FOOD & FRIENDS

Just about every year a family dinner/BBQ is held at the end of AT. This year was an extra big deal because we had distinguished guests attend (Gov K., PM, OR 150 program actors/actresses, etc) We got a big fancy catered dinner (which usually never happens) The food was really great - baked chicken, rice pilaf, seasoned mashed tatoes, salads, breads, drinks and berry R,W,& B cake.

A fun thing about the dinner time is that any extended family of the unit is invited, so there were lots of extra special guests. Another thing the unit does is their annual award ceremony. There were lots of special awards given this year and that was neat.

The super bonus to the dinner this year was that I was in the right place at the right time. The head chef/caterer came over to Joe (1st S and our good friend) and asked for a family to send leftovers home with. I happened to be chatting with Joe at the time, it was funny that he didnt even blink when he looked over at me and said "you can use leftovers?" and didnt even let me answer before he turned around to the chef and told him I was a mom of 6 and would still be on our own when the unit left again the next day and I would love to take them. It has been heaven - I havent had to cook for almost a week and we were able to share main dish salads with a friend's family too. Yea for leftovers!

Kels is becoming more and more independent. She was hungry, but wanted to feed herself. Many plastic forks and spoons hit the ground before she was done. Not sure how much she actually ended up eating, but you could for sure tell where we had been sitting when it was clean up time....
This is the girls and their friend Angelina. Her family lives in Washington so this is extra special time for the girls to spend together
These are the boys - ours and the Worley's - they hung out together as they ate - and tried to dodge all the bees who happened to like exactly what the boys had on their plates. It was quite humorous watching the boys flit around and try to run from the bees. It seemed no matter where they went, the bees followed. The boys finally just gave up trying to eat and went off and played in the field.
We were lucky to have our friends, the Worleys, be able to come and spend some time with us before they returned home to WA. The boys had tons of fun playing on the Wii and running around as boys do. The girls spent their time playing board and card games and just laughing and enjoying each other. Thank you Worley family for taking time to spend with us! It was tons of fun and we will miss you lots!