My Favorite Panamanian and I were feeling a little bit lost in the weeks following the granddaughter summer residency program. There were no early morning wakeups followed by hojaldra chants and I’ve haven’t had to lock the bathroom door once since they left. Still, it’s tough following up the almost constant entrainment provided by this energetic bunch. While my high school classmates did an admirable job of distracting us last weekend, we were bereft for the just past weekend. This was, of course, easily solved with a Saturday trip up to the New Hampshire seacoast to hang out with my son’s family for a couple days.
The days were both pretty rainy so we
were limited to indoor activities for the most part but this made the antics of
the BRS and BR3 all the more lovable since I didn’t have to chase them down. There
was some chasing involved, however, as I was ordered to play the part of the
tickle monster for a large part of Saturday afternoon. They established the
couch as a “safe zone” and I was charged with frightening them if they ever ventured
off. They eventually drafted their abuela as “savior” as they know I cannot
deny the Favorite Panamanian anything and she could quickly rescue them from
the clutches of the monster. 
One Very Happy Grandpa
The Artistes at Work 
Masterpieces Created 
BR3 Protecting her Ice Cream from her Abuela
We ended Saturday afternoon at the local
ice cream emporium where the BRS pitched a bit of a fit. She tried to commandeer BR3’s ice cream
when she arrived at the table and did not like being rebuffed. She sought
counsel from the ABFA at a nearby bench. After the kids went to bed, my son and
I watched some very entertaining college football games, including the last
second loss by Notre Dame to Ohio State. Neither of us were fans of either team
but we swore we could hear Keene Friend 2 scream in disgust 100 miles away when
the game ended.
BRS and ABFA at Ice Cream Place
"We Want Hojaldras!" 
BR3 Gets her Hojaldra 
ABFA and BRS at Restaraunt 
BR3 Escapes Again
Sunday dawned with the obligatory
hojaldras before the ABFA had to leave because she had a football game. She was
playing in the game, not watching. She is further cementing her status as the absolute
best family athlete, scoring a couple touchdowns in the game. She won but she says
she felt bad for the other team. Women. We celebrated the win by taking my son’s
family out to lunch. More correctly we took them out so the BRS and BR3 could
repeatedly patronize the restaurant’s bathroom while the adults ate. It’s a
good thing they are as charming as they are. I’ve never enjoyed losing a fantasy
football matchup as much as I did yesterday. My team was playing my son’s but
we watched the Patriots’ game together in his thoroughly awesome home theater.
Riggins was in charge of popcorn cleanup requirements. I spent part of Sunday
pushing one of the granddaughters around the cul-de-sac in front of their house
while the other one chased us on a tricycle. They would switch off between each
lap but I was never relieved so this qualified as a bona fide workout, which is
good because an unacceptable amount of cookies were missing after the football
game watching. Even the long drive home through Sunday traffic in the rain couldn’t
diminish the restoration of morale by the time spent with the granddaughters
and their fantastic parents. 
Very Fun Lunch
Meanwhile in New Jersey the FBR Visited the Slime Museum
One movie fell in my A-Z watch, a keeper and new addition to the library:
The Flash – this year’s movie was a real treat, especially all the unbilled
cameos, really liked it despite the critics and whatever the actor might have
done off duty
Didn't Know that was a Thing, Figured to be in New Jersey Though
RECURRING CHARACTERS:
ABFA – Amazing Best Family
Athlete - my daughter
in law; BR3 – Blog Reader #3 – granddaughter
#3; BRS - Blog Reader the Sequel -
second granddaughter; Cantankerous Friend – friend since grade school who likes to argue
about everything, poses as radical leftist to attract women; CRC - Connecticut
Riverboat Captain – another close friend from high school, renowned sailor
of the big river; Curbside Girls – close
friends of my daughter acquired during him her single days in Brooklyn; Deckzilla – our backyard deck which
grew to monstrous dimensions once my wife got involved in planning; Favorite Panamanian - the wife (of
course); FBR - First Blog Reader -
first granddaughter; First Friday –
celebrations to mark the First Friday of the Week; Great Aunt - my elder sister; Keene
Friends 1 & 2 – friends since high school from my home town of Keene,
NH; Kindergarten Friend – friend
since kindergarten whom I reunited with after many years; Maine and Virginia Musqueteras – two close friends of my wife –
her US sisters, my wife is the 3rd Musquetera (musketeer); Namesake Nephew –
son of Great Aunt and Soxfather named after me; Neighborhood Mafioso - wife's close friend and Panamanian mafia
member; PanaGals – female relatives /friends
of my wife from Panama; Panamanian/Latin
Mafia – inevitable group of Latino friends my wife accumulates wherever we
have lived & their spouses; PCR - Pittsburgh College Roommate– high
school friend, also a “Minor Celebrity” in Pittsburgh; PCR+1 - Pittsburgh College Roommate’s wife; Riggins - also known as the
Grandpuppy, son's dog; Soxfather -
my brother in law; Tia Loca – wife’s younger sister; Wingman – my son in law; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course
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