Life of the Party

The party last night was a big success. I was hoping Jesse would take some pictures with her new camera, but she was busy playing volleyball and entertaining the crowd. My job was to crank out food in the kitchen. Toby’s job was to crank out food on the grill. I guess someone had to be the life of the party. We didn’t really get to enjoy the young people until after they were all fed. The food was deeelishous! It has been ages since I have baked a homemade cake, but yesterday I made a chocolate sheet cake that was melt-in-your-mouth-good. The Piper brought his Royals, and they played with the Grand Girls. At one point I looked over and saw Toby sitting in the glider surrounded by four little girls – he looked good with girls all over him. The Piper also brought some queso and some sort of cilantro mousse that were both good eatin’. I made several batches of daiquiris that were crowd-pleasing. There was just lots of food and lots of young people to enjoy it. I did get to play some volleyball before it got dark, and visit with Janice for a while too. We did not get into bed until late, but we slept well.

I love having people over, but with this little house, we have just not had too many gatherings here. My house in NM was perfect for entertaining with its large living/dining area. Last night made me long for a house that was set up for lots of people. That does not mean I need a huge house. It means I need a larger kitchen – one designed to cook in and visit in. When we lived in Red River, we lived in a trailer house that was built sometime in the 70’s. It was small, but well laid out. We had some great parties there. I think the kitchen should be the hub of the house. Someday…

This morning, Jesse wanted to run some errands in town, and she asked me to go with her. I rarely pass up a chance to get to spend time with the girl. She is always on the go, and I take my time with her as I can get it. We didn’t mean to do any major shopping, but we found this dress and these shoes. It was just too good to pass up. Since she was going to a wedding this evening we thought it was perfect. Here she is in her "Pretty Woman" dress. Toby thought it was more like "Under the Tuscan Sun" dress. What do you think? In yesterday’s photo, Jesse was turning three years old. Has she changed much? She is still pretty sassy.