The Real Summer Ends...Families Depart for Home

6:45

Drew and Coco enjoy kayaking

Putting frosting on the Krispy Kremes

Hayden and Granny with Krispy Kreme dough's rising

Jill and Drew with Halle

Jill and Evie

Hayden with Cookie cake

It's 9:00, a deafening silence and sense of ennui, as the last of the family has pulled out of our drive, leaving us home alone for the first time since July 17th, when Mitchell, our grandson, flew in to stay with us.  It was a great run, a good way to put it, and today's like the end of a marathon, especially for Evie, of swimming and playing with the grandchildren, organizing and putting together meals, all the kinds of things that only the host can do, though the kids are a great help, even the grandchildren are happy to pitch in, and they all like to cook, especially bake, with Evie, so we had lots help and goodies, desserts almost every night.

It's a dreary, foggy morning, around 61 degrees, misty with a gentle rain, cloudy and showers most of the morning.  A good day to start putting the house back in order, I suppose.  Nothing else to do as the grandchildren have fled, to get ready for school, get back in their routines after a few weeks at Granny and Baba's.

Yesterday was Hayden's eleventh birthday, and we started early with her celebration, opening a gift from Halle, a necklace she had made with Evie's help, before breakfast.  Then, it was into the kitchen with the girs, to help Evie make krispy kreme donuts for the lat time till next summer, I hope.  They are fabulous, better than the real thing, but so seductive and sugary and rich that its a fight to have just one or two.  We mostly hung out in the house because of the weather yesterday, the girls playing, helping Evie in the kitchen, making Hayden's chocolate cookies cake, with frosting, and chicken Parmesan for dinner, at Hayden's request.  Drew and Hayden kayaked before the rain,  but Halle stepped on a  bee and that ended her kayaking for the day.  Fortunately, it was not that serious and after an initial cry, she was fine.  Drew and I brought in all the rafts, a big help for me, and put them in the garage,

Around 5:30, we went over to the Woodlawn picnic for a bit, so the kids got to meet some of our neighbors.  They are so cute, so shy, when introduced but charmingly so.  We came home to a spaghetti and chicken Parmesan dinner, with the cookie cake for dessert.  The girls loved the cake, who wouldn't since it's like a large chocolate chip cookie with frosting.  Since Drew and Jill had driven in the night before, they were tired, went to bed around 10:00, as did the girls, who were also up early because it was Hayden's birthday, no sleeping in on your birthday.

It's always depressing when the family leaves, a huge gap in the day, one with seemingly large leisure and the only way to fill the sadness is to get back to work, cleaning and organizing, something we have done religiously every year after the families have left.  So, onward to the kitchen, as Evie's already upstairs.