I got up fairly early, took a shower, flushed the holding tanks so we’d go into the party with them empty, took out the trash, and started working on the food. I made pasta salad, bean salad, and skewers of chicken and veggies while Lex grilled the burgers and dogs. After Lex got her shower, I sent her to the store for more ice. I cleaned out the stall and added forty pounds of ice for an instant cooler! I filled it with bottles of water and soda and put our regular cooler outside with more drinks inside. Folks got a kick out of touring the RV, opening the shower door, and spotting our impromptu fridge.
I was still chopping veggies for the skewers at 2 p.m. when Lex’s brother, Michael showed up with his daughters and his stepson. We got the girls eating right away and I sent Devin up on the roof to prune away the branches that have been scratching against our roof and AC unit. We’ve had an infestation of carpenter ants, and I suspect some of them may be coming in from the tree branches above the RV. We’re worried about the ants because they will nest in the walls and chew away at the insulation if we don’t treat them. All the commercial pesticides for them are really toxic, so I think I’ll be getting some borax and making a homemade bait. It’s usually pretty effective on most bugs and won’t kill us or the animals.
Over the next couple of hours, more folks showed up. In all, I think we had two dozen people show up including Lex’s uncle and great aunt, my cousins, some of my coworkers, Carrie and Kathy, Lex’s friends Jodi, Tuong, and Kristi, plus Sarahh and Corinne. In the nearly 8 years Lex and I have been together, it was the first time any of our family members had the opportunity to meet. I’m sad that Lex’s mom and dad weren’t here for the party, but Lex’s dad had surgery this week and he’d only just gotten home, so Lex’s mom stayed home to take care of him and sent Michael and family on to represent the Brown clan.
We played some games I’d drummed up, including the “no” game. Basically, everyone gets a lei (courtesy of the dollar store). During the party, folks mingle and chat, and they try to get one another to say the word “no.” If they do, then they collect their opponents’ leis. I called time at 5 p.m., and Lex’s Aunt Yvonne took the prize. She had a ridiculous number of leis around her neck! She took the prize of some patio lights while Kathy got second prize and a copy of John Waters’ Pink Flamingos. Winning the “find the flamingos” game was Lex’s littlest niece, Cierra. She got a flamingo beanie baby. Lex’s other niece, Ariel, won the pick up swizzle sticks game and nabbed a couple of coloring books. I think folks had fun with my corny little games. They got people laughing and chatting, and that’s always a good thing. Folks starting leaving after 5 p.m., but a few lingered on until later. The last of them, Cassia, Ewing, and Theresa, exited at 10 p.m.. Lex and I were beat, but I tried to clean up what I could before we went to bed so we wouldn’t wake up to too big a disaster area in the morning.
I should add that we got some nice trailerwarming gifts. Carrie and Kathy got us a pound of Amish bacon! Woot! They know what we like. We got cash from Lex’s great aunt, uncle, and her friends Jodi and Tuong, and Theresa, one of the students in the Rainbow Club at school, gave us a gas card.
Otis was beat after the party. He’d gotten a lot of attention, and I think half the people there took him on a walk at some point or other during the evening. He doesn’t get that much exercise in a normal week! He’s been a little bummed lately, so I think it was good for him to be on the receiving end of so much affection.
