And The Gang's 'Almost' All Here

The Albarrans Arrive

Tom and Mary

Beth and Ramiro

6:30

Overcast and misty at the moment, a sticky 66º, the lake and sky gray, as I sit here alone at 7:00, having been up for a half an hour.  We had some rain last night, not sure how much, and more is predicted for later today.  We hope to hike the Chautauqua Gorge this morning before the rain but the weather reports are so contradictory that it's hard to tell what to expect weather wise.  Just do it and if it rains, pack it up.

Lunch on the boat with Marlena, Nick, and Mary

Photo Frenzy

Our Lovely Eleven Year Old Granddaughter, Marlena

Yesterday, like the next two weeks, will border on organized chaos.  We started the day with a house of six, ended it with twelve, will increase to sixteen later in the week for a couple of days, a typical day with family in the summer.  Kids slept in till 9:00, as the adults sat around enjoying their coffee, catching up on the news and emails on their iPhones and iPads.  Around 10:00, we decided to take the kids tubing since it was a sunny morning, perfect for the lake.  Our new tube, unfortunately, did not measure up to its hype so we are taking it back.  Either the boat is not powerful enough, or the tube just drags, so that the kids don't get much of a ride.  When we came in from tubing, Evie went swimming with the kids, and I spent the next two hours blowing up all our other tubes, finding out many had leaks, fixing those, blowing them up again, and finally, by 2:00, I had four floating in the lake, ready for the kids to play a version of Wipe Out.  In between my tube work, we decided to go for a lunch cruise since the lake was so calm.  Evie had made a tuna salad, so she brought that along, with sandwiches for Nick and Marlena, chips, and drinks and we had a pleasant lunch on the busy lake, perhaps as busy as I have seen it this summer, with masses of boats anchored together, both at Sandy Bottom and the Long Point Cove.  Yes, summer vacation time is really here.

Marisa and Marlena

The rest of the afternoon, till 4:30, was spent on the dock, napping, and waiting for the Albarrans to arrive, late because of an hour detour  delay around Salamanca, so be forewarned if you head East.  We were all excited to see them and Marisa literally bounced out of the car to hug Evie and me...nothing like granddaughters for hugs and affection.  The boys, too, but more restrained.  And there was added excitement (curiosity) because Tyler brought along his girl friend from Dartmouth, Helen.  We were all anxious to meet her, poor  girl, having to put up with all of us for the next five days.  She runs both cross country at track at college, so within an hour, she was off on a eight mile run.  At least someone this week will show some discipline!  It was great to see everyone, and the Albararns looks great and as always, are excited to be here.  Within a half hour Marisa, Marlena and Evie were in the lake, as the parents all sat on the porch, catching up on their lives since Tom and Mary had not seen Beth and Rami since last summer, the problem with living in Kansas City.

Devouring Brisket and Stuffed Shells 

Late afternoon and early evening were spent drinking beer, sipping wine, for the adults, swimming and jumping on the tube for the kids.  Evie had dinner made so all it took was popping the stuffed shells and brisket with gravy in the oven, a great idea for the first night. It was nice enough to eat outside, so the kids had a table, the adults one.  Dinner was great, most of the shells and brisket were gone, and Beth's salad, and Evie's dressing were the hit.  After dinner, we all played Spud, a tradition the last few years. though we did miss our daughter Jill because the kids love calling her number!  We played until it got dark, then we sat inside, talking, surfing the Net, taking pictures and the kids, and Helen, too, all got to pick out a gift from the treasure chest, another Davis tradition.  The old folks and girls went to bed around 11:00, while the boys, Mitch and Nick, and Tyler and Helen, stayed up and played a card game called Telefunky, taught to them by my mother.  It was a good way to end a great day.

It's now 9:00, only five of us are up.  And I just got back from the Lighthouse Grocery, where I picked up a pound and a half of our daughter Beth's favorite, pea meal bacon, and five pounds of ground chuck for later in the day, when we make Iskender Kebabs.  Yummy.

Marlena

Marisa

Mitch

Nick

Mitch

Nick