Fickle Hand of Fate, Part the Fourth

Fate smiled on us today and put our bad luck on hold. At the end of the party last night, Johnny told us to phone him in the morning to discuss breakfast plans, and so we did. He and Judy invited us over for a delicious brunch of pancakes, sausage, fresh fruit, juice, and coffee. We got a full tour of their beautiful old home, and we had a great visit while the girls enjoyed playing with Johnny and Judy's daughters and nieces (his sister/my cousin Renae's daughters had slept there overnight, too).

We spent the afternoon and evening at Rose and Elton's home along with all their kids and grandkids and the other Moberg and Aune family members who had come to Colorado Springs for the weekend. Rose prepared supper and served cake and coffee and snacks. The kids all played on the trampoline in the backyard, and the adults watched Rose and Elton open the cards and gifts from their party. The best part was all the visiting we were able to do with relatives whom we see only infrequently. It had been decades since I had been to Rose and Elton's house, so it was fun, too, to see the remodeling they have done in the intervening years.

Abigail still doesn't feel very well, and it showed today. She took frequent breaks from playing and even got tucked into Rose and Elton's bed for a mid-afternoon nap. After we left Rose and Elton's, we stopped at a gas station to fuel up our vehicles for the return trip tomorrow, and then we got back to the motel and tucked everyone in. After a while Abigail woke up moaning and whimpering, made a trip to the bathroom, and ended up in our bed, cuddling with me until she fell back asleep (while Susan joined Suzanna and Hillary in their bed). Dad originally wanted to leave at 4:00 A.M. tomorrow (!), but we moved it to 5:00. Still, that doesn't leave much time for sleep before I have to spend an entire day driving . . .

Isn't the western view in Colorado Springs purty?

"We're going to go jump on the tramp" means something entirely different to the children from what it brings to my mind when I hear it.

Elton and Rose amass a wealth of fabulous gifts and prizes merely for remaining married for half a century. I wonder what we'll think of to give them on their one-hundredth wedding anniversary . . .

Dad ogles the anniversary gift pile.

My sister Sandy, too, looks like she could pocket some of the anniversary gift stash if everyone were to look away for a minute.

My sister Cathy, the model, needs not any of the anniversary gifts or money; she needs only the yearning eye of the camera and an adequate flash.

June birthdays! (This is totally a Moberg thing that I remember well from my childhood.) Turning older this month are Hillary, Johnny's wife Judy, my cousin Brenda's daughter Meghan, Brenda (Penny's daughter), and Cathy.

Get a room! Yes, Rose and Elton, we get that you're still in love, but has this constant PDA been going on for all fifty years? Sheesh!