What Has Possessed Me?

This weekend was great!! It was so much fun being around family, whom I don't get to see often enough.

My aunt and Uncle arrived Thursday morning, and I left work early to greet them at our house. Having traveled from Minnesota, they were excited to soak up some sun and play a lot of golf. We had a little lunch and then I left to "pick up Avery."

This weekend was my uncle's 60th birthday celebration, so he had no idea that my aunt, myself and my mom had cooked up a plan to surprise him. So by going to "pick up Avery", I was actually going to the airport to pick up my folks. As we walked into the house, I walked in first, urging Avery to walk into the living room from the rear of the house. And lo & behold, out walks my parents, much to my Uncle's surprise. "You didn't think I'd let you ring in 60 w/out me did you," my mom laughed. My mom and Uncle have an on-going thing of one-upping each other on significant birthday occasions (like the 30s, 40s & 50s...and well, now the 60s). "You've got yours coming, sweetheart", he retorted.

The next day, my uncle, Jimmy and I were scheduled to play golf at a really nice course in Chandler. That morning, while out on the driving range, who shows up, but my uncle's golfing buddy from Minnesota, Jeff. "You know I had to come out to beat you on your birthday." He was completely floored! "Damn, the surprises keep coming!".

We had a fun round of golf, despite the high scores and unbelievable number of balls lost. The course was most unfriendly due to all the watery holes. And I only played one round of golf, while the guys played for two more days. Jimmy was beside himself. I don't think he's ever gotten to play three rounds of golf in a row. Sadly, dad didn't get to play on account of his having had surgery on his elbow recently, but he certainly enjoyed his downtime.

Avery was a champ! She's such a ham! She was a bit clingy to mom and dad with all the people around, but she had no problems sharing kisses and hugs and putting on her little spinning dance performances. It was very cute. The nights were trying though for mom & dad, as Avery continues to cut more teeth. We're up to two canines now. And we expect the bottom two to push through soon as well.

We're now settling back into our normal routine, but we had a wonderful time with our family in town!

This is why we try to avoid bringing Avery into bed w/ us anymore. Mommy gets nudged out.