Yep. Another one of those weekends where friends and family conspire to subject me to altogether too much fun. The icing on the cake was the all too short visit by our Upstairs Neighbors from Las Lajas. They are making their way home to Arizona from Panama stopping by Connecticut for a family wedding. While we were all still in Panama, a calendar consultation revealed the opportunity to get together during their time in New England. So, 2/3 of the Seis Amigos were reunited yesterday. There was a lot less sand involved then the last time we were together.
The
weekend got off to a thwarted start when our First Friday of the Week dancing
plans went unfulfilled. We were getting ready to get in the car to travel to
the legion post when we heard from the Neighborhood Mafioso from our destination.
Apparently the band playing came with a large following because there were no
seats or even space at the bar. Since dinner was part of the equation, that would
not do. They went in search of an appropriate dining place and then vectored us
in. It was a fantastic spring evening so we dined outside in nearby West Boylston
and had the usual fantastic time with our best Worcester friends. 
2/3s of the Seis Amigos Reunited
Saturday
saw the arrival of my Favorite Son and his family to help welcome the Upstairs Neighbors
on Sunday. They decided, due to the granddaughters’ early morning proclivities,
that staying over Saturday night made more sense than Sunday. In other words, the
BRS and BR3 awake very early and they are not quiet about it. This theory was
validated on Sunday morning. Before that though, we had a fun Saturday afternoon
with the New Hampshire bunch. The BRS and BR3 volunteered to help their abuela
in her vast garden complex while the rest of us enjoyed yet another fabulous
New England spring day on Deckzilla. This included our first, of hopefully
many, dinners of the year on Deckzilla. 
Friday Night with the Neighborhood Mafiosos
BRS and BR3 are in the House 
Saturday Deckzilla Dinner
My
son and I took in the Celtics playoff game in the Man Cave Saturday night. This
marked the first complete NBA game I’ve watched in years. I still groaned about
the way the game is now officiated (allowing carries and traveling on virtually
every possession) but I enjoyed watching the exciting game with my son. The
Celtics epic comeback helped as well. Sunday morning saw the early morning wakeup
although our son herded his daughters downstairs providing us a respite. He eventually
allowed them upstairs to wake up their grandparents with chants demanding
hojaldras. My Favorite Panamanian convinced her granddaughters that going to
church with us would be a lot of fun (I seriously do not understand how she
does that). They went with us and were perfectly behaved. They even took part in
the children’s liturgy which meant they went downstairs without us. My wife
beamed proudly.
Granddaughters Assisting their Abuela in the Garden
Ready for Church 
Heading Downstairs at Church 
Posing After Church with us and our Son
Around
noon the additional guests we invited to celebrate the Upstairs Neighbors began
to appear. My younger sister couldn’t make it due to a fever but Great Aunt arrived,
along with Keene Friend, and the ABFA’s parents. We therefore had the entire
team in place when the Upstairs Neighbors showed up. They had gone through a
clearly benighted itinerary since leaving Panama. A delayed connecting flight
meant they flew into New York instead of the planned Boston and only four hours
of sleep before their Saturday wedding. As usual, they were still game to party
with us on Sunday. They immediately melded into our group which evolved into a very
fun afternoon. 
Such a Beautiful Family
BR3 Calls on Both Grandpas to Help with Tower Construction 
Sunday Dinner on Deckzilla
I
was subjected to inhaling the fragrance of sugar cookies placed directly in
front of me and everyone had a lot of fun with that, knowing this was an acid
test for my diet discipline. I passed, barely. I was successful in pawning off several
to the grandkids of our next-door neighbors who were having their own celebration.
We were entertained with an acapella singing performance by both granddaughters.
The BRS was very fetching singing a couple songs, including a Taylor Swift one,
that she had performed earlier in the week with her kindergarten class. BR3
followed her with a rendition of Take me Out to the Ballgame, complete with “root,
root, root for the Red Sox” included that had everyone thinking of Soxfather. The
afternoon wound down after passing by way too quickly as it is wont to do when
that much fun is achieved. 
BRS Performing
Son and BR3 
BRS Taking in Cheers
We
had a very nice chat with the Upstairs Neighbors after all the guests had left.
They recounted their travel adventures as well as the interesting wedding they
attended. They also caught us up on the doings at Las Lajas. The condo elevator
is working again (of course) and some hopefully new neighbors are making
progress on buying the condo right next to us. It was nice to hear about what
was going on with our second home but their reports on the weather since our
departure validated our decision to leave. They’d only had one visible sunset
in the month and half since we left. It has rained a lot with a lot of thunder
which meant the power had gone out repeatedly. Yep, good to be back in the land
of reliable electricity. 
ABFA's Awesome Parents
The "Fun" Table 
Great Aunt
Today’s
weigh-in, at 22 pounds lost towards 25-pound goal. The slow progress can be
laid at the feet of those sugar cookies sitting directly in front of me all
afternoon yesterday. I didn’t eat any but inhaling them was sublime, almost
erotic. Three pounds to go.
BR3 and ABFA
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; Seis Amigos
- two couples from our condo complex and my wife and I; 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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