Preparing for an Invasion

The Teenager's team dinner is tonight. I'm planning a fairly low-stress menu featuring the ever-popular taco bar and a 7-layer dip that has proven to be quite well-liked at numerous Porch Nights. The house is clean, the tables on the porch have been prepped, the promise of a houseful of girls inspired the Man-Cub to shower and The Teenager helped me decorate three dozen sugar cookies last night so, barring really bad weather; we are as ready as we will ever be.

Once this dinner is over, my To-Do list will be fairly clear until the end of the month when my ASTRA club holds its' first annual Costume Ball and, to be honest; I'm looking forward to a little down-time. Not that I don't enjoy doing things for my kids; I just want a little free time to do the things that I enjoy doing this time of year, things like navigating the local corn maze and getting the wits scared out of me at the haunted house in Neighboring City.

Changing topics completely (because I can), this weekend, I ran into an old college friend. Literally. I was entering the gym at The Teenager's volleyball game in a town an hour and a half away when I tripped and fell on him. We hadn't seen each other since before graduation so it took us a couple of seconds to recognize each other but, once we did, it was quite a nice reunion.

And, in further evidence that it is truly a small world; our daughters were suite-mates at volleyball camp this past summer and have kept in touch via texting and Facebook and, of course, we had no idea. Too cool.

Also cool this weekend; my nephew, the Rebel Without a Cause, who was working on a natural gas rig nearby, was able to attend the volleyball games to watch The Teenager and to visit with us.

It's always good to spend time with family and I think The Teenager's serves were extra-wicked good because she was showing off for her cousin, whom she adores.

And, speaking of serving, I guess I should get started on the 7-layer dip; Invasion in T-minus nine hours and counting....