have been why each of the kids were only treated to one handful of change (instead of the usual two) at the end of the weekend.
Actually that’s not true. He told them they had way too many time outs on this trip (true dat) so only one handful was in order. Gotta love a Grandad who will keep it real with the spoiling.
Thanks for an awesome weekend Mom and Tom. You’ve outdone yourselves yet again!
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