Our family had planned to take a road trip to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks this summer. Unfortunately, COVID-19 threw a monkey wrench into those plans. We ended up canceling our trip and opted for a staycation at Scott's house. Between the family Class-C, the quilting room, our 5th wheel, and Scott's house, we managed to provide everyone with a place to sleep, pee, poop, clean up, and eat. Conditions weren't ideal; but, we managed to make the best of it for a day or so.
On our first day of staycation, we held the annual June Birthday celebration. Normally, we all go down to Round Rock, Texas and watch a baseball game, eat yummy dollar hot dogs, and enjoy an evening sweating in the stands, cheering on the Ranger farm team. Sadly, the Round Rock ball park is now a farm team for Houston... AND, they aren't playing ball due to COVID-19 right now anyway.
Our celebration honored Ron, Scott, Jamie, Samantha, Sophia, Sophie, Boomer and now Mark and Marian. We also threw in a Father's Day treat of grilled steak for the dads.
Scott manned the grill, the ladies provided sides, Jamie made cakes, the kids splashed in the pool, we gathered around Scott's newly purchased outdoor swamp cooler, and enjoyed one another's company.
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| The west end of Scott's house is the most shaded. It is also close to the pool and trampoline. We set up both of our awnings, moved his grill station down, and set up the tables and chairs. There was some shade for everyone during most of the day. That's not bad for a crowd this size. |
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| We decided to have grilled steak and chicken with baked potatoes cooked in the crock pot, pasta salad, green salad, fresh fruit, and cake for dessert. |
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| Scott's grill station is amazing. However, he really needs a prep area. I imagine he will either build or buy one soon. |
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| We aren't big on gift giving; just mainly gifts for the grandkids. The newest members of the family (Jamie and Molly) are still adjusting to that custom. |
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| Almost everyone was here this day. Seth was the only absentee. Even Mark and Marian, Molly's folks joined us. They both have June birthdays as well! |
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| Jamie is usually our cake master for family gatherings; but, Leslie wanted to make sure she got a birthday treat. She found some ice cream cup cakes at the local HEB. I think this sweet lady deserved a special treat all her own. |
The girls each got a pool float. Thank goodness for power pumps!
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| The twins got bucket hats with UV protection from Mimi. I was a total fail at keeping them greased up with sun screen the last time they stayed over night and swam all day. I felt so much better with this added layer of protection. |
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| Maggie called me one day (during the stay at home pandemic phase) complaining about being bored. I tasked her with making birthday banners for all of our June birthday peeps. She even included Boomer. She got them all made and hung them around the edges of the awnings. |
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| The only thing I failed to get a picture of on our first staycation day was Scott's swamp cooler. He bought one at Home Depot. It was a life safer in this Texas heat. Jamie had also bought a snow cone maker. Those things were super sweet but amazingly refreshing! |
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| But, the most enjoyable cooling treat was the pool. The grands lived in it most of the day. |
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| We even pumped up the inflatable boat that we bought a few years ago. I attempted to teach each of the girls how to row. They did a pretty good job for their first time. |
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| When they weren't in the boat, they were so good about waiting their turn. |
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| Even Poppy spent some time in the pool during the rowing lessons. |
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| Uncle Scott had to get in and show them how easy it is to row, once you get the hang of things. |
We couldn't have a birthday celebration without the traditional pinata. Thanks, Les and Gerson!
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| It wasn't the most sturdy thing; but, each of the girls took a whack at it. |
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| Even Uncle Scott grabbed some candy! |
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| I guess Uncle Ryan is too old for grabbing pinata candy off the ground. I figure he will raid the twins' stash. |
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| Ron, Scott, and Molly supervising the chaos! |
Our day ended with everyone except Rebecca, crashing in either the RV or sewing room. Our first day of staycation wasn't as exciting as it would have been if we had made it to Yellowstone. But, Scott kept us informed about the things we were missing; a water boil notice for the West Yellowstone area, and heavy storms. I count that as a blessing for staying home.
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