It's quiet. I wake up in bed, completely covered in blankets and sheets galore. Where am I? Who am I? What is going on?......okay, so maybe I didn't think many of those thoughts when I woke up this morning (or any for that matter), but I'm sure somewhere, someone did. Regardless, this weekend has been quiet fascinating and warrants an elongated blog post.
Yesterday was my block's annual block party. Keeping with last's year's tradition, it rained most of the day, forcing us to construct three (3!) tents so that our special guests would not find themselves sopping wet. Because my mother was at an all day PTA convention until almost 4:00 and because my sister now lives in NYC, my dad and I found ourselves setting everything up Saturday morning. Thankfully my mom (and I, to an certain extent) had been cooking up a storm the night before (you know this if you get my snapchats) so my father and I were only left with the brutish, manly work (lolz). This was a very good thing because my dad and I are somewhat lacking in the kitchen skills department and many disasters would have presented themselves had we had to cook.
I had the pleasure of driving out to the train station mid afternoon to pick up my sister and some of her friends who were coming to the party and then spending the night. I was completely free to do this because basically none of my friends are here this summer and those who are were busy. My sister has some pretty cool friends, and I embraced the quintessential younger sibling role, trailing my older sister around trying to look cool (and succeeding, obviously). There are plenty of stories that I could tell about yesterday's festivities, but I've decided to spin an intriguing narrative by highlighting just a few events, accompanied by tell-all pictures because a picture does say a thousand words.
We had some sidewalk chalk specifically to entertain my almost three year old cousin, Kelli, during the day, but it turned out that the older kids were more captivated with the chalk. I'm sure it was a very nostalgic moment for them. Somehow, my sister wound up laying down on the driveway while her friend outlined her. And for some reason, I'm still not sure how, she ending up becoming a figure skater. Classic. My driveway is still covered in random outlines making it look like it belongs in an episode of Law and Order.
It is definitely not a family function without my sister's famous cupcakes. For this special occasion raspberry buttercream and oreo cupcakes were featured on the menu. However, I am an honest man and I must give credit where credit is due. Two of my sister's friends (Liz and Colgan) made both types of frosting while she went to pick up a few other friends who missed the initial train (oops). I stayed behind and purported to be an expert in my kitchen, informing them where the necessary utensils where located. Therefore I'd like to think that I deserve the credit for the frosting, and by extension the cupcakes. I guess I can give some credit to my sister and her friends. I guess.
Since I have been home for the summer, I have had a craving for a fire to sit by and make s'mores. I even bought the supplies when my friends came over one night (and we would have had s'more if I wasn't concerned about the family of raccoons living in my neighbor's yard). Well, additional s'mores rations were purchased in the hopes of making them at the block party, although that dream never came to fruition. The pyromaniac in me had to settle for the tiki torches that we had in my yard.
My family isn't terribly fancy. We're pretty much average-Joes, but one arena in which we do excel is dessert (well, really food at large). There never has been, nor will there ever be a food-shortage at a gathering. Last night was a prime example of just how extraordinary our sweet tooth is. In addition to the communal Ice Cream Sundae station for the block, my individual house-guests had the pleasure of sinking their teeth into a smorgasbord of cupcakes (see above), brownies, cookies, Rice Crispy Treats, fruit salad, doughnuts, and chocolate pudding pie. And this came after having tons of hors d'oeuvres and a whole barbeque.
Five of my sister's friends stayed the night which meant that my house turned was into a hostel of sorts for the past twelve hours or so. Luckily we have two trundle beds, an extra room, and an air mattress so everyone got a bed (of sorts). My room specifically housed my sister and me for the night (slumberparty!!)
The only way to finish off the weekend was with a dozen New York bagels for breakfast. I don't care what anyone says, the best bagels come from Long Island. There is no other way. And these bagels were especially delicious. Accompanied by conversation ranging from the intricacies and nuances of the Royal Family to the definitions and examples of the various types of murder, breakfast was absolutely lovely.
As I knelt on my couch and peered out our bay window this morning after everyone had left, I thought back fondly on the previous day's activities. If you drove down my block today, you wouldn't even know that we had a raging fiesta yesterday. Of course, you might glimpse the dunk tank if you made it here before the rental company picked it up, or you might notice the broken bits of a million water balloons scattered on our lawn and near the curb, or see the chalk crime scene on my driveway. Other than that, you'd have to have been here to know just what happened. One of my friends at school compulsively takes pictures whenever we're together and for that reason the phrase "pictures or it didn't happen!" has been coined. And even though I give her a bunch of shit for that, I can't help but understand where she's coming from. Pictures capture the moment, and serve to always remind you of the good and the bad times you've had. There are plenty of pictures from yesterday, and even when the memories go fuzzy, we'll always have them to remind of the fabulous shindig that was BLOCK PARTY 2K13.
Enjoy these shots of my blossoming basil plant and my "Big-Boy" tomato plant until my next post!
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