Partay Times

It certainly was as my Favorite Panamanian and I hit the road this weekend to attend three separate parties celebrating the birth of our nation. We started out in Rhode Island on the 4^th where Great Aunt hosted a deck/pool party for her and Soxfather’s family. This was Namesake Nephew’s daughter’s first 4^th of July and naturally Great Aunt wanted to celebrate (and show off a nearly perfect baby a little bit). In her defense, the newest member of the family was easily the star of the show, handling the endless attention with aplomb. We weren’t in the house more than two minutes before my Favorite Panamanian had the baby in her arms (it’s what she does).

Celebrating the 4th with my Favorite Panamanian

She Immediately Grabbed the Baby

It was a great afternoon spent with these excellent people. Soxfather’s sister cast her usually calumny concerning my photographic abilities so I, as required, snapped a bunch of pictures of her to be posted here (you are most welcome). Great Aunt has completely redesigned her entire backyard surrounding the pool and I was totally impressed. She had to wrest control of the terrain from Remy, her lab, but it was worth the effort. It was a very fun way to kick off our 4^th of July celebrations.

Soxfather Sister Photo Montage

The new baby has created a new light in my sister’s family which was so good to see. Namesake Nephew, a Toyota mechanic, wanted to see my new car.  I had to repeatedly answer the most asked question of the weekend, “How do you fit in that?”. Since I was in a celebratory mode, my Favorite Panamanian got to drive the car home. This may or may not have been a result of the amount of Coors Lite my sister had available. Again, a great afternoon spent with some of my favorite people in the world.

Baby With Brother and Sister

Great Aunt and Namesake Nephew

Very Happy Great Aunt

Brother and Sister

Saturday saw us heading out again to attend our friends in Leicester’s annual Independence Day party. We missed it last year when we were in Ireland, but this is one of the most anticipated social events of the summer for us. As it was at my Great Aunt’s party, I was encouraged to jump in the pool. I had to decline, admitting my time in Panama had ruined me for New England pools. Without a real winter to thicken up my tropical blood, I was not ready to jump into a pool with the water temps less than 90. The host claimed I was in their pool last year and I said the only exception for my rule was when my granddaughters are involved, as I can deny them nothing.

Saturday Party

A Very Fun Table

It was very fun party, made more so by the attendance of our next-door neighbors. They got to know yesterday’s party hosts at our last party and were invited to this one. Our next-door neighbor is a real character and joined forces with the other characters that emerge from the Panamanian Mafia who was also out in force. We also got to reunite with our Czech Friends. They were operating on very little sleep, having arrived in the wee hours of Saturday morning from a trip to Yellowstone. My Czech Shadow, none the worse for wear, despite the lack of sleep, immediately took up station and peppered me with questions about the granddaughters who she has adopted into her circle.

Wife Engaged with Mafia

Not Everybody was Afraid of Pool Temps

With my Czech Shadow

It was a fun gathering with an eclectic crowd ranging from our host’s family, their grandkids’ friends, the Panamanian Mafia etc., etc. There was literally a mountain of food served as everybody brought a dish to augment the host’s usual layout. My only criticism would be the presence of nuts in the chocolate chip cookies but that faux pas was redeemed when they unveiled a full sized, liberally sliced marble cake. All was well with the world after that.  I drove home from this gathering after I demonstrated to the skeptical friends that I can very easily get in and out of the new car.

Our Awesome Saturday Hosts with our Next Door Neighbors

After these two days of travel/partying, I was fully prepared and anticipatory of spending a leisurely Sunday afternoon, parked in front of the television watching the Red Sox. Alas, that was not to be. We had just returned from church when we received a frantic call from our Saturday party hosts. They needed our help. There was a lot of food left over from the party and they needed help in getting rid of it. I was wavering on making the half hour drive again when I heard that cheeseburgers were involved and our Czech friends would be assisting in the effort.  With that information provided, the decision was made. The lone mistake was failing to ask about the marble cake. I learned upon arrival that the delicacy had met its end at the hands of the younger crowd the day before. Despite that, it was a great afternoon spent with these good friends. The day before had been so crowded that we didn’t get to talk with them as much as we would have liked. It was a great way to polish of the 4^th of July weekend party sequence.

The Sunday Crew

Of course, we weren’t the only ones partying this weekend. We received multiple reports from both granddaughter camps. The New Hampshire bunch was certainly a moving target as they journeyed up in to the White Mountains to spend the 4^th at one of the ABFA’s uncle’s lake side cottage. They returned yesterday for another party followed by fireworks. There was additional excitement for that, when they adjusted the fireworks to explode below a cloud bank which resulted in post-explosion debris, some still lit, descending on the crowd.

Son's Family Ready to Celebrate

Meanwhile, in New Jersey, the FBR was at a sky diving camp. No, she wasn’t jumping out of a plane. One of her friends had a birthday party where they got to ride the wind in one of the devices that trains sky divers. I was impressed with the FBR’s form. They were also out for fireworks and a clown show yesterday. The re-opening of the town’s library after an extensive renovation was a huge event for both of these voracious readers. So, the fam did it up right, as our country certainly deserves.

Winged FBR

FBR Hovering

Good Form

Taking it all Casually, Of Course

Out with her Mom for Fireworks

Four movies fell in the A-Z watch, all keepers: The Quiet Man – best John Ford movie ever, so cool to watch after last year being in Irish town where it was filmed; A Quiet Place – immense tension generated by the impossible situation this family finds itself; Quo Vadis – epic film about ancient Rome I loved as a kid; Raising Arizona – hilarious take on the most inept criminals ever.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------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 her single days in Brooklyn; Czech Connection – Czech couple who’ve become good friends along with their daughter (the Czech Shadow); 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 3^rd 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 (whom I miss more than I can ever explain); Tia Loca – wife’s younger sister; Wingman – my son in law; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course