Fun, friends and facepainting on Memorial Day

This Memorial Day was busy, busy, but a lot of fun.

We went to Spirit's 5th birthday, which was like a mini-festival, complete with a moon bounce, a magician, a popcorn machine, and a facepainter. (People are determined to put my eat-your-Duncan Hines-cupcakes-and-go-play-with-your-cousins parties to shame!)

It's a flower, even though she kept calling it a butterfly.

The facepainter kept exclaiming about how still Clair was, and how relaxed her face was. Dean, not so much.

My little monsters.

Technically, I think Cary is an avatar, but whatever. He still roared at people.

The magician was a huge hit. I have not seen my boys both crack up so much at the same things before. But they thought his antics and his magic were heeelarious.

I was always just a hair too slow to catch Dean in his full-on belly laugh.

Cary giggled through the whole thing. P.S. I think it is so funny that both my boys like to chew on straws (these are from juiceboxes), just like my uncles and cousins on my Mom's side.

 

Clair, petting the magician's bunny.

The boys' friend Marcus was at the party too. We'll be seeing a lot of Marcus, because they're going to be in the same class at Friends next year!

 And we got to hang out with two former Sun people who we don't get to see nearly enough. Uncle Dusty (Rashod) and Athima!

Me and Rashod go way back to the Sun's features desk! He very much disliked me at first, because he said I was too cheerful. But I won him over -- with my cheerfulness! Today, I can always count on him for friendship, honesty, loyalty and salty language. (Not to mention, good music suggestions.)

Clair let Uncle Dusty help her with her bubbles. This is monumental. She usually throws him so much shade.

Colby, Brent, Kevin and Lester AKA (the fellas).

Jen and her two girls, Athima (yay!), Andrea and Lester.

Keegan and Molly (Jen and Kevin's girls) and Clair were quite adventurous. Keegan and Clair are just two months apart. Molly will be 5 in November. It was fun to see all our kids playing together.

Dean followed Andrea around like a lovesick puppy, holding her hand and asking her to play, chase him, and take him to the bathroom. I told Andrea she better tell her fiance, Zac, that he has some monstrous competition.

Love this photo of my sweetie. She wore her sandals proudly, saying, "I wear my sandals. And I not cry!" That's my girl!

We also went to swim class, Lester took the kids to the park and the grocery store, we both went separately to DC to do various things at Lester's house (which should soon be on the market, yay!) and I cooked for almost seven straight hours yesterday. So there was nothing relaxing about this 3-day weekend.

But I don't imagine those kinds of long weekends will come again for quite some time.
Not with these three around.

Cary looks annoyed. Dean looks like a big boy. Clair looks adorable and devilish. In other words, the uje.