Party's Over In KC

The Proud Parents

And Grandparents

The Proud Parents And Their Sons

It's just before 8:00 and I have only been up for forty five minutes, having slept in some.  It feels good.  It's bright and sunny here in Missouri, a cool 55º but should get in he 60's later in the day. My daughter in law, Mary, and I are the only ones up, the rest exhausted from yesterday's graduation party.

A Couple Of Cuties, Mom And Daughter

Yesterday was spent either prepping for a graduation party of a couple of hundred or worrying about the party of a couple of hundred.  My son Tom had 25 pounds of pork shoulder on the smoker for close to 15 hours and of course, it's always a worry.  Is it done yet or have we overdone it and we will have dry pulled pork.  So we fussed with the temperature, raising and lowering it and hoping for the best.  We finally took the pork off around 2:00 and let them sit until 3:00 when Tom and I then worked at pulling it apart and putting it in pans, wrapping the pulled pork in foil, to keep it warm.

Earlier in the day, Tom and Mary drove off to watch Nick play soccer against a team from Minnesota. Evie and I stayed home with Marlena until around 11:00 when they returned,  Mary then went over to the recreation center, to make sure things were set for the party.  We took it easy until around 3:00 if you call waiting for a party to begin taking it easy.  At 3:00, we loaded the car, both of them, with food, drinks, you name it and finished setting up everything for the party.  Tom and I then came home, took showers, got cleaned up and were back in time for things to start.

Nick And Fellow Graduates, All Neighbors Since Grade School

For the next four hours, there was a constant stream of mostly people we did not know although I was surprised how many we did know from meeting at soccer games or through Tom's work.  It was never too crowded but always busy and best of all, the boys and parents seemed to have a good time.  Evie took care of making sure the food table was full of pulled pork and other goodies, so the wives were able to enjoy themselves.  And of course, the husbands were unconscious, just enjoying themselves, cracking open another beer and talking with neighbors and friends.  Evie and I took lots of pictures so the boys' parents did not have to worry about that. The party started to slow down, the center empty around 8:00, and we then spent another half an hour cleaning up the place, packing up the leftover food and drinks, the tables and coolers, and taking them home.  The party was a great success; lots of people, lots of the boys' classmates, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves on a beautiful evening in Lee's Summit.  And Evie's evening was made when Nick brought over two buddies to meet her because they wanted to know who made the delicious stuffed shells.

Nick's Lee Summit Class Of 2016 Buddies

We then relaxed and watched some TV, as Marlena had two girl friends over until 10:30 when their Mom's came to take them home.  All four of us picked at the leftovers, having more pulled pork, eating leftover cake, even drinking another beer until we could eat no more.  By the time we were finished, it was 11:00 and time to go to bed.

Today, Tom and Mary and Nick have three more graduation parties to attend, a slow weekend because next weekend, they have ten.  I cannot even remember if I had a graduation party; I don't think I did.