The warm, sticky air and the coming of the “J” months heralded the onslaught of Summer. And as if just to prove that it was coming, it was time to celebrate Memorial Day – the kickoff to swimming, laying out, cookouts, non-stop air conditioners, and long Summer walks. These are all things that before last Summer I wanted no part of (except for the air conditioners of course), but now am feverishly looking forward to. Denise wisely chose to hold her picnic on the Sunday before the actual holiday this year. This would give everyone a day to relax and recuperate on the holiday itself: Monday, May 28.
The picnic began at precisely 1:00 pm – upon my arrival. Most of the Eds were already there (Bev, Ed, Karen, Abby, and Andrew), along with Grandpa Murphy. Soon Charles and Susan showed up with Charley and Sammy and completed their subset. Diana, Tom, Debby, Mike, Tori, and little Brad comprised the Claude team. Our family consisted of Mom, Bob, Denise, Aaron, Adam, Bryan, Erine, and me – the other Brad. The Jims and the Darlenes were in absentia. I drove up solo, Ashleigh being in Florida with her Mom’s family.
Aaron and Bob fill the world with smoke
It’s Adam time!
Aw shucks!
I hadn’t eaten all day, so I was anxious to dig in. So much so that I nearly consumed an entire bag of chips before the burgers and hot dogs were ready. This, however, did not prevent me from having a nice burger and a few hotdogs…as well as Oriental salad, potatoes, potato salad, more chips, baked beans, poppyseed cake, and naturally a Diet Coke. In fact, you might say that there was a fierce argument that day between my stomach and mouth. My stomach kept saying he was full, but my mouth continued to do his own thing. I continued to snack throughout the day…and then had leftovers for dinner, followed by a nice Orangesicle Milkshake that Mom went out and bought.
Charles shares some numbers with Sleeping Ed, Singing Bev, Smiling Karen, and Little Superman
Diana shares photos from her Washington D.C. trip with Mom, Denise, and Adam
Bryan and Erine rode up on the backroads on a motorcycle, taking two-and-a-half hours to get there. Tired from the windy ride, they promptly took a nap, before having to set out again so Bryan could be at work by 8:00 pm. Ah to be young again.
Abby explains the Theory of Relativity to Bob
So enough about food.
Other highlights of the day included playing with Adam (of course), Charles regaling us with some acoustic numbers on his guitar – performing the likes of John Denver, Guns ‘N’ Roses, Elton John, and Pearl Jam, Ed falling asleep, Farkle, and cornhole. Denise and I teamed up and were annihilated by Mom and Diana. How embarassing. I tried to say the game was a tie since it began to rain at the end and we had to stop. My reasoning was that this should actually negate both games since it was a ‘2-out-of-3’ series!
It’s cornhole. Let’s get serious.
Ed wakes up to watch Grandpa toss one off
Hogwash!
I stuck around longer than everyone else besides Mom and Bob, who were staying the night. That’s when we got our milkshakes while playing with Adam, feeding Adam, and watching the Game Show Network (“Password” and “Family Feud”). I wish I had that puppy.
Hey – Diana and I were pretty hot on that cornhole game and would have easily won 2 out of 3 – we wouldn’t have even had to play 3 since we were hitting that center hole quite well. As I recall we were quite a bit ahead when the rain came.
Mom/Barb
May 29th, 2007
“a nice burger and a few hotdogs… as well as Oriental salad, potatoes, potato salad, more chips, baked beans, poppyseed cake, and naturally a Diet Coke.”
Because, as we all know, you can have any meal you like and a Diet Coke will negate any calories/fat. It’s the balance of any good meal (like my grilled cheese with bacon, french fries, and Diet Coke combo at the Golden Nugget).
Susan
May 31st, 2007