Lutheran Luck and Laughter

Susan and I had a fun night out tonight.  A while ago, Susan got an invitation via Facebook to a birthday get-together for a woman who goes to our church.  I'm not this woman's Facebook friend, so I didn't get that invitation and declined Susan's offer to crash the party, but I encouraged her to attend.  Well, the woman later followed up with Susan to clarify that I was invited, too, so we decided to go.  And we're so glad that we did!

Christmas Road Trip: Day 8

Road Report
None; we stayed in East Grand Forks today.

Notable Events
Jay and Erin always make us feel so "at home" in their house; we sleep in, have delicious meals whenever it suits us, get to see lots of friends because Jay and Erin invite them over while we're there, and don't hear much from our kids because they're always off playing with Jay and Erin's kids (Hannah and Gabriel) and the children of our other friends when they come over.  Jay had a midday errand to run in Fargo, and Erin and Susan wanted to go shopping; so I stayed home with the kids (who spent part of the time sledding outside and then came in and made their own sandwiches for dinner before heading off to play--easy!).

Our friends started arriving by evening, joining us for sandwiches and snacks and beverages and games and stories and laughter and all the things that we're used to with that crew.  Jeff and Susie were there for a bit; Rob was feeling better tonight and accompanied Laurie and their son Ethan; and Jesse and Nicole brought their kids Ethan, McKenna, and Mya.  Jesse and Nicole just returned from a family trip to HI, so we envied their tans and listened to the highlights of their time swimming and sightseeing--and we appreciated their coming to see us when they probably would much rather have just headed home to unpack and collapse in their own beds.

I must note that the main game of the evening was Telestrations, one that Jay and Erin bought when we spent a weekend with them in Minot this past fall (remember?).  We laughed like a pack of fools while playing that game, both back in October with Jay and Erin and tonight with the larger group.  I highly recommend it.

Christmas Road Trip: Day 7

Road Report
Today's route: Omaha, NE to East Grand Forks, MN on I-680 and I-29 (502 miles).  Roads were clear; driving was uneventful.

Notable Events
We got up fairly early, packed the vehicle, bid farewell to my sisters (after a very enjoyable long holiday weekend with them--thanks again, Cathy and Sandy!), and hit the road (well, after a quick stop at a drive-up coffee kiosk).  Eight-ish hours later, we made it to the home of our friends Jay and Erin, who had supper ready for us: Scandinavian meatballs and gravy, mashed potatoes, buttered corn, and homemade flatbread and lefse.  Delicious!  Afterwards our mutual friend Laurie came over without her husband Rob (who wasn't feeling well) but with their son Ethan, who played with our kids and Jay and Erin's kids while the adults had snacks and beverages, played games, caught up on the events in one another's lives, and laughed pretty much continuously.  It's amazing how easily we seem to pick up where we left off with this group of friends . . . and tomorrow, we're hoping to see even more people from that group.

Reliving High School Days

After leaving our Harwood friends' home Thursday, we headed to our East Grand Forks friends' home, where we're spending the weekend. A Christmastime visit here is another holiday tradition for two reasons: (1) we have several couples-with-kids friends here with whom we like to reunite as often as possible, and (2) one of those couples, Jay and Erin, are consummate party throwers (please review) who usually host wintertime festivities with some fun theme, and they're so kind always to invite us to attend.

Last night they threw a "high school days" party for which they had asked us in advance to send them photos from our years in secondary school. They turned those photos into wall-sized posters! They also created pennants featuring our high school mascots. Some of the party attendees dressed in uniforms or clothes in their school colors, some brought their high school yearbooks and photo albums, and a few even performed cheers that they remember having done as cheerleaders or spectators at high school sporting events.

'80s music was playing throughout the house, and some people danced to it in the open space in the garage, where the food and beverage tables were set up. After examining the posters and pennants hanging up all over the place, partygoers were asked to vote on (1) the person who had changed the least since high school, (2) the person who had changed the most, and (3) the person whose high school had the lamest mascot. Susan got a gift card for winning that last contest (her school mascot: the Dickinson Midgets . . . a mascot still in use today, sad to say).

Wanna see some then-and-now photos?

Susan wore a Halloween shirt because it features her school colors, orange and black.

Here I am next to my younger self in full marching band regalia. Do you know what kind of musical instrument I'm holding? Few people at the party did.

Hostess Erin was a cheerleader in high school.

Host Jay was a football player.

Nicole's volleyball-playing self emerged from behind the couch in the living room.

Nicole's hubby, Jesse, is wearing a button with Nicole's high school-era photo on it! Cute.

Laurie, a skilled seamstress back in the day, made the red velour blouse that she's wearing in her high school photo.

Laurie's hubby, Rob, brings balance to the universe by posing at a complimentary angle to his high school head in the background.

Erin's sister Ali and her husband Mike attended a school dance together when they were in ninth and tenth grade . . . and now are married with two children. For last night's party, Ali shaved the numbers of Mike's high school football uniform (25) on each side of his head and left a strip down the center--a notable contrast to his near-mullet in the background.

The group consensus was that Missy's high school photo looks like a publicity shot for '80s film star Phoebe Cates. Missy responded, "Who?" Heavy sigh.

Here is Missy's husband, Joey, sporting camouflage in high school and an if-you-only-knew-some-stories-from-my-high-school-days! grin last night.

It was another fun party that showcased Jay and Erin's creativity, hospitality, delicious appetizer recipes, and extensive alcohol collection (I've been to bars with less of a selection than Jay and Erin have to offer).

It has been a great weekend here at Jay and Erin's, too. We basically haven't seen our daughters since we arrived Thursday; all the children of all the couples in our group of friends just disappear and play together the whole time we're here (well, with the occasional break for one of them to report to the adults some act of naughtiness on the part of another child, only to return promptly so that playing can resume).

And Susan and I have been playing with our friends, too. Thursday night a group gathered at Jay and Erin's to play games and enjoy drinks and snacks until we rang in the new year. Yesterday Susan and I visited with Mike and Ali and Jay and Erin throughout the day while we helped to prepare a few items for the party buffet tables (including one tasty dip that our group lovingly refers to as "glop" and another that we call "liquid crack"). Today was a leisurely, relaxing day of brunch, movies (including The Hangover), naps, games, needlework, visiting, and jokes (e.g., "TWSS!" with Erin and "Briss!" with Laurie). What a great group of friends!

Tomorrow we'll head home (where it is literally 30 degrees warmer than it is here--sheesh!), stopping first in Fargo to use some of the gift cards that the girls got for Christmas for stores that we don't have in Dickinson. Before leaving we'll have to say our goodbyes, thankful for another terrific weekend with dear friends and regretful that these get-togethers cannot happen more often.

Ladies' Week Out

Today's guest blogger is Susan:

The girls and I got up on Monday morning in time to have breakfast with Kevin before he and Sandy took Cathy to the airport and headed for Dickinson. The girls wanted a little more time to enjoy the hotel pool, so I let them swim for an hour after breakfast. While they showered, I packed, then we said our goodbyes to any relatives we found in the breakfast area of the hotel, checked out, and made our way to Como Park Zoo and Conservatory. I have many fond memories of Como Park Zoo: it wasn't terribly far from where my cousins lived, so we'd generally manage to work in a stop there when we came to St. Paul for a visit. My grandma LOVED the Conservatory, so no trip to The Cities was complete for her unless she got to go see the flowers.

Now, my cousin Anna works at the zoo, so we got to take advantage of her expertise for a while. We wandered through the primate exhibit (and came back past it several times--the girls were fascinated with the gorillas in the outside exhibit) then headed to meet up with Anna. She gave us a guided tour through the Tropical exhibit--the first exhibit at the Como Park Zoo to incorporate the skill of the gardeners and the zookeepers, and home to some very interesting animals. (If you'd like an explanation on the difference between "poisonous" and "venomous," just ask any one of our daughters.) Anna had to work for a while, so she gave us some suggestions for our next stops, and we made a plan to meet again later.

We got to see the new baby giraffe, a sea lion, tigers, lions, zebra--animals one would expect to see at a zoo. When it was time to meet Anna again, she took us into one of the zoo's classrooms, where she had a surprise for the girls. Anna was able to introduce us to Steffano, a two-toed sloth, and Turkey, an African parrot. We didn't get to hold or touch the animals--they are not tame--but we learned a lot about both animals. Turkey didn't like sharing the girls' attention with Steffano, so he'd whistle or talk to get their attention whenever they turned to watch the sloth. When the girls stopped watching Steffano in favor of watching Turkey, then the sloth would start making his way down his perch towards the floor--knowing that he wasn't supposed to get down, and therefore Anna would come over to entice him back up the tree with grapes or apples. This would upset Turkey, who would then try to get the attention back. After our session with the animals, we got to go out on a balcony that overlooks the tropical exhibit to get a view of it all from above. I've always loved visits to the zoo--and it was even more fun with Anna's help.

That sloth has some mighty luxurious hair!

We said goodbye to Anna because she had to go greet a batch of campers (yes, you can attend camp at the zoo!), and then we went out to finish seeing what we'd missed. After a quick lunch, we walked through the Conservatory (the flowers were BEAUTIFUL--Grandma would have loved it!) and the Japanese Garden, made a quick trip through the butterfly exhibit, rode ONE ride in the amusement park, and then made an uneventful drive back to ND and then back across the river to East Grand Forks.

The girls are s' good to pose while frolicking in the conservatory.

We stayed with the Almlies and had a great time. Erin and I spent all day on Tuesday scrapbooking--all-day scrapping fests were the norm when we lived in EGF, and I've missed spending that time with her. Tuesday night, Gabriel was playing an evening baseball game for "Parents' Night," so we all tagged along to watch. After the game, Jay took all of the kids back home (thank you, Jay!) while Erin and I got pedicures and did a little shopping. We picked up Nicole and headed to the Blue Moose for spinach queso and Long Island teas. Erin and I managed to stay up for a while after we got home for a bit more scrapbooking after we got all of the kids in bed.

That's Gabriel looking over his shoulder at the camera--cute!

Can you tell which foot is Erin's and which is Susan's?

Wednesday started off with a run/bike ride along the river. I hadn't ever been on the "wet" side of the dike, and the city has done a nice job of building a network of paths that take advantage of the lovely river view. In the afternoon, we met the Langeruds at the swimming pool. The kids had lots of fun on the slide and diving boards, Suzanna got reacquainted with a friend from elementary school whom she hadn't seen/talked to since we moved, and the adults even took a quick dip in the pool to cool off! After a yummy supper of barbequed ribs, asparagus, potato salad, and watermelon with the Almlies and Langeruds, we headed to Jay and Erin's volleyball game. They play on a sand volleyball team with the Jungs, and it was fun to see them in action. They play at a park where there are several sand volleyball pits and a large playground, so the kids were able to go back and forth between the game and the playground. In the end our friends were victorious! After the game, everyone came back to the Almlies for a fire in the fire pit and birthday cake for Michael (one of their team mates whom I just met that night).

Nicole and her daugher Mya were among the swimmers at the pool.

Erin serves while Jay checks out her backside--I mean, stands at the ready to help his team win.

Rob and Laurie confer while waiting for the ball--probably high-level strategizing about plays and such.

Thursday morning started out a bit rainy, which was a little disappointing because the girls and I had plans to meet Cathy Spicer at Caribou Coffee and then to head to a park for playing/visiting. Instead, we visited at the coffee shop, and by the time we were ready to leave, the sun was coming out for the day. Cathy was in Grand Forks to visit her mom, and she brought along Zoe, one of her fur babies. The girls enjoyed meeting Zoe, and we'd never seen a cat on a leash before!

Abigail, Cathy, Hillary, and Suzanna

After saying goodbye to Cathy and Zoe, we headed for Fargo. Hillary received a Target gift card for her birthday from Cheryl and Arron and HAD to find something to spend it on. I HAD to make a stop at Hobby Lobby (my new obsession = knitting, remember?), and then we were hungry so we had to stop at Qdoba, which is a place we enjoy but don't get to visit often. We our errands complete and our tummies full, we turned the van towards home. One quick stop in Bismarck to use the restroom and get gasoline, and we were home in time for supper, which Kevin was preparing as we arrived. It was a very relaxing vacation; visiting with friends is always enjoyable but too short, but it was really nice to be home!

P.S. Susan hadn't read or listened to the news to know about Wednesday night's tornadoes here in Dickinson, so the ladies were surprised to hear about it on the radio as they drove into town.

Friends and Family

Monday, July 6

• My sisters and I left Eagan (remember?) early in the morning to get Cathy to the airport for her flight back to Portland. Then Sandy gave me a ride back to Dickinson! She's en route to our dad's to spend the rest of the week with him and Beverly, so I hitched a ride so that I can get some work done at home this week while Susan and the girls head to East Grand Forks to spend some time with our friends there.
• Sandy and I had a tasty dinner at Extreme Pita in Fargo. For supper I grilled Omaha steaks and served them with French fries, buttered corn, pickles, celery sticks, and cold beer. After a late-night walk around the neighborhood to burn off some of those calories, we watched some TV while enjoying dessert: vanilla wafers dipped in a "chocolate bliss" cheese ball and some chilled Riesling.

Tuesday, July 7

• For breakfast I served Sandy scrambled eggs (with onions, ham, and cheese), blueberry muffins, grapefruit halves, and coffee. Then she was off to Dad's farm via Williston, where she hoped to visit our aunts who live there.
• It was my friend Chris' birthday, so I took him out for supper at Applebee's. Afterward we met other friends for drinks at Maverick's Saloon, a place I had never been before. It's a very small bar--the length and width of a double-wide mobile home, perhaps. Not even kidding!

Wednesday, July 8

• Once a month I have dinner with my friend Kelly, formerly my colleage at the university and currently an independent business owner (counseling, life coaching, and holistic therapy). Today we ate at Badlands Brew, a quaint coffee shop that serves delicious panini and soups in a funky setting (a building that used to be a church--in fact, most of the seating consists of two-person pews at the tables, and the windows are stained glass). Kelly shared several items of good news regarding her personal life and her business, so it was an especially pleasant meal!

Friends and Fargodome

We're back now from a busy, friend-filled weekend. Friday we drove to Jamestown and stayed in a hotel with a swimming pool, in which Susan and the girls frolicked while I powered up the laptop and got some work done in the hotel room. After enjoying the Comfort Inn's continental breakfast the next morning, we drove to Fargo, shopped at the Great Harvest Bread Company, ate at Extreme Pita, and attended a soccer game to watch Megan play. She's the daughter of our friends Jeff and Janelle, and watching her game gave us a chance to see her doing something that she enjoys, to visit with Jeff, and to learn more about soccer via a steady of stream of questions directed toward Jeff. He was patient, though, and still allowed us to stay overnight at their house as we had planned.

Megan stands alert with her eye on the ball.

Hillary hangs on Jeff and tests the strength of my back.

You see, we went to Fargo this weekend to attend the Billy Joel/Elton John concert at the Fargodome Saturday night, and Jeff and Janelle, who didn't intend to go to the concert themselves, were kind enough to agree to watch our kids for the evening. In the meantime, however, Jeff himself won tickets to the concert! So it ended up that they got a babysitter to stay at their house with all our kids, and they, too, went to the concert (although they weren't seated by us).

Since Jeff and Janelle wouldn't be going to the concert (originally), we had arranged to meet our friends from East Grand Forks, MN and go with them instead; and after supper, Jay, Erin, Nicole, and Jesse met us at the Fargodome to find our seats (we were seated together) and settle in. (While waiting at the Fargodome for them to arrive, Susan and I saw and visited with several people we know: some students and a coworker, Josh, from the university; a former coworker of mine, Pat, from East Grand Forks; and Bev and Wayne from Warren, MN. Susan used to teach with Bev, and she was one of several of Susan's coworkers who toured Europe with us about 14 years ago.)

It was a good concert: 3.5 hours of non-stop music! Billy and Elton started off playing piano and singing together; then Elton had a session alone; then Billy had a segment alone; and then they ended by playing together again. The downfall: the row of acting-younger-than-we-are ladies in front of us who were drunk and getting drunker throughout the night. They stood and swayed/danced through much of the concert (in between trips to the beer stand), blocking my view of the stage and even of the view screens hanging above the stage. Consequently, the experience overall was more like listening to a CD than watching a concert. The night ended well, though: we wrapped it up with adult beverages and Taco Bell takeout in Jay and Erin's hotel room before heading back to Jeff and Janelle's.

Mr. Joel

Sir John

This morning Jeff and Janelle carted their family off to their Sunday morning church obligations, and we met Jay, Erin, Nicole, Jesse, and Nicole and Jesse's kids (Jay and Erin's kids were still with Jay's parents) at International House of Pancakes for brunch. After Jay and Erin picked up their kids, Erin and Susan went shopping while Jay and I took the kids out for frozen custard at Culver's and then to a park so that our kids could spend some time together, too. After we bid them adieu, we made it to Bismarck in time to have supper at Olive Garden. After a whirlwind weekend topped off with a satisfying meal, it was a very sleepy drive back to Dickinson!

Suzanna, Hillary, and Abigail pose outside the restaurant before the others arrive.

Hillary, McKenna with Mya, Suzanna, Abigail, and Ethan pose after brunch.

Hannah and Gabriel pose before frozen custard.

These Friends = Family

After breakfast and games and goodbyes with the gang in East Grand Forks, we headed off to Harwood, ND to the home of our dear friends Jeff and Janelle and their kids (to refresh your memory, read this, this, this, and/or this). We have been friends with them our entire married lives, and no Christmas is complete without a stop by their home . . . because they not only give us gifts but also feed us delicious food, put us up in their comfortable home, and entertain us. What could be better?!

Janelle prepared a great supper, after which we exchanged gifts in the living room. Jeff and Janelle are godparents to Suzanna, whose birthday is in just a couple days, so they gave her a birthday present, too (a beautiful necklace). Then there was much playing and visiting. And, after the kids went to bed, more visiting and just a little bit of imbibing (Baileys Irish cream, a tradition of sorts for us--just ask Jeff, Janelle, or Susan about Winnipeg!). We'll leave midday tomorrow, allowing us time to do some post-Christmas shopping and exchanging of gifts that didn't fit and still make it home tomorrow night. Christmas isn't Christmas without seeing Jeff and Janelle, so now we can bring closure to the holiday!

Rule of thumb: the blondes are ours, and the brunettes are Jeff and Janelle's. Here, Megan looks on as Jordan (in the green) and Austen (in the blue) open gifts. In the corner of the pic are Hillary and Abigail (wearing the spectacles).

Hillary looks on as Jaden opens a gift. They're the same age, and tonight they're sharing Jaden's top bunk (Jordan sleeps in the bottom bunk). For now, their sleeping together is cute, but in a few years, I'm calling a halt to that practice! (P.S. The gratuitous crotch shot is of Jeff.)

For Christmas Megan had gotten a video game designed to teach one how to play the guitar, and here Abigail is trying it out, pushing buttons on the guitar to correspond to prompts on the TV screen as a song plays. Jeff and Megan are searching for a new selection of songs for the game as Suzanna looks on.

When you're as cute as Austen, you can sit on the furniture with impunity.

Here's Suzanna opening the lovely necklace that her godparents gave her for her 11th birthday. Suzanna has always referred to Jeff and Janelle's kids as her own godsiblings, and now even Abigail and Hillary call them their brothers and sister. We're just one big happy family! (Is the key to family happiness seeing one another only once or twice a year? Hm . . .)

Pajama Party!

We had an ulterior motive for coming to East Grand Forks Friday. Yes, it's great to see good friends at Christmastime, but last night happened to be the night of another can't-miss themed party hosted by Jay and Erin. It began at 7:30 last night and has just now ended . . . at 4:30 A.M. Sunday! That's how we roll at these get-togethers. Jay and Erin always go all out, and we don't miss a minute of it.

Some background: One summer Jay and Erin hosted a barbecue for which they set up hay bales all over their yard and ordered in the meat from their favorite barbecue joint . . . in Texas!! A couple years ago, they hosted a luau in the winter (in MN) and hauled in sand to create a beach in two stalls of their garage! Their New Year's Eve party last year required everyone attending to dress as a favorite movie character, and we entered Jay and Erin's house on a red carpet and found our names on stars on the floor à la Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles, CA! This past spring they decorated their garage to look like a gymnasium decked out with metallic streamers and a disco ball, and they invited couples to dress in 1980s prom outfits and dance the night away! Are you surprised that we refused to miss their pajama party last night/this morning?! No, of course you're not.

Yesterday started innocently enough. Throughout the day, while all our kids played together, we helped here and there with party preparations. Jay and Erin always have everything well planned out, so there's not much for us to do, but we try. Susan worked on party favors and food indoors while I shoveled the driveway and front walk outdoors as our children went sledding across the street. We are not Jay and Erin's only house guests; Erin's sister, her husband, and their kids are staying with them over Christmas, so their kids joined ours for sledding. Jesse and Nicole hiked across the street with their kids, too, to enjoy some fun with their new sleds.

This sledding spot is directly across the street from Jay and Erin's house; the mailbox in the center of the pic is at the corner of the driveway, and the street runs left to right at the bottom of the hill, which is actually the dike (the Red River is on the other side). Yes, they're sledding down toward the street! But it's a low-traffic road, and the adults are there to call out "Car!" to alert the younguns to potential danger.

Here I am visiting with Jesse before I return to shoveling and he returns to giving kids pushes on their sleds down the hill.

Because Jesse and Nicole live just one block over, their home is the default babysitting site for every Jay-and-Erin party. We all haul our kids over there to spend the night with Elizabeth, babysitter extraordinaire. She feeds them pizza, monitors their playing, lets them watch a Disney movie, and then wrangles them all into bed by 10:30 P.M. When Jesse and Nicole return home from the party, they relieve the babysitter and then get the pleasure of being awakened in the morning by children who have had a full night's sleep (when Jesse and Nicole have had perhaps just a couple hours' worth of sleep!). See what good friends we have?!

So we got the kids over to Jesse and Nicole's, and it was time for the guests to start arriving. This party's theme: pajama party! Guests arrived clad in their pajamas (the invitation stipulated "no birthday suits") and received sleep masks as party favors. Susan, Erin, and Ali wrote sleep-related phrases on the masks ahead of time. There were adult beverages and food galore. In fact, Jay and Erin had arranged for pizzas to be delivered every hour, so there was a steady supply of hot pizza throughout the night! There was a sundae table set up in the garage across from the karaoke machine and stage, which got a lot of action throughout the night. And when people tired of singing, they'd visit while munching in the kitchen or relaxing in the living room. Jay and Erin gave out prizes for best pajamas in different categories: raciest (winner: Tammy in her red two-piece), granniest (winner: Joey in his Leave It to Beaver blue button-up top and matching pants), and pajamas that Erin would most want to have (winner: Kathy in her UND pink sweats). Here are some non-incriminating photographic highlights:

Our masks have "Snoozin'" written on them.

Nicole and Jesse's masks say "Hittin' the hay."

Ali (Erin's sister) and Mike's masks are reversible; one side says "Tonight," and the other says "Not tonight." You can see Ali's choice. Mike chose to show the other side of his mask, which he is wearing . . . somewhere out of sight in this photograph. Ahem.

Darin (mask: "Bed head") was a good sport, showing up in pajamas even though he had to duck out early to meet friends at a bar downtown. (He brought jeans to change into.)

The illustrious hosts, Erin and Jay (masks: "Cat nap"). Yes, Jay is wearing adult-sized footy pajamas with a drop seat. He's also wearing boxer shorts with realistic plastic buttocks attached to them, and those buns are peeking through the drop seat. Perhaps needless to say, his butt was a big hit all night long with seemingly non-stop groping of his prosthetic rear end. If this weren't a family-friendly blog, I might also write about how, at one point out in the garage, Laurie reached inside the drop seat, found the elastic waist band to the boxers, and exposed Jay's assets for us all to see.

I am not kidding; people could not keep their hands off Jay's faux butt! The groper in this pic is Kathy, winner of one of the prizes . . . and wife of one of Jay and Erin's pastors! Hey, ain't nothin' in the Bible prohibiting us from touching plastic ass cheeks.

Rob and Laurie were regular contributors to the karaoke madness. The karaoke corner of the garage featured a large chunk of carpet for flooring and a black backdrop whose silver side panels were leftover decorations from the spring's adult '80s prom. Laurie's sleep mask says "Sleep is a symptom of caffeine deprivation." Rob's mask? "Camp Morningwood."

Four mikes: one held by Ali singing with her husband Mike and one held by Tammy (she of the sexiest pajamas) singing with her husband Mike and with Nicole. I love the look on Nicole's face!

Here's Joey with his "granniest" jammies.

Devilish grin? Who, me?

Here's a view of the gang in the garage at one point in the night. This is during the first half of the party. I can tell because (A) there are more people sitting than dancing around and singing karaoke and (B) the pastor's wife is still there.

There are certain rewards that go to the host of the party. Here Laurie, Nicole, and Susie show their appreciation. Perhaps they're just grateful that, for only a few moments, his damned fake butt is not hanging out all over the place.

If I weren't always invited to these phenomenal parties, I think I would want to be either the babysitter or the cab driver. That babysitter makes a huge haul from all the couples who dump our kids on her, and, really, how much work is it for her? The pack of kids all keep one another entertained, and since she gets them all into bed just a few hours into the night, she's got hours and hours of work-free income racking up as the minutes tick by. And the taxi? For each party, Jay and Erin hire a cab driver who, because of all the designated drivers there, usually has nothing to do but sit parked outside until Jay eventually comes out to release him. Jay even made several trips out to the cab with pizzas and snacks and pop throughout the night. Getting paid to sit in a warm car and enjoy curbside delivery of free food? Sign me up!

The last reveler has headed home or off to bed, the sun will be up in just a few hours, and only a couple hours after that, our group of friends will be back again for breakfast! We'll be exhausted, but it'll be great. Just like the party. And just like our friends.