Reunion Weekend

Thursday
It’s been a fun but exhausting week. Brian and Marsha arrived on Thursday morning. Sara and Drew picked them up and we all met up for sushi on Thursday night, along with Rob, Jana and Jackson. Dinner was a blast and it was awesome to laugh and catch up. Ken and I went to our dodgeball game after dinner. Note: full stomachs + dodgeballs thrown at said full bellies = a bad idea. We came home and went to bed. Everyone was already asleep by the time we got home at 10:15. Well, except Sara who had to pick up her brother from the airport at 12:45 AM. That’s a nice sister. Especially since his flight was delayed until 2 AM.

Friday
I woke up at 3 AM dripping with sweat and achy. Turns out I had picked up Ken’s day-long flu from the week before. I called in sick and slept until 1 while my visiting friends enjoyed one of the prettier days this spring. Sucks. I took a shower and was on the couch by 4 pm and could walk reasonably well by 5, when we were all supposed to meet up with Sara’s family at a local restaurant. We went to a Peruvian restaurant and enjoyed lots of appetizers and tapas. Marsha had the best pina colada of her life. While we were there, Sara’s brother, Adam, riled up the feathers of Ken, Brian and Drew by mentioning playing beer pong afterwards. So we went to the house of one of Adam’s friends who has a beer pong table in the basement. The basement also has a free range pet rabbit. And carpeting. And rabbit poop -- lots of it. Please take the time to imagine beer spilling on the carpet that’s covered in rabbit poop. Now please imagine the balls that fell onto this carpet that were then thrown into beer and consumed. Sara is convinced everyone has hantavirus.

Saturday
Before we knew that Sara/Drew/Brian/Marsha were coming to visit, we signed up for a weekend-long dodgeball tournament. Top prize of $1000. So while our sweet guests slept, we got up on Saturday morning to play dodgeball from 9:30 AM-6:30 PM. Our bodies were toast by the end of the day. We took showers and could barely move. Rob, Jana and Rob’s brother, David, met us at our house for drinks. We were going to go to a low-key bar and just chat, but we were slow to rally. Then Sara’s brother came over with a few friends and we all went to karaoke instead. It was within walking distance. We each had a beer and left. Sara & Drew went home while Brian, Marsha, Ken and I went to the 24h food place a couple doors down to get a bite to eat since none of us had eaten that night. I got sausage and eggs along with….

Sunday
some awesome food poisoning that woke me up at 5 AM. Sweet. My body can barely move but it knows it is super pissed AND that it has to play a couple hours worth of dodgeball that day. Sigh. I packed a bag for that day’s events: dodgeball, Sara’s bridal shower at 3 and an overnight trip to the beach afterwards. Dodgeball was fun; we ended up losing to the team who came in 2nd place. I learned a lot, got a ton of practice and am covered in bruises. I left our games early to go to Sara’s bridal shower, which was super fun. Sara’s family is great. There were 19 of us and the party centered around a “cooking/kitchen” theme. Ken, Drew and Brian picked us up around 5:30 and whisked us off to the beach along with Kinley and the Burke’s dog, Sophie. We drank some beer and played lots of games. It was fun.

Monday
We woke up to the sun shining. It was a gorgeous clear day. We drank our coffee and played dominoes. Walked around a bit and then went clamming at low tide. I had never been before; it was a blast. Your feet easily got stuck in the mud. We had 3 pair of hip waders and a two pair of knee high boots. It was a challenge to figure it out at first. Brian fell in the mud and covered. Then we figured out the good clam spots and the signs to look for. We quickly had our limit. We cooked them a couple different way: cooked under the broiler and eaten plain (amazing), same but with lime, sautéed with bacon/garlic/onion, broiled with smoked cheddar on top and then clams casino. They were killer. Ken and I went back to Portland that night. Ken had softball and we both had to work on Tuesday. The others stayed down in Netarts an extra night.

Tuesday
Work for Ken and I. My bike is in the shop for a tune-up so I used my old one with the busted low seat. I got downtown, only to realize I forgot my wallet and phone, meaning I couldn’t get on the bus to get to work. Or the tram. I rode to Ken’s office to get some money, but he was at a site visit and gone. Nuts. So I rode back home in tears, got my stuff and then made my way back to downtown and up to work. Sara, Drew, Brian and Marsha get back in a few hours. I was supposed to be in a taco eating contest tonight with Brian and Dennis, but I found a sub since it is Sara’s 30th birthday today. We are going to have “Sunday Dinner” at our house for Sara’s birthday. Sara’s folks and some of her family will be coming, too.
Everyone leaves tomorrow. It has been a crazy but super fun week. They have all been easy guests and it has been a blast to catch up. I am still sore from the weekend, tired from the activities and worn out from the remants of being sick. I am looking forward to relaxing in PJs for about a week.