Parties, Pans, Past and Present

I’ve never done a “friends” birthday party before. I’m not awesome enough to do decorations, a cake, games, invites, and goody bags. I WISH I was, and I really WISHED I was when my son told me that he wanted a “just boys” party.
He only wanted three of his friends to come over, so I decided to give it a try.
“What do you want to do?” I asked him.
“Have just da boys and watch Capture d’Merica and eat pizza and popcorn.”
Gosh, well. I can do that! I either told or texted parents about the party, and I did make another cake. But I didn’t decorate. I went to Safeway and got 6 frozen pizzas and 2 two liters for under $10 (a small miracle).
The boys ate pizza and popcorn and watched Captain America for maybe thirty minutes… after that, they ran outside and fought with each other. You know, for FUN.
Boys…

After opening gifts, the boys got busy playing with everything in sight and my husband and I ended up watching Captain America.
I’ve seen it before, but I didn’t remember every little scene. At one point, I was watching Captain America’s woman and Tommy Lee Jones (my favorite old man Hollywood crush) speed toward the edge of a cliff… just at the last minute, Tommy evaded death. But not before one wheel slipped off the edge.
“CRAP!!!!!” I squealed.
“Where’s the crap?” my son’s friend, Soren, asked.
Oh. Oooooops…
Sorry, Jamie. I’m teaching him bad crap.

When I was frosting the cake, I gave my son one of the beaters. He licked it clean in no time, but he wasn’t satisfied… so he remedied his own situation the best way he knew how. He plunged the beater back into the fresh bowl of icing.

I took it away. He was well aware that I didn’t fully appreciate his savvy problem-solving skills.
The next morning, we went to a baptism for one of my Primary kids. Before we left, my husband decided he wanted Ramen noodles… so he boiled some water.
A few hours later we came home to a burner on high, an empty pan, fumes out the wazoo, and the fire alarm going off.
Luckily, our birds are still alive. The pan, however?

After the baptism, we were able to eat the most delicious lunch with the baptized boy and his family. On our walk home, I had to snap a picture.

In my mind’s eye, I can practically see the screaming crowd running away from the radioactive calf…

Later that night, I took my daughter with me on a walk. We passed by some flowers that my grandma grows in her yard. I stopped to take a picture because I had taken her picture by the same flowers 5 years ago…

Pictures like that make me want to cry.
Remind me why I’m doing this all over again?
Love, that’s why. Love, love, love. And apparently, I have a crying hobby I need to feed.