A few weeks ago, I asked all the mom's what kind of food they wanted for Mother's Day, and it sounded like something with chicken won. We decided to make BBQ chicken on the grill and none of the mom's should have to prepare or bring anything. I talked to Erika to see if Zac's brother and mom were interested in coming and she said she would ask and get back to me.
I looked to see what the weather would be like during that weekend, and I thought it was a typo. We went from the low 70's to 91 on Sunday. What? I can't recall the last time Mother's Day was that hot. I guess I had to plan for it to be outside. At least take advantage of this early spring warm weather, right?
As soon as I heard they were interested in coming, I sent out an email to everyone, the Monday before, with all the information on it. I decided to provide all the food on the posted menu since most of it I had already. I made sure to get to the store on Friday and get everything I needed for Mother's Day. Everyone, including Nancy and Shane, said they were coming.
The night before, I made the potato salad and did some cleaning around the house while listening to my podcasts through my headphones. I made sure before I went to bed most of the stuff was done or prepared. I went to bed late.
The day of, I got up at my normal time for my weekends, ate a light breakfast and tried getting some of the little things done. I asked Rhonda if I could borrow her Cougar canopy tent cover and she said she would get it out for me. I walked over there and chatted for a few minutes before continuing on with our day. It was already starting to get warm.
Doug cleaned the bathroom and picked up his dog poopies in the back yard. He and Ben brought out the tables, chairs and set up the canopy. Erika and Zac were going to bring theirs, so it covered both the tables. I wanted people to be out of the direct sunlight because I wasn't sure where the sun was going to be in the yard around noon to two. I got the food out and Ben started cooking the chicken on the grill.
Trish, Ed and Amy showed up first and they said the traffic was busy because of the holiday and the really nice weather. Mom, Grandma and Dad showed up just after they did and finally Zac, Erika and his brother Shane and his mom Nancy. Shane brought his dog Colby with him, but Linda couldn't come this time because she was out of town. Erika and Zac decided to leave their dogs at home. They thought having them would make the back yard crazy. They probably weren't wrong.
Nancy didn't have to bring anything, but she wanted to. She made some caramel dip, cut up some apples to dip it in and some cookies to share. I got the caramel heated up and put it in a small ramakin and put the apples on a platter. I grabbed the card tables and stuck some of Grammie's tablecloths on them and started having people bring the food, plates, napkins and silverware out. The one thing we had to battle were the bees once they figured out the food was out there.
Once all the food was done, we had all the mom's dish up their food first. There was definitely plenty of food for 14 people. We all dished up after our mom's, sat down, ate and shared stories. We ate BBQ chicken, beans, chips, potato salad and watermelon. Our family gatherings are always interesting and this time we had two new people join us. Nancy wasn't as chatty as she was the first time, we met her at Zac and Erika's house a couple of years ago. I know she's been through a lot since then with the cancer treatment. We had to listen to Charlie whine while we ate.
We cleaned up and took some of the stuff inside so the bees would leave it alone. I asked everyone if they wanted ice cream cones before or after presents. They said afterwards so they could let their food settle. We watched the mom's open their gifts, cards, flowers and snacks. It was fun to watch. I went inside and grabbed the three types of ice cream and the cones. I had people line up, mom's first, to tell me what kind of ice cream they wanted. Everyone said the ice cream was a nice touch for the 90+ degree weather.
Everyone grabbed their stuff, helped bring the food and dishes into the house and we slowly took down the tables and chairs. I told everyone to meet me out in the front yard for some family photos. No one looked that excited, but it was important that we get them because we will regret not taking them later on. Shane and Nancy thanked me for inviting them and I told them they were invited to any of our family gatherings if they wanted to come. Everyone went home and Doug and Ben helped me bring in the chairs and tables. Erika and Zac took their canopy home while I wheeled Rhonda's back over to her.
We did dishes, did a once over with the vacuum, put away leftovers and sat in the house with the air conditioner on.
Again, we are not used to this hot of weather this early in the spring. I hope we have a pretty nice summer so we can get all of our little jobs, yard work and trips in.
Happy Mother's Day!
Next Adventure: Spokane Trip: Lacey to Medical Lake, Villam Meam Farm and the Soda Pirates
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