Fifteen Is Enough

Lake Fun

Jill, Drew And Hayden Finally Arrive

Hayden And Marisa

Marlena And Halle

Bros, Nick And Tyler

6:21

It's almost 7:00 and my son in law, Drew, back from a week in Nigeria and I are sitting with our coffees, watching the sky lighten, open up to some blue.  We were both up about 6:00, so we have been talking about his experience in Nigeria's capital, Abuja, working for the Department of Defense.

Yesterday would have been a great beach day had we been at a beach but we were at a lake so it was a great lake day.  The gang slowly rose from a deep sleep, first the adults, then the boys, and finally the three girls.  But after their coffee, they found their mojo and five went off to work out at Lakewood's Fitness Bunker and Beth went to a great Kundalini Yoga class.  That left Evie and me and the three girls, so we got busy, the girls helping Evie straighten and vacuum the house, putting it in some kind of order after the chaos of the day before.  I worked outside, getting rid of some of the inflatables with leaks, taking the cover off my boat and then driving to the Lighthouse to pick up 6 pounds of thinly sliced Delmonico steak for our favorite dinner of the summer, teriyaki steak.  I also picked up some pea meal bacon for breakfast, another local family favorite.

Mitch And Nick

Tyler Surfing

The gang did not get home until after 12:00 and of course, after a workout, were hungry, so they pulled whatever they could find out of the fridge, mostly sandwich meat or eggs, and made themselves lunch.  I had the leftover ziti because they had forgotten about it, then six of us sat and watched the last five holes of the British Open, an exciting end with Jordan Spieth shooting a birdy and eagle in the final few holes.

Three Girls

Tommy, Nick, Marlena, Halle

Kid Tossing

A Vertical Marisa

After he won it, all of us went out to swim, enjoy the sun and luxuriate on our huge floating island, replete with a cooler.  Eventually, the guys had beers brought out to them as they floated on the lake, occasionally jumping in to cool off.  And of course Evie took photos of the gals dock jumping.

Bean Bagging It

Marisa's Back Handspring, Bean Bag, Spectators

It was a fun way to spend the afternoon waiting for Jill and family to arrive from Virginia.  They finally arrived around 3:30 to the excitement of everyone.  We then helped them with their bags and sat in the living room catching up on their lives since most had not seen each other since last summer, with a few exceptions.

Mom And Daughter

Brother In Laws, Drew and Tom

Mom And Mitch

Marlena With Uncle Rami

Mitch

Marisa Coiffs Baba's Unruly  Do

The Loving Couple, Tom And Mary

Some Of The Girls

Around 5:00, everyone went outside to watch or play bean bag for the next hour or two, with beers, appetizers, and conversation.  It was finally cooling off some so we could sit out under the trees and enjoy the late afternoon, early evening.  I forgot to mention that earlier in the afternoon, our grandson, Tyler, who loves to bake, put together the dough for Naan.

Jill Photo Bombs The Naan Guys

So around 7:00, everyone started to help with dinner, Tyler and Rami rolling out the Naan dough (homemade by Tyler),  Jill and Beth making a salad, the rest helping to shuck the corn,  set up the table, do up dishes, and so forth.

The Chaos Of Kitchen Helpers?

The five guys then went out to the grill, cooked the Naan, about 15-minute total time for a double recipe of Naan, then another 15 for the quick grilling of the teriyaki steaks.

Grilling Naan

Fifteen of us then sat down to a great dinner, on a comfortably cool, insect free night.  The dinner, of course, was great and we had little leftovers for once.

Dinner For Fifteen

Rami And Tom, Hands Slapping

The gals then did up the dishes and cleanup up so Evie and Halle and Marisa could fish, and Tom and I took Hayden and Marlena for a boat ride.  The boys started up another game of Catan on the dining room table, so we all were busy until after 9:00 when a bunch went to see the first episode of Shark Week, a show they have watched every summer for years. Around 10:00, various adults began to disappear upstairs, tired and ready for bed but the girls were up until after 11:00.

Nick Studying

I am not sure what time the boys went to bed; at 11:00, Nick was still up studying for his Accounting exam on Thursday, a summer course he's been taking from the University of Arkansas, where he is a sophomore.