weekend at the compound-this time with beads!

2-21-12

Papa Brenan showed up at our house on Thursday evening and offered a most unusual opportunity for the boys. He asked if they would like to fly up to the Compound with him on Friday. He would pick them up from school around noon and then the three of them would fly up to Sacramento, at which point he would drive them up to the house. They were thrilled! This also meant Ken and I would be able to get a good head start on a potentially traffic laden drive. Plus, it meant a 7 hour ride with none of the standard, “are we there yet” questions.

Ken and I were on the road by 10. We texted with Andy not far outside of Sacramento and I informed him we were without kids this trip. He thought I was joking until I sent him a pic of the empty back seat. We even stopped by their house and he was surprised. Sadly, I could not keep up the joke. I told them that the boys were actually at the airport (they had just landed around the time we got to Andy’s).

While at their place for a few minutes, I was extremely excited when Scotty saw my hair and told me he loved it! I got the Gay Yay! Woo hoo!!!

We got up to the house before Papa Brenan and the boys. We opted to not tell Grandma. She ran out to greet us, and we said hello, and you could see she was looking around for her grandchildren. We told her they were not with us. We explained they were with the Grandfolk. We of course didn’t tell her which Grandfolk. We played dumb about Papa Brenan’s whereabouts. She was upset, but clearly was trying to not be angry that we would come all the way up with no kids.

The sound of our boys broke the tension about 30 minutes after we got there, and the boys even played along with a loud, “Boo!” when they came into the kitchen. It was an awesome sigh of relief.

Saturday was a busy day. We had a couple of outings, leaving the boys to play with their grandparents for a bit. I was pleased that when we were up there, the four of them really hung out and bonded. It made me very happy.

There were two grand occasions that needed celebrating on Saturday. The first was Christmas. There were many presents for the boys from multiple family members that needed opening. They were quite pleased with their Angry Bird shirts and game. There was also candy that I am pretty sure would have been devoured fully by Dax had I not confiscated it.

That evening, we celebrated Bobby’s birthday. He got lots of Star Wars things, including these little squishy figures they both are in love with right now. What was super sweet was that Bobby got a large box of them and a smaller one. He offered to Dax that he could have the smaller box so they could share. I was impressed! These little squishy guys were the hit of the weekend and they played with them for a couple of hours, setting them up on dominoes and making them fly around the house. It was really nice to see this kind of playing.

Sunday was really the best day. Nevada City was having a Mardi Gras parade. We went down and wandered the street faire first, and then found a spot to watch the parade. Broad Street is a nice long street that goes through the heart of town. We assumed the parade would be tiny, but it turned out to be a pretty good sized event, with lots of participants. We were mostly concerned with getting beads for the boys, and by the time the parade was over, we had not disappointed. They each were weighed down by the tons of beads we had procured for them.

At one point, in between parade groups, there were some beads in the middle of the street. Since both sides of the street had portable small fencing keeping the spectators out of the celebration, no one could get to the beads. Plus, there were a couple of volunteer guards who were patrolling the area. One woman in particular was a stickler for no one being allowed in the street. She yelled at several people who climbed the barrier or who were walking up the street in the middle instead of going on one of the sides. So during this break in parade flow, we saw that the guard was distracted. Ken dropped Dax over the barrier and told him to run get the beads. He did, and was super cute when he did. He mad dash across and back resulted in the crowd erupting in cheers. It was the absolute best part of the whole parade!

One of the groups in the parade was a bunch of awesome soap box cars. There was a coffin, a port a potty, and other awesome vehicles. What was really funny is that I had just been saying that this street would be fantastic for a soap box derby. Sure enough, I was not the only one who thought this. In June, they would be racing these down this street! YAY! We will be heading back to the Compound for this fun event!

Although our days were mostly filled with fun, Ken and I were sleepy most of the time. Between the bed being insanely uncomfortable, Luna and Lycos being vocal all night, and various random sounds like melting snow, we did not get a whole lot of sleep.

I did manage to get in some walking. Andy, Mom, the boys and I walked down to the end of the driveway, which is a half mile down, which means it is also a half mile up a pretty significant incline. I not only walked it, I walked it well! I was only slightly winded, and didn’t need to stop in the middle of the biggest part of the hill, which is something I would have had to do before. I did have Ken come pick up the bikes (the boys rode them down) and Lycos. My poor old pup would have collapsed.

Miss Luna had a hell of a time with Bella. Bella is a 18 month old Boxer idiot. I suppose all Boxers are idiots, or at least all the ones the Brenans seem to get. Bella was thrilled to have another pup to play with and Luna was happy at first, too. In fact, they mostly played a lot. The only problem was that Bella did not have an off switch. She chewed on my poor Luna constantly. You could tell Luna was trying desperately to not have to kill this dog. Thank goodness my pup is patient. A couple of times she would run to hide behind me, and I did the full Mama Bear thing with Bella and growled at her as Luna laughed behind me. It was pretty fun.

Bella also jumped up on Bobby several times, knocking him down when he had anything in his hand that this dog might want. She also was tugging at Dax’s PJ’s and upsetting him a bit. Needless to say, Bella was constantly trying to win me over after I had to scold her several times.

Bobby became toothless Sunday morning. His front tooth finally dangled enough that I could yank it out with no pain to the kid. He already started talking funny, which was super endearing. Thankfully, we had brought the tooth goblin with us, so he was able to hold on to the tooth and also presented Bobby with a little token prize. It was just another one of those Star Wars guys, but he was THRILLED! I was happy to not be one of the masses who gives their kid $10 for a tooth. That seemed excessive. His new tooth is already peeking. He also has another loose one on the bottom. Dax does, too. The goblin will be getting a lot of work here soon!

We said goodbye to the Compound Monday morning. My plan was to leave by 7, but we got out about 8, which isn’t too bad. Thankfully, despite a rather traffic filled drive, our speeds didn’t dip down too much, and we kept at a pretty good pace. The boys watched several Star Wars flicks, and Dax even took a nap. And even though it could have been one of those tough trips, Ken and I managed to keep it fun and we chatted the whole time, coming up with ideas for things like Bobby’s party this Saturday and what needs to be done for Dax’s cemetery. It will be a busy week!

I got my dress for Vegas. I pulled it out of its packaging and my first thought was, fuck. This thing is way too small for me. I went in and put it on. When it zipped up, with leeway, I about passed out. It is a super cute dress, and perhaps too dressy for the occasion, but honestly, I don’t care. My ass fit in this dress!!! WOO FUCKING HOO!

Mr. Bobby wants a Blue’s Clue’s party. So the plan is to do three clues as to what his present is. Then three clues as to where it is hidden. We will need to get these paw prints that Ken can get from Pacific. I need a red table cloth since we will be converting the picnic table into the “Thinking Chair”. It is a small party, and we have to clean house and get out some invites to the couple of kids he is asking from school. Should be cute!

Friday I will leave work early to take cupcakes down to his class, too. That will be so dang much fun!! Note to self; make sure to bring a cupcake for Dax, too!

Sunday may be crazy. I think we may be heading out to Grammie’s for her birthday celebration. During that, I am also considering making a stop out in Murrietta to pick up some items from Sandra. Oh, and Ken has a birthday party. Sheesh! I would say some of these things will not be easy to accomplish.

Interesting news; Angela just told me she is moving back to LA in the next couple months.

I am gearing up for a crazy day today. Having been gone from work for a day and a half, I had some catch up to tend to. Plus, it looks like Super Gena needs to save the day with some help with backlogged stuff for some colleagues. Not to mention the running around town for stuff. Let’s get to it!